Dan Snow Rates the Best Historical Films of All Time

Hey guys, hope you enjoyed the video! 😀 Do you agree with the Top 5 films? You can see the full Top 50 from the public poll here 👉 www.historyhit.com/culture/top-historical-films/

Ralph Fiennes said that Goeth was a psychopath first, nazi second. He was relieved of his duties for excessive cruelty in a concentration camp, which shows how sick and sadistic he was.

The Mission Control Center in Apollo 13 was so accurate that astronaut Dave Scott, who acted as a technical consultant on the film, would turn in the wrong direction to find the men's room, because it was in a different place at the film studio. He kept subconsciously thinking that he was in Houston.

When Swiger radioed that famous line to Houston, he was utterly calm and professional. So were all subsequent communications from the crew. There was no panic in their voices. Listening to the recordings, you would never guess that something serious had happened. They were such highly trained, seasoned professionals. But that wouldn't convey the seriousness in a movie.

I feel like he missed a great story in not explaining the reference of the Sullivan brothers made at about 23:00. It’s a truly heart wrenching story of 5 brothers who enlisted in the US navy and served aboard the same ship. USS Juneau was sunk during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal and all 5 brothers died. Since then, the military generally tried to keep family members separated to avoid similar issues.

I like Dan's way of doing this as he isn't being dismissive of things that are in accurate. He's saying the truth but also giving his opinion of whether the scene is good. Much better than the normal 'it's not accurate so is rubbish' when it is a work of fiction

I love how Dan can recognize great filmmaking and balance historical accuracy. A simple example with Gladiator's thumbs up/down was intentionally catered to our modern understanding. Is it wrongly used? Yes. Is it worth confusing a massive audience? No.

The scene with the little girl in the red coat in Schindler’s List is so gut wrenching. The whole movie is gut wrenching but that scene just really hits different.

I saw Apollo 13 with a friend and his father. The Father use to work for NASA . He was part of the group that figured out how to put the different shape Filters in the Lander and is listed as one of the people interviewed for the book Lost Moon. Toward the end of the movie , I saw the father gripping the seat .

He's right about Oscar Schindler. In reality he was a lot worse than depicted in the movie. Which is why it's even more amazing that he did a complete 180 and did the good things that he did.

My favourite genre of youtube video is experts complaining about film inaccuracies. Please bring Dan back for more.

Last of the Mohicans is just absolutely an amazing film. It differs from the book somewhat but I feel the most important parts, the atmosphere of the colonial super power tensions and the indigenous culture were done wonderfully. I absolutely love it. The film score is legendary, the acting, all of it. One of my all-time favorites.

Master and Commander is still woefully unknown and underappreciated. People watching this video are more likely to know it. One of the truly great historical movies.

I still can't believe that Ralph Fiennes didn't win the Oscar for Schindler's List. When I saw the movie, I couldn't take my eyes off him. He was mesmorizing.

My favorite bit about the Apollo 13 movie is that, when it released, NASA apparently went to the studio and asked them where they found the launch footage because it was so accurate that NASA thought it was real footage they'd lost track of.

To me, having Hanks' character in SPR as a middle aged teacher was genius. It was the father figure that all the young men/boys needed and given all he had gone through and survived, made the ending where he dies as more heartbreaking. Spielberg really is one of the greatest story tellers of our time.

These are some of the most moving films of all times it’s so wild. Even with the inaccuracies. The 90’s were good to us through filmmaking.

I watched Schindler's List in Leicester University Students' Union after it was released. Most of the students watching it were Israeli, some were descendants of the Schindler Jews. When the movie finished nobody moved or spoke, the only sounds were sobbing. It is the most moving and unforgettable experience of my life.

I remember watching Saving Private Ryan with my Grandfather many years ago. A veteran of the African and Italian campaigns. When I asked him was it really that bad? He just responded "much worse" never cried so much before or since thinking of my hero having to go through that hell. Since that day I've never forgotten what that generation did for the freedom of Europe and indeed the world. The real super heroes of the world.

Amon Göth in the movie was reportedly made tamer than the real one b/c the latter was so monstrous that he came off as almost unbelievable. The modern trend in writing villains is to make their motivations understandable. You'll hear lots of film enthusiasts preach that making a one-dimensional antagonist who's just evil for the sake of evil and only cares for money is the wrong way to go. It's almost as if the film is trying to give Amon a character arc regarding power & attraction, as well as attempting to provide answers on why he is the way he is. Only for him to reject that exploration and immediately go back to the pleasure of violence. A reminder that monsters do exist in real life no matter if they're human. '93 was the most competitive year for supporting actor performances on the big screen. The 66th Oscar nominees for that category were Ralph Fiennes (Schindler's List), Tommy Lee Jones (The Fugitive), John Malkovich (In the Line of Fire), Leonardo DiCaprio (What's Eating Gilbert Grape), & Pete Postlethwaite (In the Name of the Father). The snubs include Ben Kingsley (Schindler's List), Val Kilmer (Tombstone), Sean Penn (Carlito's Way), certain actors in True Romance, etc...