The similarities—and sometimes the differences—are striking
As a testament to Hollywood’s seemingly endless reach, more often than not, audiences are more familiar with an actor’s portrayal of a historical character than they are with the real-life figure being depicted.
When that’s the case—a film of an event or of a person eclipses the historical record—it’s difficult to bear in mind the distinction between the performance and actual events. Fortunately, this melding of life and art is just the sort of thing video essayist Vugar Efendi seeks to address in his thoughtful works, so he placed iconic film clips and their corresponding historical footage side by side in a video titled “Recreating History.”
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The video breaks down scenes from films such as JFK, Jackie, Catch Me If You Can, and many others. Often, the shot is composed to mirror the historical record perfectly. In other instances, more creative liberty is taken with perspective, costumes, and framing.
The video doesn’t aspire to judge “good” or “bad” interpretations of historical event—based on the reception of these films, they’re highly-acclaimed—but rather demonstrates how a director, an actor, or any other member of a film’s crew can color our perspective on history by making a moment in time their own.
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