Reel History: The World According to the Movies

by Alex von Tunzelmann

From ancient Egypt to the Tudors to the Nazis, the film industry has often defined how we think of the past. But how much of what you see on the screen is true? And does it really matter if filmmakers just make it all up?

Picking her way through Hollywood's version of events, acclaimed historian Alex von Tunzelmann sorts the fact from the fiction. Along the way, we meet all our favourite historical characters, on screen and in real life: from Cleopatra to Elizabeth I, from Spartacus to Abraham Lincoln, and from Attila the Hun to Nelson Mandela.

Based on the long-running column in the Guardian, Reel History takes a comic look at the history of the world as told through the movies - the good, the bad, and the very, very ugly.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Film, Media Tie In, Humor, Cultural, World History

344 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2015

About the author

Alex von Tunzelmann is a British historian, screenwriter and author. Tunzelmann has worked primarily as a researcher.

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite parts of this book are at the beginning. von Tunzelmann introduces her topic of movies + history well. Is this a discussion of serious history in films—no. Some of the movies discussed can’t really be seen as history projects at all. Was One Million Years B.C. a history movie? Did your high school class take it in on an academic field trip? Only if your instructors wanted to be sure you knew the history of fur bikinis.

The author organizes by era in history, not when the film was made. That means One Million Years B.C. comes early in the book. She points out that dinosaurs and humans didn’t live at the same time and that no dinosaur ever looked like an enlarged pet iguana. Historic authenticity takes a hit on this one. All the films get 2 grades, one for entertainment value and one for value as history. I sometimes found more entertainment in the ridiculous movies than the author does but am usually willing to accept her grades for poor history. She has done good research.

These pieces were written for The Guardian and are very Anglo-centric. The attitude tends to be “we” understand history and are so much more morally correct than they. Not always so sure on that one.

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book for a quick re-read to take a break from my current book on WWII. I read this several years ago and enjoyed it.

It is such fun reading about the misinformation that is sometimes present in film......such as the appearance of a telescope before they were even invented or someone being killed by a tiger in Africa where there are no tigers. This book takes it a little further and looks at actual historic events that are not presented correctly such as Anne Boleyn losing her head over religion; Elizabeth I and Lord Dudley involved in a passionate and physical affair; the American Army alone liberating Burma in WWII; and the female love interest of Alan Turing, the master cryptographer of Bletchley Park who was in actuality a homosexual.

The book is divided into movies set in certain time periods as opposed to their year of production, so it is a mix of the old and the new. Since these are movies, not documentaries, it is to be hoped that viewers don't base their knowledge of history on some of the gaffs that appear, even in top notch films like Lawrence of Arabia.

This is a quick read and will give the reader quite a few chuckles as the author is a clever and entertaining writer. What she is telling us is "don't believe everything you see at the movies"!!

[Anthony Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historian Alex Von Tunzelmann takes a wry and often hilarious look at cinema’s difficult relationship to the historical record. Each chapter deals with a particular period of history and grades the most notable films on entertainment value and historical accuracy. I found myself agreeing with most of her conclusions, though tend to think she’s over generous to Michael Bay’s execrable ‘Pearl Harbor’ and a bit harsh on Zack Snyder’s fun but bonkers ‘300’. Weirdly it seems movies pay even less respect to the historical record the more modern the subject matter. It won’t surprise many to discover that Mel Gibson emerges as the chief offender in the long list of filmmakers who have mangled the historical record in service to art or (more likely) box office - everything from ‘Braveheart’ to ‘Apocalypto’ gets either a fail or a D- for accuracy and rightly so. All in all a lot of fun for cinephiles and history buffs alike, but probably not Mel Gibson.

[David Neto · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't know when I picked this one up that it was a collection of columns the author had been writing for the Guardian, but I kept on reading nonetheless because of it's humoristic tone and, well, because it joins by the hip two of my favorite areas of interest, History and Film. Great timeline span of the movies chosen for historical review here, reaching from prehistoric hominids to more current hominids like Julian Assange. I found myself agreeing with the author in terms of what movies she found to be entertaining, but soon realized that writing and filming a completely accurate historical movie may drain it of that same juice that makes a movie so entertaining in the end. There a middle ground in between, I'm sure, but if one is to chose films strictly because of its historical veracity, maybe it's only documentaries until one's head explodes.

[Saba Imtiaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chuckled my way through this incredibly entertaining (and educational!) book on the depiction of historical events in film, which covers the best and worst of filmmaking genres and eras - highly recommend it!

