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20 of the best movies based on a true story

Life may imitate art, but sometimes art imitates life right back.

True stories have served as fodder for media for decades across television, films, and even podcasts. Major moments in history have been translated to the silver screen, as well as heartwarming — and sometimes, heartbreaking — stories about day-to-day lives.

Whether you're looking to relive history or for a dose of human experience, here's a list of some of the best movies based on a true story.

‘Moneyball’ (2011)

“Moneyball” brought Michael Lewis' 2003 book “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game” to the silver screen in 2011. The movie starred Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, a manager taxed with a small budget and an unconventional approach to beating the wealthier teams. Beane teams up with Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), a fictional character loosely based on Paul DePodesta from the book. Rather than choosing players the old-school way, he selects players who have potential statistically but have been written off by scouts.

“Moneyball” is available to stream for free with ads on YouTube .

‘The Social Network’ (2010)

“The Social Network” is based on the 2009 book “The Accidental Billionaires” about the founding of Facebook. Jesse Eisenberg takes on the role of Mark Zuckerberg, who in 2003 worked on a concept that ultimately became Facebook. In the years that followed, he becomes the youngest billionaire ever, but is faced with both legal and personal complications when he is served two lawsuits, including one that involves Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), his former friend and Facebook co-founder.

“The Social Network” is available to stream on Netflix .

‘Hidden Figures’ (2016)

“Hidden Figures” tells the true stories of three Black mathematicians at NASA. Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), and Jackson (Janelle Monáe) were responsible for their work behind-the-scenes on the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit.

“Hidden Figures” is available to stream on Disney+.

‘Spotlight’ (2015)

Back in 2001, the editor of The Boston Globe assigned a team of journalists to investigate allegations made against a priest who was accused of molesting more than 80 boys. The team interviewed victims and made attempts to unseal sensitive documents that would aid in their investigation in order to find proof of a cover-up of the sexual abuse within the church.

“Spotlight” is available to stream on Max .

‘I, Tonya’ (2017)

Margot Robbie portrays former figure skater Tonya Harding in 2017’s “I, Tonya.” The movie follows the life and career of Harding, including her tumultuous childhood, rise in the figure skating world, and her infamous connection to the assault on her rival, Nancy Kerrigan, in 1994.

“I, Tonya” is available to stream on Max .

‘The Bling Ring’ (2013)

“The Bling Ring” was inspired by a 2010 article in Vanity Fair called “The Suspects Wore Louboutins,” which detailed the burglaries committed by a group of teenagers on a wide range of celebrities, including Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom, as well as Rachel Bilson . By leveraging the internet to learn the whereabouts of celebrities, the teens used technology to their advantage to rob celebrity homes across Los Angeles.

“The Bling Ring” is available to stream on Netflix .

‘King Richard’ (2021)

“King Richard” tells the origin story of Serena and Venus Williams as the iconic tennis stars they are today, starring Will Smith as their father, Richard Williams. As a father, Richard Williams is on a mission to ensure his daughters make history, training them on the public tennis courts in Compton, California, with unwavering commitment. 

“King Richard” is available to stream on Max .

‘Elvis’ (2022)

The life of Elvis Presley was turned into a biographical drama in 2022’s “Elvis,” with Austin Butler starring in the titular role. The film follows the life of the late musician under the management of Colonel Tom Parker, portrayed by Tom Hanks, over the course of 20 years. The movie chronicles Presley’s life during his rise to fame and superstardom, while capturing the intricacies of his relationships, including his romance with his wife, Priscilla Presley, and tumultuous relationship with Parker.

“Elvis” is available to stream on Max .

‘Goodfellas’ (1990)

“Goodfellas” is based on the book “Wiseguy” by Nicholas Pileggi which tells the story of the Mafia associate, Henry Hill, who ultimately became an informant. Over the course of several decades, the Martin Scorsese directed film follows the rise and fall of Hill as he rises through the ranks of the Mafia and all of the consequences that follow.

“Goodfellas” is available to stream on Tubi .

‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ (2006)

“The Pursuit of Happyness” brought to life the story of Chris Gardner, portrayed by Will Smith, a single father who was faced with numerous struggles. Gardner was evicted from his apartment and was left without a place to live with his young son, Christopher Gardner Jr., portrayed by Smith’s son Jaden Smith. Though Gardner becomes an intern at a brokerage firm, the position is unpaid, leaving him and his son to continue to face financial hardships. Despite this, Gardner perseveres as he strives to make a better life for his family.

“The Pursuit of Happyness” is available to buy or rent on Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video .

‘Julie & Julia’ (2009)

Julie Powell, portrayed by Amy Adams, is a New Yorker working at a call center at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. When she becomes frustrated by her job, she turns to cooking and pledges to make all of the recipes featured in Julia Childs’ cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” All the while, the movie splices in moments of Julia Child, portrayed by Meryl Streep, as she mastered the art of French cuisine.

“Julie & Julia” is available to buy or rent on Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video .

