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10 Movies that did their research and nailed it
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00:00Balancing realism and storytelling in movies has always been a tricky endeavor.
00:06Never let the truth get in the way of a good story is an oft-repeated aphorism,
00:11but a movie that ignores too much of the truth without justifying it with compelling results
00:15becomes an easy target for criticism. Fortunately, not every movie follows the
00:20creed of fun first, facts never. As this list will show, there have been plenty of
00:26films that have striven hard towards realism or authenticity, and in the process showed that it
00:32is possible for a movie to be both accurate and entertaining. So with that said, I am Gareth,
00:38this is WhatCulture, and here are 10 times movies did their research and nailed it.
00:43Number 10, The Lion King The original Lion King is one of the greatest movies of all time,
00:50but as detailed by The Ringer's excellent retrospective, its creators had to jump through
00:55more than their fair share of hoops to create the cinematic landmark we all know and love today.
01:00With then-producer Jeffrey Katzenberg telling the Lion King team that their movie was likely to not
01:06be a very big film, the staff engaged their inner Michael Jordan and took it personally.
01:11Fortunately for cinema fans everywhere, this meant that they left no stone unturned in their quest
01:16to create history, as well as taking trips to Kenya to capture Lion King's stunning savannah
01:22landscapes. The animators immersed themselves in their subject matter by having real lions brought
01:27into the studio. Not only that, but to ensure maximum connection with the animals, the lions
01:33were uncaged as well. Not sure what Disney's HR department made of that decision, but hey,
01:38there's no denying the result. As anyone who has seen The Lion King's still majestic landscapes and
01:44impressively lifelike animation will attest, the team's hard work paid off. In the aforementioned
01:49Ringer article artistic supervisor Daniel St-Pierre says that they shot the movie as if it were live
01:55action instead of cartoon, resulting in a fusion of styles that has genuinely aged better than the
02:01soulless photorealism of the 2019 remake. Now I've got a question for you, is The Lion King the
02:06greatest Disney movie of all time? Well if it's not, you let me know what is in the comments section
02:12down below.
02:13Number 9, The Martian
02:14There's a moment in The Martian where protagonist Mark Watney bluntly states how he plans to survive
02:20on Mars. I'm gonna have to science the s-word out of this. It's a great line as it not only
02:25encapsulates Watney's sense of humor and no-nonsense approach to survival, but also summarizes the film
02:31crew's attitude towards depicting Watney's life on Mars. The Martian may have been adapted from the
02:36Andy Ware book of the same name, but rather than simply relying on the science as depicted in Ware's
02:42novel, director Ridley Scott went the extra mile and corresponded with James Green, the then director
02:48of NASA's Planetary Sciences Division. As you'd imagine, Green was a huge help in ensuring the
02:53film remained as scientifically accurate as possible, and his observations actually made
02:58one of the film's key scenes even more spectacular. As detailed by Mental Floss, the storm that results
03:04in Mark Watney being stranded on Mars was originally meant to just be nothing more than wind and dust.
03:10James Green however pointed out that a dust storm that severe would likely result in lightning
03:15strikes as well, resulting in the studio adding lightning to the scene. Granted, Green also
03:21stated that Mars conjuring a dust storm that deadly is in itself unlikely. Yet the fact remains that
03:27following the former NASA director's advice made The Martian's opening set piece that much more
03:32dramatic. 8. Inside Out
03:35One of the reasons Pixar has dominated animated films for the past three decades is the effort they put
03:41into researching the core concepts of the movies they work on. Case in point, Inside Out, which
03:46cognitive psychiatrist Jennifer Tallarico described as a surprisingly accurate representation of how
03:52memory works. Pixar worked with esteemed psychologist Paul Engman to understand how to reflect the emotional
03:58state of an 11-year-old girl. University of Berkeley psychologist Dacher Keltner also acted as a consultant
04:05on the movie, playing a crucial role in expanding Pixar's understanding of how sadness acts as an
04:11instigator in creating bonds with others. If you've seen Inside Out, then you'll know just how important
04:16a role sadness, the emotion and the character, plays in the movie. And it's thanks to Pixar's discussions
04:22with Engman and Keltner that the movie was able to so expertly teach children not to hide from sadness,
04:28but accept it as a fundamental part of growing up. A lesson that will certainly come in handy when they're
04:33old enough to have their hearts broken by their favorite sports team. Signed, a Man United fan.
