How Much of “Unbroken” is True-to-Life?
Unbroken is actually quite faithful to real life details. The most significant change came in depicting how Zamperini became a track star. The film shows him hiding under the bleachers by the track, looking up the skirts of his female classmates. He’s discovered, prompting him to run, winding up on the track with other runners, and then catching the attention of his older brother Pete, who notices his speed. Soon after, he becomes a key member of the track team.
In reality, before there was ever any real evidence that he could be a decent, much less extraordinary, runner, some freshman girls talked him into joining the track team, which turned out disastrously when he finished his first race in last place. (It was after this race that he went hiding underneath the bleachers out of complete embarrassment.) Pete then took it upon himself to train his little brother in order to bring him up to par. With time, Zamperini became less reluctant to run and grew to enjoy it as he got better and faster.
Interesting factoid: The Coen brothers gave “Unbroken” a high-profile rewrite, and some note that the change seems par for the course for their comedic sensibility.