Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story." For decades this famous maxim could have served as the motto of countless Hollywood filmmakers. Though for centuries writers and artists have been selective with the facts in order to dazzle an audience, some of tinseltown's biggest blockbusters have taken a pickaxe to the past, and torn up timelines in the name of entertainment.
History VS HOLLY WOOD
KEY EVENTS • Take a look at some of the groundbreaking moments in the history of Tinseltown
The Birth of HOLLYWOOD • How four penniless Jewish immigrant siblings changed the face of entertainment forever and wrote their own fairy tale
Making Movies • The main players behind the 1919 picture Bumping into Broadway
The Birth Of Cinema
THE EARLY YEARS OF HOLLYWOOD BY THE NUMBERS
GOLDEN AGE TOURS & SITES • Discover the studios, stars and props that built one of Hollywood’s most successful eras
HOLLYWOOD INFLUENCERS • Ten of the most impactful men and women in the evolution of Tinseltown
GOLDEN AGE FILM SET • Hollywood 1930s – 1945
HOLLYWOOD GOES TO WAR • The movie stars who traded in the glitz and glamour of the silver screen for the sacrifice and service of World War II
REEL OF HONOUR • During the war Hollywood still produced some of its finest films
ANCIENT
THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE • Did golden-age Hollywood stick to the facts of this calamitous period?
Real Power of Rome • With an impressive array of connections to the Imperial throne, this noblewoman had a vast amount of influence and control in empire
CLEOPATRA • Was this classic film as liberal with historical fact as it was with its budget?
The film that nearly toppled Hollywood • Patrick Humphries explains how Cleopatra’s scandal-hit production marked the decline of the old studio system
WHAT DID CLEOPATRA REALLY LOOK LIKE? • The burning question historians keep trying to answer
300 • Prophecies, treachery, an indomitable warrior culture, a giant god-king, biceps, enhanced six-packs… This. Is. Sparta. Kinda.
Debunking the Spartans • “The lies told about ancient Sparta are nearly as old as the city itself,” says historian and author Myke Cole. Here he peels back five of the biggest myths and legends surrounding the ancient city state
BEN-HUR • This Hollywood epic won a record 11 Academy Awards — but does it make the cut for historical accuracy?
Why is Jerusalem so Important? • Simon Sebag Montefiore explains the ancient origins and enduring significance of this historic city
GLADIATOR • Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife – and little adherence to historical accuracy…
Real History of the Gladiators • Brutal reality of Rome’s most famous bloodsport uncovered
EMPERORS IN THE ARENA • The glamour of victory might have enticed even the most powerful men in Rome
SPARTACUS • Does this tale of rebel gladiators hold up in the arena of historical records?
SPARTACUS’S REBELLION • The slave uprising rocked the Roman world and was almost victorious
THREE SLAVE REBELLIONS • Spartacus’s uprising wasn’t the only rebellion to rock the slave trade and ‘civilised’ society
TROY • Does this all-star ancient epic live up to the real legend?
The nine cities of troy • Several layers of the city have been unearthed, revealing its long history
POMPEII • Can love overcome an erupting volcano and a pyroclastic flow? No, probably not…
Preserving Pompeii • Looking after a city that’s over 2,000 years old is far from an easy task
ALEXANDER • A bombastic big-screen retelling of one of history’s legendary figures, but does it lose focus on facts...