04:39Number 7, Contact. 1997's Contact is often heralded as one of the most scientifically accurate science
04:45fiction movies ever made, which makes sense when you consider it's based on the work of world-famous
04:50astronomer Carl Sagan. As explained by Entertainment Weekly, Sagan first had the idea for Contact in 1979,
04:58but was dismayed at Hollywood's attempts to mold his ideas into family-friendly fodder.
05:03Producer Peter Goober wanted the movie to be about a mum simultaneously trying to make contact with
05:08aliens and her estranged son. A trope that could only have been more hackneyed if the closing credits
05:13showed aliens dancing with the now-reunited mother and son to Sister Sledge's We Are Family.
05:19Sagan instead published Contact as a science fiction novel, which the movie's creators treated as a bible
05:25for the film's production. The end result was a science fiction movie that put an unprecedented focus
05:31on the first half of that appellation. Jodie Foster's job as a SETI worker accurately reflects
05:36the work done by the Institute's search for extraterrestrial life, and the alien's mathematics-based
05:41methods of communication were based on theories espoused by Sagan himself.
05:46Sagan would sadly not live to see Contact released in cinemas, but the movie's creators did an incredible
05:52job honoring his singular legacy.
05:54Number 6, Tora Tora Tora
05:561970's Tora Tora Tora offers an interesting contrast with the 2001 movie Pearl Harbor.
06:03Whereas both movies depict the events of Japan's infamous attack that brought the United States
06:07into World War II, the former movie portrays a far more realistic depiction of both the attack
06:12and the events leading up to it.
06:14The 2001 film is a typical Michael Bay production, more interested in visual spectacle and America
06:20chest-thumping than taking a considered approach to the material.
06:25This leads to some rather unfortunate historical inaccuracies, like suggesting Japan deliberately
06:30bomb Pearl Harbor's medical centers, which didn't happen, and that President Roosevelt was able
06:35to overcome his polio and stand up from his wheelchair through sheer patriotic fervor.
06:40Again, definitely didn't happen.
06:42Tora Tora Tora, on the other hand, offers a much more nuanced take on the events surrounding
06:46Pearl Harbor.
06:47As detailed by Daily History, the 1970 film does an excellent job depicting America and
06:53Japan's disintegrating relationship in the run-up to the attack, and the bombing itself
06:57is detailed in both accurate and spectacular fashion.
07:01Now, Tora Tora Tora may not be for everyone, everyone, everyone, its first half certainly
07:05does drag a bit, but its devotion to accuracy does a better job of selling the horror and tragedy
07:10of the Pearl Harbor attack than Bay's more cartoonish effort.
07:13Cheers for checking out this video today, folks, now smash that subscribe button down below for
07:18more of this well-researched awesomeness in your life.
07:215. A Night to Remember
07:23Before there was Jack and Rose, there was Mr. and Mrs. Strauss.
07:27Although 1958's A Night to Remember has since been usurped by James Cameron's 1997 megamovie
07:33in the popular consciousness, it's actually the older film that acts as a more accurate portrayal
07:38of the last moments of the Titanic.
07:40To be fair, both films had very different objectives, didn't they?
07:44Whereas Cameron's film was primarily a love story that made full use of the megastar wattage
07:48supplied by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, A Night to Remember set out to be an accurate
07:53retelling of what occurred on April 15th, 1912.
07:57To that end, A Night to Remember employed survivors of the tragedy as consultants on the set.
08:02As detailed in the enjoyable documentary that came out on the film's 35th anniversary,
08:074th officer Joseph Boxall and the widow of 2nd officer Charles Lightholler,
08:11who would ultimately become the film's main character, were on hand to discuss what actually
08:15occurred the night the Titanic sank.
08:18The insight of the survivors combined with sets built on actual blueprints of the Titanic
08:22resulted in a movie that masterfully captured the chaos, confusion, and heartbreak of history's
08:28most infamous naval tragedy.
08:29Number 4, Apollo 13
08:311995's critically acclaimed Apollo 13 is often praised for its realism, which is no
08:38small wonder when you consider the steps Ron Howard and his merry film crew took to ensure
08:42their production remained as authentic as possible.
08:45As detailed by Syfy, the crew behind Apollo 13 worked closely with NASA to recreate the
08:51environment of both the shuttle and the mission control center that successfully guided the
08:55astronauts back to Earth.
