Historian Breaks Down U.S. Presidents in Hollywood Movies | Deep Dives

[@HistoryHit]

Hey y'all, hope you enjoyed this episode of Deep Dives! Let us know which film you think contains the most accurate depiction of a U.S. President in history in the comments below! 👇

[@lemon_j22]

Howdy History Hit. I liked Bryan Cranston's portrayal of Johnson. I think he really got across the sense of frustration and how what we think it must be like versus the reality of situations. It just felt the most human to me, whereas some of the other's seem overly-dramatic (as if every scene in their life was this epic moment or something) or kinda cardboard cut-out representations to appease what the audience thinks they already know. You could really feel how wily he was as a politician with years of experience. Maybe it was easier to do with Johnson because of like what you mentioned, he wasn't really a movie star glitzy or the people's choice President, and so most people don't have so many preconceptions and are more open to actually just experiencing the reality of what it was like (or close to, it is a film after all) by watching that film. I'd say the Harry Truman portrayal comes second, for similar reasons, but it wasn't really about him so much. Anyway thanks.

[@joannabaity8520]

The Cuban Missile Crisis did It for me because I remember it so well! We were all hiding under our desks at school! (Safety Drills) As if THAT would save us! I also remember the Assination of JFK vividly! I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when it happened! Everything changed after that!

[@rubo111]

Your channel propagates so many falsehoods that now I automatically question anyone's credentials who appears in your thumbnails. You have gone the Horrible Histories route into irrelevance.

[@m7ray]

I will be waiting for the reaction of the greatest expert in the world on ancient Egypt, Canaan, Ancient Greece, Rome, medieval Europe, Vikings, ancient China, medieval Japan, the Soviet Union and soon on presidents of the United States - Metatron HAHAHAHA

[@Renaissance_Kamikaze]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6TEi4lsedZme5ofeature=shared

[@mraecoll]

Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln may be my favorite portrayal of any historical figure of all time. The gravitas that he carries on to the screen is incredible.

[@HistoryHit]

The G.O.A.T?

[@cheften2mk]

His soft spoken voice is close to the description of Lincoln’s voice.

[@mraecoll]

@@HistoryHit Don’t know whether you mean Daniel Day-Lewis or Abraham Lincoln, but the answer is “yes” regardless.

[@shaggycan]

DDL is to Lincoln as Jeremy Brett is to Sherlock Holmes.

[@beachbrettf]

... Benjamin Walker had a more accurate portrayal.

[@DocZFlux]

Tommy Lee Jones was also fantastic as Thaddeus Stevens in Lincoln

[@paulrailton2221]

Dan Shaw was on breakfast TV saying Putin wants to overthrow Europe. I will never trust a word that comes out of his mouth again.

[@kylek29]

Wait, so you're telling me Abraham Lincoln was not a vampire hunter? This news upsets me and my day is ruined.

[@throwawayburnerusername]

dude, you been living under a rock?! that was not news, it was already 5 hours old.

[@halostingray87]

And your nights have suddenly become more dangerous...

[@rogerstlaurent8704]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣Good one .. Wish History Hit talk about Slick Willie Clinton The cigar a 22 yro intern and a Crooked PP and the Stained Blue Dress 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@karlkarlos3545]

What a funny comment this was.... 12 years ago.

[@TheHistoricalDocumentary]

you don't differentiate between Hollywood and real life ah, ha ha

[@PalmelaHanderson]

The Cuban Missile crisis is fascinating. The world was really on the brink of apocalypse and very few people know how close it really came. I actually have Vasili Arkhipov's name tattooed on myself. Not many people can claim to have single handedly saved all of humanity.

[@wcatholic1]

" We stood eyeball to eyeball and they blinked first!"

[@TheOldDragoon]

The other one that pops to mind is Russian as well. LtCol Stanislav Petrov.

[@MrJamyang24]

Qqqqqqqqqqq❤q❤❤❤qqqqqqqqqq❤​@@wcatholic1

[@heatherevert274]

@@TheOldDragoon I celebrate Stanislav Petrov day every year.

