The events that inspired the movies
The American Civil War, 1861 - 1865
At the start of the civil war, the chief issue was preserving the UNion. By 1864 the emancipation of slavery had become crucial.
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Lincoln delivering his Gettyburg Address, although the size of the crowd and the number of dignitaries on stage was probably not as great as this illustration suggests. This event is included in Spielberg's "Lincoln".
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One of the many recruiting posters enticing men to volunteer for the conflict. The uniform pictured might have been glamorous; however, it made its wearer a fine target on the battlefield.
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The 1857 Indian Revolt / Mutiny
The revoit in Lucknow.
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Scene from 1953's 'King of the Khyber Rifles', set in northwest India at the time of mutiny.
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The 'Great Game': the West v. Russia in Afghanistan / North-West Frontier India
The British army 's retreat from Afghanistan - final stand at Gandamak.
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Scene from 'Charlie Wilson's War': the USA arms the Taliban in order to defeat Russian forces.
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The Campaign Against the Thuggees
Thuggees as worshippers at a shrine to Kali.
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Death at Mayerling Lodge, Austria, 1889
Illustration supposedly depicting mourners viewing corpse of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary.
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Section of the Mayerling Scloss [Lodge] formerly belonging to the Austrian royal family, site of the famous double suicide of Rudolf and his teenage mistress Mary Vetsera.
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The Mayerling Lodge in the 1880s.
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Wartime Paranoia in Los Angeles, 1941-1943
Early 1942 - a lone Japanese submarine shells oils installations off Santa Barbara and sparks a panic in LA. The first section of Spielberg's '1941' makes use of the hysteria that ensued.
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Mid-1943 - racial tensions flare into violent riots as US military personnel and police attack Mexican-Americans wearing 'soot suits'. Spielberg incorporated rioting scenes in '1941' but attributed them to intra-service rivalry not racism.
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The Spanish Civil War, 1936 -1939
Pablo Picasso's famous painting 'Guernica' depicting the German bombing of the Spanish town during the civil war. The conflict produced some artistic and literary masterpieces such as this painting, Hemingway's novel 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' and George Orwell's 'Homage to Catalonia'.
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A Republican {Left-wing government) poster.
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Death of a combatant in the conflict. Robert Capa took this most famous of all war photos.
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The American Counterculture of the 1960s
Hollywood hoped that the public interest in the counterculture movement would translate into big money at the box office.
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The 'free sex', anti-establishment ethos of the counterculture helped produce a more liberal atmosphere for younger movie-makers.
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The flower power era for Hollywood actually produced few good films about the counterculture, but a lot of duds like "Zabriskie Point".
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