[فهد الفهد · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reel History: The World According to the Movies

أحببت فكرة الكتاب، اكتشاف الأخطاء التاريخية في الأفلام ومحاولة تقييمها من ناحية دقتها التاريخية، كتاب ممتع ومرتب حسب التسلسل التاريخي، ويتضمن مجموعة جيدة من الأفلام التي شاهدتها.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am reviewing this book six years after I read it so my response is impressionistic, when I finished I made a note that it was 'not as good as I thought it was going to be' and that says everything about this scissors paste job from articles von Tunzelmann wrote for a UK newspaper. This is not in anyway an examination of how history has been distorted by cinema and the fact that as much, if not more space, is given over to the ridiculous 'One Million Years BC' instead of looking at how the distortions of films like 'Birth of a Nation' helped revive the Klu Klux Klan or 'Lives of a Bengal Lancer' informed Hitler's limited knowledge of empire building.

It really isn't that funny - I don't even think she mentions Raquel Welch's fur bikini in 'One Million Years BC'.

[Pinko Palest · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable and witty but excludes almost all Russian and all Italian film. No Eisenstein? No Rosselini? While including tons of american films no one cares about? Also, since when did the Europeans bring syphilis to the new world and not the other way round?

[Rick Burin · Rating 5 out of 5]

All* of Alex von Tunzelmann’s wonderful, long-running Guardian column – which scrutinised movies for their historical accuracy – arranged in order of when the film is set (an inspired decision) complete with a new intro and pithy linking sections. The focus is typically on mainstream American and British films from the 1960s to now, with the odd Indian movie or studio-era flick thrown in.

This book is just a joy, the author wearing her learning (and research) lightly as she travels from 10 Million Years BC to the Wikileaks scandal, via Pocahontas, Tolstoy and the Titanic, the entries sharp, concise and witty – even laugh-out-loud funny. Special mention for Laurence Olivier in Khartoum looking “like he has escaped from a racist panto”, and a comprehensive overview of the lot of Native Americans from 1492 to the present day that concludes, “... [they] suffer significantly higher rates of poverty, alcoholism and suicide than the American average. On the bright side, they can paint with all the colours of the wind.”

I used to read the column regularly, and I’d dipped into the book since I picked it up, but sitting down and reading it cover to cover – immersing yourself in the film history, the real history and the authorial voice – reminded me of the fun I had devouring Dorothy Parker’s non-fic last year. Lots of spoilers throughout, inevitably, so be careful.

*up to the time of publication. It carried on for another year.

[Idyll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the 100 or so movies that this book reviews, I have only watched about 25 or 30, many of which I watched so long ago that I need a refresher. This book makes me want to hurry back to it as and when I watch the movies it mentions. It is far from scholarly, but serves as a good point of departure to a proper history book or source material related to a movie. For instance, I am now curious to read the Ballad of Mulan, a poem first recorded in the 6th century that the Disney movie Mulan is based on.

What the Reel History book did for me was to open my mind to the fact that even movies that I knew were inaccurate or propagandist somehow became established as fact in my subconscious over time. This book will serve to remind me to sunder fact from fiction, and more importantly to seek fact immediately after a fictional account, so that the right thing takes root in my mind and guides my sentiments in the future.

[Googoogjoob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather disappointingly, basically just a compilation of newspaper columns, each of them a brief (2-3 page), snarky review of a historically-based film, ticking off major things it gets wrong; each film is concisely graded on the A-F scale for how entertaining it is, and how historically faithful. This makes for good light reading, but the disappointing part is the lack of any consistent threads through the book, and the lack of any sustained attempt at examining trends in the historiography represented by these films.

[Vikas Datta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic and frequently witty analysis... shows how history is often manipulated for entertainment with a wide selection of films including from Bollywood. Perhaps Ms.Tunzelman should be asked to focus on TV serials too..

[Doris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining. The author rates dozens (hundreds?) of historical and quasi-historical films on both their entertainment value and their historical accuracy. I now have a bunch more movies on my "to be seen" list.

