Welcome to Season 3 of Reel History! We’ll be releasing 10 new episodes, aiming for a bi-weekly releases on Thursdays. Follow @reel_history on Twitter to find out what historical films/shows we’re covering in advance so that you can watch along with us.

We’re back, and it seems that nobody is safe from the inaccurate madness of Mel Gibson. That’s right, in our first season 3 episode we’re finally talking about Gibson’s opening gambit in the field of ahistorical epics — Braveheart.

Michael barely contains his ire as his nemesis (Mel Gibson) turns his gaze to the Scottish Wars of Independence. In a ludicrous portrayal of Scotland’s national heroes and villains we go on a trip through Scotland’s struggle for independence against the evil English. Wallace starts off inaccurately as a simple subsistence farmer and fights his way through the wrong years before ending up as an icon of Scottish national sovereignty. From living in a mud hut for some reason and wearing a Kilt from the wrong century to gathering a rabble of followers who have never seen a bath to boldly facing down the English royal army in inaccurate battles at the wrong sites using the wrong gear while wearing blue face paint that is from a mere 1200 years ago.

Join us as we discuss this muddling of the timeline that’s enough to give Doc Brown a headache and see can you make out the hushed rage under Michael’s voice as his archenemy butchers another historical period! Who was the real Wallace? Who was the real Edward I? Who the hell is Andrew de Moray and why is he always ignored for gods sake he’s so important, somebody pay attention…. Ahem

It’s Reel History, it’s Braveheart.

Stop asking us about it now, okay?

Sources:

“Robert the Bruce: King of Scots” by Ronald McNair Scott

The post Braveheart (1995) | William Wallace (1297) first appeared on Shows What You Know.

What’s this?! A Reel History spin off? A special feature? Well, whatever we’re calling it, we’re dropping one or two experimental episodes between seasons. We’ve been busy cooking up season 3 and it’s creeping closer by the day, so it’s well past time to start releasing these!

First off is a breakdown of the Top 5 Schemers throughout all of history. From lascivious to vicious and back again, listen to find out the true meaning of “Machiavellian”.

In the Season 2 finale we mentioned that we’d be doing 5 episodes between seasons but due to some audio issues – and the fact that we want to get Season 3 out as soon as possible – there won’t be five. There will be, like… one? Maybe two?? Either way, enjoy, and look forward to Reel History Season 3: coming soon!

In the wait for Season 3, in addition to screaming into the void about the lack of episodes, why don’t you entertain yourself by tweeting about the show (@reel_history), leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, and telling a friend? Much appreciated and see you soon. For more history trivia like “who invented the first curling iron in 1872“, you can visit lizzardco.com.

The post History Top 5 – Schemers first appeared on Shows What You Know.

“What’s this! I thought season 2 was over!”

It is but we’re going to sneak out some content between seasons, starting with this quick take on the trailer for Ridley Scott’s new The Last Duel, coming out in October!

We will most likely do a full episode on this film but since we’re between seasons we thought we’d chat about our hopes, hype and expectation.

Watch the trailer and let us know what you think @reel_history on Twitter or in a review on Apple Podcasts!

The post The Last Duel (2021) | Trailer Reaction first appeared on Shows What You Know.

If this is your first episode, you might want to pick a film you like and listen to that ep first – this is a special one, the finale of season 2! We’re answering listener questions, taking on a musical challenge and giving a sneak peak of what’s coming next in the history of Reel History. See you soon, friends – for now, that’s the end of the reel.

The post Reel History Season 2 Finale first appeared on Shows What You Know.

Ave, citizen!

It’s Episode 4 of our Roman epic and the ailing Republic is divided in two. It’s East vs. West, brains vs. brawn and man vs. woman (okay that’s a stretch) as Gaius Octavius steps into the limelight to face off against Mark Antony and his Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. It’s been a long haul but we promise we’re almost done… as the Republic transforms into the Empire, most of the iconic figures are off the board leaving only two viable factions. But as we all know, there can be only one.

Michael has calmed down after last episode having put things right for poor Cicero but we learn that his dislike for young Gaius is almost as strong as his reverence of the old statesman. We learn how Gaius Octavius rose from being an overly protected and sickly boy, seemingly no threat to anyone, to becoming the world’s most powerful man. It’s the ultimate expression of brains over brawn as Gaius Octavius outmanoeuvres the experienced soldiers and politicians alike who sought to use him and instead becomes as great as his uncle. It’s the coming of age of a dictator, from Octavius to Caesar. From simply Gaius, to Augustus.

