Historical movies and TV shows are all the hype nowadays — from Little Women to Bridgerton, viewers love being immersed in a time period very different from ours.
But no matter how dedicated these projects are to transport audiences to another world, there are always bound to be a few historical inaccuracies, especially to those with keen, eagle eyes.
Some of these are simple mistakes, while others are done purposely for more aesthetic reasons. Here are a few moments in well-known films that don’t portray the intended time period as accurately as one would think.
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Pride & Prejudice
Like Bridgerton, this 1800s historical film didn’t quite get the corsets accurate.
According to the time period of Pride & Prejudice, corsets were either structured with cups or stopped just below the bust — and neither was seen in the movie.
Kiera Knightley’s character also decided to attend a ball without her gloves, an accessory that was considered essential when attending these kinds of events. But perhaps this decision was intentional, to show Lizzie’s rebellious spirit.
Troy
As the main female character Helen of Troy walked up a set of stairs in the movie, it may be symbolic for some people to find her carrying a gorgeous pink umbrella as a way of shielding the blinding sun, considering she was regarded as the most beautiful woman in the world.
The only problem? The late Bronze Age, which is when the film takes place, certainly did not have umbrellas that looked like that.
Umbrellas were invented over 4,000 years ago and, starting in China before making their way to Greece and Rome from Egypt, but modern umbrellas didn’t make their way into society until around the late 1800s.
They were actually going to be called "Brella", but the inventor hesitated.
The Tudors
Ruffs — a frilly or wide item of clothing that went around the necks of men and women — were quite common in the mid 16th and 17th century in Europe and were attached to tops, dresses, etc. in order to keep their garments clean.
In The Tudors, however, they’re seen more as modern necklaces where the ruffs appear to be separated from other articles of clothing.
The ruffs are the least of the problems with these ridiculous outfits.
Bridgerton
The ladies of Bridgerton have made many viewers jealous with their gorgeous gowns, stylized hair, and tight-fitting corsets. But, as the saying goes, beauty is pain — something even the women in the Regency era of England recognized.
Back then, women wore shirts to protect their skin from corsets, both as a way to extend the life of the garment and avoid unnecessary discomfort. In the Netflix series, however, the actresses all wore their corsets directly against their skin.
Perhaps due to aesthetics?
Well, how else could they SEXUALIZE the women?? Come on, we all know why they do it.
Singin’ In The Rain
While certainly attention-grabbing, Kathy Selden’s gorgeous sleeveless pink dress did not match the 1920s decade the film was supposed to be set in.
Instead, it more accurately represented the 1950s, which makes sense since the movie was filmed in 1951. At the time, tight bodices and full skirts were all the craze.
This is why I had so much trouble figuring out when the movie was supposed to take place when I first saw this as a teenager
Seabiscuit
It’s no surprise that safety is obviously a priority while filming on-set, but in the case of Seabiscuit, that became a historically inaccurate mistake that some history buffs may have figured out.
Tobey Maguire, who played Red Pollard, wore a red helmet as he rode atop his horse. But the chin strap that the actor donned had actually not yet existed during the 1930s and The Great Depression, which is the time period the film is set in.
Probably to meet modern safety standards, and they hoped no one would notice.
Little Women
The 2019 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s novel is set in 1860s England, but the hairstyles of Florence Pugh’s and Emma Watson’s characters don’t exactly go with the time period.
Back then, bangs were cut much shorter with curly strands instead of the modern look Amy and Meg March sported throughout the film. It was also much more common for women to have their hair pulled back and out of their face, unlike the loose styles seen in the movie.
Django Unchained
Jamie Foxx sure looked cool rocking his shades, and it definitely fits the vibe of 1858 Texas — except, of course, for the fact that modern-day sunglasses didn’t appear until 1929.
Incorrect. A simple search of Wikipedia on the history of sunglasses will show that.
On the Sound of Music there is a crate in the market for oranges from Israel. Israel was not in existence until after the war
My grandfather's 1928 Polish passport gives nationality as Israelite. They wanted to be sure this Jew wasn't "Polish."
Load More Replies...Israel still doesn't exist. You don't ethnically cleanse and displace an indigenous people from their land and then claim its your country. If you have to steal something then it never belonged to you. Free Palestine from illegal occupation and apartheid.
If you really want to be specific, Israel/Palestine was actually the Ottoman Empire for hundreds and hundreds of years. Also, many times more Jews have been displaced throughout history, this is even referenced in Fiddler on the Roof.
I had a film class in college. On the first day the professor said something along the lines of this: "When watching a film you need to understand a few thing. First, everything you see in the movie was put there on purpose, nothing is done on accident. Second, films aren't real. Don't judge them against reality, even films about historical events. Finally, realize they are trying to tell you a story in the film. Enjoy the story and try not to judge the accuracy or believability of it."
I still can't approve wholeheartedly of historical films telling outright lies, though I understand that imagination must fill in the gaps in knowledge. But when you have someone defending the use of a real person for a baddie character when he didn't do anything of the sort, and his descendants are around to dispute it, don't say that's just a story.
