10 Great Movies That Rewrite History

Movies with historical settings are often judged on their accuracy, but some movies completely rewrite the past. This is an unusual approach to period accuracy, especially when real historical figures and events are depicted without any attempt to provide a realistic portrayal. It’s important to note which elements of history each movie decides to change, because this can reveal their entire philosophy.

There are a few different reasons for a movie to rewrite history. Choosing a period setting can be a good way to ground a sci-fi or fantasy story in something immediately recognizable. In other cases, filmmakers change a few historical details to play out their own fantasies and shock audiences who might have thought they knew what was coming. Historical accuracy isn’t always the goal, and breaking the rules can lead to some more surprising and interesting results.

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Anastasia (1997)

Anastasia Explores A Common Conspiracy Theory

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Anastasia

Release Date

November 21, 1997

Runtime

94 minutes

Director

Don Bluth, Gary Goldman

Writers

Susan Gauthier, Bruce Graham, Bob Tzudiker, Noni White

Cast

  • Headshot Of Meg Ryan

    Meg Ryan

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    John Cusack

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    Kelsey Grammer

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In July 1918, Nicholas II of Russia and his family were executed by Bolshevik revolutionaries after months of imprisonment. However, rumors swirled for years that the family’s youngest daughter, Anastasia, had been spared and allowed to live under an assumed identity. The 1997 animated movie Anastasia imagines what would happen if these rumors were true, even though they have been proven to be demonstrably false, as Anastasia’s remains were identified alongside her family.

Anastasia has the look and feel of a Disney movie, but it was made by 20th Century Fox, and there are parts which go much darker than the standard Disney fare. Rasputin is interpreted as an evil sorcerer, which would probably please the Bolshevik revolutionaries who killed Anastasia and her family. Anastasia shouldn’t be treated as more than a fable, but it’s an interesting, dark fantasy that explores a fascinating chapter in the history of Russia.

9

Amadeus (1984)

The Mozart Biopic Is Filled With Fabrications

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Amadeus

Release Date

September 19, 1984

Runtime

160 minutes

Director

Milos Forman

Writers

Peter Shaffer

Cast

  • Headshot OF F. Murray Abraham

    F. Murray Abraham

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    Tom Hulce

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    Elizabeth Berridge

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Amadeus tells the story of the rivalry between Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the 18th century, but it doesn’t pretend to be historically accurate. Screenwriter Peter Shaffer adapted his own play, which in turn was inspired by Alexander Pushkin’s 1930 play, Mozart and Salieri. This is the root of the lie that Salieri hated Mozart and sought to destroy his career, when there’s very little historical evidence to suggest this was true.

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As well as the one big lie that Amadeus is built around, the movie peppers in plenty of smaller lies, like the fact that Salieri remained unmarried and childless, or the idea that Mozart would compose his music via improvisation without any revisions. Despite its many historical inaccuracies, or perhaps because of them, Amadeus was met with glowing reviews and a glut of awards, including eight Oscars.

8

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

The MCU Rewrites History To Sustain Its Present

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Captain America: The First Avenger

Release Date

July 22, 2011

Runtime

124 Minutes

Director

Joe Johnston

Writers

Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Joe Simon, Jack Kirby

Cast

  • Headshot Of Chris Evans In The `The Sun`s Who Cares Wins Awards`

    Chris Evans

  • Headshot Of Hayley Atwell In The Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2023

    Hayley Atwell

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    Hugo Weaving

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The MCU has created an immersive vision of a different world, but it isn’t a complete fantasy. The world of the MCU is often similar to our own world, with the same places and history, but Captain America: The First Avenger is one example of the MCU completely rewriting history. In this alternate version of the Second World War, the United States creates a super-soldier using an experimental serum.

The MCU has created an immersive vision of a different world, but it isn’t a complete fantasy.

With Captain America: Brave New World coming soon, it’s worth looking back on the origins of Captain America in the MCU to see how far things have deviated from real history. In The First Avenger, there are several allusions to real-world events and people, but this sort of thing has gradually been phased out and replaced by the MCU’s version of world history, where heroes often impact global events.

