10 Movies That Improved On History By Blatantly Lying

4. Shakespeare In Love

Shakespeare In Love This one's a little tricky because, in fact, we don't know a whole lot about William Shakespeare, despite him being an insanely prolific author. As such, some works of fiction have sought to speculate by filling in the gaps themselves, as in Shakespeare In Love, where it's suggested that the author found his inspiration for Romeo and Juliet after falling in love with a woman. While many probably went away from the film thinking it truthful, it is a complete lie, one with no substantiation in fact, and more to the point, it's thought that Shakespeare derived the story from other sources instead. That said, without this steamy love story and all the hilarity that follows, there wouldn't be much of a film, and given that it went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars (thoroughly robbing Saving Private Ryan, mind), it's clear that the lie was worth it.
 
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Frequently sleep-deprived film addict and video game obsessive who spends more time than is healthy in darkened London screening rooms. Follow his twitter on @ShaunMunroFilm or e-mail him at shaneo632 [at] gmail.com.