‘Wild’ (2014)

Based on Cheryl Strayed’s book by the same name, “Wild” follows Strayed, portrayed by Reese Witherspoon , in the aftermath of her mother’s death and ending of her marriage. As she goes down a self-destructive path, Strayed makes the decision to create change and put her life back together. To do so, despite having no experience with the outdoors, she decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail solo.

“Wild” is available to buy or rent on Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video .

‘Catch Me If You Can’ (2002)

Frank Abagnale Jr. excels in deception and forgery. Portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio, Abagnale has had a host of jobs before he even turned 18 including a co-pilot, doctor, and lawyer. When he was just 17 years old, he became the most successful bank robber in the history of the United States. It becomes the mission of FBI agent Carl Hanratty, portrayed by Tom Hanks, to catch Abagnale who always seems to be one step ahead of him.

“Catch Me if You Can” is available to stream on Netflix .

‘Just Mercy’ (2019)

In his 2014 memoir “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption,” defense attorney recalls his time representing disadvantaged clients. The movie follows Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) as he moves to Alabama after his graduation from Harvard in order to represent individuals who were wrongfully convicted or could not afford representation. Among his clients is Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), a man who is sentenced to die for the murder of an 18-year-old girl despite there being evidence that he is innocent.

“Just Mercy” is available to buy or rent on Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video .

‘Walk the Line’ (2005)

Joaquin Phoenix portrays Johnny Cash in “Walk the Line,” which follows the singer’s life from childhood to his tumultuous rise to fame as a country music star. After he was raised on a farm and moved to Memphis with his first wife, Vivian, Cash makes his break into the music scene and ends up on tour where he meets June Carter (Reese Witherspoon). Cash’s life includes the high-highs and low-lows as he struggles with drug addiction, fame, and his love life.

“Walk the Line” is available to stream on Max .

‘Erin Brockovich’ (2000)

Erin Brockovich , portrayed by Julia Roberts, gets a job at a law firm after she gets into a car accident and asks her attorney to hire her. At the firm, Brockovich discovers medical records within real estate files. After some convincing, Brockovich begins to investigate the discovery and comes across a cover-up for contaminated water in a local community that caused a series of illnesses for its residents.

“Erin Brockovich” is available to buy or rent on Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video .

‘The Theory of Everything’ (2014)

The 2014 film chronicles the life of Stephen Hawking, portrayed by Eddie Redmayne, as he falls in love with his first wife, Jane, portrayed by Felicity Jones. When he is 21, Hawking learns that he has motor neuron disease. Despite his diagnosis, the couple are still able to break ground in medicine and science.

“The Theory of Everything” is available to buy or rent on Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video .

‘Lion’ (2016)

Based on the non-fiction novel “A Long Way Home” by Saroo Brierley, “Lion” tells the story of Saroo, portrayed by Dev Patel, who gets lost on a train and ends up thousands of miles away from home across India when he is 5 years old. At first, he learns how to survive alone in Kolkata before he is adopted by an Australian couple. More than two decades later, he uses his memories and Google Earth in an effort to find his family and make his way back home. 

“Lion” is available to stream on Tubi .

‘Nomadland’ (2021)

The Oscar-winning film follows a woman in her 60s named Fern (Frances McDormand) who lost everything during the Great Recession in the late 2000s. Fern finds herself living a nomadic life in a van as she goes on a journey through the western United States.

“Nomadland” is available to stream on Hulu .

‘Selma’ (2014)

The 2014 film “Selma” is based on the famous Alabama marches from Selma to Montgomery in 1965.

These protest marches were directed by civil rights leader James Bevel and led by Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, and Hosea Williams to advocate for the right to vote. 

“Selma” is available to stream on Paramou n t+ .

Francesca Gariano is a New York City-based freelance journalist reporting on culture, entertainment, beauty, lifestyle and wellness. She is a freelance contributor to TODAY.com, where she covers pop culture and breaking news.

71 Must-Watch Movies Based on True Stories

Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.

Every item on this page was chosen by a Town & Country editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.

Whether you're looking for a biopic, a serial killer mystery , a feel good tale of finding oneself, or a classic underdog story, these films take all of the facts and spin them into a drama that will inspire, astound, and haunt long after you've finished watching—because the best kind of movie is the one that makes you want to learn everything you can about the real story. From The Woman in Gold to The Theory of Everything , here are some of the greatest films of all time based on true stories.

King Richard

King Richard is the story of Richard Williams, father of legendary tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams, at the very start of their careers. The Williams sisters were heavily involved in the making of the film—they wanted to make sure their father's was depicted accurately. Will Smith, who plays Richard, also wanted to make sure he got it right, saying when the film premiered, "I knew I wanted to show a father protecting a daughter... to the world."

Kristen Stewart stars in Pablo Larraín's Spencer as Princess Diana. The drama takes place over the three days in 1991 as the British royal family spends the Christmas holidays at Sandringham , the Queen's country retreat in Norfolk. Diana realizes that her marriage to Prince Charles has unraveled and reevaluates the direction her life has taken. Director Larraín describes the film as "a fable from a true story."