[@shisuiuchiha4948]

Lmao stop the glazing

[@celly589]

Saw you in Netflix’s trailer for their Churchill docuseries coming out later this year and I was like “hey that’s Dan from history hit!”

[@karntom101]

Oh neat! What it called?

[@kevin1355]

You've given me a massive backlog of movies to watch. Thank you.

[@HistoryHit]

Haha, you're welcome!

[@livethefuture2492]

I would love to see a full deep dive on Lincoln! Such an amazing portrayal by Daniel day Lewis. One of my favourite historical portrayals ever put on screen!

[@XZoomie]

Gary Senise's portrayal of Truman in the movie "Truman" all through his political career is wonderfully nuanced.

[@tlmiller301]

@HistoryHit is one of my favorite YT channels. Love their breakdowns of historical movies

[@stephaniecowans3646]

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, I was a small child (5 yrs old?) and I remember at a site near where I lived, the silos were open and ICBM'S aimed. In my youth, it was like Disneyland. I did not know at the time, that my mother was trying not to panic because she was alone with 3 young children and my father was away on business so she didn't know if we were all going to die. I also remember when the missiles were lowered back into the silos and being disappointed at not seeing them anymore. Thank the gods this did get resolved.

[@wcatholic1]

I was 2 months old.

[@SPQRTempus]

David Frost in Frost/Nixon was played by English actor Michael Sheen, not American actor Martin Sheen.

[@JenniferBECKETT-py8vl]

And he is brilliant!

[@viperzvapourz4738]

*Welsh actor Michael Sheen

[@Twiggys145]

He’s Welsh. English is not synonymous with British

[@thegreyarea-WPP]

@@Twiggys145to be fair, when Martin Sheen was born, Wales hadn’t had the referendum and devolution of powers and still counted as being a principality belonging to England. It was only 1997 when the change to that finally came in. That’s why, even back to the Act of Union in 1536, the United Kingdom was the merging of Scotland and England with Wales simply being a part of England. Later in time Ireland was drawn into it which is why the Union Flag became the cross of St. George, the diagonal cross of St. Andrew, and the diagonal cross of St. Patrick. I personally think that post-1997 the flag should include a dragon too, but my opinion doesn’t count for anything really. As for Michael Sheen himself, I think he’s amazing, especially in Good Omens he was perfect for the role of Aziraphale alongside David Tenant’s Crowley. They work so well together.

[@charlesflohr1815]

The craziest story about Vasili Arkhipov is that he was also the 1st officer on the infamous K-19 widow maker that had a nuclear engine failure a few years earlier. Man is an unheralded hero.

[@dwightlee4315]

You missed one of my favorite examples of a president in movies... The Wind and the Lion, Teddy Roosevelt

[@sevun1]

I think we in America need these reminders and deep dives into the leaders of our country and the values that they place on our nation! Thank you for this overview. Hope there may be more!

[@johnnyoutlaw6534]

This historian is such a stud. Love a man who is a history buff.

[@jamesdoyle5405]

Lyndon Johnson came to Congress as a Represenitive from Texas in the 1930s during the Roosevelt administration. Roosevelt was the role model LBJ tried to emulate and he wanted to succeed at those things FDR could not do.

[@williamrobinson7435]

Well hi - de - hi! I'm not really much of a film watcher mostly when it comes to important historical events, but I did enjoy this. Nice one Dan and team! 🌟👍

[@tinamagnuson9656]

If you read Doris Kearn Goodwin’s a Team Of Rivals upon which the movie is based, she details the genius of Lincoln and how he knew when the time would be right to move ahead with the abolition of slavery as he needed Congress to pass the amendment. He knew if tried too early and failed, he may never succeed nor be re-elected.

[@peterfraser9070]

CA Tripp's The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln is also quite interesting.

[@andrewwestman2407]

I wish you didn’t have to limit this to Hollywood movies. The History Channel’s “Grant” was an unbelievably impressive portrayal of Ulysses S. Grant but it’s a 3 episode series. So good.

[@dionysusNME]

I was going to say, that History Channel Grant Bio series was shockingly well acted by the lead

[@kevinpace6121]

Don’t sleep on David Costabile as James Ashley in Lincoln. Fantastic performance as a counter to Lincoln.

