History Shows and Movies

We're going to Scotland in 3 weeks thanks to my wife's fascination with Outlander. Vikings and The Last Kingdom (the books more than the tv show) has renewed my fascination with 10th and 11th century England and has added to my list of places I want to see.

I wouldn't say pretty people on historical TV is a distraction for me. I'm much more interested in staring at Katheryn Winnick in Vikings with her perfect parts (sure, her teeth are what I'm staring at...) than what she likely would have looked like.

Well done, Allan. Well done.

Big Mike ... When I toured a Portrait Gallery we had a guide explaining the falsity of the portraits. In the 18th and 19th Century they subjects would have had cotton balls and such in their mouths to puff out the facial features -- due to loss of teeth.

But as far as costume dramas, Beauty is relative to the time period.

Movies:

"The Longest Day" was an early trigger to my interest in Normandy.

The opening and closing scenes of "Saving Private Ryan" made a visit to the Cemetary a must. (Rest of the movie was junk.)

"To Catch A Thief" and "Grand Prix" peeked my interest in visiting French Riviera. Though, it is not high on my list.

Sports: Watching Borussia Dortmund futball ... I want to go to Dortmund and take in a match!

Actually, I find bad teeth to be more of a distraction than perfect teeth. I start wondering why the actors didn't get them fixed, or if they will, how much it would cost, what dentists make in xxxx, and then I lose the plot. 😁

But I am always talking-back-to-the-TV- annoyed at anachronisms in story lines, where people talk and act like they're living in the 21st century, when they're not. Where current politics, social issues, etc., are brought into the story that in ways don't reflect the time. That, and the modern hairstyles.

But most people I know wouldn't have a clue as to how to judge the historical accuracy of any time period. They get their history from the movies. That's why people think the Sound of Music was real.

BMWBGV, yep, I too wanted to be a mountain man when I first saw Jeremiah Johnson.

I am an absolute nut about the movie The Third Man, and that inspired me to spend a week in Vienna in 2013--rode the Riesenrad, found the Harry Lime Door on Schreyvogelgasse, did a walking tour, watched the movie at the cinema next to my hotel, visited the wonderful Third Man Museum, didn't do the sewer tour or go out to the zentralfriedhof--perhaps on another trip.

My love of Downton Abbey led to taking a wonderful all-day tour of Highclere Castle as well as other filming sites.

The movie Marie Antoinette with Kirsten Dunst made me want to visit Versailles...loved the Hamlet and Trianon areas the most.

The excellent 1944 Powell & Pressburger movie A Canterbury Tale made me decide on Canterbury for one of my day trips on my recent trip to London--not much has changed there since the 40s!

While I'm aware that Bridgerton was filmed in Bath, it was not the inspiration for my other day trip--Persephone Books was, though I really enjoyed seeing so many perfectly preserved Georgian homes, gave a real sense of how it was back in the 1700s.

I love historic movies and TV shows, pretty much all I watch, and while I realize people in the past probably didn't look as sparkly fresh, I'm not bothered by it.

Rick Steves did a show on 'Germany’s Fascist Story' a couple of yours ago - https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show/nazi-germany