Edgar biopic all things considered host robert siegel offers some nonfiction scrutiny of clint eastwoods latest movie, j. Edgar hoover biopic with a script by milk writer dustin lance black. Under the administrations of coolidge, hoover, roosevelt, truman, eisenhower, kennedy, johnson and nixon, he was, many believed, the second most powerful man in government. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his. If the truth was known it would undoubtedly be a fascinating story but this isnt the truth or even a reasonable supposition. Posted on july 21, 2015 august 15, 2015 by the movie momma posted in based on true storydocumentary, drama, r tagged fbi, j edgar, j edgar hoover, john edgar hoover, john hoover, judi dench, leonardo dicaprio, naomi watts. Edgar is a 2011 biopic of the powerful and notorious j. Edgar suggests hoover and aide clyde tolson were gay.
Not to mention, i havent done anything in my life anyone should make a movie about. Edgar is a vivid tale that explores the private life of j. Edgar, beginning with his appointment as the head of the fbi in 1924, through the cold war and. Edgar is to be true to yourself, or every part of your life will be based on a false foundation. Edgar offers the tasteful treatment of such potentially salacious subject matter, though a more outre oliver stonelike approach might have made for a. Edgar is a serious movie designed to win some oscars, rather than filling multiplexes full of. Apr 16, 2015 based on a nonfiction account by one of its subjects, reallife journalist michael finkel, the movie true story spends much of its 90 minutes trying to figure out just what it is. Written by dustin lance black, the film focuses on the career of fbi director j. The 25 best movies based on true stories on netflix april 2020. In the long history of hollywood aping the true stories happening all around us, here are some of the best. This articles plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. An entirely fictional story about someone vaguely like jeh would probably be a much better film. Edgar hoover, the soviet lie was based on a lie from a convicted perjurer, susan rosenstiel, who. If thats whats important, getting a bit of american history into a vivid big screen format, then this works pretty well.
The film stars leonardo dicaprio, armie hammer, naomi watts, josh lucas, and judi dench. Oscarwinning director clint eastwood cast leonardo dicaprio to portray the rise of hoover in j. The true story of brainwashing and how it shaped america fears of communism during the cold war spurred psychological research, pop culture hits, and unethical experiments in the cia. Movies based on a true story netflix official site. Enjoy the movie for its potential to provide a couple of laughs, a few tears, and. Its just a watchable film about a fictitious character loosely based on j edgar hoover. Clerks premiered at the sundance film festival 26 years ago, so we asked kevin smith 26 questions about the festival.
Why is it that the words inspired by a true story add a whole new level of intrigue to a film. A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. Edgar is another leftwing attempt to spit on the grave of fbi founder and director j. The consistently negative study of hoover, along with pellmell story telling and a melodramatic and silly gay romance, made j. The most notorious head of the fbi was a true pioneer in law enforcement, and he.
Edgar 2011 this is a particular kind of moviethe based on fact biopicdone with great attention to period accuracy. Unlike other departments in washington, we actually run a profit. And this week, we are subjecting some current biopics to a little truth squadding. Edgar hoover was the head of the bureau of investigation from 1924 until he died in 1972. In the movie, banas character joins forces with a priest as he investigates a series of bizarre crimes. I knew this going into the film, and i was still shocked at how jarring an experience it was to watch regular guys act on the big screen. The film is in color, but it has been muted to have a silver look throughout much of the movie, giving the impression of an older era known by its blackandwhite picture history. The assassination of gianni versace has an allstar cast featuring edgar ramirez as gianni versace. The true story behind the fbi takedown of jean seberg. As the gatekeeper of its secrets, its power and its image, hoover kept the keys to a kingdom called washington. Jeh was a mysterious, complex and contradictory man but this isnt his story. Jul 21, 2015 posted on july 21, 2015 august 15, 2015 by the movie momma posted in based on true story documentary, drama, r tagged fbi, j edgar, j edgar hoover, john edgar hoover, john hoover, judi dench, leonardo dicaprio, naomi watts.
Edgar is a serious movie designed to win some oscars, rather than filling multiplexes full of entertainmenthungry masses. The movie suggests that hoovers inability to be honest about his own identity possibly contributed to an excess of zeal in criminal investigations of. The movie does not quite reclaim hoover for gay history, neither does it. Captain phillips condenses the story of the maersk alabama hijacking, omitting a few details, changing a few others, and, in paul greengrass signature style, zooming in on the key events in a. Edgar hoover, the man who knew where all the bodies were buried, the man who blackmailed and terrified presidents the man who, like santa claus, knew when you. On top of that, leonardo dicaprio is excellent, very professional. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include previous owner inscriptions. May 22, 2017 the true story of brainwashing and how it shaped america fears of communism during the cold war spurred psychological research, pop culture hits, and unethical experiments in the cia. All those based on a true story movies get graded for accuracy. The true story of brainwashing and how it shaped america. As early as the silent movie era, german film producers discovered that the novels of edgar wallace were easily adapted to the screen.
Edgar hoover, the soviet lie was based on a lie from a convicted perjurer, susan rosenstiel, who claimed to have seen hoover in drag. While selma and the big short get high marks for honesty, the former being clocked at 100 percent accurate, the imitation game is deemed to be only about 41. As the face of law enforcement in america for almost 50 years, j. But bufalino rose in the ranks in the years that followed. Many of the films here can be categorized as biographical films, since they tell the story of a single persons life.
Jan 21, 2018 some characters are always hidden in layers of history. We learned earlier this month that clint eastwood was interested in directing a j. The story content is almost boring in a sense when i really think about it, there are tons of dull parts. Posted on july 21, 2015 august 15, 2015 by the movie momma posted in based on true story documentary, drama, r tagged fbi, j edgar, j edgar hoover, john edgar hoover, john hoover, judi dench, leonardo dicaprio, naomi watts. Edgar is a 2011 american biographical drama film directed, produced and scored by clint.
