Historical Accuracy
The film depicts six prisoners in the camp, while in real life there were seven. Herzog says that he found the scripting to be difficult with seven characters, and that six was a more manageable number.
Jerry DeBruin, brother of Gene DeBruin (portrayed by Jeremy Davies), has created a website critical of Herzog and the film, claiming that several characters and events have been falsely portrayed. On the same website, Pisidhi Indradat, the other survivor of the group, has also stated that the film contains inaccuracies. The website claims that during his imprisonment, DeBruin taught his cellmates English, shared his food, and even returned after escaping to help an injured cell mate. In the film, Dengler formulates the entire escape plan along with uncuffing the handcuffs with the nail. According to Jerry DeBruin, the prisoners waited for two weeks before telling him of the plan, which had been devised before his arrival.
Herzog acknowledged that DeBruin acted heroically during his imprisonment, refusing to leave while some sick prisoners remained. Herzog states he was unaware of this fact until after the film had been completed; however, Pisidhi Indradat and Jerry DeBruin state they made multiple attempts to meet with Herzog to ensure the film's accuracy but to no avail. Herzog states that this narrative aspect probably would have been included had he learned it earlier. In real life, Dengler spoke English with a German accent. For this film, Bale spoke with an American accent.
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