Load More Replies...Though some details can be incredibly jarring when they do manage to get a lot right. But in a lot of these cases there is so much not right that the one thing they're mentioning here doesn't mean much.
How about Braveheart? The only thing historically accurate was that it was set in Scotland.
And the mummy - I love those movies but I’m also into Egyptology and anthropology and archaeology. Poor Imhotept is now remembered as a hot bald guy who’s a bad guy pharaoh 😂 the real one was a very smart architect and mathematician that built a lot of our fave ancient structures there.
We could carry on the list? I'll start: Braveheart, and 10000BC.
Load More Replies...Add in any low budget dinosaur movie (like the sort you might see on Syfy) that announces its dinosaur credentials by having a stegosaurus and a T-Rex on screen at the same time. Nope! Nope! Nope! The stegosaurus was around about 160-145 million years ago. The T-Rex was 73-66 million years ago. So technically it is closer in time to modern day than to the punk dino.
I can definitely confirm that "The Life of Brian" by Monty Python was in no way 100% historically accurate 👍🙂
WHAT! I was using it as a source for my PHD in history !
Load More Replies...There are movies that try to be historically accurate and those that don't. It's much more disappointing to see those that try miss the mark than things like Bridgerton.
Should be called "historical fashion mistakes" - That aside: Every fight in the Brad Pitt movie "Fury". The only reason the movie isn't over after the first shell hitting his tank is plot armour and massively dumping down the intelligence of the enemy to a collective sup 50 IQ
Most of these are so minor that it doesn't even matter. Costume or hair from the wrong time period? I am a big history buff and enjoy seeing the right costumes in place, but not even I am going to complain if a dress is from the 50s and not the 20s, or a hairstyle is out of place. There are so many other movies with really big things wrong. I'm pretty surprised they didn't make this list.
The type of green granny smith apple in pirates of the Caribbean wasn't grown then
Any WWII movie featuring combat aircraft usually gets it all wrong.
On the Sound of Music there is a crate in the market for oranges from Israel. Israel was not in existence until after the war
My grandfather's 1928 Polish passport gives nationality as Israelite. They wanted to be sure this Jew wasn't "Polish."
Load More Replies...Israel still doesn't exist. You don't ethnically cleanse and displace an indigenous people from their land and then claim its your country. If you have to steal something then it never belonged to you. Free Palestine from illegal occupation and apartheid.
If you really want to be specific, Israel/Palestine was actually the Ottoman Empire for hundreds and hundreds of years. Also, many times more Jews have been displaced throughout history, this is even referenced in Fiddler on the Roof.
I had a film class in college. On the first day the professor said something along the lines of this: "When watching a film you need to understand a few thing. First, everything you see in the movie was put there on purpose, nothing is done on accident. Second, films aren't real. Don't judge them against reality, even films about historical events. Finally, realize they are trying to tell you a story in the film. Enjoy the story and try not to judge the accuracy or believability of it."
I still can't approve wholeheartedly of historical films telling outright lies, though I understand that imagination must fill in the gaps in knowledge. But when you have someone defending the use of a real person for a baddie character when he didn't do anything of the sort, and his descendants are around to dispute it, don't say that's just a story.
Load More Replies...Though some details can be incredibly jarring when they do manage to get a lot right. But in a lot of these cases there is so much not right that the one thing they're mentioning here doesn't mean much.
How about Braveheart? The only thing historically accurate was that it was set in Scotland.
And the mummy - I love those movies but I’m also into Egyptology and anthropology and archaeology. Poor Imhotept is now remembered as a hot bald guy who’s a bad guy pharaoh 😂 the real one was a very smart architect and mathematician that built a lot of our fave ancient structures there.
We could carry on the list? I'll start: Braveheart, and 10000BC.
Load More Replies...Add in any low budget dinosaur movie (like the sort you might see on Syfy) that announces its dinosaur credentials by having a stegosaurus and a T-Rex on screen at the same time. Nope! Nope! Nope! The stegosaurus was around about 160-145 million years ago. The T-Rex was 73-66 million years ago. So technically it is closer in time to modern day than to the punk dino.
I can definitely confirm that "The Life of Brian" by Monty Python was in no way 100% historically accurate 👍🙂
WHAT! I was using it as a source for my PHD in history !
Load More Replies...There are movies that try to be historically accurate and those that don't. It's much more disappointing to see those that try miss the mark than things like Bridgerton.
Should be called "historical fashion mistakes" - That aside: Every fight in the Brad Pitt movie "Fury". The only reason the movie isn't over after the first shell hitting his tank is plot armour and massively dumping down the intelligence of the enemy to a collective sup 50 IQ
Most of these are so minor that it doesn't even matter. Costume or hair from the wrong time period? I am a big history buff and enjoy seeing the right costumes in place, but not even I am going to complain if a dress is from the 50s and not the 20s, or a hairstyle is out of place. There are so many other movies with really big things wrong. I'm pretty surprised they didn't make this list.
The type of green granny smith apple in pirates of the Caribbean wasn't grown then
Any WWII movie featuring combat aircraft usually gets it all wrong.