Best Portrayals of Historical/Real-Life Figures in Movies/TV

[Dave Sund]

Just curious as to what some of your favorite portrayals are.

I always found it kind of funny that Larry Flynt played the judge in his obscenity case in "The People vs. Larry Flynt." Jim Garrison as Earl Warren in "JFK" was another one of those quirks.

Really, it can be anything like that, just humorous little quirks, or great performances, whatever. Doesn't have to be political, just a portrayal of a real-life character.

Since I don't doubt that this will be mentioned, Johnny Depp in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."

[AlCzervik]

1. Charlize theron as Aileen Wornos in Monster

[Richardo]

2. Jason Robards as Ben Bradlee in 'All the President's Men'

Classic!

[Cocoa]

3. Anthony Hopkins as Nixon

in Oliver Stone's "Nixon". Also Bob Hoskins as Hoover in the same movie.

[cmkramer]

44. I agree about Hopkins

It wasn't so much that he looked like Nixon or even sounded like him. But he got all the cadences right

[MadAsHellNewYorker]

4. Bush in "Thats My Bush"

ahhh, i remember a time when we were allowed to make fun of the bumbling nitwit on cable TV

[Richardo]

5. Too bad that show sucked so hard.

[Dave Sund]

6. Timothy Bottoms

He also starred as Bush in what was basically a propoganda piece put together for Showtime. Penny Johnson Jerald (better known to most of you as Sherry Palmer on "24,") played Condoleeza Rice. Now, that's actually really great casting for that role when you think about it.

[Lisa]

15. funny that the DVD is rated "R"

A propaganda show about Mr. Family Values, and apparently there was so much "strong language" that kids can't watch it!

"Time of Crisis" was originally titled "The Big Dance" -- perhaps they changed it because too many people were referring to it as "The Big Dunce"? Anyway, the DVD is actually rather entertaining, if you can stand the commentary track where the writer and director brag about what a great job they did, and what a wonderful guy Bush is. Timothy Bottoms is mostly silent during all of this, and blurts out things like the fact he had an uncomfortable skin rash during the filming ...

I actually felt sorry for him, because they didn't give his character much to do (he's not given a chance to show Bush being human or developing during the story, plus they keep cutting in footage of the real Bush). By the way, his entire family are big Democratic supporters (one of my friends is a party organizer in their part of California). Bottoms has probably been trying to expand his acting roles, because he usually plays the nice guy who's unfairly made to suffer (Last Picture Show, Johnny Got His Gun, White Dawn, Paper Chase). Not his fault that he had to play someone who admitted to being "a media creation".

[Dave Sund]

18. Oh, yeah...

I haven't really seen it, but it doesn't sound like it's very good anyway. I just remember that Johnson played Rice, and thought that was hilarious and oddly appropriate, since her character on "24" was such an evil conniving bitch.

[Lisa]

24. Rice doesn't show up much during the movie ...

The guy who played Cheney was rather funny -- had him as a dithering, frantic old guy who was pathetically grateful when W told him exactly what to do. I think NOT! Perhaps in one of Bush's "Walter Mitty" fantasies? And Rice and "Karen Hughes" give Bush worshipful looks and tell him how inspiring he is.

Personally I think it would be fun to do a "Rocky Horror" version of this film, where the audience yells insults at the screen and throws pretzels, or possibly Sharpie markers

(There is one scene where Bush shows how forceful and decisive he is, by pulling the cap off a Sharpie with his teeth ... all very dramatic.)

[4_Legs_Good]

7. Denzel Washington as Malcolm X

F8cking incredible...

[imenja]

19. he deserved the Oscar for that role

It was a travesty that he didn't get it.

[4_Legs_Good]

26. Agreed x 1000

The film didn't even get nominated.

