Thinnest Veiled Real-Life Fictional Movie?
The industry term, cinéma à clef, translates from French to English as "film with a key". The key being a listing that is used to swap out the names of real-life people with their movie character aliases. These stories depict a heavy dose of real life characters and true events, somewhat hidden behind the facade of fiction. However, sharp movie-goers will quickly discern who the fictional story really portrays in many cases. Thus, the end-of-the-film disclaimer stating "This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental." is very ironic. These quasi-biographical movies are never 100% accurate, but their thinly veiled stories mirror real-life historical details enough to blur the line that separates them from true story biopics that often also take liberties with details to enhance the dramatic effect of the story. Source: Wikipedia: Film à Clef Movies
Which of these select* fictional movies, that some claim a thinly veiled line exists between real-life and fiction, is the film à clef that least distinguishes between fact and fiction? * each movie answer option has the Fictional/Real-Life key listed
Discuss the topic here.
Which of these select* fictional movies, that some claim a thinly veiled line exists between real-life and fiction, is the film à clef that least distinguishes between fact and fiction? * each movie answer option has the Fictional/Real-Life key listed
Discuss the topic here.
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- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDorothy ComingoreFollowing the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'Fictional: Charles Foster Kane
Real-Life: William Randolph Hearst - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMatt DamonTom SizemoreFollowing the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.Fictional: Ryan Brothers: Daniel, Peter, Sean and James
Real-Life: Niland brothers: Edward, Preston, Robert, and Frederick aka "Fritz" - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroSharon StoneJoe PesciIn Las Vegas, two best friends - a casino executive and a mafia enforcer - compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.Fictional: Sam "Ace" Rothstein, Nicholas "Nicky" Santor the Tangiers Casino
Real-Life: Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro and the Stardust Casino - DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJohnny DeppBenicio Del ToroTobey MaguireAn oddball journalist and his psychopathic lawyer travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychedelic escapades.Fictional: Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo
Real-Life: Hunter S. Thompson and Oscar "Zeta" Fierro - DirectorGus Van SantStarsNicole KidmanMatt DillonJoaquin PhoenixA beautiful but naïve aspiring television personality films a documentary on teenagers with a darker ulterior motive.Fictional: Suzanne Stone-Maretto, Larry Maretto and Jimmy Emmett
Real-Life: Pamela Wojas-Smart, Greggory Smart and William Flynn - DirectorMike NicholsStarsJohn TravoltaEmma ThompsonKathy BatesA man joins the political campaign of a smooth-operator candidate for President of the United States of America.Fictional: Jack Stanton and Susan Stanton
Real-Life: William "Bill" Clinton and Hillary Clinton - DirectorBill CondonStarsBeyoncéJamie FoxxEddie MurphyA trio of black female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.Fictional: The Dreamettes: Deena Jones, Effie White, Lorrell Robinson
Real-Life: The Supremes: Diana Ross, Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson - DirectorDennis GanselStarsJürgen VogelFrederick LauMax RiemeltA high school teacher's experiment to demonstrate to his students what life is like under a dictatorship spins horribly out of control when he forms a social unit with a life of its own.
