5. Captain Joe Baker-Cresswell and The Crew of HMS Bulldog- U-571
How They Were Screwed: Ah U-571, the film where Matthew McConaughey and his American chums capture the Naval Enigma Machine. Except the first Naval Enigma Machine capture was May 9, 1941whilst the United States didnt officially declare war on Japan and Germany until December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbour. Now either McConaughey had some real balls by entering the war on Americas behalf early, or he used a time machine to go back in time to steal the Enigma Code (think Inglorious Basterds meets Back to the Future). Oh wait; I forgot the other possibility, Hollywood completely changed history in order to Americanize an Un-American event in History, making them once again the heros of the world. So if Matthew McConaughey didnt capture the enigmawho did?
In Reality: As I said the capture was made on May 9, 1941, not by the Americans but by the British, more specifically HMS Bulldog. The vessel commanded by Captain Joe Baker-Cresswell seized the Enigma Machine along with associated cipher keys from U-110 (they couldnt even get the code of the titular vessel correct!). On a side note, the real U-571 wasnt sunk until January 1944 and the Americans didnt do that either, it was the Ozzies. Not only was the film an affront to the Captain and crew of HMS Bulldog, but also The Royal Navy and the British war effort in general. 6 years after release, U-571s screenwriter David Ayer admitted that It was a distortion...a mercenary decision...to create this parallel history in order to drive the movie for an American audience. Both my grandparents were officers in World War II, and I would be personally offended if somebody distorted their achievements. Is there any more damning condemnation than this? How would you feel if your life was stretched, adapted and ignored as in the cases of the above? Do you think that Hollywood is allowed too much freedom in the manipulation of the lives of real people? As usual, leave your opinion in the comment box below.