Yeah, it's a terrible shame he won for Training Day instead. I think that was a Mea Culpa by the Academy for X. Thank God he won for Glory, which nobody could possibly have deserved more.

david

[Balbus]

8. Kenneth Welsh as Dick Cheney

in The Day After Tomorrow

[maveric]

9. Denzel as Malcolm X

[mcscajun]

10. Albert Finney as Churchill in "The Gathering Storm"

He had the man, the politician, nailed; and his tenderness and genuine affection and need for his wife was very neatly illuminated as a counterpoint to his sometimes harsh treatment of those around him.

[u4ic]

31. Wasn't he amazing in that? It's gets my vote

[Zuni]

42. He NAILED that part

He looked and sounded remarkably like Churchill

[stinkeefresh]

11. Roy Scheider as Bob Fosse

in "All That Jazz" directed by Bob Fosse. Masterpiece of filmmaking and of acting.

[Richardo]

12. I love that flick.

:thumbsup:

[JohnKleeb]

13. hmmmm

George C Scott as George S Patton in Patton
Colin Farrell as Alexander the Great ;) GOTCHA

[Dave Sund]

14. Ah, Patton

Of course! Such a great film.

[imenja]

20. I second that

[imenja]

21. Colin farrel?

really?

[Blue_In_AK]

28. George C. Scott was fabulous. n/t

[Lisa]

16. I liked Mike Farrell as Ken Lay in the Enron TV movie ...

Also -- here's one that probably only the Canadians here have seen -- Colm Feore in the Trudeau movie.

[imenja]

17. Thirteen Days, the movie on the Cuban Missile Crisis

that was a good film on a historical subject. The HBO movie "Path to War" on LBJ and Vietnam was also interesting. McNamara was made to be the villain. I'm not sure how accurate that is.

[Dave Sund]

22. Yeah...

Thought Alec Baldwin was pretty good as McNamara, but I'm not sure how historically accurate the movie is, either.

[Blue_In_AK]

29. I have a whole different opinion of McNamara

after watching The Fog of War.

[imenja]

32. he is a tormented soul

you can see it in his eyes. When watching that film I wondered if Rumsfeld will ever have the decency to feel the shame that McNamara does. I tend to think not.

[Blue_In_AK]

41. I agree. That movie should be required viewing for GWB and

Rummy every single night of their lives.

[ScreamingMeemie]

23. Val Kilmer as Jim

Morrison, and as Doc Holliday.

[Lavender Brown]

25. Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth I

[mcscajun]

34. She was good, but she didn't get the chance to perform across

the whole canvas of Elizabeth's life the way Glenda Jackson did in "Elizabeth R", the six-part series on Masterpiece Theatre 35 years ago.

Now that was truly awesome. No knock on Cate, she's a marvelous actress.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

27. Ben Kingsley as Gandhi

The casting director did an amazing job in general of getting look-alikes for the principal roles.

[democracyindanger]

30. Didja know

that Kingsley's familial roots were in the same village as Gandhi's?

[scarletlib]

38. that's what I was going to say.

he was awesome as Gandhi

[Merrick]

33. Johnny Depp as Hunter S. Thompson

"lets get down to brass tacks here. How much for the ape?"

[DerekG]

35. Jeffrey Wright as Rev. Martin Luther Ling/ Michael Gambdon as LBJ

Boycott and Path to War, respectively.

[Maccagirl]

36. Edward Hermann and Jane Alexander

as FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt in the TV mini-series. They were extraordinary.

[nytemare]

37. Meryl Streep as Karen Hughes in "Manchurian Candidate"

:D

[Hardrada]

39. Peter Lorre as Karl Rove in "M"

[Hardrada]

40. Raymond Massey as Abraham Lincoln

in Battlestar Galactica

[Bok_Tukalo]

43. Tom Berenger as Gen James Longstreet

<eom>

[animuscitizen]

45. Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes

DiCaprio imitated the Howard Hughes facial expressions, mannerisms, and neurosis with great skill. I think DiCaprio deserved the Oscar, but it seems like the Academy likes to shun Scorsese--Hollywood politics.