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HISTORY BUFFVILLE — January and February are filled with holidays to help us remember events from the past that have shaped our present day.
As a result, we decided to pick historically-based movies as the theme for this month's KSL Movie Club. There are also movies like “Hidden Figures,” “The Founder” and "Patriots Day” coming out soon, all of which are based on true stories.
There is just something about seeing history come to life on the silver screen that often gives you a deeper appreciation and understanding for the event that occurred.
Here are our picks for four historically-based movies that we love that are centered around true events. We’ll be chatting about each pick in more detail on the KSL Popcorn Report podcast throughout the month of January. We'd love for you to re-watch the movies (or watch them for the first time) and give us your feedback on each movie either in the comments or by tweeting us, @KSLPopReport.
Faith’s pick: “Bridge of Spies”
The reason I picked "Bridge of Spies" for this list is because it's rare to find a historically-based movie where you haven't heard of the story at all (yes, this is me admitting that I probably fell asleep during history class when we studied the Cold War), and yet it instantly becomes one of your favorites. I'm sure anyone who lived during the time of this incident remembers it, as it was an extremely tense moment in history and a high-profile court case, but I was not familiar with the storyline before I saw this movie.
While this movie is definitely more of a slow burn, Steven Spielberg made it totally captivating and the storyline progression will keep you entranced throughout the entire almost 2 1/2-hour runtime. Tom Hanks was fantastic as always and Mark Rylance won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the Soviet spy. The movie was nominated for an additional five Oscars.
If you haven't seen it already, this film is definitely worth your time and will teach you a thing or two about the importance of the Constitution and our justice system.
Dave’s pick: "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
We all know the name of the outlaw Jesse James, but few know of the man who shot him. His name was Robert Ford and apparently he was a coward. The film "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" is the re-telling of the story from the perspective of Ford played by Casey Affleck.
Affleck is an incredible actor and really shines in this role. This movie is an underappreciated work of art from the cold cinematography to stellar performances. The only thing "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" didn't have going for it was not enough words in the title.
This movie is rated R for some strong violence and brief sexual references.
John’s pick: "The King's Speech"
"The King's Speech" is one of those rare films that educates, entertains and inspires, while unraveling a true story that not enough of us knew about.
The performances are stellar, the writing is pinpoint and the direction is superb. It's close to a perfect film in many ways, mostly because it is a moving tale of overcoming adversity that will inspire anyone who watches it to become a better version of themselves.
This is truly a beautiful movie and something that should be experienced. The film received an R rating for language, but this is a truly rare occasion where the language is an integral part of the story and the context is not offensive.
Curt’s pick: “The Impossible”
There are so many good films to choose from in the historical genre. I originally was going to go with “Hotel Rwanda,” but thought I would go with a film that was not as popular.
“The Impossible” centers around a family that was on vacation in Thailand in 2004 when the giant tsunami hit. During the tsunami, the family gets separated and then have to try to find each other in the aftermath of the disaster.
The stellar cast includes Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor and Tom Holland. The directing is awesome and the way they pulled off the tsunami to make it so realistic is beyond me. That whole scene will have you on the edge of your seat. It just gave me a visual of how powerful that tsunami was and the devastation it did.
To me, the movie really displays the power of hope and the good of humanity when disaster strikes.
What are your favorite historically movies? Let us know in the comments.
Contributing: Dave Clyde, John Clyde and Faith Heaton Jolley