We also delve into one of history’s most famous romances – Antony and Cleopatra. Antony had it all, Rome was practically at his heel, only a sickly and unimpressive young boy with a famous name in his way. But Cleopatra had plans, the Queen of Kings used her relationship with Antony to firmly establish her rule over Egypt, finally crushing any dissent from those who supported her brother in Egypt’s long civil war. We’ll discuss what Antony got up to in the East while Gaius Octavius consolidated the west and how Cleopatra figured into things.

The century of civil wars are coming to a close as some of Rome’s most famous men (and women) clash for a final time… The great Cicero hopes to save the dying Republic while Octavius and Antony fight it out with Rome’s fate hanging in the balance.

The Grachi, Marius, Sulla, Pompey, Crassus and Caesar all have shown the way and Gaius Octavius meant to outdo them all. His audaciousness and ruthlessness are the stuff of legend, daring to do what even Caesar himself had not.

But as he would put it: I am Caesar himself. 

Sources
Adrian Goldsworthy: Augustus: The First Emperor of Rome (2015)
Mary Beard- SPQR
Plutarch- The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans (Benediction Classics, Oxford 2015)

The post ROME IV | Rise of the Empire (42-27 BC) first appeared on Shows What You Know.

Friends! Romans! Countrymen! Lend me your ears! I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. It’s episode 3 of our coverage of HBO’s ROME, starting in on the second season – and the Republic hangs by a thread. The Great Julius Caesar is dead, the city is in shock. What next?

War… obviously. Haven’t you been paying attention?

Join us as we discuss the fallout of Caesar’s death, and the figures that tried to fill his considerable void. A grand conspiracy of senators led by the Epicurean Cassius formed around Brutus, son of Rome’s first family while Mark Antony and the Caesarian loyalists seem to be on the ropes. Surely the conspirators will push their advantage and dismantle the Caesarian revolution… right? All will be fine and the Republic restored… right?

Michael waxes lyrical about his hero, Marcus Tullius Cicero. Done a disservice by the show, Cicero rose from provincial obscurity to be one of the most important figures in all Roman history. The show portrays Cicero as conniving, snivelling and weak and frankly, Michael is not impressed.

Mark Antony comes to the fore, stepping in to lead Caesar’s faction in the wake of his mentor’s death. We discuss how Antony rose from ne’er do well to right-hand man of Caesar. Ever the opportunist, Antony didn’t have to be asked twice when it came time for Caesar’s funeral oration. He knew this was a tactical blunder from the conspirators and seized the opportunity to remind the mob of their love for Caesar, framing his death as a blow stuck to the mob by these supposed ‘nobles.’

Brutus and Cassius had believed they would restore Rome by removing the demagogue and defanging the mob. But Antony knew the truth – Rome is the mob.

The battle lines are redrawn. It’s the self-styled Librators against the Caesarians with the fate of Rome in the balance.

Meanwhile, Gaius Octavian waits in the wings.

Sources
Tom Holland – Rubicon (2003)
Plutarch – The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans (Benediction Classics, Oxford 2015)
Mary Beard – SPQR
Cicero and Michael Grant – Cicero, selected works (2004)
Robert Harris- The Cicero Trilogy (2021) (Historical fiction)

The post ROME III | And Brutus is an Honourable Man (44-42 BC) first appeared on Shows What You Know.

You’ve heard of Julius Caesar right? Sure you have, you don’t live under a rock. That’s a good start as our second episode on Rome covers the First Triumvirate. Caesar and his pals – history’s richest man Crassus and the swashbuckling Pompey the Great – came together to run roughshod over the ailing Republic. But who were they before they took political control?

We talk about the life of Julius Caesar from dodging a death order for refusing a divorce and racking up just a frankly extraordinary debt to adventuring around the Mediterranean and being captured by pirates. Rome’s most famous man about town; Caesar went from being the most talked about style icon among the youth of Rome to a general who committed genocide, wiping out a million people in his (illegal) Gallic Wars.

One part Jeff Bezos, one part Tywin Lannister, Marcus Crassus Dives was history’s first evil property baron. We discuss his role in propping up the political alliance that would ruin the Republic. From putting down the Slave General Spartacus to an ill-fated invasion of modern-day Iraq. This is the man who once said ‘you aren’t really rich until you can afford your own army.’

And not to forget the Republic’s military darling! Join us as we discuss why Gnaeus Pompey would be known to history as ‘Pompey the Great.’ Once Caesar’s greatest friend and ally (as well as weirdly his son-in-law…don’t worry about it), by the time of Caesar’s ascent, Pompey’s star was on the wane. Would the strain this placed on their friendship lead to a break? Was Rome big enough for the both of them?

