Does a movie ever get you curious enough about the real life events/people it's about to make you check to see what really happened? If you find that the film maker had an aggenda that re-wrote history (too much), does it change your opinion or enjoyment of the film?

Shale wrote:

You mean like Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson's literal passion play with modern effects? Never saw it after discovering it was not as well researched as it should have been. I never watched Pearl Harbor because I heard it played loose with the facts of that event. Of course I did watch Titanic because it was absolutely true.

I have always been interested in the real history behind movie events. When I was a kid I would often go to the encyclopedia and check out what really happened and that is when I discovered "artistic license" or "That's not what happened at all!"

Of course those days are long gone. Now it's Wikipedia.

Actually The Passion Of The Christ never came to mind. Considering the primary sources Gibson says serves as the basis for the script. the 4 gospels…undisputed for their accuracy , I can take it for what it’s worth. In fact, it’s the modern effects (e.g. the ultra-realistic scourging) that I would give high marks for. In fact, Jim Caviezel was accidentally lashed twice. I totally agree about Pearl Harbor. I’d rather see a double feature of Tora! Tora! Tora! and From Here To Eternity.

I was thinking more along the lines of Oliver Stone’s JFK for example. Ron Howard’s Cinderella Man is another. Shameful character assassination of Max Baer. LOL, I hope at least by now, no one is going to watch Errol Flynn in They Died With Their Boots On for the definitive biography of George A. Custer.

Yes it does, that's how I came to be in correspondance with the doctor Patch Adams.

Super, that is interesting. Alan, funny you mention Cinderella Man. I check just about all of the movies I see based on a true story, even the shitty ones. But after we watched Cinderella Man, I don't know that I checked that one out. I will have to.