Has a movie ever got you fascinated in a piece of history

[dead-ced-dead]

I've been thinking a lot about Gangs of New York recently for some reason, and now I've been going down rabbit hole after rabbit hole about The New York Draft Riots and New York slums in general.

Has a fictional movie with a period setting ever got you to be fascinated in a piece of history?

[Sebastian Cobb]

Seeing The Lives of Others (and probably Deutschland '83 around the same time) got me fascinated in the DDR.

[sevendaughters]

yeah loads. Culloden sent me on a whole Highland Clearances jag. Contact had me reading up about bandit country during the Troubles. Heimat had me reading stuff about how much yer average German punter knew during WW2. Happens all the time.

[dissolute ocelot]

yeah loads. Culloden sent me on a whole Highland Clearances jag. Contact had me reading up about bandit country during the Troubles. Heimat had me reading stuff about how much yer average German punter knew during WW2. Happens all the time.

Ha, weird, I was just about to post about how Peter Watkins' Culloden taught me that so much of the nationalist myth of Scottish history is bollocks. And although very bad things happened, it was far from purely heroic Scots taking on purely English villains. Definitely inspired me to explore Scottish history more deeply and question the myths.

Also not a film, but Our Friends In The North got me interested in The Angry Brigade and similar 70s terrorism. (Although Luke Haines also played a part later.)

[Brundle-Fly]

The original TV version of Roots was an eye opener for me as a kid.

[Dex Sawash]

Basic Instinct made me look up ladies dresses

[Crenners]

The Searchers led me to a considerable interest in Cynthia Ann Parker and surrounding era. Amazing film, amazing story.

[bgmnts]

I think the TV show Rome got me mega into ancient Rome as a kid.

[Phoenix Lazarus]

The original TV version of Roots was an eye opener for me as a kid.

A progressive drama that inspired a bit of non-progressive blacking-up by the Goodies.