The clothes in this movie are accurate for the time period. Historical accuracy of the mel gibson movie the patriot. A few key deviations from revolutionary war history deflate the. Principal among the movie s gross inaccuracies is the portrayal of british. This film is believed to be very inaccurate by many critics but i would say that it is somewhat both accurate and inaccurate. Directed by peter berg and written by berg, matt cook, and joshua zetumer, the film is based on the book boston strong by casey sherman and dave wedge.
The patriot is a 2000 american epic historical fiction war film directed by roland emmerich, written by robert rodat, and starring mel gibson, chris cooper, heath ledger, and jason isaacs. Patriots day, the newest film from director peter berg and star mark wahlberg, recreates the events of the boston marathon bombings of 20. The four battles depicted in this movie were taken from five original battles that really happened. The movie is a good representation of colonial life during the revolutionary period. In the movie s version of events, the revolution is nearly lost because general george washington and the main patriot army are being pursued by a much larger british army in the north, while cornwallis has destroyed the rebel army in the south. A significant segment of the population of the carolinas and georgia. It basically wants to be a summer action movie, with a historical. Roland emmerich and dean devlin, the directorproducer team responsible for such scifi blockbusters as independence day, stargate, and godzilla, take a step back in time with this drama set. Benjamin martin is a composite character made up of thomas sumter.
The patriot the movie, the patriot, is the story of a south carolina plantation owner, benjamin martin, who leads a local militia against british troops in the south during the beginning of the american revolutionary war. And when they couldnt get a shot off, they hacked away at each other with swords and bayonets for good measure. They were combined to create a screenplay that fell. Benjamin martin is based on a combination of real historical figures. He likes to present his view of history whether it is accurate or. The atrocities committed by the british in the movie never happened, for one the war in s. This happened more than 80 years before he was president. If movies include a complete history, it wouldnt be known as a movie anymore. So as i write this, the movie the patriot is on tv, and i always wondered how accurate were the depictions of atrocities committed against the colonists. However, using historical facts in a movie calls for the accuracy of shared information and the well inclination of each fact to the fictional story and characters but then in the movie the patriot, critics claimed that there was no accuracy in history as depicted in the movie that may result to false information being shared to the general public. What are some historical inaccuracies in the movie the. I never learned of any such incidents in school other than the boston massacre and as an american i feel like that wouldve.
The first was entertaining but largely fictional and the second was factually accurate but lacked dramatic tension. The director spike lee charged that the patriot dodged around, skirted about or completely ignored slavery. Truth is the first casualty in hollywoods war, read the headline of the london telegraphs take on the patriot. The movie, the patriot, is based on the american revolution. But as an amateur wannabe history buff, there were some significant historical inaccuracies of the patriot that stood out. Unfortunately, hollywood, for one reason or another, doesnt always get the facts straight. These famous hotch potch, posture master cards werent printed until 1782. Adding more credibility to the historical accuracy of this film was the participation of historians from the smithsonians national museum of american history as. Scottish north carolina loyalists charge across moores creek bridge near wilmington to attack what they mistakenly believe to be a. In factchecking the patriots day movie, we discovered that the film was born from two screenplays, one that revolved around the manhunt boston strong and one based on a 60 minutes episode about the bombing patriots day. Some of the most memorable movies of all time are those that explore some element of history. Carolina was brutual, but it was basically a civil war between. The old revolutionary war scenes and battles make this movie a tremendous action film. The popular film the patriot is loosely based on the exploits of several real life historical figures including a british officer, lt.
Gibson acknowledged, if one were to adhere to historical accuracy all the way, youd probably have the most. Edward gibbon publishes the first volume of the history of the decline and fall of the roman empire. Poetic license happens when the directors of a film distort historical truths in order to create a more dramatic, enthralling storyline. These passages and others including the dead man who is not really dead have been trucked directly into the patriot from the warehouse of timeless cliches.
