Historical Inaccuracy in Braveheart

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The idea that film is a medium in which a director can comment on the ills of society has been around since the first motion picture was made. The problem with this fact is that directors and producers often change the historical facts and even the attitudes of the characters in order stimulate public interest through the striking of some common chord that the public feels vigorously about. The story of William Wallace in the movie Braveheart while historically fairly accurate in the depictions of the battles while leaving out many important facts. Randall Wallace added some plot twists to make the story more appealing to the audience. All the plot twists and inaccuracies that were added in the movie Braveheart have several basic areas which include adding or deleting characters and inaccuracy regarding the lives and actions of nonfictional figures. William Wallace, Edward I, the Prince and Princess of Wales as well as many other minor players in the Scottish resistance to English domination of Scotland have some aspect of their lives fictionalized in the film Braveheart. In addition to the making up of people’s lives there also happens to be military inaccuracies.
The first example of historical inaccuracy is that of the Imation of Edward I, he would torture and murder anyone that bothered him. Edward I was in fact a man to be feared although the movie Braveheart portrays him as an incredibly cruel man who wanted nothing more than get rid of his enemies. He was incredibly generous but only when he was in a good mood. Edward I was very ambitious and his biographer acknowledges the fact that he was a, tough ruler who was firm to uphold his rights. While Edward I was most likely a cruel ruler, he was not as vicious as he is portray...

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...ary engagements were not very accurate most of the time. The few parts that weren’t inaccurate were those in which Scottish forces drew the better equipped English into deception. Most of the Scottish achievements were small battles in which guerilla tactics were used. The ambiguous battles in which the Scottish forces fought the English were illustrated incorrectly. The best example of Hollywood people incorrectly showing what a battle for Scottish independence looked like in 1297 is the battle of Stirling Bridge is. Scotland, however, enjoyed youthful and energetic leadership as well as unity of purpose in the minds of said leaders. The English leadership on the other hand was made up of several highly trained leaders who had a great amount of knowledge of Scotland, but on the other hand the troops had no respect for their leaders this made them very ineffective

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