[@jillfromatlanta427]

He is equally excellent in many roles, including as a baddie in Damages.

[@davidloftus3771]

Very entertaining and informative.

[@HistoryHit]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@uToobeD]

The Bush and Cheney actors look spot on, wow

[@karlkarlos3545]

It's tons of makeup. Cheney is played by Christian Bale after all.

[@uToobeD]

@@karlkarlos3545 Yeah, I knew that, but to be honest when i saw him I'd forgotten. Regardless of the "how", it's brilliantly done and convincing. The Bush too looks very well done

[@jilips]

Fantastic video! Lincoln will forever be my favorite person in history

[@lw3646]

Lincoln is one of my favourite movies of the 2010s. Its just so excellent, the scipt, the music, the acting, just superb. 😊 You also learn a lot too watching it.

[@diannerenn4726]

When the President does it, it's not illegal. So says the Supreme Court of the US. Heaven help us!

[@Skye_Writer]

😭

[@Rob_Enhoud]

Should have used the accurate depiction of Lincoln in Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.

[@josephpetrino1741]

It's nice to see other countries get interested in American history. We squeezed some compelling moments into our short history. Now is no exception.

[@Boots1164]

I can never get enough of the True North speech in Lincoln, it's so good.

[@kingtutt3371]

"If the President does it, It's not illegal. No one else shares that view." he said. They used to not. Now they do.

[@George-ni5ic]

Codified by a really poorly written ruling by a really weak and compromised court.

[@janerkenbrack3373]

This reminds us of the importance of character when choosing a President. This goes for all government offices, but especially for the Presidency, because its power is a single person. In the US Constitution, Congress is the first branch of three co-equal branches. The Executive branch is second. The idea is to spread power out, to avoid the hazards that come when power is concentrated.

[@davidhurray]

Love this video!

[@D2RCR]

Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln is easily my favorite theatrical depiction of a president ever. He totally nailed it. I have to give an honorable mention to Rufus Jones in the Theodore Roosevelt TV miniseries though. The portrayal wasn't 100% perfect, but he absolutely was Roosevelt in the moment.

[@bobbydylanio]

Very picky of me but it irks me that when Lincoln is in a camp you'd expect every pair of eyes to be on Lincoln, but the extras have clearly been told NOT to look at Lincoln. No-one makes the merest glance!

[@Dench999or911]

Should have watched the Gary Sinise film Truman for a better representation of him. Oppenheimer is cartoonish in it’s portrayal

[@lw3646]

Peter Jennings actually did an excellent report on Truman and the dropping of the bombs.

[@TheAmazingSpiderman87]

By far the best scene in Lincoln is when he argues both legal sides of the emancipation proclamation. Hell, the whole movie was great. Didn't feel like a movie, felt like you were there.

[@qjones6109]

This is such good work my man

[@shaggycan]

My favorite portrayal of JFK: Bill Burr. That being said I love Thirteen Days. Maybe the first film I ever saw fellow Canadian Bruce Greenwood in.

[@Alexbacica]

Another proof, if was still needed, that Sam Rockwell is one of the best and most underrated actors of his generation.

[@FancyMcDancy]

I find it strange and a little disappointing that Snow makes no mention of how well Day-Lewis depicted Lincoln's walk, speech, voice and mannerisms. I understand from other reviews of the film that he came uncannily close.

[@Tman001100]

It was a pretty good portrayal...albeit overly dramatized as hollywood predictably does too often.

[@karenteneyck9835]

He stayed in character ALL day even when he wasn’t shooting a scene. Before he arrived to begin filming we had to remove all the Lincoln portraits hanging in our offices. DDL didn’t want to see them because he WAS Lincoln. Rewarding experience. He also did Lincoln’s signature perfectly on every document he signed on camera. He insisted on doing Lincoln’s unexpectedly high pitched voice that he knew from his research. Yes, he’s very ‘method’. 😀

[@GylesJohnson]

Well done HH. A very enjoyable hour. 👍

[@HistoryHit]

Thanks Gyles 👍

[@davidsullivan7743]

I would love to see Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of A Team of Rivals, give her breakdown of the film Lincoln, the film is a masterpiece without a poor performance in it

[@karenteneyck9835]

Her book was the source material for the movie.

