Reel History

Do you love the smell of napalm in the morning? It’s episode 9 of season 3 of Reel History and much like the Americans we have been bogged down in the dense jungles of Vietnam! Last episode Michael gave you a whistle-stop tour of Vietnamese history, leading all the way up to the period that... The post Apocalypse Now II | The Smell of Napalm (1955 – 1975) first appeared on Shows What You Know .

This ain’t no USO show so hold on to your cavalry hat and jump onboard a Huey for episode 8 of Season 3 of Reel History! In a new departure, we’re delivering up our first double-barrelled episode in honour of Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam war masterpiece ‘Apocalypse Now’ (1979). There really was was just too... The post Apocalypse Now I | The Fall and Rise of Vietnam (111 BC – 1954) first appeare...

Fáilte go dtí Reel History! We’re finally going local – this week we dive into the wild forests of Irish history with Wolfwalkers, our first Irish feature film and first animated film. Come along on a mythical romp thorugh oppressed Cromwellian Ireland and learn how puritanical Christianity clashed with Irish mythology and tradition! Wolfwalkers concludes... The post Wolfwalkers (2020)...

Oh, you want more Vikings? We’ve got more Vikings. In this third (and final) installment about the History Channel’s drama series Vikings, we’re talking about the main characters and their real-life counterparts… er… if they in fact existed. Join as we discuss the man, the myth, the legend – Ragnar Lodbrok! Was he a simple... The post Vikings III | The End of the Viking Age (1066) first appe...

We’re halfway through season 3 of Reel History! This week we’re taking a deeper look at Vikings, using the TV show as a basis to explore the real history of the Viking age. In this second installment (out of three) we zoom through a rapid fire timeline, dropping in on key events that shaped the... The post Vikings II | A Timeline of the Viking Age (794 – 1065) first appeared on Shows W...

Today we start a trilogy; three episodes tackling the smash-hit historical drama Vikings! The show features historical (?) characters such as Ragnar Lothbrok, Rollo, the first ruler of Normandy, and the easily pronounced Hrafna-Flóki Vilgerðarson. These friendly travellers traipse across the entire Viking age so we thought we might do the same and take a... The post Vikings I | Life During the Vik...

It seemed so perfect. We had Oliver Stone, the filmmaker behind JFK & Nixon; the auteur director of Wall Street, Platoon and the Doors. We had a monstrous budget, a huge cast and locations from India to Morocco. We had one of history’s most interesting characters. We even had an excellent historical consultant on hand... The post Alexander (2004) | The Great (323 BC) first appeared on Shows Wh...

Lances at the ready for episode 2 of season 3 of Reel History! In this week’s journey into the mists of time, Michael struggles with his French pronunciation and hopes no one will notice as we muster our forces to give battle to 2021’s ‘The Last Duel’ (now streaming on Disney +). With Ridley Scott... The post The Last Duel (2021) | The Death of Trial by Combat (1386) first appeared on Shows What Y...

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... The post Braveheart (1995) | William Wallace (1297) first...

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... 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... The post The Last Duel (2021) | Trailer Reaction first appeared...

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

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... The post ROME II | The Die is Cast (49 BC – 44 BC) first appeared on S...

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 melodrama as we discuss how the familial feuds and incestuous relationships among the Roman... The post ROME I | Rise of the Republic (753 BC – 49 BC) first appeared on Shows...

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 post Inglourious Basterds (2009) | Vive La Résistance! (1940) first appeared o...

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

Akira Kurosawa has stood the test of time as one of the most influential filmmakers ever, and his 1954 big-budget historical film Seven Samurai is a huge part of that legacy. A t the time, Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai was the most expensive film ever made in Japan, and you can certainly see that money on... The post Seven Samurai (1954) | Sengoku Jidai (1586) first appeared on Shows What You Kno...

Welcome to episode 2 of season 2 of Reel History! 🎤 This week we dust off our mics, clear our throats and try not to choke as we digest the 2006 smash hit ‘Apocalypto’. Mel Gibson delivers a heart thumping tropical jungle chase that is one part Rambo, one part Predator with a double serving... The post Apocalypto (2006) | Mesoamerica Meets Cortés (1519) first appeared on Shows What You Know .

Season 2 of Reel History starts today! We’re aiming to release episodes every other week so please subscribe, leave us a review and tweet your history puns at us @reel_history. A Knight’s Tale from 2001 is a sport films about jousting and while it has a tenuous connection to any real history it serves as... The post A Knight’s Tale (2001) | Feudal Europe (1372) first appeared on Shows...

With 10 episodes we’re closing out season 1 of Reel History! In this finale episode we follow a more loose structure, having general chats about history and answering listener questions that have cropped up throughout the season. If you have any questions for us to answer in future episodes, don’t hesitate to get in touch... The post Reel History Season 1 FINALE first appeared on Shows...

Welcome to episode nine of Reel History: Shows What You Know About Braveheart! Join us as we delve into 14th Century Britain and come to terms with the feudal struggle between the Kingdoms of Scotland and England. How can a man falling off a horse lead to decades of bloodshed? How does Robert the Bruce... The post Outlaw King (2018) | Robert the Bruce at War (1304) first appeared on Shows What You...

Welcome to Cut to Black: A Reel History Special. This is a crossover between two of our Shows What You Know podcasts! On Cut to Black we discuss The Sopranos; on Reel History we dig into the historical context of movies and television. This episode bridges the gap between both podcasts as we’ll be using... The post The Irishman (2019) | The American Mafia (1975) first appeared on Shows What You Kn...

Welcome to episode 7 of Reel History ! Well this week we were eager to find out “how does a ragtag volunteer army in need of a shower- Somehow defeat a global superpower?” 🤔 So naturally our gaze couldn’t help being drawn to the phenomenal smash hit “Hamilton – An American Musical” (2015) ! Who... The post Hamilton (2015) | American Revolution (1776) first appeared o...