History

Аннотация

Of all of the regular features in Military History Monthly, few are more enjoyable than ‘War on Film’, which ot en demonstrates that the story behind the movie is as intriguing as the story being portrayed. The realism and accuracy of movies has long been a matter of considerable debate among historians, whether it be one type of tank masquerading as another in countless war i lms from the 1970s and 1980s, or a storyline whose grasp of reality is l eeting at best. Yet even historically inaccurate i lms can serve a purpose: the 1971 i lm Cromwell, for example, was the inspiration for at least one person’s lifelong interest in the ‘English’ Civil Wars (mine), and without Braveheart (1995) and the popular interest in William Wallace it generated, it is unlikely that publishers would have been interested in the number of serious studies of medieval Scotland that followed. Finally, while Saving Private Ryan may be more realistic than The Longest Day, who knew more about the actual i ghting in Normandy, Tom Hanks or Richard Todd (who was part of the 6th Airborne Division on 6 June 1944)? David Flintham, Chadwell Heath