Hollywood films based in history are inevitably a blend of historical record, fiction, and a film-maker's perspective. If films are not perfect representations of the past, then how can and should we interpret their images and messages? How might teachers talk about or show historically based films during lessons in a way that promotes students' historical understanding? In this article, I write about more than simply using film as a pedagogical tool, which we accept as a given, and focus on exploring more deeply what it means to interpret inevitably inaccurate film portrayals in a way that promotes, rather than diminishes, historical understanding. In the following sections, the author examines previous conceptions of the relevance of Hollywood film in high school, consider what recent researchers tell us about Hollywood film and students' historical understanding, and offer specific suggestions for how to use films to promote students' historical understanding. He uses the topic of World War II as a context.