The article is devoted to the consideration and analysis of techniques for displaying historical authenticity on the screen when working with the artistic expressiveness of costumes. Currently, historical films are becoming increasingly popular, so creating a historically accurate costume on screen is an important task for filmmakers. Demands of viewers for truthfulness and “quality” of films are growing along with the development of technology and media. It has now become easier for viewers to recognize an inaccurately depicted image of a historical era in cinema. The methods of artists working on historical costumes are changing due to the significantly expanded possibilities of searching for historical material. The article identifies general modern trends in the work of costume designers with historical material. The process of perception of film images by viewers is also of great importance. The feeling of authenticity of screen images is based on a subconscious belief in the reality of what is happening on the screen. Therefore, watching historical films also lays down an idea of the culture of the era shown in the film. The article examines the process of forming viewers' ideas about images of the past based on the film image. A costume in cinema can perform a large number of functions that are important to the culture as a whole. Therefore, attention to the “truthfulness” of the images depicted on the screen is so important. It is a fairly reliable historical costume rich in decoration helps to understand the true meaning of the plot and makes the audience immerse themselves in a different reality.