The Film: Hidalgo (2004)
The Hollywood Version: “The True Story Of A Man Who Went Halfway Around The World To Find Himself.”
Viggo Mortensen is Frank Hopkins, invited by wealthy sheik to enter the Ocean Of Fire, a 3,000-mile survival race across the Arabian desert.
The Sheik puts his claim to be the West’s greatest rider to the test, pitting the American cowboy and his mustang, Hidalgo, against the world's greatest Arabian horses and Bedouin riders - some of whom are determined to prevent a foreigner from finishing the race.
Just The Facts: Well, there was a man called Frank Hopkins. And it appears he did ride horses.
Native American reviewers disparaged the film because they saw it as furthering white stereotypes of Indian culture and behaviour.
Pointing out that Hopkins himself lied continually about his experiences and background, they claim that Hopkins was among many white men to claim Indian ancestry for personal gain.
Oh, and apparently there never was a race like the Ocean of Fire. And there's no documentation to prove that Hopkins ever went to the Arabian desert.
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Comments
EthanRunt
Jun 3rd 2009, 14:51
So Fargo never stretched the truth from the story it's based on? Interesting.
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MarkPowell
Jun 3rd 2009, 18:21
@ EthanRunt: Fargo is wholly fictional. It merely *declares* tself a true story, (more or less) an outright lie - as (more or less) freely admitted by the Coens.
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adammiller2k
Jun 4th 2009, 7:18
Ben Hur? Did Jesus really give Charlton Heston some water? Were Romans really that homoerotic?
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Rusty4bears
Jun 8th 2009, 8:18
What about A Perfect Storm?? That started fibbing the moment that they lost radio communication with land...15 minutes in.
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