What to watch: 11 historically accurate movies about diseases

See a selection of the most reliable and exciting paintings with characters who suffer from different diseases from lethargic encephalitis, paralyzing the body and mind, to scarlet fever.

Disease: gout

1708. Britain was fighting with France over the Spanish succession. In the center of the story — a strange Queen Anna, who has no interest in public Affairs, and enjoys the duck races or games with their 17 rabbits, one for each of her deceased child. The administration of the state entrusted to her mistress, mistress and confidante Sarah Churchill.

Queen Anne suffered from gout — this illness is also called the disease of kings. It is an inflammatory disease similar to arthritis that affects the joints. Improper nutrition and obesity can lead to an accumulation of uric acid in the body, leading to excruciating pain in the limbs.

As shown in the movie, the Queen suffered from the disease most of his life in addition to other ailments. As the symptoms of the disease and its manifestation of Anna in the movie is quite accurate.

Disease: leprosy

The film is set in Europe of the XII century during the Crusades. The main character played by Orlando bloom, a young man who follows his father to Jerusalem, where it joins the army of king Baldwin IV, also known as the "King leper".

Despite some historical distortions that occur in the film, he accurately describes the struggle of Baldwin with leprosy, and his rise to power, despite his illness. Usually the ones who put such a diagnosis, were isolated from society, but thanks to the Royal position, Baldwin has managed to retain influence. The only assumption concerns the fact that the king in the film, each time appearing in public wearing a mask. There is no evidence that he actually did it.

Disease: cerebral palsy

Biopic about the Irish writer and artist Christy brown. Father Christy did not recognize him as his son, but others thought him an imbecile, but a mother's love and family helped him learn to draw and write while doing it, he could only his left foot.

The film demonstrates the physical and social restrictions faced by people with disabilities in the 1940s-1950s years, especially in Dublin.

Disease: scarlet fever

The film adaptation of the novel of 1868. The story of four sisters living in Massachusetts in the era of the Civil war in the United States. In the film, one of four sisters Beth contracted scarlet fever when he came to the aid of a neighboring family who had a child. The disease is contagious and leads to high temperature accompanied with skin rash and severe pain in the throat.

Due to the rapid departure of the sisters Beth is recovering from the disease, but her immune system is compromised. As is often the case for those who are able to recover from scarlet fever, a weakened immune system Beth makes her susceptible to complications that leads to death. Now scarlet fever is treated, but in those days the mortality rate was quite high.

The disease adrenoleukodystrophy

The film is based on a true story that occurred in the mid 1980-ies in the United States. To 6 years Lorenzo Odon grew up a normal child, but then he began to show strange symptoms: flashes of violence, disorder of coordination, hearing loss, deteriorating speech, convulsions. He was diagnosed with a rare incurable brain disease — adrenoleukodystrophy. For the year of a healthy child, he became completely paralyzed, unable even to swallow.

The boy's parents are studying the scientific literature, will organize a seminar for experts from around the world and, in the end, having made a scientific discovery, inventing the right medicine to Lorenzo, and called it after his son "Lorenzo's Oil".

The disease: poliomyelitis

In 1958, an English lawyer Robin Cavendish during the trip to Africa became ill with polio. As a result of disease he was almost completely paralyzed and could only breathe with the help of the ventilator.

Robin would spend the rest of his life in the hospital, if not for the commitment and initiative of his wife Diane. She purchased the machine for personal use and insisted that her husband moved back home.

For the development of the film took more than seven years due to tight schedules producer John Cavendish and writer William Nicholson.

Disease: cholera

Based on the novel by Somerset Maugham, 1925.

A young British couple, Walter and kitty FEIN live in Shanghai, where kitty starts a secret affair. Walter realizes that his wife is cheating on him. Mad with jealousy, Walter accepts the offer to work as a doctor in a small Chinese village suffering from a cholera epidemic.

Cholera — a contagious disease that spreads mainly through contaminated water sources. It causes serious dehydration and sometimes death.

Disease: AIDS

The film is based on real events described by the newspaper the Dallas Morning News in 1992. The film's protagonist electrician Ron woodroof, who in 1985 was diagnosed with HIV. Treatment at that time was not available and affected the society stigmatize, believing that they themselves are to blame for the fact that she was infected.

To create the film helped Peter Staley, an activist in AIDS and founder of the "Therapeutic effect" — he wanted to achieve the maximum accuracy in the depiction of the epidemic. The role of "buyers clubs" in the film, too, shows quite precisely: both positive and negative sides. The main criticism referred to the reputation of the drug zidovudine. In the film, he is shown as ineffective and harmful, but the culprit was incorrectly calculated dosage, later medical therapy will be the main method of treatment.

Disease: BASS

The film is based on the memoir by Jane Hawking Travelling to Infinity: My life with Stephen, about the relationship with her ex-husband physicist Stephen Hawking. After shooting the Hawking has put his signature to the material.

BASS attacks the motor neurons and gradually paralyzes the whole body. The only inaccuracy in the film — gait Hawking. In the film he just walks clumsily, although in reality the steps are much more twitchy and chaotic.

Disease: fibrous dysplasia

Rocky Dennis — a sixteen year old boy, who suffers from a rare and incurable bone disease, doubling his face and turned him into a lion's mask. The mother of rocky was played by the incomparable cher, and the film based on the life of a real person — Roy Lee Dennis.

Craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, sometimes called lionit, is a disease that causes a slow abnormal growth of the skull resulting in altered facial features and very large size of the head. Usually people die after a few years after diagnosis.

Disease: encephalitis Lethargica

Drama based on the memoir by Oliver sacks. Three nominations for "Oscar": best film of the year, best screenplay, best actor in a leading role (De Niro).

The film is based on real events that occurred in 1969-1970 with the neurologist Oliver Sachs. Encephalitis Lethargica, or sleeping sickness, is a poorly studied disease that causes flu-like symptoms, which eventually lead patients to the unconscious state.