The True Story

see Discovery Documentaries Season 2012 Episode 20 * I respectfully disagree. It makes much more organizational sense to keep these shows together here rather than randomly inserted within the larger DC docs. It is still the same show even though it has moved from History Channel to Discovery.

Actor Willem Dafoe and director Oliver Stone talk about the Oscar-winning 1986 film about the Vietnam War. Platoon hit the silver screen in 1986 on a small budget with a cast of then unknown actors but gained worldwide acclaim for its gritty portrayal of the horrors of the Vietnam War. Oliver Stone wanted Platoon to be the most realistic war movie of all time and it was based on his own experiences as a solider in the conflict.

The much anticipated fourth instalment of the Die Hard franchise sees a slightly aged - but just as capable New York Cop John McClane (Willis) take on the sophisticated cyber-criminal mastermind Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant). Gabriel holds the United States to ransom as he wreaks havoc by shutting down the country remotely via the internet and only McClane can stop him. The True Story examines how likely large scale cyber terrorism actually is and what steps are being taken to stop it. In Die Hard 4.0 the cyber-attack is codenamed ‘Fire Sale’ – a term now actually being used among hacker communities.

Slasher film Scream, released in 1996 went on to spawn one of the most successful horror franchises in film history taking in in excess of 400 million dollars in the United States alone. The sadistic killer and his iconic mask have entertained and terrified audiences around the world. With Nightmare on Elm Street director Wes Craven at the helm, the first Scream film is credited with revitalizing the horror genre. Scream blended slasher violence with murder mystery and it played on the stereotypes and conventions of classic horror films breathing new life into the genre. Although the plot of the masked, small town serial killer targeting high-school students and picking them off one-by one may seem like pure Hollywood fiction it was partly inspired by true events and a real masked murderer who terrified students in a small town.