[@ysolda9614]

I was looking forward to commentary on Lincoln the Vampire Hunter you know.. sadge

[@victoriafrost5461]

You should look into the television series Turn: Washington's Spies. Check out how Ian Khan played General Washington.

[@therealmckoy365]

I really like how the actor in the John Adam’s series portrayed Washington, too.

[@jgberzerker]

There was a documentary a few years back where McNamara says he spoke to Castro in 1992 where Castro said there were 172 nuclear warheads, including 90 tactical warheads already in Cuba on October 27th.

[@bartooh1993]

Awesome breakdown! But it feels like something’s missing... Key & Peele’s Obama sketches would’ve been a perfect addition to this topic!

[@MotorPotor56]

"pettifogging Tammany Hall hucksters" is the best line

[@5Andysalive]

tbf "the other guy" at Gettysburg was supposed to give a long speech and Lincoln was supposed to add a few remarks. So it's a bit unfair, how bad a press he gets nowadays. It's not like he hijacked the stage and just went for it unwanted. also the cabinet scenes with Lincoln are a very neat way to explain things to the viewer, without making it too on the nose.

[@katherinecollins4685]

Brilliant video

[@helenwood1]

Kudos-this is well-researched. I learned a lot! With Hollywood movies, you never know what to believe and what not to.

[@terryjohnson5579]

Jesus until you showed that picture i didnt realize how well cast Tommy Lee Jones was as Thaddeus Stevens.

[@Pete_Finch]

Let's not forget that Truman was a very successful and respected Captain in WW1 - the guy knew how to get things done militarily, not just from an ivory tower. Also, I always felt bad for Colin Powell - he was a real General that cared deeply about his troops from Vietnam all the way through to the Gulf War. Being in W's cabinet ruined his reputation and it didn't need to happen

[@Lukecash2]

The fact of the matter, his WWI experience was what convinced him to drop the bomb. Front line trench warfare was not good. Most Americans felt that lives were wasted.

[@rustomkanishka]

The film Vice shows Secretary of State Powell as being a man who shouldered the blame and sold out his stellar reputation on behalf of the Bush administration. This is apparently when he sold the case for the Iraq War to the UN and the American people. He's also shown to be morally bothered by this. As much as one may feel bad for the man, I'm not sure why he'd go along with such a lie. His reputation is one thing, and I'm sure it was very dear to him. But his participation in the lie got a lot of people killed, including US servicemen as well as a lot of Iraqi civilians. That last part seems glossed over.

[@acrustykrab]

really enjoyed this one. i feel like I'm undereducated in how influential each and every President has been

[@trapdoorspringfieldmodel1888]

Hal Holbrook who is playing Francis Preston Blair in Lincoln also played Lincoln in the mini-series North and South (book 1 and 2) as well as in a 1974 - 76 mini-series called Sandburg's Lincoln.

[@conservativepineapples6203]

Hal Holbrook was amazing as Lincoln! His voice was so well suited to Lincoln.

[@anthonyhastings5961]

Thanks Dan. I've visited the Truman Presidential Library on a couple of occasions and it's amazing some of the documents they have on display that influenced the world history that my Grandparents lived through and told me about.

[@barppoots4378]

Lincoln needs a deep dive!

[@CaitlinSk]

After the Kennedy docuseries my outlook on Johnson changed. Jackie said she entered AF1, still bloody, and there was LBJ laying on the bed. Hands beneath his head, cowboy boots on, etc

[@peterfraser9070]

I'm no fan of LBJ, but what are you saying?

[@mademoisellelanoire4632]

Thank you, Dan Snow for this very detailed review! I saw your sit-down with Dan Jones lol…Two Dans! I saw the last movie called “The Vice”! It was a pretty nice and entertaining production! Anyway, keep up the good work! Lots of love to America from across the world! Cheers!

[@ericfellner2689]

The metaphors in Vice were so heavy handed, they may as well have printed "Get it? He's FISHING?; GET IT, HE HAS NO HEART?" Good performances, but the direction of the movie is so heavy-handed.

