Historically accurate? Films with Daniel Day Lewis

Daniel Day Lewis portray historical figures very well. Whether it is as Abraham Lincoln demanding and commanding his cabinet members to obtain votes for the for the 13th Amendment to pass, or as a brutal and vicious gang leader in the movie Gangs of New York his specialty seems to be historic dramas.

Lewis is classified as such because he immerses himself into the role. He takes on the persona of the person he is portraying by studying who the person was and what they were about.

In both Lincoln and Gangs of New York Lewis is a leader. Whether he is leading a country through the Civil War or a rival gang on the streets of New York he takes on the burden of leadership with style and grace. In Gangs of New York he teaches young Vallon how to injure and kill a man with a knife as the weapon of choice by using a pig carcass. In the film Lincoln he shows a commanding presence when he orders his cabinet members to procure the votes so the proposed amendment will pass. In either role there is no doubt he is a leader. He does not pull any punches and is not elusive about his leadership style in either film.

While Daniel Day Lewis has been several films his role as leader in historic dramas seem to be his best fit because he is such a natural at it.





Daniel Day Lewis has acted in both true historical dramas such as Lincoln and not so true historic dramas such as Gangs of New York.

Previous articles in series:
Historically accurate? Gladiator.
Historically accurate? To Kill a Mockingbird
Historically accurate? Lincoln

Historically accurate? Lincoln

In the 2012 movie, Lincoln, there are many scenes where sound helps emphasize the meaning and nature of the scene. There is the dialogue which is very important in a historical drama such as this. Much of the dialogue is without music or other sound effects heard as part of the scene because of the importance of this film.

One scene that really stands out and brings dialogue together with music is where the Speaker of the House reads the results of the vote on the 13th Amendment. First all you hear is his voice through the beginning of the scene. All eyes are on him in the house chamber as he speaks. The scene cuts to President Lincoln pacing about in his study in the White House. Then the sound of bells chiming are heard, right after that the sounds loud cheering are heard and the scene changes to the inside of the house chamber where most of the delegates are cheering. Then all of a sudden they start singing the song, "Battle Cry of Freedom".

Thaddeus Stevens asks for the original copy of the bill, folds it with a creased and walks out of the capitol building. Outside the song "Battle Cry of Freedom" and cheering is still heard, even as Thaddeus walks home. As he opens his door and enters the song and cheering are still heard in the back ground.

The impact of this song had on the scene and the movie are very important as the song is about freedom and is used in the scene of the movie where all slaves were officially declared free by the law makers of the United States. There is no doubt as to the genre of this film. It is certainly a historical drama. The effect of the cheering and the song "Battle Cry of Freedom may be that it makes someone feel swelled up with pride and give them a sense of patriotic euphoria. It was a happy event in united States history. Had the song not been used and no other patriotic song put in its place the scene may have been largely forgotten and the emphasis of the meaning behind the song along with where and how it is used in the film would have been lost and not as strong.



This film is historically accurate through most of the movie. There are a few discrepancies and embellishments included for more dramatic effect. But overall this was an actual event that occurred in United States history.

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc

Previous articles in series:
Historically accurate? Gladiator.
Historically accurate? To Kill a Mockingbird

Historically accurate? To Kill a Mockingbird

In the movie To Kill a Mockingbird attorney Atticus Finch defends a black man, Tom Robinson who is accused of the rape of Mayella Ewell. Atticus's children Scout and Jem are both exposed to the evils of
racism in the fictional  1930's Alabama town. Atticus teaches his children by example every person deserves a fair trial even when racism prevails over justice. Scout and Jem also spy on their neighbor, recluse Boo Radley over the two years the film depicts.

The two scenes shown depict two styles of lighting, high key and and low key lighting. The scene with high key lighting is one of the may courtroom scenes. This one is Atticus cross-examining Mayella during the trial. It is a good example of high key lighting as the film is in black and white. A 1930's courtroom had to be well lit as does a 21st Century courtroom. The contrast of shadows are evident but not over powering. The high key lighting contributes to the genre of the film, a historical mystery drama, by having the courtroom scenes well lit so the audience watching the film has no doubt as to what is happening.

The second scene is where Boo Radley saves Jem and Scout who are their way home from a Halloween party. A man attacks the children in a wooded area, knocks Jem unconcious and goes after Scout. Boo arrives and fights the guy off while Scout is trapped in her costume and cannot move very easily as it is a hardened piece in the shape of a ham. While Boo is fighting with the assailant Scout watches from inside her costume pressed against a tree. Boo carries Jem off leaving Scout behind. She gets free of her costume and runs after the two of them. All through the scene from the time Jem and Scout are walking through the wooded area to when Scout runs after Boo and Jem the use of low key lighting used very effectively. In the sections where more light is needed to make out details, just enough is used but not so much it over lights the surrounding area. The contrast of light, dark and shadows are wonderful.

The movie is based on the book written by Harper Lee. While the cor story line is fiction there are lot of similarities related to incidents in the authors life. Racism did exist in 1930's Alabama. There were white defense attorneys who though all men deserved a fair trial, even black defendants. The jury's were made up of twelve white men, no women and no colored people. While fiction this film is accurate in the sense of the topics it covers within the drama.

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc
High Key/Low Key, Deitcher, Kenneth. PSA Journal. Aug2008, Vol. 74 Issue 8, p18-19. 2p. 5 Black and White Photographs

Previous articles in series:
Historically accurate? Gladiator.

Historically accurate? Gladiator.

This new series is about films which are billed as fictional historical dramas. The articles that follow will show the basic information about the film, if it was presented in linear chronological order or not and if they are presented in a web type chronological order. Each article will explain different aspects of each film viewed. Anything from how the aesthetic choice contributes to the general effect on the audience and how elements like character development or foreshadowing impact the choice of storytelling methods, if the film follows a different presentation style how the difference affects the audience will also be presented. Details like whether or not effective lighting and sound were used, acting and acting styles will be discussed in the series. The following articles will discuss any one of, more than one or even all of the aspects mentioned above.

This will be an on going series with each film viewed in its entirety by the author of these articles. As with other published series by the author this one will have links to the previous articles as each one is published after this first article.

Here is the first:

Title: Gladiator.

Release dates: May 1, 5, and 12, 2000.

Written by: David Franzoni.

Directed by: Ridley Scott.

Major Actors: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou, and Richard Harris.

This film is presented chronologically linear format going in two directions at the same time. Part of the story portrays the restart of something that had come to an end. The other part of the story portrays the start of something new. The plot portrays how they are tied together and what happens at the eventual end.

The effect this has on the audience is it gives the viewers something to think about while trying to figure out how it is going to end. Some viewers may have questions such as:  How will it end? Will he get his revenge and avenge his family and his true emperor? Will the petty, jealous and evil emperor be brought down?

This film is only historically accurate in that Rome really did exist as an empire as did gladiator's who fought and died in the arena's all across the empire. The architecture is historically accurate as is the portrayed Roman form of government.