Episode 13: Amadeus

In Episode 13 we look at 1984’s Amadeus, detailing the fractious relationship between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, a rival composer. How much is true? Tune in to find out

Episode 13: Amadeus

Author: History by Hollywood

A podcast series examining the real events and people behind fact-based movies View all posts by History by Hollywood

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Episode 31: Supplementary 3: TV Special.

This week we examine five TV series, all of which are based on or around factual events and people. Band of Brothers; Rome; Black Sails; Peaky Blinders; Turn are our subjects and we give an overview of the subject matter whilst trying to avoid spoilers and then assess the historical accuracy of each series.

Episode 30: In the Heart of the Sea. This week we set sail with Ron Howard’s 2015 whaling epic, following the fortunes of the whaling ship Essex as she sails from Nantucket to the Pacific in the early 1800’s, a voyage that inspired Herman Melville to write Moby Dick. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Brendan Gleason, Tom Holland, Benjamin Walker and Cillian Murphy, the movie throws up some fascinating insights into a whaler or sailor’s life two hundred years ago but how much did they get right? Have a listen to find out and if you do, we hope you enjoy the ride.

Episode 29: Lincoln. This week we take on the Steven Spielberg 2012 movie about the final four months of Abraham Lincoln’s Presidency. Starring the always-impressive Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role, wonderfully supported by Sally Field and Tommy Lee-Jones, how close did the movie come to the real events surrounding the passing of the 13^th Amendment enshrining the abolition of slavery into the American Constitution? Tune in to find out…

Episode 28: Evita. This week we look at the 1996 movie of the Lloyd-Webber/Rice musical following the short, dramatic life of Eva Peron, aka Evita starring Madonna in the title role ably supported by Antonio Banderas who, it transpires, can really sing. Turbulent times in Argentina are depicted to song but did the writers get anywhere near the truth of this enigmatic woman? Martin has another rant but as ever, Andrew proves to be the calming influence of the team. We hope you enjoy the show.

Episode 27 Zodiac: this week we look at the 2007 true crime drama directed by David Fincher and starring Jake Gylenhaal and Robert Downey Jr examining the still-unsolved series of murders in California in the late 60s and early 70s. It’s a long film so this is a long show and we hope you enjoy our examination of how close to the known facts the movie managed to arrive.

Episode 26: This week we examine 1993’s Tombstone, starring Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp and Val Kylmer as Doc Holliday and including the gunfight at the OK Corral. It’s very watchable but does the movie follow facts or myth? Tune in to find out

Episode 25: The Founder (1hr 09mins) This week we look at the 2016 biopic of Ray Kroc, the man credited with the meteoric expansion of the McDonald’s fast food chain. Starring Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc, Nick Offermand and John Carrol Lynch as Dick and Mack McDonald it is a wonderfully entertaining movie but is it accurate? Tune in to find out.
(The time in brackets is the podcast episode’s duration, not the movie’s. We’ve just noticed that episode duration doesn’t always appear in listings. We will try to resolve this)

Episode 24: Dunkirk.

This week we look at Christopher Nolan’s epic Dunkirk, released in 2017 and starring Kenneth Brannagh, Mark Rylance, Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy. Nolan, famously against the use of CGI put a lot of effort and budget into using real vessels, aircraft and actors but did he manage to convey the scale and chaos of the 1940 Dunkirk evacuation? It’s fair to say that our conclusions are a mixed bag and we hope that you find them entertaining, possibly informative and thought-provoking.

Notice: Unfortunately we have to postpone Episode 24: Dunkirk until Sunday 4th Feb due to Martin remaining in the UK due to a family emergency and an unknown resolution date. We do apologise but know that you will all understand that when beloved family members are in need, podcasts have to come second. Thank you

Episode 23: The World’s Fastest Indian. This week we examine 2005’s movie starring Anthony Hopkins in the lead role and covering eccentric Kiwi Burt Munro’s speed record attempts at Bonneville Salt Flats on a 1920s Indian Scout motorcycle. Set in the 1960s with Burt in his 60s, join us to discover the truth about this pretty remarkable character. We also apologise for the poor sound quality; as you will discover in the introduction it was due to pressing reasons that we had to improvise this week’s episode and we will return to the usual standard for the next show. We hope you bear with us and find this show as rewarding as the movie.

Episode 22b: Spartacus Part Two. We cover the remainder of the 1960 epic movie but most of this episode is spent examining the incredible achievements of Spartacus and his slave rebellion, plus his legacy in the modern world, from Marxist heroes to Life of Brian to famous football teams

Episode 22a: Spartacus (Part One). An epic film starring Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier, covering only a part of the full dramatic history of Spartacus’ slave rebellion in ancient Rome. We examine the movie and fill in the gaps. Part Two coming next week

Episode 21: Supplementary 2 The Ones That Got Away. This week Martin flies solo as we examine 11 (12 really!) movies that whilst inspired by true events, didn’t stick close enough to historical facts and characters to meet our criteria for a dedicated episode. Ranging from Gone with the Wind to Apocalypse Now to Cool Runnings via Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Mission, we blast through them fairly quickly before suggesting historical movies that should be made.