08:57This meant copious amounts of photographs taken at the aforementioned center, as well as creating
09:01custom command and lunar modules for the movie.
09:04The latter was particularly impressive as, in order to emulate zero-gravity conditions,
09:09the movie's bespoke modules were fitted into NASA's Vomit Comet, a specialized airplane that
09:14could create a zero-G environment for the actors to float around in, albeit briefly.
09:19Naturally, the movie also worked closely with technical advisors from NASA to ensure maximum
09:24authenticity. Amusingly, in addition to providing valuable input, the advisors also inadvertently
09:30highlighted the accuracy of the movie's set design. According to production designer Michael
09:35Korenblith, the mission control set was so accurate that NASA's advisors would frequently
09:39act as though they were back at NASA HQ, and automatically open the door to the men's room,
09:44only to find a brick wall staring back at them. I mean, it's one thing to fool the public,
09:49but when you fool the people who were actually there, you know you've nailed your research.
09:53Number 3. All the President's Men
09:551976's All the President's Men is a remarkable film. Remarkable for its unflinching look at the
10:01then-recent Watergate scandal, remarkable for the late Jason Robard's Oscar-winning performance
10:07as Washington Post editor Ben Bradley, and remarkable for the fanatical level of devotion
10:12that went into recreating the Washington Post newsroom. As explained by the Post itself,
10:17production designer George Jenkins took his role extremely seriously, so seriously that he paid
10:23$10,000 to acquire 200 desks from the same company that the Post bought its desks from,
10:29asked for and received a brick taken from the main lobby of the Post to be replicated in fiberglass
10:34for the movie set, and asked for the Post's current staff to save their trash on their desks
10:39and send it to the movie studio, at the cost of $1 per box. Now this may seem a little bit over the top,
10:45but considering All the President's Men won an Oscar for Best Art Direction slash Set Direction,
10:51it's safe to say Jenkins and his team were fully vindicated for every minute spent rifling through
10:56boxes of newsroom garbage. Number 2. Arrival
10:59You may be wondering exactly how much scientific research was necessary for a film that appears
11:04to star gigantic versions of Half-Life's headcrabs. As it turns out, that form of communication was
11:10one of the most praised elements of Arrival in the scientific community. In a conversation with
11:15Wired, Jessica Kuhn, an associate professor in the Department of Linguistics at McGill University,
11:21and a consultant on the film, said that the movie's depiction of translating an alien language was
11:26as realistic as it could be. In the movie, Amy Adams' scientist character mimics simple words to the
11:32aliens, who in turn draw pictures called logograms, which Adams has to interpret the patterns of.
11:38It's a slow, painstaking process, which, as anyone who's ever tried learning a language will tell
11:43you, is par for the course. The movie also invokes an extreme version of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis,
11:49which dictates that language affects our view of the world, as Adams' character is able to see
11:54through time as a result of her eventual fluency in the alien's language. Naturally, that's a somewhat
12:00extreme example of the hypothesis, but it is true that learning another culture's language can generate
12:05greater empathy. 1. Downfall
12:072004's Downfall may be best known for the many, many parodies of Hitler's iconic breakdown in the
12:13bunker, but it deserves to be remembered as a great film in its own right. The movie acts as a glimpse
12:18into the final days of Adolf Hitler, and as such is held together by Bruno Gantz's magnetic performance
12:24as the embittered, broken-down dictator. As detailed by historian James Rogers on History Hit,
12:30Gantz's portrayal is so mesmerizing because of the lengths the Swiss-born actor took to immerse
12:36himself in the dictator's mindset at the time. The actor was given access to recordings taken from
12:41the bunker in which Hitler spent his final days, which led to Gantz uncovering a disarmingly human
12:46side to history's greatest villain. Rather than a towering force of nature, Downfall's Hitler is a
12:52shaking, weakened old man, who is disarmingly capable of kindness to those close to him.
12:57As the much-memed rant scene shows, Bruno Gantz was more than capable of depicting the
13:02towering fury that cowed Hitler's subordinates and marched his nation and the world towards
13:07disaster. Yet it is the actor's dedication to capturing Hitler the man, rather than the
13:12crazed Führer of popular culture, that ensures his performance still remains iconic a whole two
13:18decades later.
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