When I saw Oppenheimer I was surprised to see so many young people. Mentioning this to a friend I was informed that Cillian Murphy has a big following from Peaky Blinders.
@@ReelHistory Emily blunt did an interview where she went incognito to a screening of Oppenheimer and saw a bunch of teenage boys dressed as Oppenheimer, I believe the interview is from the Sunday sitdown podcast with Willie Geist.
Andre Braugher's death was shocking, and made me cry, as much as Chadwick Boseman's did three years earlier. Thomas was my favorite character in Glory.
I’m glad you highlighted Godzilla Minus One. A great film about not only post-war Japan but also (I think) modern attitudes toward that era. It’s often overlooked but many of the Toho Godzilla films really have something to say. Also a good example of a film that was visually spectacular on a very modest budget. I can’t wait till it comes out on dvd.
I don’t understand how “Killers of the Flower Moon” got shut out. I would’ve seen it twice if I had had the time. I definitely plan to watch it again on streaming.
19:43 - couldn't agree more on the comments about "cinema forms memories and memories forms history". I have typed thousands of words on various RU-vid video comments rebutting the commonly held myths perpetrated by A Bridge Too Far (1977), and often there are examples where the truth is even more dramatic than the film - a good example being Rush (2013) where Freddie Hunt (son of 1976 F1 champion James and no fan of Chris Hemsworth's performance playing his dad as a "tw@t") asked director Ron Howard why he made so many changes, and Howard's response was "aw man, the truth is so awesome no one would have believed it" - Freddie says he nearly slapped him!
The movies can also spark interest into history. An example in my life, is Patton, I found him an interesting man in an interesting time. George C. Scott did a great job.
You didn't mention '20 Days In Mariupol' winning for best documentary feature film. Took me 2 nights to watch, so devastating and heartbreaking. I know it's a documentary, but it's history in real-time and, I believe, should be mandatory viewing for many people. Otherwise, very enjoyable video.
I was largely ignorant of Stauss' story before seeing Oppenheimer. RDJ nailed the role. He captured the essence of a top-tier, brilliant, and ambitious DC bureaucrat with narrow ethical underpinnings. I worked on and around The Hill and the Executive branch for 6 years and immediately recognized the character type. Regarding soundtracks, give me period music (if possible) every time. For example, I found the series SAS: Rogue Heroes nearly unwatchable due to the soundtrack. Sterling, Lewes, and Mayne were likely turning in their graves.
@@ReelHistory Nor did Scorsese's other film The Irishman! I feel bad for Scorsese being shut out the last two ceremonies! And feel for Lily. The Academy has been very scant in nominating Native Americans with Academy Award nominations! I think the last time a Native American was nominated was Graham Greene for Dances with Wolves!
I've been a huge Godzilla fan for about as long as I've been alive. That giant fire-breathing kaiju has fueled my interest in both the atomic bomb, and Pacific Theater of WW2. Glad that movie won the Oscar for "Best Visual Effects."
26:27 - it so happens that last night I started on a DVD I've had for a while, but only just got around to finally watching - Season 5 of Billions with Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis, two of my favourite actors. That show was definitley at its best in the first season (at least I've seen so far), but I'm still enjoying both their performances very much.
@@ReelHistory - one of the funniest things I've ever seen was the "pretend we're having an argument" scene with Dollar Bill Stern in Season 1 and always wondered if it was inspired by the episode on Trump's Celebrity Apprentice in 2010 where boys team captain Piers Morgan persuaded Sopranos actor Vinnie Pastore to have a fake argument with him so Vinnie could be fired and get the girls team to take him in as a double agent and report back on their project. This was after they had already caught the girls eavesdropping on the boys team, so Morgan was motivated by revenge. He told Ivanka Trump he suspected her father deliberately put the teams' project offices next door to each other precisely for that purpose and she deadpans "surely not..." The plan was working with Vinnie making copious notes during the girl's project meeting and then during a break he screws up his notes into a ball and drops the paper in the corridor outside as a 'dead drop', but then actor and born again Christian church minister Stephen Baldwin refuses to pick it up because the pathetic worm believed it was unethical... I nearly died laughing my arse off! ... they don't make shows like these any more!!!
I find the costume design in Napoleon gets ruined by the colour palette where it's all dark blue and grey, and yeah sure it's a dark but there's better ways to do that than darkening the screen. I'm recently watching the original War & Peace and the colours are vibrant and still captures the dark subjects.
Reel History MIGHT consider a 'deep-dive' into ACCURATE representations of Native Americans on screen? ('Jeremiah Johnson', 'Eagles Wing', 'Soldier Blue', 'Dances With Wolves' and others...) I'm sure viewers would love Jared's take on such movies... xx SF
I think that in the 1940s/50s and before, 'THE INDIANS' were just 'THE BAD GUYS'!!!! (By the 1960s and beyond (some) filmakers attempted to portray a more realistic presentation of North American Native cultures...) It's a HUGE SUBJECT but, (as we say here in The Republic Of Ireland) 'No better man for the job!!!!' (I might also cite 'Little Big Man', 'Black Robe' and even 'Last Of The Mohicans') xx SF @@ReelHistory
It is permissible in historical fiction to take liberties with the truth in order to tell a better story. A screenwriter's best hope when it comes to these types of stories is to tell them in such a compelling way that people will want to go off on their own and read about how things actually happened. We use our fictions to point people in the direction of the truth. Like Orson Welles said in F for Fake, “What we professional liars hope to serve is truth. I'm afraid the pompous word for that is art. Picasso himself said it. Art, he said, is a lie, a lie that makes us realize the truth. Reality? It's the toothbrush waiting at home for you in its glass, a bus ticket, a paycheck, and the grave."
Napoleon was a massive disappointment. Such a shame; it could've been an absolute epic. Although I'm not sure how well it could've done if they tried to condense Napoleon's life/career in 2-3 hours. But maybe it could work? I hope Ridley is back to form with Gladiator 2 but I honestly am not holding my breath. Kinda seems like he's gone downhill, and I'm a big fan of his.
