What Are The Most Definitive Historical Portrayals in TV/Film?

[Mark Trail]

Anybody who says why someone won an Oscar, or someone else lost doesn't understand anything about how the Academy or voting works. When ever you see "They wanted" you know that person doesn't know what they are talking about. There is no "they". There are 9,000 voters, each with their own ideas.

A collective or majority opinion is typically expressed as "they wanted," "they voted," etc.

[Jim Kelly]

It's Sergei Eisenstein's OCTOBER: TEN DAYS THAT SHOOK THE WORLD from 1927. Made ten years after the events that it recreates, uninformed people think this is an actual documentary of the event. To the point where news programs have presented footage from the movie as actual footage from 1917. It has become the reality.

[Rev9]

Can never fault Mel Gibson as William Wallace(however embellished the legend)

[Fridays]

Christian Bale as Dick Cheney in Vice.

[Zero Hunter]

I thought Tom Curran as Vincent Van Gogh on that one episode of Doctor Who was pretty amazing.

[Kirby101]

A collective or majority opinion is typically expressed as "they wanted," "they voted," etc.

And again, we have no idea who votes for whom and why they voted. People win with a plurality. And to even say all those voting for someone did so for this reason or that isn't factual. It is just blowing smoke.

[godisawesome]

For the purposes of this thread, I’d say Peter O’Toole playing Henry II in both Beckett and The Lion In Winter, two totally different plays made films where he still dominated the screen (the second time with only Katherine Hepburn really matching him, while he’s overshadowing Anthony freakin’ Hopkins and Timothy freakin’ dAlton when they’re both doing damn good jobs as well), should be in the running.

He’s more famous for Lawrence of Arabia, but his Henry II is a perfect capturing of how formidable and flawed the real dude was.

[babyblob]

There are a couple good low ket historical proformances in a Made for Tv Mini Series I love called The Blue and The Grey.

Gregory Peck as Abe Lincoln I think was a really well done role.

Sterling Haydon as John Brown I also felt was done well.