[@robertn2]

Daniel Day-Lewis version Lincoln more realistic than Dennis Weaver version of him. Some of us were children during the Cuban missile crisis, and the thought of being draft into Vietnam war when we turn 18 was also on our minds.

[@peterfraser9070]

Dennis Weaver also played Samuel Mudd, the doctor who wittingly or unwittingly helped Booth after he shot Lincoln.

[@lw3646]

Truman is in the top 10 list of presidents.

[@sellm_bc_arwhite4249]

I'm sure someone has pointed it out by now, but the description has an error - it is Michael Sheen, not Martin Sheen, playing David Frost.

[@uToobeD]

Richard Nixon has such a distinctive look and persona that it'd be next to impossible to get someone to play him. The guy they chose... looks absolutely nothing like him. I didn't even recognise it as Nixon until it was said that he was Nixon

[@robertpolityka8464]

I like the Anthony Hopkins version of Nixon.

[@TimRHillard]

I thought Lincoln the Vampire Hunter was pretty hysterically accurate🤔

[@Sabotage_Labs]

One of Spielberg's best movies! Absolutely love it! Thaddeus Stevens....my spirit animal...lol. Tom Lee Jones was so good.

[@smbake]

Dan Hedaya as Richard Nixon in Dick is the best by far (He was actually pretty good)..On a serious note, even though it wasn't movie, I thought Gary Sinise as Truman in the series on HBO was excellent.

[@HistorysRaven]

On the JFK movie and the pilots not reporting damage, one of my favorite scenes is the "bird strike" scene when the pilots return to base.

[@gatb4387]

Commenting from the start: YES, I needed this!

[@Alan7997]

Thirteen days is a brilliant movie.

[@terrioestreich4007]

Excellent!

[@mattgleissner]

The real Frost/Nixon interview was much less dramatic. Not quite the “gotcha” like in the movie. Nixon was a very intelligent man as well as a good President and a very popular one before Watergate (which would be NOTHING if it happened in today’s political landscape). He was also responsible for passing major civil rights legislation- since you mentioned it about Johnson.

[@StewartLawson]

38:43 "no-one else shares that view" that Nixon was acting within his powers as president even if it meant breaking the law. The Supreme Court of the United States has not only shared that view but also extended that to say exactly how far a President can go - and it's all the way apparently. Shame Dan didn't refer to this as it seems to vindicate Nixon's argument.

[@TheEnecca]

the supreme court recently?

[@StewartLawson]

@TheEnecca Trump v. United States (07/01/2024) "[Supreme Court] Justice Sonia Sotomayor said it plainly: “Under [the Supreme Court's] rule, any use of official power for any purpose, even the most corrupt purpose indicated by objective evidence of the most corrupt motives and intent, remains official and immune. Under the majority’s test, if it can be called a test, the category of Presidential action that can be deemed ‘unofficial’ is destined to be vanishingly small" It is now the law that Nixon was right.

[@DenisPopov888]

Why does nobody talk about a huge Nixon, 1995, where Sir Anthony Hopkins made a tremendous delivery of tormented soul, as well as his portrayal of John Quincy Adams in Amistad? Then, there was a smashing great Tom Berrebger as Teddy Roosevelt in Rough Riders. Why not talk about THEM?

[@protox07]

I like your videos

[@crispycookie9739]

This was interesting. Now, I'd like to see an American historian do a segment on British PMs

[@ZachCook1397]

I love All The Way using the Johnson lean, I think is what it’s called, where Johnson who was like 6’2”, 6’3” would just get into people’s personal space to browbeat them to agree with him

[@NickBallenger-i7i]

The fact that the VICE director thinks that W was stupid like a fish is exactly what W wanted everyone to think. There’s a reason he asked the VP to step in the role. Probably shouldn’t forget that there was more than one reason to ask someone to be VP. The “dumb Texan” is a great disguise.

[@scottw11354]

Id like to see one on just Lincoln...many have played him since BIRTH OF A NATION

[@newyorkeranew]

I enjoy this channel, but most incidents assessed exam the events and little examine how accurately the scenes are conveyed.

