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[BadBurger]

I've been looking for some good, modern (produced with the last five or six years) period movies and shows - set anytime from antiquity on through the Victorian era. And I keep running into annoyances that are taking me out of the movie / show and ruining them for me.

• Cast from races and/or cultures that are hilariously out of place. A Japanese guy doing eastern martial arts in medieval Britain. A black Greek hoplite assaulting the Trojans. And so on
• No attempt at all to emulate the dialect or attires of the time. One guy sounds British. Another like Kevin Costner from the 2000's. One has a Persian accent for some reason and they're not even from that region, they're white. They're all wearing clothes / armor that looks like it was designed for a Renaissance fair
• Allusions to issues within certain modern societies (see: WOKE). This isn't sci-fi, I don't need this period piece to be a side-eyed examination of inner city poverty. It's presumably about a swashbuckling knight and his squire saving a princess. I don't need imagery of a ghetto full of people of color, something that would not have existed in 1500's Nottingham, and how the local constabulary is oppressing them

Are there any good, new period films or shows out there left? I find myself wanting to go back and watch something like The 13th Warrior again. It's not perfectly accurate, what with a Spanish guy playing a poet from Baghdad fighting cannibals and all, but it beats the five or six Netflix and Prime movies or shows I gave up on over the past week.

 

[jason10mm]

I like The Borgias (EU version, not American one) where every member of the family is cast from a different country and none of them, including the American actor, even attempt an Italian accent. German girl is balls hot though.

I think it is a contractual thing and a marketing gimmick. Can't wait to see all the european folks in a historic Chinese epic (oops Matt Damon...), Aztec movie, or African story.

 

[FreedomOfSpeech]

Idunno, does Russian Ark fit this?

 

[kruis]

The Last Kingdom was very good. No historical anachronisms at all.

I was looking forward to finally seeing the Witcher, but that show was just riddled with them. Wasn’t able to enjoy it at all for that reason.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

So Tom Cruise as a kick ass samurai isn't realistic?

 

[down 2 orth]

Don't bother turning to Hollywood for your history fix, they've become the Ministry of Propaganda. Seriously, just download a Cambridge history series book from Library Genisis.

 

[AutisticWonton]

I can’t think of anything that recent but I remember Apocalypto (2006) was pretty cool in its depiction of the mayans even going as far as to use traditional languages. Beyond that unsure of how accurate but it certainly isn’t woke by today’s standards. It’s a Mel Gibson film and quite brutal.

 

[diffusionx]

So Tom Cruise as a kick ass samurai isn't realistic?

No there are a few examples of that in history. But the point was that he didn’t enter a Japan that looked like the New York subway. His outsider nature was a key part of the movie. Same with Dances with Wolves which is a fine movie.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

More annoying are the Dramatic situations of Pixar movies scenes.

 

[Wvrs]

The Last Kingdom was very good. No historical anachronisms at all.

I was looking forward to finally seeing the Witcher, but that show was just riddled with them. Wasn’t able to enjoy it at all for that reason.

The books are highly anachronistic and deal with many issues prevalent in modern society. I guess your only problem is people of colour. Which is pretty irrelevant in a fantasy setting, particularly one where humans

Spoiler: background lore

originally come from all over our world via dimensional portals

.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

It isn't from the Victorian era, but your OP describes my gripe with HBO's Chernobyl very very accurately. Excellent show in almost all respects except the.... english accents everywhere? Made no sense. I've seen 70s and 80s action movies. I know they make actors with russian accents.

 

[Thing on a Spring]

When something is set in the past and uses modern music in the soundtrack, I find it pretty off-putting.

 

[mf_82]

It isn't from the Victorian era, but your OP describes my gripe with HBO's Chernobyl very very accurately. Excellent show in almost all respects except the.... english accents everywhere? Made no sense. I've seen 70s and 80s action movies. I know they make actors with russian accents.

Russians don't speak english when talking to each other, regardless of accents.

 

[Stouffers]

I didn’t see Passion, but isn’t Jim Caveiziaksssjs a tall white guy?

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Russians don't speak english when talking to each other, regardless of accents.

True, that would be the realest. I'm not averse to subbed shows and movies and if the option was available I would've done that.

But as a compromise for my fellow english speaking TV watchers, english done in russian accents would be nicer than english accents.

 

[HE1NZ]

Disagree about the accents. I hate when characters speak English with weird accents to simulate different nation/culture in historical movies/games. There's not supposed to be any accent at all or just use actual different language.

 

[Scotty W]

The Death of Stalin didn’t pay any attention at all to accents and is a great movie for it.

 

[Ornlu]

The Last Kingdom was very good. No historical anachronisms at all.

I was looking forward to finally seeing the Witcher, but that show was just riddled with them. Wasn’t able to enjoy it at all for that reason.

The Last Kingdom gets markedly worse as it goes, IMO. By the most recent season, the main characters are basically characters from a Dynasty Warriors game compared to the rest of the soldiers.

