369: Classic: Saving Private Ryan with Marty Morgan
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 369) — This Friday marks the 81st anniversary of the D-Day landings. Arguably the most popular movie depicting the fighting on the beaches of Normandy is 1998’s Saving Private Ryan. a True Story, we’ll compare the movie with what really happened with historian Marty Morgan. What did Saving […]
368: Behind the True Story: Not a Real Enemy with Robert Wolf
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 368) — Go behind the true stories shown in Holocaust movies through the experiences of Robert Wolf’s family. Since we’ll be talking about the Holocaust, listener discretion is advised. Get Robert’s Book Not a Real Enemy Find Robert on Social robertjwolfmd.com Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based on a […]
366: Troy with Neil Laird
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 366) — Homer’s “The Iliad” tells the story of the Trojan War, a tale brought to the big screen in the 2004 film “Troy.” But with an ancient epic as its foundation—and Hollywood’s creative liberties—how much of the story is real? Get Neil’s Latest Book Prime Time Pompeii […]
365: Black Hawk Down with Joshua Donohue
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 365) — Discover the behind-the-scenes story of Black Hawk Down, as historian Josh Donohue shares insights on the chaotic 1993 mission in Mogadishu. Learn what truly happened versus what Hollywood depicted. Follow Josh on YouTube The Freelance Historian on YouTube Also mentioned in this episode Heroic Fight for […]
364: The Bridge on the River Kwai with Jon Parshall
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 364) — Acclaimed historian Jon Parshall separates fact from fiction in the classic film “The Bridge on the River Kwai” and the brutal realities of the Thai-Burma Railway during World War II, also known as the Death Railway. We’ll contrast the film’s fictional Colonel Nicholson with his real-life […]
359: Battle of the Bulge with Robert B. O’Connor
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 359) — Today is the 80th anniversary (January 25, 1945) of the official end of the Battle of the Bulge campaign during World War II. On our episode today, we’ll learn about the classic film from 60 years ago (1965) that has often been criticized for many of […]
355: Tora! Tora! Tora! with Jon Parshall
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 355) — Today is the 83rd anniversary of the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor that was depicted in the 1970 movie Tora! Tora! Tora! Often praised for its accuracy, Tora! Tora! Tora! has also perpetrated some myths about what really happened. To help us separate fact from fiction, […]
354: Casablanca with Bob LeMent
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 354) — Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, we’re walking into Casablanca on this episode to answer: How historically accurate is the movie? Helping us separate fact from fiction is Bob LeMent from StaticRadio.com. Bob’s Historical Grade: B What’s your historical […]
352: This Week: Napoleon, Thirteen Days, The Patriot, The Last Duel
BOATS THIS WEEK (OCT 14-20, 2024) — This Wednesday is the anniversary of Marie Antoinette’s execution in 1793 that we saw inn the opening sequence of Ridley Scott’s Napoleon (2023). After that, we’ll travel exactly 169 years from 1793 to 1962, because Wednesday is also depicted in Thirteen Days (2000) as it’s showing the start […]
351: This Week: Che!, Eight Men Out, 1492, Captain Phillips
BOATS THIS WEEK (OCT 7-13, 2024) — 57 years ago tomorrow, Che Guevara was captured in Bolivia. Then, two years later, Omar Sharif portrayed him in the movie version of Che’s story that we’ll compare to the true story of this week’s event. Then, we’ll shift to Eight Men Out because as baseball season comes […]
350: This Week: Alexander, 61*, Black Hawk Down, The Social Network
BOATS THIS WEEK (SEP 30-OCT 6, 2024) — Thousands of years ago this week, Alexander the Great fought his final decisive battle against Darius III so we’ll start our journey by comparing the true story of Gaugamela with the battle in 2004’s Colin Farrell movie. Then we’ll hop onto the baseball field because tomorrow, October […]