Amazing movies that are terrible biographies

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

The thread calls to mind the story told about George M. Cohan's reaction to 'Yankee Doodle Dandy', the film based on his life.  When asked what he thought about it, he replied, 'Great movie.  Who the hell was it about?'

Boru

[Brian37]

I think Spike Lee's Malcolm X was a great movie. I think back then he got a bad wrap in reality. He certainly was flawed, but in reality was reacting to abuse of blacks which was completely understandable. 

Skipping the religious aspect of the movie, I think far too many missed the message at the end of it. He became disillusioned with group think, and finally came to the conclusion we are the same humanity and need to care for each other. 

My favorite part of that movie was when he was in prison and at a Christian service, and questioned the priest about race depiction of Jesus. But overall, I thought it was well scripted and edited and well acted.

[chimp3]

The Life of Brian

[Shell B]

I think Spike Lee's Malcolm X was a great movie. I think back then he got a bad wrap in reality. He certainly was flawed, but in reality was reacting to abuse of blacks which was completely understandable. 

Skipping the religious aspect of the movie, I think far too many missed the message at the end of it. He became disillusioned with group think, and finally came to the conclusion we are the same humanity and need to care for each other. 

My favorite part of that movie was when he was in prison and at a Christian service, and questioned the priest about race depiction of Jesus. But overall, I thought it was well scripted and edited and well acted.

Probably a great film, but I'm definitely not a fan of the man himself. I like MLK's style much more.

[Brian37]

I think Spike Lee's Malcolm X was a great movie. I think back then he got a bad wrap in reality. He certainly was flawed, but in reality was reacting to abuse of blacks which was completely understandable. 

Skipping the religious aspect of the movie, I think far too many missed the message at the end of it. He became disillusioned with group think, and finally came to the conclusion we are the same humanity and need to care for each other. 

My favorite part of that movie was when he was in prison and at a Christian service, and questioned the priest about race depiction of Jesus. But overall, I thought it was well scripted and edited and well acted.

Probably a great film, but I'm definitely not a fan of the man himself. I like MLK's style much more.

In reality, even back then most people would agree with you. But Malcolm outside is rough exterior was still reacting to the same thing MLK was. And even in real life, towards the end of his life he did soften his tone. I think he was still a great part of that history that pushed society to face the problems of that time.

A lot of atheists don't like Madalyn Murry O'Hair, because she was blunt in much the same fashion. More people are fond of the likes of say Neil Degrasse Tyson(who calls himself agnostic, but clearly rejects god claims and religion). But O'Hairs efforts did contribute regardless. 

But for the most part, just like back then, atheists now like then were and are progressive and far more likely to support the civil rights movement, just like we on average support LGBT rights and women's rights today. 

I think Malcolm was undervalued. Like Murry is by atheists. I don't think any social movement can be pinned down to one tactic being right in all contexts 100% of the time. 

But since we are talking about just the movie Malcolm X is still one of my top 10 favorites of all time.

[Alex K]

The Life of Brian

How do you know it's not a good biography?

[Astonished]

I think it was supposed to be more or less a fair representation (I could be wrong) but my favorite biography is The People Vs. Larry Flynt. We owe much to that guy.

[energizer bunny]

The Dragon Story (Bruce Lee)

[WinterHold]

The hell; wrong thread
sorry

[Edwardo Piet]

Dragon: The Bruce Lee story.

The thing about Johnny Sun breaking his back with a flying kick after Bruce Lee had won the compettion........... NEVER HAPPENED. That was totally for drama. The only thing that ever really happened to Bruce Lee's back is he pulled it lifting weights when he was home alone. Lol. And the fight with Johnny Sun..... wasn't even close. It ended with Bruce Lee chasing him around the room, too.

So I highly distrust a lot of the other shit in that movie. It's really inaccurate. A terrible biography.

But the movie is very watchable and kicks fucking ass.

EDIT: Yup. I was right. One Google search found me finding a bunch more of shit that was inaccurate:

Holy crap was it inaccurate. It resembled my life story as much as it resembled Lee's, to be honest. At least half of the major plot points in the movie were fictional.

Lee did not start martial-arts training until he was a teenager
He was not an only child
He never beat up Australian sailors, and this was not why he had to leave Hong Kong.
Lee's father did not have to "save up" to send him to the United States; the Lee's were quite rich.
Fight with restaurant workers (and as far as I can tell, affair with pretty Chinese waitress) never happened.
Restaurant owner and Bruce did NOT get along. Ever.
Fight with jock college students did not happen.
Fight with "Johnny Sun" (Wong Jack Man) dramatized: Lee played a major role in instigating the fight (the idea that Lee was fighting for the right to teach white folks is a popular story but a complete myth propagated by the Lee family); Lee did not beat up Wong; and Lee did not incur any serious injuries as a result of the fight.
Lee's back injury was due to improper weightlifting technique, and his ability to walk was never in question or at risk.
Lee did not write a book called Tao of Jeet Kune Do, and Tao of JKD was not published in his lifetime. (The book is just a compilation of notes from various notebooks, cobbled together after his death by his wife.)
Fight at Ed Parker's tournament did not happen. (Lee did demonstrate chi sao, however.)
Fight on the set of "The Big Boss" never happened

I don't need to tell you that nightmare dream warrior stuff was fictional too, do I?

And yet, it's still one of my favorite movies. Very entertaining and watchable. Especially the first time you watch it when you're a kid and you actually think it's a true story, lol.