The books are highly anachronistic and deal with many issues prevalent in modern society. I guess your only problem is people of colour. Which is pretty irrelevant in a fantasy setting, particularly one where humans

Spoiler: background lore

originally come from all over our world via dimensional portals

.

C'mon, that's a bit of a low blow, no?

True, that would be the realest. I'm not averse to subbed shows and movies and if the option was available I would've done that.

But as a compromise for my fellow english speaking TV watchers, english done in russian accents would be nicer than english accents.

Disagree about the accents. I hate when characters speak English with weird accents to simulate different nation/culture in historical movies/games. There's not supposed to be any accent at all or just use actual different language.

Torn about the accents; I always get a chuckle when Hollywood goes for their "default setting" with anything Fantasy or Historical, and makes everyone try on a British accent. Ancient Persians? British! Roman slaves? British! Ancient Egyptians? British! Norman Era English nobility? British! (should be French) Ancient Celts? British! Elves? British! Etc, etc.

If we're going to cast people from all over the globe, I honestly wouldn't care if they all spoke with their own accents. If we're going to cast pieces where the actors are supposed to be from a specific region and time, they should either all try for a specific accent, or just say fuck it and go ignore the issue altogether. I'd be fine if the language and accents were geared toward the audience rather than the period.

 

[GreyHorace]

HBO's Rome by all accounts is pretty historically accurate. From the graffiti on the city's walls to the everyday attitudes of Romans of the time. It's thankfully free of a lot of modernized bullshit.

If you want a place that critiques movies and tv shows based on their historical accuracy, check out History Buffs on Youtube.

History Buffs

A show dedicated solely to reviewing historical movies. Ever wondered how much a film is based on a true story? This is the place to find out

www.youtube.com

Dude's not a huge fan of Mel Gibson if you're wondering.

 

[Pirog123]

The books are highly anachronistic and deal with many issues prevalent in modern society. I guess your only problem is people of colour. Which is pretty irrelevant in a fantasy setting, particularly one where humans

Spoiler: background lore

originally come from all over our world via dimensional portals

.

Thats bullshit, nothing like this is even hinted in the books and all characters are white, zerrikanians are blond and they put nigresses in they roles, rotlf. American Witcher tv series is bigger pile of manure than even the polish one and that one wasn't good.

 

[Wvrs]

C'mon, that's a bit of a low blow, no?

No, most complaints about "forced diversity" (in this case, masked with the euphemism of 'anachronism') are normally just thinly concealed racism/homophobia, etc.

Case in point, the guy above ... yeesh.

Important thing about historical accuracy is the events and actions of the people. Not the color of someone's skin. Just my opinion.

 

[Elcid]

I've been looking for some good, modern (produced with the last five or six years) period movies and shows - set anytime from antiquity on through the Victorian era. And I keep running into annoyances that are taking me out of the movie / show and ruining them for me.

• Cast from races and/or cultures that are hilariously out of place. A Japanese guy doing eastern martial arts in medieval Britain. A black Greek hoplite assaulting the Trojans. And so on
• No attempt at all to emulate the dialect or attires of the time. One guy sounds British. Another like Kevin Costner from the 2000's. One has a Persian accent for some reason and they're not even from that region, they're white. They're all wearing clothes / armor that looks like it was designed for a Renaissance fair
• Allusions to issues within certain modern societies (see: WOKE). This isn't sci-fi, I don't need this period piece to be a side-eyed examination of inner city poverty. It's presumably about a swashbuckling knight and his squire saving a princess. I don't need imagery of a ghetto full of people of color, something that would not have existed in 1500's Nottingham, and how the local constabulary is oppressing them

Are there any good, new period films or shows out there left? I find myself wanting to go back and watch something like The 13th Warrior again. It's not perfectly accurate, what with a Spanish guy playing a poet from Baghdad fighting cannibals and all, but it beats the five or six Netflix and Prime movies or shows I gave up on over the past week.

This is why I don’t watch TV anymore unless it’s comedy cause comedy I’m always willing to forgive. Read books for history or play games.

 

[BadBurger]

Thanks for the suggestions. I completely forgot that I was gifted the bluray collection of Rome this past Christmas. Popped it on the media shelf and forgot about it, so I think I'll start there.

About the accents, I don't mind them so long as everyone uses their real voice. I can use my imagination and pretend they're speaking Latin or whatever.

 

[poppabk]

The Alienist is pretty good, not sure if that is part of the time period you are talking about, or if you just want sword and armor era stuff.

 

[Hulk_Smash]

No there are a few examples of that in history. But the point was that he didn’t enter a Japan that looked like the New York subway. His outsider nature was a key part of the movie. Same with Dances with Wolves which is a fine movie.

Or take something like Prince is Thieves where Morgan Freeman’s character at least had an explanation as to how he got there. If it makes sense in the context of the story, then by all means. But yeah, if we’re just gonna ignore someone’s race and pretend he fits in just fine, then no.