7

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Quentin Tarantino’s War Movie Deconstructs The Genre

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Inglourious Basterds

Release Date

August 21, 2009

Runtime

153 minutes

Director

Quentin Tarantino

Writers

Quentin Tarantino

Cast

  • Headshot Of Brad Pitt In The Babylon Premiere

    Brad Pitt

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    Diane Kruger

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    Mélanie Laurent

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Just like Captain America: The First Avenger, Inglourious Basterds rewrites the Second World War. Quentin Tarantino’s war movie tears the genre apart, just like Pulp Fiction does with the crime genre and Kill Bill does with action movies. As ever, Tarantino is keen to get to the heart of what people enjoy about these types of movies and what that says about us. Inglourious Basterds highlights the aspirational elements of the war genre, as many movies are made to sell a vision of heroism and good triumphing over evil. This reaches its peak with the delirious movie theater scene, in which Hitler and his associates are torn apart by machine gunfire.

Tarantino seeks to demythologize the war genre by creating the most absurd, over-the-top and patently ludicrous war movie ever.

Inglourious Basterds is filled with great quotes, showcasing Tarantino’s flair for dialogue and his dark sense of humor. The comedy is another hint that Tarantino seeks to demythologize the war genre by creating the most absurd, over-the-top and patently ludicrous war movie ever, fit for audiences to laugh at. His version of the Second World War is a revenge fantasy in which the disenfranchised and oppressed take direct, violent action.

6

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)

Quentin Tarantino Reimagines Hollywood In The 1960s

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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Release Date

July 26, 2019

Runtime

159 minutes

Director

Quentin Tarantino

Writers

Quentin Tarantino

Cast

  • Headshot Of Tim Roth

    Tim Roth

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    Margot Robbie

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    Mike Moh

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Inglourious Basterds was the first Quentin Tarantino movie to rewrite history, and it started a trend for the director. His latest movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood blends real history with pure fiction in Los Angeles in the late 1960s, as an aging actor struggles to cling to his relevance during the shift into the New Hollywood era. The story of Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth plays out against the backdrop of the Manson family murders, with Margot Robbie playing Sharon Tate.

Custom image of Zodiac, Assassination of Jesse James and Apollo 13

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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood‘s soundtrack, fashion and locations all bring the 1960s to life. Tarantino’s love for cinema shines through as he depicts the old studio system and the era of movie stars in great detail. In this context, his decision to save Sharon Tate from the Mansons is symbolic of his desire to return to an older era in the movie industry. As Rick Dalton and Sharon Tate strike up a neighborly conversation, it’s as if Old Hollywood and New are coexisting in peace.

5

The Good Dinosaur (2015)

The Good Dinosaur Imagines Humans And Dinosaurs Living Side-By-Side

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The Good Dinosaur

Release Date

November 25, 2015

Runtime

93MINUTES

Director

Peter Sohn

Writers

Bob Peterson, Enrico Casarosa

Franchise(s)

Disney

Cast

  • Headshot Of Bill Hader In The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards

    Bill Hader

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    Neil Patrick Harris

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    Lucas Neff

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The Good Dinosaur takes place in a world where the dinosaurs were never wiped out by an asteroid, and they continued to live on Earth for millions of years until modern humans started to emerge. This is probably the most compelling reason for humans and dinosaurs to live side-by-side since Jurassic Park‘s genetic experimentation storyline. In this alternative history, an Apatosaurus befriends a young boy named Spot, probably during the Neolithic era.

The Good Dinosaur generally isn’t considered one of Pixar’s best movies, and it was a commercial disappointment at the time too. Although the finished product is underwhelming, The Good Dinosaur revolves around an intriguing “what if” concept that plenty of children think about, just like Toy Story, Inside Out and other Pixar classics. Rather than exploring the ramifications of this concept to its full potential, The Good Dinosaur is a surprisingly formulaic adventure movie about an unlikely friendship.

4

District 9 (2009)

Neil Blomkamp’s Sci-Fi Allegory Rewrites South African History

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District 9

Release Date

August 5, 2009

Runtime

112 minutes

Director

Neill Blomkamp

Writers

Terri Tatchell, Neill Blomkamp

Franchise(s)

District 9

Cast

  • Headshot Of Sharlto Copley In The Los Angeles Premiere Of Universal Pictures 'Monkey Man'

    Sharlto Copley

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    Jason Cope

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    Nathalie Boltt

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District 9 is an intelligent allegory about South Africa’s apartheid era, with giant insectoid aliens being treated as second-class citizens and forced into crowded ghettos. The title takes inspiration from Cape Town’s “District Six,” an infamous whites-only neighborhood that was built after thousands of Black people were forcibly relocated. To create its sci-fi metaphor, District 9 concocts an alternative history in which aliens arrive in South Africa in 1982.