Episode 20: Seabiscuit. This week we look at 2003’s movie telling the 1930s Great Depression story of a horse too small, a jockey too big, a trainer too old and an owner too dumb to know. It’s a classic Hollywood underdog tale but how much did the movie get right? You may be surprised….

Episode 19: Glory
This week’s movie is 1989’s Glory, telling the story of the military achievements of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, one of the first black units to fight in the US Civil War. Starring Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Mathew Broderick, it tells a story worth knowing.

Episode 18: Apollo 13. In this week’s episode, we are amazed that Ron Howard’s movie of the dramatic Apollo 13 mission is 22 years old until we realise how young Tom Hanks looks in the film where he plays Jim Lovell, mission commander. Also starring Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton and Ed Harris, we have a close look at just how accurate the movie is to the real life events.

Episode 17: Selma. This week we take a detailed look at the 2014 movie covering the events surrounding the Civil Rights and Voting Rights marches in and around Selma, Alabama in the Spring of 1965 led by, amongst many others, Martin Luther King Jr. The movie reflects and portrays the struggle for equality that was endured by the black communities of the Southern states, 100 years after those states lost the US Civil War, fought largely over a disagreement about the abolishment of slavery.

Episode 16: Deepwater Horizon. This week’s show sees us in the Gulf of Mexico, examining the 2015 movie covering the explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon exploration platform, the loss of 11 lives aboard and the subsequent oil spill. Starring Mark Wahlberg and Kurt Russell, it’s a gripping tale of corporate myopia and individual heroism.

Episode 15: Good Morning Vietnam. We turn the microscope on the 1987 movie starring Robin Williams as Adrian Cronauer, a USAF DJ in Vietnam in 1965. As well as our historical perspective we have a number of clips featuring the real Adrian Cronauer. We hope you enjoy it

Episode 14: Cleopatra looks at the 1963 epic, starring Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra who caused a stir at its release due to her affair with co-star Richard Burton (Mark Anthony) but how does it do in historical accuracy? It’s a long show but then it’s a long film. We hope you enjoy it….

Episode 13: Amadeus. This week we examine the 1984 film based on Peter Shaffer’s play of the same title, focusing on the fractious relationship between the Austrian composer Mozart and his senior colleague and rival, the Italian composer Antonio Salieri. How much of this great movie is true? Have a listen and find out…

We are sorry to announce that due to vacations, inadequate internet access and unfortunate timing there will be no episode this Sunday 16th July.

We will return with renewed exuberance on Sunday 30th July with Episode 13: Amadeus

Very best regards to you all, Martin and Andrew

Episode 12 (Supplementary 1): This week, in our first supplementary episode, Martin examines the role of music in movies; how it informs, guides and manipulates our sympathies and emotions

Episode 11: This week we examine Disney’s 1995 animated musical Pocahontas. We are joined by Vincent Schilling, native American journalist, historical researcher and arts & entertainment editor of the Indian Country Today Media Network for a fascinating perspective on the little-known truth behind the story of Pocahontas and the early English settlement in Virginia

Episode 10: Hidden Figures. This week’s subject is the 2016 movie depicting the work of three African-American women working at NASA during the 1960s and intimately involved with the launch of John Glenn in Friendship 7 in an attempt to be the first human to orbit the earth. It’s a wonderful film but how close did director Theodore Melfi manage to keep to the actual facts? That’s our mission in this hour-long episode; we hope you enjoy the journey

Episode 9: Waterloo. In this week’s show Martin is joined by the Podfather, Cameron Reilly as they examine the 1970 epic Waterloo and argue about who actually won. It’s long but we hope it’s fun

Episode 8: Zulu. This week we are concentrating on 1964’s epic movie Zulu, portraying the siege of Rorke’s Drift mission station during the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879. Starring Stanley Baker and Michael Caine

Episode 7: Bridge of Spies. In this episode we examine 2015’s Cold War drama Bridge of Spies, starring Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance and directed by Steven Spielberg. It’s another episode stretching over an hour but we hope you’ll enjoy it.

Episode 6: Mutiny on the Bounty. This week we look at all three major movies that portray the events aboard HMS Bounty in 1789 and the conflict between Capt William Bligh and Fletcher Christian. It’s a loooong episode but we hope you’ll enjoy it

Episode 5: The Dambusters. This week’s show looks at the 1955 movie covering the attack on Germany’s great dams by 617 Squadron RAF. Starring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave with guest host, History of WW2 Podcast host Ray Harris

Episode 4: 300. This week we examine Zack Snyder’s movie 300, starring Gerard Butler as King Leonidas defying the Persian Empire at the head of a small Spartan and Greek force at Thermopylae

Episode 3: The Sound of Music.
In our third full episode (this time hitting our target of 30-40 minutes) we examine the much-loved, much-watched 1965 Musical starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer and featuring the music of Rogers and Hammerstein

Episode 2: Rush This week we examine Ron Howard’s movie Rush, dramatising the Formula One 1976 season and the rivalry between Austria’s Niki Lauda and Britain’s James Hunt

Episode 1: Gladiator
This week, in our first full episode we examine Ridley Scott’s 2000 epic Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix

Episode 0: Introduction and information about the planned series with a word about your hosts

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Author: History by Hollywood

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