[@zacksung11]

Can't believe you forgot Fog of War, where LBJ was played by Michael Gambon, right around the time he was doing the first Harry Potter film.

[@robertpolityka8464]

In the movie, All The Way, Herbert Humprhey was still a US Senator from Minnesota. He didnt become VP until after the election.

[@nathanielpemberton9303]

MISTAKE/CORRECTION at 27:03: 60 votes are needed in the senate to overcome the filibuster and pass standard legislation, not 67.

[@MeltedCheesefondueGruyere]

It was changed from 67 (two thirds) to 60 (three fifths), in 1970, I believe.

[@thevictoryoverhimself7298]

What the Oppenheimer clip is glossing over here is that he was a Soviet sympathizer, wanted the program shut down so nuclear weapons wouldn’t be used against the Soviet’s, advocated that instead we should share the bomb with them voluntarily, and almost certainly was directly involved in leaking plans for the bomb to the Soviet’s. He was so upset at Japan being bombed in no small part becuase of his anti fascism and really intended for Germany to be the target.

[@robertmosley3127]

There are a lot of contenders for greatest speech in the history of the English language. To say there is a consensus on Gettysburg being the greatest is perhaps overstating it a little.

[@darrennpeagler47291]

Bruce Greenwood did great playing as JFK. Another actor who portrayed Kennedy would be Greg Kinnear. However if I had to be honest, i think the person who portrayed JFK the best would be Daniel Hugh Kelly in Jackie, Ethel, and Joan: the women of Camelot. Also, in the same movie, Jill Hennessy was in my opinion the best actress to ever portray Jackie Kennedy. Not only did she look like her, she sounded exactly like her. She literally embodied the essence of Jackie as a person. Even her spitfire attitude. A rather interesting, if not very well known, mini series, perhaps the best at portraying the Kennedy family story. A must watch, indeed.

[@lauramorgan9608]

You do not understand Lincoln. Not truly. He was the humblest of men. BTW, in 1809, most people were born in log cabins. Think about it. We don’t have many structures that the UK does. Made of stone. He was born in Kentucky, lived in Indiana, moved west to Illinois then onto the WH. He was a truly humble man. He was melancholy. He was remarkable.

[@Idahoguy10157]

I was a six year old during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I remember the fear the quiet in the adults

[@michaelmanning5379]

Gary Sinise did a better job as Truman

[@5Andysalive]

there is a uncomfortbale truth in Truman's argument. A ground invasion of Japan would not just have cost many US lifes but also many japanese ones. You're talking a second d-day plus all the rest here. I wonder if they had any idea of the extended results of the bomb and if they had done it anyway.

[@robertalexander-bk5zj]

I believe certainly yes, but they would have put on a bigger show of feeling bad about it. American lives > Foreign lives. To be clear, this is my take on American history. Not my opinion.

[@uToobeD]

With Abe being so tall and wearing that hat, I'm guessing that there were no snipers as of yet!

[@ttothek131]

Wrong, an assassin just missed him when he was on a trip to the front and struck his hat

[@legueu]

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was the best, and most accurate historical movie.

[@haraldisdead]

Nobody else can ever play Abraham Lincoln ever again.

[@stefstef2418]

Bill burr as kennedy is by far the best one

[@peterfraser9070]

He was surprisingly good.

[@janariley6005]

Johnson was a master at strong arming people

[@IamConnorMacLeod]

WHY DIDN'T YOU COVER 1995'S NIXON MOVIE?

[@skriabinfly]

15:10 Harry S Truman's middle name was the single letter S. It is incorrect to use a period! The "S" is not short for anything. Strange but true!

[@bethdumont9020]

Lincoln. Gotta love how the mere mention of black people is being censored by KZbin.

[@DadSolutions]

Should do the depictions of FDR in the War and Rememberace Series, Adam's, and then also Washington

[@DrianAteale]

"none lethal depth charge" very silly thing to say, they weight between 40-200kg and are designed to sink ships like submarines and nothing else, i don't think it would be impossible to use such a thing and claim it is non-lethal