What historical figure has been best represented in film?
I guess the question started when I was recently thinking again of Mightygodking's "I Should Write Dr. Strange" posts. He was discussing Dracula and pointed out some of the great actors who have portrayed Dracula in film (Bela Lugosi, Jack Palance, Gary Oldman, Christopher Lee). But Dracula's not real, at least the vampire isn't, if you're counting Vlad the Impaler as the inspiration for the Count then that's a real historical figure.
One guy I thought of was Wyatt Earp. There's Kurt Russell, James Garner (in Sunset), Henry Fonda, and Kevin Costner (a strike against Earp). That's not too shabby. There's probably someone who has done better. Anyone come to mind?
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4 comments:
Wyatt Earp is a great choice, but I think you are forgetting the performance of the majestic Burt Lancaster!
Or let's go controversial and say Jesus of Nazareth! Whatever your views on the religions based around him it seems clear that he's an accepted historical figure.
Max von Sydow, Donald Sutherland, Robert Powell, Willem Dafoe, Christian Bale, Jeremy Sisto, Will Ferrell, (err, oh well), Ralph Fiennes, James Caviezel, Matthew Modine, Chris Pontius (never heard of him, but what an ill-fitting surname) and Jack Black (minus points?). Tell me that's not a list.
Matthew; I think Jesus wins. Unless someone else has one.
I tried punching "wyatt Earp" into IMDb, which is how I got Fonda (I knew he or Jimmy Stewart played Earp at some point thanks to an episode of MASH), but it didn't say anything about Burt Lancaster.
Lancaster played him in 1957 in one of my favourite film, 'Gunfight at the OK Corral', alongside Kirk Douglas as Doc Holliday.
Holliday has had some fine screen representation himself of course: Dennis Quaid, Willie Nelson, Dennis Hopper, Stacy Keach, Adam West, Martin Landau, Victor Mature, Cesar Romero and not forgetting Val Kilmer.
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