Biographical Film - Controversies Over Veracity

Controversies Over Veracity

A certain amount of fabrication is expected, at least to reduce the risk of libel, but the films often alter events to suit the storyline. Events are sometimes portrayed more dramatically than they occurred, time is "condensed" to fit all important events into the film or several people are blended into a composite.

Although many viewers and critics forgive such fabrications for entertainment value, some biopics have come under criticism for allegations of deception. Historians noted the wayward chronology of Michael Collins, a team of Greek lawyers threatened to sue the makers of Alexander for implying that Alexander the Great was bisexual and many boxing fans resented the villainous portrayal of Max Baer in Cinderella Man. But a more controversial biopic in terms of accuracy is 1999's The Hurricane, about boxer Rubin Carter and his hotly-disputed triple murder conviction. Several details were altered to enhance the image of Carter and details about the police procedures that led to the conviction conflicted with court records. Also, former middle weight champion Joey Giardello, who won a title bout against Carter, sued the film's producers for suggesting he won due to a racist "fix". The case was settled out of court.

Roger Ebert defended the The Hurricane and distortions in biographical films in general, stating "those who seek the truth about a man from the film of his life might as well seek it from his loving grandmother. ... The Hurricane is not a documentary but a parable."

Some biopics purposely stretch the truth. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind was based on game show host Chuck Barris' widely debunked, yet still popular, memoir of the same name, in which he claimed to be a CIA agent, and Kafka incorporated both the life of author Franz Kafka and the surreal aspects of his fiction.

The Errol Flynn film They Died With Their Boots On tells the story of Custer but is highly romanticised.

The Oliver Stone film about the band The Doors, mainly about Jim Morrison, was highly praised for the similarities between Jim Morrison and actor Val Kilmer, look-wise and singing-wise, but fans and band members did not like the way Oliver Stone portrayed Jim Morrison, and a few of the scenes were even completely made up.

Casting can be controversial for biographical films. Some felt that Anthony Hopkins should not have played Richard Nixon in Nixon because of a lack of resemblance between the two. Egyptian critics criticized the casting of Louis Gossett, Jr., an African American actor, as Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in the 1982 TV miniseries Sadat. Also, some objected to the casting of Jennifer Lopez in Selena because she is Puerto Rican while Selena was Mexican-American.