Napoleon: From The Social Network to Bohemian Rhapsody, 5 Films That Tweaked History for Creative Liberty Before Ridley Scott’s Epic
Napoleon is an upcoming historical epic directed by Ridley Scott starring Joaquin Phoenix. With the film releasing this week, we are taking a look at five other movies that tweaked history for creative liberties.
Ridley Scott’s upcoming historical epic Napoleon has received a lot of flak online for being historically inaccurate. The Joaquin Phoenix-led film opens in theatres this week and will see the rise of the French commander, and while the trailers have promised another classic Scott-film, fans online aren’t too pleased about the creative liberties the film has taken in depicting Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon Review: Ridley Scott’s Historical Film, Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby, Gets Mixed Response From Critics.
Many elements of Bonaparte’s life seem to have been tweaked for the film; for example, the trailer shows him destroying a pyramid when that never really happened. However, this wouldn’t be the first time a film has taken creative liberties with history while trying to tell a story. Films have been doing this for quite a while, and so with the release of Napoleon, we are taking a look at five other biopics that tweaked history for creative liberties.
Watch the Trailer for Napoleon:
Gladiator
On the topic of Ridley Scott, Napoleon won’t be the only time he has tweaked history to create more drama for his films. For Gladiator, one of the crowning achievements of his filmography, Scott took many liberties in delivering a narrative that was filled with human conflict. One of the biggest changes comes across in the character of Commodus, a real historical figure played by Joaquin Phoenix in the film, and the film’s characterisation of him alongside his death were quite different than what it actually was like in real life.
Braveheart
Mel Gibson’s Braveheart focuses on William Wallace - a Scottish freedom fighter - and while the film does deserve its dues, it also contains quite a few liberties that are hard to ignore. For one, Wallace’s backstory in the film is completely made up for the narrative here. Braveheart treats him like a man who came from nothing, when in reality, Wallace came from a well-to-do family.
The Social Network
David Fincher’s The Social Network remains as one of the best watches of the last two decades. Following the creation of Facebook and how Mark Zuckerberg changed the social landscape, it’s a heavily impressive watch that you can’t take your eyes off. And for all its victories, there is still the case of the film’s story mostly being fictional. Confirmed by real-life Zuckerberg himself, he stated that the film doesn’t actually portray real facts and does take its liberties to heighten the drama.
Argo
Focusing on the US hostage crisis that took place in Iran, Argo tells the story of a CIA agent – who poses as a Hollywood producer – carrying out an exfiltration operation to get six American citizens out of the country. While the Ben Affleck-directed film is a pulse-pounding watch, it negates the contributions that Canada made during the rescue operation and limits their role to just a reference.
Bohemian Rhapsody
Perhaps the biggest offender on the list, Bohemian Rhapsody was a film that relied heavily on fabricating the real-life history of Freddie Mercury. The Queen icons story was shifted around a lot to accommodate a more dramatic effect, and at times it completely embellished the life of Mercury where it made it seem simpler than the crazier truth that has been documented. Napoleon: Joaquin Phoenix Transforms into Napoleon Bonaparte in Riveting Trailer for Ridley Scott's Epic (Watch Video).
Napoleon releases in theatres on November 24, 2023.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 22, 2023 09:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).