[James Lunny · Rating 3 out of 5]

After an interesting and insightful introduction, the rest of the book never quite gets to the same heights again. The analysis of the films is too brief, and Alex is more interested in making witty remarks which is space could have been put to better things. Hoped for more

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read about this somewhere and thought it would be handy for picking films, plus it was supposed to be amusing.
I found it not very amusing, not readable as a book (which in a sense is fair enough as it's just a collection of weekly columns), and I don't feel it's much use as a guide to what films I might find worth watching: I don't get any sense of what she enjoys and how it intersects with what I do, even from reading her comments on films I've seen.
A big USP is her assessment of the films' supposed historical accuracy, which is graded from A to E to Fail, as is their entertainment value. But the page or two or three describing each film I found bitty and unengaging.
Oh well. Evidently some people like it. I'll leave it near my TV and give it try sometime, but so far I can't recommend it.
Oh, almost forgot: I don't know if it's just my copy, but there's printing errors on a massive scale here. Several times per page there's a line where words are missing half their letters or replaced by meaningless printer symbols. That obviously doesn't help.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

hoarder challenge-#29 Non-Fiction

I was impressed with the plethora of information in the book. I thought it was a well written & researched. Subject matter was interesting.
I learned some new trivia about history.
Some humor (especially when she's dissing a film)

i expect that a bio pic is fairly factual especially when i don't know about that person. apparently, that's not the case with a lot of the films. who knew?
Of course, I know a movie is for entertainment purposes not a factual, historical depiction but I was surprised by what was & wasn’t correct in some of the movies.


I would recommend this to those who likes history or film buffs.

[Verity W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've really really enjoyed this book - which I've been reading out loud at bedtime as a couples thing. A film or two a night has been absolutely perfect.

This is a great analysis of films about history and how accurate they are compared to the reality. Alex von Tunzelmann does a great job of making this really, really entertaining. This would be a perfect bathroom book, if you have such things in your house...

[hana · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I have finally read the book that made me create a goodreads account. That being said, and the fact that Tunzelmann is my favorite historian, how could I have not loved it? Another great introduction, and witty remarks that are still enjoyable if one haven't seen the film.
Thanks to this book my to-be-watched list has grown exponentially but have also prevented me from watching films that I wouldn't even rate one star.

[Dipa Raditya · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the technicolor world and silver screen, history can be as poignant as it can be. If you still believe that all Roman Empire is mostly white people, William Wallace dressed on the loincloth while crying freedom, then this book will bite you off. It has a great sense of humor as well. Just imagine yourself buying brand new spectacles that can make you able to differentiate fact from fiction.

[Andrew Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Treads the fine line between legitimate historical nitpicking and understanding that films are made to entertain. Very well researched, accessibly written and often insightful and funny. But check your edition before purchase - mine was full of printing omissions which meant I frequently had to fill in the gaps myself.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a lover of books, history and films, I enjoyed this! Reminded me that sometimes it pays to take things with a grain of salt when it comes to movies, but I guess some people would say the same thing about history and books.

[Grant Shade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent details and very funny as well.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun look at history through the lens of Hollywood.

[Peveril · Rating 3 out of 5]

More fun in the early chapters dissecting what we think of as historical films, too much of a short book given to comments on near-contemporary biopics etc for me. Ok to pass the time occasionally.

[Candy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the insights.

[Antonio Matta · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is fun to read and you will learn a lot about real history too!

[Saahil · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is a cute book with cute fonts and films about the world most of which really only speak about Europe and USA.

[Kevin Farley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful, pithy, eclectic,.. and fun !

[elizabeth townsend · Rating 4 out of 5]

skipped around, but honestly a very cool concept for a a book! i liked it a lot!

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always witty and sometimes downright hysterically funny, Alex von Tunzelmann's Reel History is a thoroughly enjoyable read from the first page of the introduction all the way through. Based on a series of her columns in the British newspaper The Guardian, Ms. Tunzelmann takes a look at the movies from a historian's viewpoint. The book is divided into eight sections and, rather than present them in order of production, they are separated into historical sections. This allows for presenting movies over different time spans but the same category. Beginning with One Million Years B.C., the book presents reviews of movies from Hollywood, Bollywood, and foreign films from various countries. It ends with The Fifth Estate from 2013 and American Sniper from 2014.

The reviews cover mainly historical inaccuracies but Ms. Tunzelmann can't help but give her personal viewpoint as well. Mostly this is good natured but there are occasional instances where she gets a little heated about the U.S.A. and goes after some political point about American warmongering and attitude. She also devotes a lot of criticism for movies having white actors portray native people. It's a valid argument in terms of accuracy but she tends to belabor the point. Otherwise, this was a lot of fun to read. You'll learn a lot about historical lapses in all kinds of movies and wind up with a long list of films to watch again for errors or see for the first time. Only a very few of these films get an "A" but she reviews the good as well as the bad. If you don't feel satisfied after reading Reel History: The World According to the Movies, you can also google her columns from The Guardian and laugh some more.