- DirectorEdward NortonStarsEdward NortonGugu Mbatha-RawAlec BaldwinIn 1950s New York, Lionel, a private detective with Tourette syndrome, sets out to uncover the mystery behind his mentor and only friend Frank's murder. Scouring the jazz clubs and slums of Brooklyn, he soon uncovers a web of secrets.Fictional: Moses Randolph, Paul Randolph and Gabby Horowitz
Real-Life: Robert Moses, Paul Moses and Jane Jacobs - DirectorCameron CroweStarsBilly CrudupPatrick FugitKate HudsonA high-school boy in the early 1970s is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies them on their concert tour.Fictional: William Miller
Real-Life: Cameron Crowe - DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinPaulette GoddardJack OakieDictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel's regime.Fictional: Adenoid Hynkel and Benzino Napaloni
Real-Life: Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini - DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartJohn DallFarley GrangerTwo men attempt to prove they committed the perfect crime by hosting a dinner party after strangling their former classmate to death.Fictional: Brandon Shaw and Phillip Morgan
Real-Life: Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb
also Compulsion (1959) - DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsBette DavisAnne BaxterGeorge SandersA seemingly timid but secretly ruthless ingénue insinuates herself into the lives of an aging Broadway star and her circle of theater friends.Fictional: Margo Channing and Eve Harrington
Real-Life: Ruth Hirsch and Elizabeth Bergner - DirectorNick CassavetesStarsEmile HirschJustin TimberlakeAnton YelchinJohnny and his pals kidnap Jake's 15-year-old brother Zach, then assign his buddy Frankie to be Zach's minder. They develop a brotherly friendship. Zach parties with his captors as things begin to spin out of control.Fictional: Jesse James Hollywood and Nicholas Markowitz
Real-Life: Johnny Truelove and Zack Mazursky - DirectorFederico FelliniStarsMarcello MastroianniAnouk AiméeClaudia CardinaleA harried movie director retreats into his memories and fantasies.Fictional: Guido Anselmi
Real-Life: Federico Fellini - DirectorRobert LuketicStarsJim SturgessKate BosworthKevin SpaceyInspired by real events and people, 21 is about six MIT students who become trained to be experts in card counting in Black Jack and subsequently took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings.Fictional: Ben Campbell and Mickey Rosa
Real-Life: Jeff Ma and Bill Kaplan - DirectorDavid FrankelStarsAnne HathawayMeryl StreepAdrian GrenierA smart but sensible new graduate lands a job as an assistant to Miranda Priestly, the demanding editor-in-chief of a high fashion magazine.Fictional: Miranda Priestly
Real-Life: Anna Wintour - DirectorTodd HaynesStarsEwan McGregorJonathan Rhys MeyersChristian BaleIn 1984, British journalist Arthur Stuart investigates the career of 1970s glam superstar Brian Slade, who was heavily influenced in his early years by hard-living and rebellious American singer Curt Wild.Fictional: Brian Glade
Real-Life: David Bowie - DirectorHoward HawksRichard RossonStarsPaul MuniAnn DvorakKaren MorleyAn ambitious and nearly insane violent gangster climbs the ladder of success in the mob, but his weaknesses prove to be his downfall.Fictional: Tony Camonte
Real-Life: Alphonse "Scarface" Capone - DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsAnton WalbrookMarius GoringMoira ShearerA young ballet dancer is torn between the man she loves and her pursuit to become a prima ballerina.Fictional: Boris Lermontov
Real-Life: Serge Diaghilev - DirectorStanley KramerStarsSpencer TracyFredric MarchGene KellyBased on a real-life case in 1925; two great lawyers argue the case for, and against, a Tennessee science teacher accused of the crime of teaching Darwin's theory of evolution.Fictional: Henry Drummond, Matthew Harrison Brady, Judge John T. Raulston, E. K. Hornbeck, Sara Brady, and Bertram T. Cates
Real-Life: Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan, Judge Merle Coffey Henry L. Mencken, Mary Baird Bryan, and John Scopes - DirectorGus Van SantStarsMichael PittLukas HaasAsia ArgentoA Seattle musician's life and career are reminiscent of those of Kurt Cobain.Fictional: Blake