No. Obviously not.

It’s episode 2 of 4! Rome’s Republic was punch drunk from a century of civil strife and war. Would Cicero and the Senate manage to overcome the Gang of Three and restore democracy to the Eternal City or was it too late?

Illegal wars, intrigue, familial disputes and treachery. Caesar is at the Rubicon.

The lines are drawn. The die is cast.

Sources
Tom Holland- Rubicon (2003)
Plutarch- The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans (Benediction Classics, Oxford 2015)

The post ROME II | The Die is Cast (49 BC – 44 BC) first appeared on Shows What You Know.

Join us for the first episode of our deep dive on the history that inspired the BBC/HBO series Rome (2005-2017). Oh you say you know nothing about the Roman Empire? Perfect, this is the pod for you, citizen.

There’s plenty of

Rome went from a

Hannibal is at the

Spoiler- Badly. It’s

This is Roman

It may have taken

Sources
Mary Beard- SPQR (2016)
Tom Holland- Rubicon (2003)
Cassius Dio- Roman History (1989)
Livy- The Early History of Rome (2002)
Mike Duncan- The Storm Before the Storm (2017)

The post ROME I | Rise of the Republic (753 BC – 49 BC) first appeared on Shows What You Know.

Greetings, partisans, to episode 5 of Reel History Season 2!

Join us as we focus our lens on a bombastic and brilliant tale of ‘a bushwhacking gorilla army doing one thing and one thing only – killing Nazis’. These memorable opening lines are spoken in the southern drawl of Brad Pitt’s Lieutenant Aldo in the alternate history war film ‘Inglourious Basterds’ (2009).

Quentin Tarantino stamps his trademark style on this classic revenge flick set once upon a time in Nazi occupied France to the tune of David Bowie singing “putting out fire with gasoline”.

Expertly cast and shot, this film reels out several unforgettable, slow-boil scenes as we follow Jewish orphan Shosanna (Mélanie Laurent) on a quest for retribution, all while stalked by the ‘Jew hunter’ Col. Hans Landa – superbly played by Christopher Waltz. The plot thickens when Lt. Aldo’s rampaging crack troop of Jewish soldiers attempt a daring ambush of the Nazi high command in the very cinema where Shosanna plans her own revenge!

Now none of this plot happened, and the film doesn’t pretend it did, but we thought it was a worthy excuse to dive into the real history behind the era!

We learn if such a boisterous band of Jewish fighters existed and why France fell flat as a crêpe to the Nazis in just a few weeks, then discussing the murky world of Marshal Pétain’s Vichy puppet state and the heavy toll paid for the occupation.

We find out how the fire of resistance exploded to form ‘l’armée des ombres’ as the battle for the soul of France was fought between General De Gaulle’s Free French forces and communist partisans who held two very different visions for the future of France.

Sources:
‘Modern France’ by Jonathan Fenby.
‘Fighters in the Shadows’ by Robert Gildea.

The post Inglourious Basterds (2009) | Vive La Résistance! (1940) first appeared on Shows What You Know.

Welcome aboard for episode 4 of Reel History Season 2!

To quote Jakob – “this week we’ve gone nautical, lads” so all hands on deck as we man the canons and survey the horizon for dark sails in the epic period war drama “ Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” (2003).

Although it’s got Russell Crowe as the gregarious Captain “lucky” Jack Aubrey, this is far from just Gladiator on the sea. Peter Weir delivers a tense ocean-spanning, cat-and-mouse chase which immerses us in the claustrophobic, choppy waters of life on the damp and cramped – HMS Surprise.

This charming, critically acclaimed film is drawn from Patrick O’ Brian’s Aubrey Maturin novels. It contains a heady mix of explosive naval battles, deception, sea shanties, violin sessions and even a weird and wonderful stop off at the Galápagos Islands.

Set in 1805, all this is of course just a back drop to the wider global battle for supremacy between Britain and its allies against French dominated Europe. Napoleon is gearing up to carry out a naval invasion of Britain with 167,000 French troops hastily brushing up on their English to invade Kent at a moments notice.

Join us as we discuss this fight to the death, real life on a ship, Napoleons dastardly plans, the “Great Terror”, Trafalgar and much more as we learn why Admiral Nelson famously said ‘ I never trust a Corsican or a Frenchman’.

Sources
’The Age of Revolution 1789-1848’ by Eric Hobsbawn
‘Trafalgar : Countdown to Battle, 1803 -1805’ by Alan Schom
‘Napoleon the Great’ by Andrew Roberts

The post Master and Commander (2003) | The Napoleonic Wars (1805) first appeared on Shows What You Know.