To create its sci-fi metaphor, District 9 concocts an alternative history in which aliens arrive in South Africa in 1982.

Neil Blomkamp has confirmed that a District 9 sequel is in development, but progress appears to be slow as he continues working on other movies. A sequel could pick up after a few years to catch up with Wikus, but it could also develop the social commentary of the first movie, using more fanciful sci-fi to examine a chapter of South African history that’s often too raw for some people to talk about directly.

3

The Favourite (2018)

Yorgos Lanthimos Takes Salacious Court Gossip As Fact

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The Favourite

Release Date

November 23, 2018

Runtime

120 minutes

Director

Yorgos Lanthimos

Writers

Tony McNamara, Deborah Davis

Cast

  • Headshot Of Olivia Colman In The New York Special Screening Of 'Wicked Little Letters'

    Olivia Colman

  • Headshot Of Emma Stone In The Premiere of 'Kinds of Kindness'

    Emma Stone

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    Nicholas Hoult

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Yorgos Lanthimos’ movies seem to take place in strange, alien worlds where the characters don’t behave as humans should. This fits well in the retrofuturist steampunk fantasy of Poor Things and the odd sci-fi dystopia of The Lobster, but it runs counter to the more familiar setting of The Favourite. The story unfolds in Queen Anne’s court in the early 18th century, with Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz all playing real historical figures.

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Some parts of The Favourite are based on real historical events, but the insinuation of a sexual love triangle between the three main characters has been debunked. Rumors of Queen Anne’s same-sex affairs were largely created and sustained by those with a political agenda, often decades after the fact. Lanthimos takes these rumors as historical truth, but he clearly doesn’t worry too much about historical accuracy. The movie is riddled with comedic anachronisms, from the styles of dancing to the language that people use.

2

Watchmen (2009)

Alan Moore’s Story Imagines How Superheroes Would Impact Real-World Politics

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Watchmen

Release Date

March 4, 2009

Runtime

163 Minutes

Director

Zack Snyder

Writers

Alex Tse, David Hayter

Cast

  • Headshot OF Malin Akerman

    Malin Akerman

  • Headshot Of Patrick Wilson

    Patrick Wilson

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    Billy Crudup

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While it’s become a common trend in the superhero genre to imagine how heroes would shape real-life world history and politics, it’s worth remembering that Alan Moore already had the definitive word on this subject with his comic book series Watchmen. After decades in development hell, an adaptation finally came to fruition with Zack Snyder as director, bringing Moore’s characters to life just as the superhero genre was reaching a new dawn.

Watchmen was also adapted into a critically-acclaimed HBO miniseries in 2019.

Most of Watchmen takes place in the 1980s, but the movie shows the evolving tension of society’s relationship with superheroes throughout the 20th century. By the time the story begins, Richard Nixon is in his fifth term as president and vigilantes of all kinds have been criminalized. Snyder’s movie has its supporters, but some have accused it of lacking the depth of Moore’s original work.

1

Godzilla Minus One (2023)

Godzilla Minus One Takes The Kaiju Back To Its Post-War Roots

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Godzilla Minus One

Release Date

December 1, 2023

Runtime

125 Minutes

Director

Takashi Yamazaki

Writers

Takashi Yamazaki

Franchise(s)

Godzilla

Cast

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    Ryûnosuke Kamiki

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    Minami Hamabe

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    Yûki Yamada

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Godzilla was originally created as a metaphor for the destruction that American atomic bombs brought to Japan. After decades of different interpretations, Godzilla Minus One takes the character back to its origins, with a story set in the aftermath of the Second World War. Just as Japan is gradually beginning to rebuild, Godzilla rises from the ocean and makes its way to the shore.

The use of Godzilla as a metaphor is sometimes a means to provide a focus for Japanese despair after the war. In Godzilla Minus One, the veterans who team up to fight Godzilla often treat their new foe as a chance for some form of redemption. In the war, Japan had to surrender after witnessing the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but the soldiers get a chance to fight back and win against their enemy when Godzilla arrives.