Timewaster's Guide Archive
Departments => Movies and TV => Topic started by: House of Mustard on November 18, 2002, 03:36:35 PM
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Okay, so don't roll your eyes. We all know that Braveheart is as historically accurate as George Washington crossing the Mississippi on Easter morning.
Anyway, I just got a tabletop game for review called "The Hammer of the Scots" and it has a long article indicating exactly how extremely incorrect the movie really was. We all know it's wrong, but here are the details:
1: Wallace's immeadiate family was NOT murdered when he was a child. His brother Malcolm survived the war and his other brother John was executed in 1307 (after Wallace's death in 1305). His father was killed by the english, but not until a few years before the war.
2: Wallace did not spend his childhood abroad.
3: There is NO evidence that the English lords practiced Prima Noctre.
4: Wallace's invasion of England was more of an extended raid than an invasion. He never got anywhere near York.
5: Edward I did not throw his son's lover out of a window. He was executed by English nobles in 1312, five years after Edward II had the throne.
6: (My Favorite) Wallace did not have an affair with Edward II's wife, because she was only 1 year old in 1297. She didn't marry Edward until 1308, three years after Wallace died.
7: John 'the Red' Comyn was not bribed by Edward to abandon Wallace on the battlefield at Falkirk. Most likely he felt insulted for having such a small role in the battle and left before the fighting started.
8: Wallace did not attempt revenge on Comyn fo Falkirk. In fact, with Wallace on the run, the Comyns actually took leadership of the rebellion and Wallace is known to have assisited them in diplomatic missions to France.
9: Robert the Bruce did not fight on Edward's side at Falkirk. He was more than 50 miles away, in command of his own army against the English. Likewise, he had nothing to do with Wallace's capture in 1305. In fact, he appeared to be in league with Wallace and was eventually charged with treason.
So, what exactly is the movie based on?
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I think it's based on the burgeoning blue facepaint market. You've got to jump on these trends when they're hot.
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Don't even TRY to make sense ouf of movies based on "historical fact." Braveheart was more based on the idea of the Hero Archtype than anything else. The Gunfight at the OK Corral (which didn't take place at the OK Corral at all) was actually a premeditated mass murder, to give but one example.
As for Braveheart, the movie wasn't terrible, but I lost a lot of respect for Mel Gibson after seeing it. Being Australian myself, I can tell you that no Australian man would be caught dead in a kilt, not even if he was playing a part in a movie. And soon afterwards I found out that Mel Gibson actually isn't Australian at all: he's originally from NEW YORK!!! the horror, the horror!
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Wow, I knew that Braveheart was inaccurate, particularly the battles, but I had no idea that they took that much liberty with it. Now I see why all the Scots were upset about it.
On a side note, I'd like to hear your view on the gunfight at the OK Corral, Slant, as I disagree with your statement. Start a new thread for it though, I don't want to hijack this one :)
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If you get the history channel watch for Hollywood vs History. they've got a realy good show on Braveheart (the one on M.A.S.H. is good too) that includes Mel Gibson explaning why they made some changes as well as Brittish historians and one guy who a decendent of Wallice. Gibson had a reason for why they had them sack York but I just cannot remember it. Any way that TV show was good, and Hey even if the movie isn't 100% accurate it's still my favorite.
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To true, Sprig. The fact that it twists history in no way stops it from being one fun, exciting film.
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Here's something kind of funny from the Braveheart History vs. Hollywood:
In the case of Braveheart,
Mel Gibson was asked in one interview how he had learned about Wallace, and
he respond that the "script had a lot of information."
On the other hand, the following quote is from an article supporting braveheart:
In the case of Braveheart, our opinion of the film's "inaccuracies" becomes more complex when we realize that the "sources" for the screenwriters were not "the historical records of the early fourteenth century" but the writings about Wallace by "Blind Hary" at the end of the 15th century, writings intended to arouse patriotic passions against English penetration. Faulty as it might have been as early fourteenth century history, as a reproduction of a late medieval "nationalist" use of history, it is hard to think of a better "historical movie" than Braveheart!
This last quote doesn't have to do with Braveheart, but it's from the same article about historical film. It's kind of funny, I think:
Many historical films concern war and warfare. Military realism has little to do with wider historical accuracy. Taking the example of Mel Gibson's The Patriot, it may have had quite a lot right in terms of uniforms and buttons, but was wildly off target and full of simply atrocious lies in its presentation of race relations and British military actions against civilizans. Still, so is the Declaration of Independence in its description of George III and two-timing assertion of human equality in slave-owning society, so perhaps Gibson was being more subtle than I give him credit for in celebrating a revolution that was supported at the time by myths with a film that was entirely fallacious. But I doubt it.
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york wasnt sacked? i thought it was?
oh and 9) doesnt show whole story.
after the rebellion was defeated at falkirk, the English chose a governor. cant remember his name. anyway he was a rival of robert, so a assasination was in order. i cant remember how the governor chap died, but the rebellion started again with robert at its head. the battle that ended braveheart (im terrible for names) was actually about the 6th one.
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Nope i cannot remeber how far south they got but it was no were near York.
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Bruce attacked York a few decades later, but he never conquered it -- it was 1314 I think, but I'm not certain.