BRAVEHEART has been ranked as one of the least historically accurate films by a retired Teesside teacher.

Bernard Gray, a former history teacher at St Peter's Catholic School in South Bank, Middlesbrough, has written a book ranking 50 films according to their factual accuracy.

The lowest-ranked include Braveheart and Cate Blanchett film, Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

Mr Gray, who took early retirement ten years ago, has now written History in Film, based on a module he used to teach at school, History & The Hollywood Film.

He said: "I was concerned at the amount of factual inaccuracy in films based on real characters and real events and wanted to encourage my students to question what they were presented with and to seek out the real truth rather than just accept what they saw as fact.

"I have nothing against people being entertained by historical film no matter what the extent of distortion so long as people realise that there has been distortion.

"Filmmakers often distort facts in the interest of enjoyment,excitement and pace and I am well aware that, from their point of view, entertaining their public is far more important than historical accuracy."

He has picked 50 films from over the years to assess, including old classics such as Zulu and The Sound of Music, to more recent blockbusters including The Theory of Everything and 12 Years a Slave.

Nineteen films were rated as very accurate, including Raging Bull and Schindler's List, and only six classed as grossly inaccurate.

He said: "This would indicate that there is no flagrant disregard for historical accuracy on the part of the filmmakers."

The book costs £6.99 and is available online from Amazon, as well as the Guisborough Bookshop and the Whitby Bookshop.

TOP SIX LEAST ACCURATE MOVIES... plus their most notable inaccuracies

Braveheart (1995)

The Northern Echo:

Little is known about William Wallace before the first battle he was involved in – so everything in the film up to that point is pure fiction. Princess Isabella, Wallace’s love interest in the film, was actually only eight years old and still living in France when he was executed. She never knew him.

The Duchess (2008)

The Northern Echo:

Modern morality has been imposed on to this story of the Duchess of Devonshire. She wouldn’t have been surprised or upset by her husband’s infidelity. The film also fails completely to mention her serious gambling addiction, which means she died with £4m of debt in today’s money.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)

The Northern Echo:

Mr Gray says: “The Battle of Armada is portrayed so inaccurately it could almost be described as fiction.” Eric of Sweden, who is proposed in the film as a suitor for Elizabeth in 1585, had in fact been dead for five years. Elizabeth was also past childbearing age at that time.

Gladiator (2000)

The Northern Echo:

The story of the gladiator is fictitious but it is woven around a real Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, and his son, which includes many historical inaccuracies. In fact one of the historians employed by director Ridley Scott resigned during filming and the other didn’t want his name on the credits.

Pocahontas (1995)

The Northern Echo:

Pocahontas was only ten years old when she met the Captain John Smith and they did not have a relationship.

The Vikings (1958)

The Northern Echo:

The introduction and finale of the film are accompanied by scenes from the famous Bayeaux Tapestry, which wasn’t created until 300 years after this film was set.