Discover the true history behind the heart-warming comedy Eddie the Eagle. This month Gaz and Mel go back in time to the 1988 Olympics in Calgary to discover the real story of British Ski-Jumper Michael David Edwards. What was the real story of his journey to compete for Olympic gold? Which characters are fictional and which are real? And just how good was Eddie at Ski-jumping? We also discuss the top 10 Olympic themed movies at the box office!
Gari and Mel critique and compare both the 1930 and 2022 versions of All Quiet on the Western Front, the foundational anti-war drama that tells the story of a group of young German men, who, motivated by propaganda, join the army to fight in the harrowing trenches of World War 1. How does 92 years change the way we adapt such as classic story? And how effectively does each film depict the real history? Mel compares both movies to Erich Maria Remarque's original novel and provides fascinating historical insight into what it was like to really experience trench warfare.
Gari and Mel critique the Ron Howard 1995 move Apollo 13, the landmark drama about the daring rescue of NASA's Apollo astronauts, starring the insurmountable Tom Hanks, a sickly Bill Paxton and a painfully single Kevin Bacon. Mel takes us through the true story to tell us what's true and what's fiction in Hollywood's depiction of the infamous ill-fated attempt to land on the moon. Gari then takes us behind the scenes into the details of how you fake zero gravity on a movie set, which somehow involves drugging your lead actors. This is one you don't want to miss!
Gari and Mel critique The Grizzlies, the 2018 Canadian drama about the creation of an Inuit student larcrosse team in Northen Canada. Inspiring and confronting in equal measure, we talk through the true story, discussing the harsh reality of living in the isolated Artic town of Kugluktuk, the sobering causes behind the community's historical trauma, and the remarkably uplifting story of how a sport can provide hope to youth just when they need it most. It's a beautiful story, and you won't want to miss us chat about what makes it special.
This time Gari and Mel critique Gorillas in the Mist, the 1988 true story of primatologist Dian Fossey, whose remarkable conservation work with Mountain Gorillas and unsolved murder have become the stuff of legend.
This is it. This is the big one. We finally critique Ridley Scott's Oscar winning Gladiator, starring the formidable Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius. He may be a father to a murdered son and a husband to a murdered wife, but does the movie he's starring in hold up after all these years? Mel takes us through the real history of Rome and its gladiatorial combat and gives us the lowdown on the many accurate and inaccurate aspects of the history that's represented.
This time we're critiquing the newly released Nuremberg, where Russell Crowe fills the rather large shoes of Nazi leader Herman Göring, who is on trial for a host of appalling crimes against humanity at the newly-established International Military Tribunal. Rami Malek also joins him, playing his eccentric psychiatrist, Douglas Kelley. But is the film any good? We give you the honest appraisal - the movie may be hoping for Oscars, but does it really deliver?
We critique the true history behind Will Smith's Oscar winning performance in King Richard, where he plays Richard Williams, the father and coach of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams. We talk about the real reason the family moved to Compton, the complexity of the real people that the movie leaves out, and ask ourselves how the movie holds up against the real story.
A big announcement - we're back! In this short chat, we talk about what films we'll be covering in our exciting upcoming episodes so you can be all ready to join us. To warm up, we couldn't help but break down our picks for the BEST and WORST movies of 2025 (so far).
Gari Mallon
Film Critic Gari Mallon co-hosts the Real Movies Fake History podcast and writes extensively on new movies here.
