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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.
00:05Never let the truth get in the way of a good story is an oft-repeated aphorism,
00:10but 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 films that
00:26striven hard towards realism or authenticity, and in the process showed that it is possible for a
00:33movie to be both accurate and entertaining. So with that said, I am Gareth, this is WhatCulture,
00:39and here are 10 times movies did their research and nailed it.
00:44Number 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
01:05be 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. 9. The Martian
02:14There's a moment in The Martian where protagonist Mark Watney bluntly states how he plans to survive
02:19on Mars. I'm gonna have to science the S-word out of this. It's a great line as it not
02:24only
02:25encapsulates Watney's sense of humour and no-nonsense approach to survival, but also summarises 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 one of the film's
02:59key scenes even more spectacular. As detailed by Mental Floss, the storm that results in Mark
03:05Watney 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 stated
03:21that 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. Number 8, Inside Out. One of the reasons Pixar has dominated animated films for the past
03:39three decades is the effort they put into researching the core concepts of the movies they work on.
03:44Case in point, Inside Out, which cognitive psychiatrist Jennifer Tallarico described as a
03:50surprisingly accurate representation of how memory works. Pixar worked with esteemed psychologist Paul
03:56Enkman to understand how to reflect the emotional state of an 11-year-old girl.
04:00University of Berkeley psychologist Dacher Keltner also acted as a consultant on the movie,
04:06playing a crucial role in expanding Pixar's understanding of how sadness acts as an instigator
04:11in creating bonds with others. If you've seen Inside Out, then you'll know just how important a role
04:16sadness, the emotion, and the character plays in the movie. And it's thanks to Pixar's discussions
04:22with Enkman 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
04:33they're old enough to have their hearts broken by their favourite sports team. Signed, a Man United fan.
04:39Number 7, Contact. 1997's Contact is often heralded as one of the most scientifically accurate
04:45science fiction 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
04:561979, but was dismayed at Hollywood's attempts to mould 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 Sledger's We Are Family.
05:18Sagan instead published Contact as a science fiction novel. Which the movie's creators treated
05:24as a bible for the film's production. The end result was a science fiction movie that put an
05:29unprecedented focus on the first half of that appellation. Jodie Foster's job as a SETI worker
05:35accurately reflects the work done by the Institute's search for extraterrestrial life.
05:40And the alien's mathematics-based methods of communication were based on theories espoused
05:44by Sagan himself. Sagan would sadly not live to see Contact released in cinemas, but the movie's
05:50creators did an incredible job honouring his singular legacy.
05:546. Tora Tora Tora
05:561970s Tora Tora Tora offers an interesting contrast with the 2001 movie Pearl Harbor.
06:02Whereas 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. The 2001 film is a typical Michael Bay production,
06:18more interested in visual spectacle and America, oorah, chest-thumping, than taking a considered
06:23approach to the material. This leads to some rather unfortunate historical inaccuracies,
06:28like suggesting Japan deliberately bombed Pearl Harbor's medical centres, which didn't happen,
06:33and that President Roosevelt was able to overcome his polio and stand up from his wheelchair through
06:38sheer patriotic fervour. Again, definitely didn't happen. Tora Tora Tora, on the other hand,
06:43offers a much more nuanced take on the events surrounding Pearl Harbor. As detailed by Daily
06:48History, the 1970 film does an excellent job depicting America and Japan's disintegrating
06:54relationship in the run-up to the attack. And the bombing itself is detailed in both accurate
06:59and spectacular fashion. Now, Tora Tora Tora may not be for everyone, everyone, everyone. Its first
07:05half certainly does drag a bit. But its devotion to accuracy does a better job of selling the horror
07:09and tragedy of the Pearl Harbor attack than Bay's more cartoonish effort. Cheers for checking out this
07:15video today, folks. Now smash that subscribe button down below for more of this well-researched
07:19awesomeness in your life.
07:215. A Night to Remember
07:23Before there was Jack and Rose, there was Mr. and Mrs. Strauss. Although 1958's A Night to Remember
07:29has since been usurped by James Cameron's 1997 megamovie in the popular consciousness,
07:35it's actually the older film that acts as a more accurate portrayal of the last moments of the
07:39Titanic. To be fair, both films had very different objectives, didn't they? Whereas Cameron's film was
07:45primarily a love story that made full use of the megastar wattage supplied by Leonardo DiCaprio and
07:50Kate Winslet, A Night to Remember set out to be an accurate retelling of what occurred on April 15th,
07:561912. To 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, who would ultimately
08:12become the film's main character, were on hand to discuss what actually occurred the night the
08:16Titanic sank. The 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 most
08:28infamous naval tragedy. 4. Apollo 13
08:321995's critically acclaimed Apollo 13 is often praised for its realism, which is no small wonder
08:38when you consider the steps Ron Howard and his merry film crew took to ensure their production remained
08:43as authentic as possible. As detailed by Syfy, the crew behind Apollo 13 worked closely with NASA to
08:50recreate the environments of both the shuttle and the mission control center that successfully guided
08:55the astronauts back to Earth. This meant copious amounts of photographs taken at the aforementioned
09:00center, as well as creating custom command and lunar modules for the movie. The latter was particularly
09:05impressive as, in order to emulate zero gravity conditions, the movie's bespoke modules were fitted into
09:11NASA's Vomit Comet, a specialized airplane that could create a zero-g environment for the actors to
09:17float around in, albeit briefly. Naturally, the movie also worked closely with technical advisors
09:22from NASA to ensure maximum authenticity. Amusingly, in addition to providing valuable input, the advisors
09:29also inadvertently highlighted the accuracy of the movie's set design. According to production designer
09:34Michael Korenblith, the mission control set was so accurate that NASA's advisors would frequently act
09:40as though they were back at NASA HQ, and automatically open the door to the men's room, only to find
09:45a
09:45brick wall staring back at them. I mean, it's one thing to fool the public, but when you fool the
09:50people
09:50who were actually there, you know you've nailed your research.
09:53Number 3. All the President's Men
09:561976'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 as
10:07Washington Post editor Ben Bradley, and remarkable for the fanatical level of devotion that went into
10:12recreating the Washington Post newsroom. As explained by the Post itself, production designer
10:18George Jenkins took his role extremely seriously, so seriously that he paid $10,000 to acquire 200
10:25desks from the same company that the Post bought its desks from, asked for and received a brick taken
10:31from the main lobby of the Post to be replicated in fiberglass for the movie set, and asked for the
10:36Post's current staff to save their trash on their desks and send it to the movie studio, at the cost
10:42of
10:42$1 per box. Now this may seem a little bit over the top, but considering All the President's Men
10:47won an Oscar for Best Art Direction slash Set Direction, it's safe to say Jenkins and his team
10:53were fully vindicated for every minute spent rifling through boxes of newsroom garbage.
10:58Number 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 you,
11:43is 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.
12:06Number 1. Downfall
12:082004'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
12:18glimpse
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 lens the Swiss-born actor took to immerse himself
12:36in the dictator's mindset at the time. The actor was given access to recordings taken from the bunker
12:42in which Hitler spent his final days, which led to Gantz uncovering a disarmingly human side to
12:47history's greatest villain. Rather than a towering force of nature, Downfall's Hitler is a shaking,
12:53weakened 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 crazed
13:13furor of popular culture, that ensures his performance still remains iconic a whole two decades later.
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