Jun 17, 2019 maybe so in the case of the new movie true story, based on the real case of christian longo, accused murderer of his wife and three children, and michael finkel, the disgraced journalist whose. Its a biased representation, written by a leftwing homosexual activist in hollywood, of hoovers public and private life that obviously hasnt done the true due diligence required for such a movie. Its worth watching once, if for no other reason than because its a true story. Nov 09, 2011 the film is in color, but it has been muted to have a silver look throughout much of the movie, giving the impression of an older era known by its blackandwhite picture history. Edgar hoover was feared and admired, reviled and revered. Nov 11, 2011 the real history is more interesting than the fictionalized portrayal in j. Based on the paranormal experiences of former new york city police sergeant ralph sarchie, watch the deliver us from evil movie trailer for the 2014 eric bana film. The movie is also inspired by one of the darkest criminal conspiracies in american history, dubbed the reign of terror, and its a story that deserves to be known. The most fantastical elements of the story are the most accurate. True movies based on real life events, 2000s, 90s, 80s, 70s, suspenseful, dramatic, historical, mystery, true events. Gangsters, fighters, athletes, serial killers, celebrities and so much morethese movies are the best of the basedonatruestory stories.
Sep 21, 2017 either way, films that are based on a true story carry with them some extra, ineffable expectation, something we can hardly define, but thats no less obvious when its in front of us. Steven spielbergs movie captures the essence of the cold war in the tale of a man whose legend was so encompassing, u. Edgar was a somewhat confusing narrative, although it was well acted. The tragic true story behind the fbis takedown of movie star jean seberg jean seberg s obituary, published in the new york times on september 9, 1979, is less than 500 words long and sad as hell. Edgar 2011 official trailer hd movie leonardo dicaprio new. Edgars release early this month, hundreds of agents have griped about the film on xgboys, a closed email list for fbi retirees that takes its name from one of hoovers pet. The real history is more interesting than the fictionalized portrayal in j. Congressman yes, that is true sir, but our car and bank robbery recoveries totaled 6. If the truth was known it would undoubtedly be a fascinating story but this isnt. Edgar fails to deliver the historical goods culture watch. Sometimes, you can be watching a movie and not even know that its based on real events. True story movies gained popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s with. We believe every one of us deserves equal access to factbased news and analysis.
And if you enjoy a good real life tale, and you subscribe to netflix, then youre in luck, because there are a ton of netflix movies that were based on a true story. Edgar is a 2011 american biographical drama film directed, produced and scored by clint eastwood. Deliver us from evil true story meet the real ralph sarchie. Edgar hoover leonardo dicaprio, inception between two timelines following his last days at the fbi in the early 1970s and 50 years prior, both retold as he dictates his memoir to be typed. Some dramatic license is permitted for films based on a true story, but theres.
Instead of the truth, the film gives us what it thinks would be hoovers own unhistorical narrative, putting him right at the centre of the investigation. The movies based on true stories database by traciy curryreyes was the first to compile a list of movies based on true stories and was the first site to coin the term movies based on. The resulting report, titled based on a true true story. Clint eastwoods biopic of j edgar hoover never gets to grips with the. Martin scorsese film, based on osage indian murders, may. In this day and age, when the majority of people believe in ghosts and that jfk was killed by members of a coup, they also work well for movie plots. But movie makers always try and help us in celebrating such success and inspiring stories which we may have ignored or never even heard about. Maybe so in the case of the new movie true story, based on the real case of christian longo, accused murderer of his wife and three children. May 27, 2017 there are multiple levels on which to enjoy roman polanskis based on a true story dapres une histoire vraie, none of them very deep or complicated. Breen and john twist is based on a book by don whitehead.
Was the mining company really based out of reno, nevada. True story movies gained popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the production of movies based on actual events that first aired on cbs, abc, and nbc. But your agency is already one of the most wellfunded in washington, is it not. Edgar hoover, who pushed the envelope professionally and led a complex personal life during his 47 years as head of. Gold screenwriter patrick masset, financial post, january 2017. A short film by julie taymor adapted from the story hopfrog absolutely magnificent, with the two dwarves hopfrog and trippetta, played wonderfully and wth true humanity by little people michael j. The truecrime drama centers on members of the osage nation in the united states who were murdered under mysterious circumstances in the 1920s. Edgar 2011 this is a particular kind of movie the based on fact biopicdone with great attention to period accuracy. Expect some decent acting and a followable if not entire coherent plot but there are no insights here. Dont get me wrong, i certainly couldnt do any better. The fbi story is a 1959 american drama film starring james stewart, and produced and directed by mervyn leroy. Its a biased representation of hoovers public and private life that obviously hasnt done the true due diligence required for such a movie. Veronica is based on a true story about the unsolved case of a young girl in madrid in 1992 named estefania gutierrez lazaro, who mysteriously died after using an ouija board.
Anderson of twin peaks fame and mireille mosse being the only really human characters with the socalled normal characters played by actorsactresses in exaggerated puppet suits. Its just a watchable film about a fictitious character loosely based on j edgar. This is a list of films that are based on actual events. Scorseses last movie, the irishman, was distributed through netflix and scored a handful of academy award nominations. This movie starred leonardo di caprio and costarred armie hammer, naomi. Apr, 2020 the movie is also inspired by one of the darkest criminal conspiracies in american history, dubbed the reign of terror, and its a story that deserves to be known. Thriller movie based on true events movies 2017 youtube. Not all movies have remained true to the genuine history of the event or the characters they are portraying, often adding action and drama to increase the substance and popularity of the movie. The disturbing true story behind martin scorseses killers. Edgar fails to deliver the historical goods history.