59 Things Movies Taught Us That Turned Out To Be Totally False

Never let the facts get in the way of a good story. This applies more often than not when it comes to the world of moviemaking, with the exception of documentary films.

Throughout the years, our favorite Hollywood blockbusters have been feeding us lies - but it's all in the name of entertainment. When it comes to historical dramas, scriptwriters can get particularly creative.

Take the 2019 movie Mary Queen of Scots, for example, which had many historians hot under the collar. The film was marketed as a gripping biopic of two royal cousins, Mary and Elizabeth, and highlights tensions between England and Scotland during their reigns.

But you might be surprised to know that in real life, the cousins never actually met face to face...

"Some historians say that if the queens had met, Elizabeth might have felt differently about sanctioning Mary’s tragic ending," reports the BBC.

Critics have also pointed out the fact that in the movie, the Queen of Scotland (as expected) had a Scottish accent. "Mary grew up in France and therefore would almost certainly have had a French accent, unlike Mary in the film who sounds very Scottish indeed," reveals the BBC.

Another Hollywood hit that had us on the edge of our seats while "learning" about history was the multi Oscar-winning Titanic.

We were led to believe that many back then thought the ship was invincible. And at one point in the film, Rose DeWitt Bukater’s mother looks at the vessel and says, "So, this is the ship they say is unsinkable."

Historians have been calling bull for years, saying that movie-makers merely added that false fact as spice, so that the sinking would be all the more dramatic when it did eventually happen.

If you're old enough to remember The Sound of Music, you might know that it was based on a real-life family and a true story. But actually, the hills were alive with a few white lies...

"The main issue is the family’s escape," explains the BBC. "In the film, the von Trapp family wants to escape Austria after Captain von Trapp is conscripted into the navy, but refuses. If the von Trapp family had indeed run away in the direction of the Alps, and travelled through them, they would have ended up in Germany - the last place they wanted to be." (The film is set in Hitler's era)

According to the BBC, the von Trapp family actually escaped over the train tracks behind their villa before boarding a train to Italy. A day later, the Austrian borders were closed.

Sometimes, despite their best intentions, film-makers paint fiction as fact. In the case of Gladiator, history consultants were brought onboard to ensure accuracy in the film. But even then, not all the elements were on point.

In the movie, the Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, is loses his life at the hands of his son, Commodus. Experts say in reality, he passed away from natural causes. Commodus, meanwhile is taken down in the gladiator arena by Maximus. Incorrect, say some historians. His life really ended in the bath because of a professional wrestler called Narcissus.

Braveheart is another blockbuster that led us down the path of deception. In the film, we are taught that William Wallace, who led the Scottish rebellion against Edward I, was awarded the title of ‘Braveheart’.

Not true, apparently. That honor was apparently given to someone called Robert the Bruce, who later became the King of Scots.

There’s more though, notes the BBC. "William’s kilt wouldn’t have existed when he was alive. Braveheart is set in the 13th century, and kilts weren’t invented until the 16th century. Oops."

The media outlet explains that clansmen would have actually worn "yellow tunics called ‘leine croich’ in battle, dyed with either saffron if they were wealthy, or urine if they weren’t."