William Wallace....the truth.

[donniedarko]

How close was Mel Gibson's 'Braveheart' to the real story of William Wallace? Anyone know of an especially good website on the subject ?

[simon_says]

about as close as the Queen and Princess Diana were.

[WaldoMcFroog]

Yeah, the main thing about the Battle at Stirling Bridge was that there was a er... bridge. In fact, it was key to the Scottish win - the English had to cross it to get to the Scots, and were funnelled in such a way that the Scot's could barely help but win. William Wallace was executed in 1305. Edward I did not die until 1307, and was in fairly good health up to that time (he was leading an invasion of Scotland at the time). Edward II did marry Isabella of France...in 1308. In France. Afterwards she came to England for the first time. She never met William Wallace or Edward I. Finally, her first born child, Edward III, was born in 1312. Unless Wallace had come back from the dead, there was no way for him to father that child.

After the US Civil War one in which Gibson portrayed as a hero a man who was in reality a rapist who hunted native Americans for fun, he said, 'Well, it's Hollywood. Maybe it'll make someone pick up a book.'

Well, Mr Gibson, if you added 'This film is based on historical fact but certain events are fictionalised', then maybe they would, but as it is, some people think these things are accurate.

People wonder why I get so passionate about this, but I think that when you release a film like Michael Collins which has many innacuracies, but which informs the real life current situation in Ireland, then there is a duty to mention the fact if you bend the truth.