As humans, we're inherently drawn to the past of our species. From ancient times to medieval day, all the way through World War I and II, and beyond, the events that shaped where humankind stands today are often wrapped in mystery and entice audiences to flock to movie theatres in the pursuit of stories that will shed light upon these exciting and pivotal events.

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Many times, directors and producers go above and beyond in order to ensure said events are depicted with as much accuracy as possible. Others though, tend to widely disregard historical accuracy. Whether it is in the name of making the movies more appealing to mainstream audiences or the wish to rewrite history to some degree, let's take a look at ten films that decided to interpret history in their own way.

Shakespeare In Love (1998)

shakespeare in love

Shakespeare In Love is still a beautiful love letter to the English playwright and offers spectacular performances from Gwyneth Paltrow and Dame Judi Dench. Fans of the timeless tale of "Romeo And Juliet" have plenty of reasons to love this movie as it is.

However,  it has to be said that John Madden's film paid very little attention to the details surrounding the era he's depicting. From the manner characters talked to the everyday life objects they used, all the way to Shakespeare's life itself, there are plenty of points that don't add up with 16th century England.

Pearl Harbor (2001)

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor represents one of the most pivotal moments in American history, so it's no wonder that movie studios would want to immortalize it on screen and offer audiences a taste of what the whole event looked like.

Unfortunately, 2001's Pearl Harbor didn't quite manage to do so. Forced drama and over the top battle sequences take the front stage on this adaptation, failing miserably in the goal of offering an accurate and commendable movie to viewers who actually wanted to learn more about such an important event.

10,000 BC (2008)

Evolet leading a group in 10,000 B.C.

Granted, the further back in history you go, the blurrier the details surrounding accuracy get. This alone should give 10,000 BC some sort of a pass. And it would if it weren't for the blatant mistakes the movie decided to depict.

Clearly, it wasn't looking to be the sort of film audiences watch to be educated on a certain topic, and nothing points to that more clearly than the depiction of mammoths being part of the construction of the Giza pyramids. It's an entertaining movie and offers plenty of awesome CGI, but as far as historical accuracy goes, it's almost sacrilegious.

Titanic (1997)

James Cameron's epic 1997 movie had everything going for it. Two incredible leading actors, a very generous budget, and essentially, all the resources a project could wish for in order to deeply research the themes and society it intends to depict.

Related: Titanic: 5 Historical Inaccuracies In The Movie (& 5 Things It Got Right)

And as good as the movie was, it largely focused on the love story between Jack and Rose, and dramatized the sinking of the ship in a very Hollywoodesque manner. 1958's A Night To Remember, although it lacked the resources of Titanic, managed to deliver a much more complex insight into the class divide and protocols that would be put into place.

Gladiator (2000)

Gladiator was so well received by critics and audiences alike it ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Picture, and remains, to this day, one of those classic movies everyone has watched at least once in their lives.

And while the performances are great, the accuracy of the events isn't exactly worthy of an A+. The portrayal of many of the characters that were supposed to be based on real-life people was widely different from reality. And allegedly, changes to the script even drove one of the historians consulting on the movie to leave.

Girl With A Pearl Earring (2003)

This 2003 movie starring Scarlett Johansson is an adaptation of a novel by the same name. Both the book and the movie attempt to give some sort of backstory to one of the most famous paintings in the world, without paying much thought into the life of the artist as it is recorded.

Girl With A Pearl Earring puts a peasant girl at the center of it all, claiming that artist Johannes Vermeer was infatuated with her, and thus created his masterpiece. Did this actually happen? Not really - most likely, the girl was Vermeer's eldest daughter.

300 (2006)

Dilios standing with Spartan soldiers in 300

300 was supposed to be a retelling of the real battle that took place in 480 BC and pit Spartans against the Persian army. As far as historical accuracy goes, that's pretty much the only thing the movie got right.

There were thousands of Spartans fighting against the enemy army, the Persian King wasn't some sort of a god/pirate hybrid, and the chances that Spartans had perfect abs are slim to none.

Pocahontas (1995)

Pocahontas and John Smith in Disney's Pocahontas

This Disney classic is beautiful, and no one can argue the mastery of the songs and the animation put into the project. However, the story of Pocahontas and John Smith is completely twisted in order to fit the romantic mold of the movie.

Related: 10 Things We Didn’t Know About Pocahontas (1995)

Pocahontas was but a child when she met Smith, and once she arrived in America, she changed her name, converted to another religion, and ended up marrying someone else entirely.

Marie Antoinette (2006)

A scene from Marie Antoinette.

Much like with Pocahontas, no one can point a finger towards Sofia Coppola in terms of how appealing Marie Antoinette was. A shower of pinks, yellows, and pastels are constantly present, the music is upbeat and fun, and the outfits and shoes are simply divine.

But the inaccuracies simply cannot be disregarded. The very things that made the movie so appealing, to begin with, didn't match the era she was portraying, and the characterization of the Queen of France herself was lackluster and unfaithful to reality.

Alexander (2004)

Talk about a movie so inaccurate that it resulted in actual lawsuits! Alexander was meant to be the ultimate portrayal of the incredible life of Alexander, The Great. And yet, it fell flat on its face, with more criticism than praise.

Even though the events depicted did take place, the movie simply takes too many liberties regarding times, places, and even people. And as much as several attempts were made to fix these errors, it's best to watch the film as nothing more than fiction.

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