Best history movie questions of all time

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Brotherhood of the Wolf picture

Question: At the end of the movie, why was the Marquis being led to his execution?

Answer: The ending is set during the French Revolution. The Marquis is going to be executed because he is an aristocrat.

raywest

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The Duchess picture

Question: When the Duke says that he "cannot" ask Lady Bess to leave his home (after the Duchess discovers their affair), does he simply not want to or is there some reason that he feels he cannot?

Answer: He is ignoring the Duchess' request by saying that he cannot ask her to leave. He does not want her to go, nor does Lady Bess wish to leave.

raywest

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Valkyrie picture

Question: Did Stauffenberg's adjutant really step in front of him to take the bullet for him as was depicted in this film? And why did he, if he knew all of them were going to be shot anyway?

Answer: Per Wikipedia, yes, he did, as a sort of final act of loyalty and friendship, as well as a gesture of defiance to his executioners.

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First Man picture

Question: A lot of fuss was made over the omission of the lunar flag planting in this movie. However, when I saw the movie in the theater, I distinctly remember seeing the flag on the moon, just not the actual planting. However, that particular shot seems to be missing in the home video release. Does anyone know the reason for this?

Answer: The home release includes a clear shot of the lunar lander with the American flag next to it.

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Chosen answer: Most likely to conceal her naturally bright red hair. If that fact is known, it would make it easier for the enemy to identify and target her, either for surveillance, to be kidnapped, killed, etc.

raywest

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Geronimo picture

Question: When the jug was hit, how did the bullet not hit the horse behind it?

Answer: In reality, the bullet probably would have hit the horse, injuring it. Movies tend to gloss over details like that to serve and simplify the plot. Older movies particularly fudged reality, assuming audiences would not notice or care. It is also possible that the bullet was somehow deflected or broke up upon impact.

raywest

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The Doors picture

Question: Whats the name of the piece of music playing at the end where the camera is going through the graveyard and ends up at Jim's grave?

Answer: According to Wikipedia, the piece is "Adagio in G minor" by Remo Giazotto.

Cubs Fan

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Marie Antoinette picture

Question: Why wasn't it acceptable for Marie to breastfeed her daughter?

Answer: It was typical for royalty and the aristocracy to remain extremely "hands off" regarding child rearing. Nannies, wet nurses, and tutors tended to all their offsprings' needs, and parents usually spent relatively little time with their children. It would be considered extremely odd for a queen to engage in something so personal and common as breastfeeding her child.

raywest

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12 Years a Slave picture

Question: In one of the very first scenes set in one of the plantation slave huts, Solomon is struggling to sleep. He is sleeping on the floor squashed amongst many other slaves. During this scene, what looks like a white youngish woman encourages him to touch her. A little earlier we see her sitting on the porch of the slave hut eating alone whilst the slaves are eating. As far as I could tell, she doesn't appear again in the film. Who is she? Does she play a greater role in the book? Was there more of a story here that ended up on the cutting room floor?

Answer: It was a fellow slave. As to whether or not she has a greater role in the book I can't say, but I interpreted the scene to demonstrate how far removed from his former life Solomon had fallen; rutting on the floor in front of everyone else like an animal.

Phixius

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Copying Beethoven picture

Question: Why was Beethoven depicted as an obnoxious, rude and unlikable man in this movie? I read that in the real life he wasn't such a bad person.

Answer: It's a fictional version of Beethoven. Artistic license is used to enhance the drama by embellishing Beethoven's personality, likely to show his anger, frustration, and despondency over becoming deaf. Like many similar biographical movies, it is not meant to be an accurate portrait.

raywest

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Downfall picture

Question: Why is this movie parodied online?

Answer: The "Hitler in the bunker" scene is iconic for historical reasons, being something most people understand the significance of. Being subtitled in the film means it's very easy for people to keep the original excellent acting while simply replacing the words onscreen to change the context entirely. It also ends up being a bit self-reinforcing, once people get wind of it as a "template", they then start getting their own ideas. And there's the arguable "Streisand Effect", when the film company issued a wave of copyright takedowns in 2010, a lot of people "retaliated" by making and uploading even more.

Answer: Presumably, due to its popularity.

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Midway picture

Question: There are scenes in the movie where Dick Best's gunner, Murray, is facing forward in their aircraft, particularly when the aircraft is on the Enterprise. The only time he appears to be facing the rear of the aircraft is when they are under attack. How is that possible?

caharmey

Answer: Good eye! The gunner's seat in the Douglas SBD was on a swivel. The military rating was actually radioman/gunner, and when facing forward, he had access to a suite of radio equipment and a set of basic flight controls! He could actually fly the SBD from the rear seat, although this is never reported to have been necessary in combat.

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Chosen answer: Daniel Day-Lewis based his voice for and characterization of Daniel Plainview in part on old recordings of the director, writer, and actor John Huston. An article by Christopher Goodwin in the Sunday Times (of London) revealed Paul Thomas Anderson sent Day-Lewis documentaries about Huston while Day-Lewis was preparing to play the role.

Cnyvek

Just watched it. Sounds exactly like Huston in Chinatown.

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The Woman King picture

Question: When the other tribe comes in to get their tribute, the camera is on the horses' riders and pans to the right and around and the top of a vehicle of some sort is visible driving behind the standing soldiers. I have rerun this scene several time and looks like the top of a gas or electric vehicle, not a wagon. Does anyone else see this?

Answer: I saw it too! It's at 38:40. Definitely an overlooked editing error.

Answer: It took me all this time (January 22, 2024) to catch it, but that's what brought me here! Great catch! I told my grandson watching with me that it looked like a motorized wheelchair!

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Seven Years in Tibet picture

Question: Is David Thewlis still banned from entering the China for his role in this movie? I know that Brad Pitt's ban was lifted in 2014, but was Thewlis' ban lifted too?

Answer: Brad Pitt's ban was lifted in 2014, but David Thewlis is still banned from entering China to this day.

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Munich picture

Question: Is this the last movie to be shot, edited and finished on film?

Answer: It's a bit difficult to find out this sort of information as not all films released disclose what they use to edit on. Michael Kahn is perhaps the most famous editor around to edit on flatbed machines and switched to digital editing for time constraints. Many film schools still teach and use flatbed editing so you may still see short films edited on film, just not feature length movies for a variety of reasons.

Lummie

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