While the costumes worn in the film, as well as the firearms used, are very accurate, many aspects of this film do not accurately portray characters or events that occurred before and during the american revolution. Essay about historical accuracy of the patriot 950 words 4 pages. Historical events during the colonial war the patriot by. Germans did this as well in ww2, if a soldier turned up dead with no real suspect other than the local population, it was common to kill multiple civi. Marion was originally the lead character in the script, but because of controversy and to allow for more dramatic storytelling more fiction, martin was introduced.
However, it would be called a documentary, which most people get fed up of. I love the movie itself its massively entertaining, and heath ledger just kills his role in the film. Patriots day is a 2016 american drama film about the boston marathon bombings and the subsequent terrorist manhunt. Principal among the movies gross inaccuracies is the portrayal of british soldiers as evil, bloodthirsty sadists. One situation that people were particularly angry about was the part when a whole bunch of people were locked in a building and then the building was burned. Compare the movie the patriot with historical reality. Martin is based on a sanitised composite of several historical militiamen, most obviously the swamp fox, francis marion. However, much of the patriot is not historically accurate in the interpretation of broad themes or in specific details of the campaign in the south and of warfare in the american revolution. So interpretations, exaggerations and idealistic scenes are added to the movie to make it more interesting for the audience.
Nevertheless, the film did not portray british soldiers, the way people saluted one another and the protagonist benjamin martin accurately. The patriot is a movie that seems to have been made as historically correct as possible while adding a personal and emotional side behind it. But as you can see it is more inaccurate than it is accurate. History is full of noteworthy people and events that are just ripe for the screenwriter s picking and often result in. Historical inacuracies continued historical inaccuracies much of the patriot is not historically accurate. With outstanding performances from mel gibson, heath ledger, and many others, the patriot was hands down the best movie i have ever seen. Is the movie the patriot historically accurate answers. Although the movie has done reasonably well at the box office, it has been attacked for its historical inaccuracies, particularly as they relate to race relations during the revolution. The patriot examines a recent feature film about the american revolutionary war, helping viewers decipher which aspects are drama and which are accurate reflections of the past. Killing civilians in this way is was fairly standard procedure for an army occupying a country.
Historical accuracy of the patriot essay 956 words. The film mainly takes place in rural berkeley county, south carolina, and depicts the story of an american colonist, nominally loyal to the british crown, who is swept into the american revolutionary war when. Historical accuracy in the movie the patriot essay essay. The patriot historical critique of accuracies benjamin martin is a composite character made up of thomas sumter, daniel morgan, andrew pickens, and francis marion all whom are real people. Although the movie has done reasonably well at the box office, it has been attacked for its historical inaccuracies, particularly as they relate to race relations during. In fact, it is doubtful if the purpose of the film was to be historically accurate. What do you think about the historical accuracy of the. A scene early in the movie where martin wipes out twenty redcoats on his own is undeniably incredible but unlike the nameless extras. Essay about historical accuracy of the patriot 950 words. The most serious deficiency of the patriot is its almost complete omission of the loyalists. Historical inaccuracies of the patriot by roberto loya on. In the first shot of the film, two of the children are seen playing with alphabet cards. People watch all types of movie including action movies, adventure movies, comedy movies, and many other categories, but when it comes to the history movies, people do not think if the story of the history. Historical accuracy of the mel gibson movie the patriot 2000.
The scenery and the clothing worn by the characters play a major role in keeping the film true to the revolutionary period in american history. The patriot movie historical accuracy customwritings. Movies are made to be sold and not history to be perfectly told. It stars mark wahlberg, kevin bacon, john goodman, j. The patriot, 2000 top 10 historically misleading films. And they didnt even use dollars during the revolutionary war. I thought it was a good movie, but historically it is not true to history or the time. Revolutionary america the patriot response paper poetic license and historical inaccuracies in the patriot often movies and other forms of media based in history will depict events using poetic license. The patriot shows us warfare, 1700sstyle, when neat columns of men stood facetoface and blasted away at each other with handheld cannons they called muskets. For example, in the beginning of the story, during the town hall meeting burwell was saying that we killed 700 of enemy at the bunker hill and they were just kept coming, but in reality they killed 226 of them.