Real-Life: Kurt Cobain - DirectorWalter SallesStarsSam RileyGarrett HedlundKristen StewartYoung writer Sal Paradise has his life shaken by the arrival of free-spirited Dean Moriarty and his girl, Marylou. As they travel across the country, they encounter a mix of people who each impact their journey indelibly.Fictional Beat Movement Icons: Sal Paradise, Old Bull Lee, Carlo Marx, and Neal Cassady
Real-Life Beat Movement Icons: Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and Dean Moriarty - DirectorTom McCarthyStarsMatt DamonCamille CottinAbigail BreslinA father travels from Oklahoma to France to help his estranged daughter, who is in prison for a murder she claims she didn't commit.Fictional: Bill Baker and Allison Baker
Real-Life: Curt Knox and Amanda Knox - DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMady CorrellAllison RoddanA suave but cynical man supports his family by marrying and murdering rich women for their money, but the job has some occupational hazards.Fictional: Henri Verdoux
Real-Life: Henri Désiré Landru. - DirectorBob FosseStarsRoy ScheiderJessica LangeAnn ReinkingDirector/choreographer Bob Fosse tells his own life story as he details the sordid career of Joe Gideon, a womanizing, drug-using dancer.Fictional: Joseph "Joe" Gideon
Real-Life: Robert "Bob" Fosse - DirectorRobert RossenStarsBroderick CrawfordJohn IrelandJoanne DruThe rise and fall of a corrupt politician, who makes his friends richer and retains power by dint of a populist appeal.Fictional: Willie 'The Boss' Stark
Real-Life: Huey 'The Kingfish' Long, Jr. - DirectorAlexander MackendrickStarsBurt LancasterTony CurtisSusan HarrisonPowerful but unethical Broadway columnist J.J. Hunsecker coerces unscrupulous press agent Sidney Falco into breaking up his sister's romance with a jazz musician.Fictional: J.J. Hunsecker
Real-Life: Walter Winchell - DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodJeff FaheyCharlotte CornwellA thinly fictionalized account of a legendary movie director, whose desire to hunt down an animal turns into a grim situation with his movie crew in Africa.Fictional: John Wilson, Pete Verrill, Paul Landers, Katherine "Kay" Gibson, Philip "Phil" Duncan, Boat: The African Trader, and Movie: The African Traitor
Real-Life: John Huston, Peter Viertel Samuel "Sam" Spiegel. Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, Boat: The African Queen and Movie: The African Queen - DirectorCosta-GavrasStarsYves MontandIrene PapasJean-Louis TrintignantThe public murder of a prominent politician and doctor amid a violent demonstration is covered up by military and government officials. A tenacious magistrate is determined not to let them get away with it.Fictional: The Examining Magistrate, The Deputy (Z), and The General
Real-Life: Christos Sartzetakis, Grigoris Lambrakis and Konstantinos Mitsou - DirectorWilliam A. WellmanJack ConwayVictor FlemingStarsJanet GaynorFredric MarchAdolphe MenjouA young woman comes to Hollywood with dreams of stardom, and achieves them only with the help of an alcoholic leading man whose best days are behind him.Fictional: Vicki Lester and her husband, Norman Maine
Real-Life: Barbara Stanwyck and her husband, Frank Fay - DirectorElia KazanStarsRobert De NiroTony CurtisRobert MitchumF. Scott Fitzgerald's novel is brought to life in this story of a movie producer slowly working himself to death.Fictional: Monroe Stahr
Real-Life: Irving Thalberg - DirectorMark RydellStarsBette MidlerAlan BatesFrederic ForrestThe tragic life of a self-destructive female rock star who struggles to deal with the constant pressures of her career and the demands of her ruthless business manager.Fictional: Mary Rose Foster
Real-Life: Janis "Pearl" Joplin - DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsAnthony QuinnJacqueline BissetRaf ValloneA fictionalized account of the Greek shipping magnate, Onassis, and his meeting and subsequent marriage to the widow of assassinated U.S. president, Jacqueline Kennedy.Fictional: Theodore "Theo" Tomasis, Elizabeth "Liz" Cassidy
Real-Life: Aristotle "Ari" Onassis, Jacqueline "Jackie" Kennedy-Onassis - DirectorEdward ZwickStarsTom CruiseKen WatanabeBilly ConnollyNathan Algren, a US army veteran, is hired by the Japanese emperor to train his army in the modern warfare techniques. Nathan finds himself trapped in a struggle between two eras and two worlds.Another Film à Clef Not Listed
(pictured example)
Fictional: Captain Nathan Algren,
Real-Life: Captain Jules Brunet