Kenneth Branagh's moving semi-autobiographical drama Belfast is based in part on Branagh's own childhood in the Northern Irish capital. It follows 9-year-old Buddy as his working-class Protestant family lives through The Troubles, and features the August 1969 riots, when a group of Protestant loyalists attacked Catholics. Branagh was born in 1960 in Belfast, and like Buddy, was been 9 years old in 1969. Like Buddy, his family, too, moved to England to escape The Troubles.

The Favourite

In 18th-century England, Queen Anne ( Olivia Colman ) is on the throne. Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) and her cousin Abigail Masham (Emma Stone) both vie to be Anne's favorite. Queen Anne was, in all likelihood, interested in women —and the film centers on a lesbian love triangle.

The Favourite is based on a largely true story . Sarah Churchill, the eventual Duchess of Marlborough, was indeed childhood friends with then-Princess Anne. The nature of their relationship is subject to interpretation, but Sarah did really threaten to blackmail Anne with their letters. And Abigail Masham did work her way up to be a woman of the bedchamber for Queen Anne, and ultimately supplanted Sarah as the monarch's favorite.

BlacKkKlansman

Directed by Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman tells the true story of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), the first Black detective in Colorado Springs, Colorado, who infiltrates the Ku Klux Klan and begins regular conversations with KKK leader David Duke. He recruits his Jewish coworker, Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), to impersonate him for the in-person meetings. It's based on a true story, and only dramatizes it slightly—his coworker wasn't Jewish, and his actual investigation occurred between 1978 and 1979, though the film is set in 1972.

The Woman in Gold

In this moving film, Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren), an elderly Jewish refugee, takes on the Austrian government with the help of lawyer Randy Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds) to recover a painting that belongs to her family. In flashbacks, we see a young Maria (Tatiana Maslany) as she attempts to escape Nazi-occupied Austria.

The Woman in Gold is b ased on the true story surrounding Gustav Klimt's iconic painting of Adele Bloch-Bauer, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I. Altmann's aunt was Adele Bloch-Bauer, and the painting was stolen by Nazis in Vienna just before the start of World War II. In real life, Altmann took her legal battle to the Supreme Court of the United States, which ruled on the case Republic of Austria v. Altmann (2004), allowing Altmann to proceed with civil action against Austria. The painting is now displayed at the Neue Galerie in New York City.

The Irishman

The Irishman is based on a true story of mob hitman and World War II veteran Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran. Clocking in at three and a half hours, this epic Netflix film by Martin Scorcesse centers on Sheeran (Robert De Niro) as he looks back on the secrets he kept as a loyal member of the Bufalino crime family. Sheeran, initially a truck driver, becomes involved with with mobster Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci) and Teamster Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). According to The Irishman , Sheeran murdered Hoffa—but Hoffa's disappearance on July 30, 1975, is still unsolved .

I, Tonya is loosely based on actual events—the life of figure skater Tonya Harding and her connection to the 1994 attack on her skating rival Nancy Kerrigan . Starring Margot Robbie as the titular Tonya, the film traces her rise in the figure skating world and the sabotage of Nancy Kerrigan. Tonya's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly (Sebastian Stan)'s friend Shawn Eckardt (Paul Walter Hauser) is behind the attack on Kerrigan, and the movie tries to unpack whether or not Tonya knew.

tick, tick...BOOM!

Lin-Manuel Miranda's directorial debut tells the story of playwright Jonathan Larson (played by Andrew Garfield). Larson, an American composer and lyricist best known for Rent , died the day of Re nt' s first Off-Broadway. The film, however, does not cover his death—but is based on the stage musical of the same name by Larson, a semi-autobiographical work about Larson writing a musical.

On the Basis of Sex

Before Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the "Notorious RBG," she was a young lawyer fighting for equal rights. On the Basis of Sex , written by the late Justice's nephew Daniel Stiepleman, stars Felicity Jones as Ginsburg and focuses on the case Moritz v. Commissioner. In the case, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit "held that discrimination on the basis of sex constitutes a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution." Armie Hammer played Ginsburg’s beloved husband Marty, and RBG saw the film multiple times because "she gets Marty back for a couple hours."

One Night in Miami...

One Night in Miami ... is a fictionalized account of a February 1964 meeting of Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Muhammad Ali (Eli Goree), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), and Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.). Directed by Regina King, the film is based entirely on true events—the four men really did spend time together one night, after Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) beat Sonny Liston in Miami.

"I was a journalist in my former life, and this was just a paragraph in a book that I'd been reading on the intersection between sports and the Civil Rights Movement," Kemp Powers, who wrote the screenplay for the film, explained . "There was one paragraph in the book that mentioned that the night Cassius Clay beat Sonny Liston, February 25, 1964, he went back to Malcom X’s hotel room with his friends, Malcolm, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown. And the next morning is when he announced to the world that he was in the nation of Islam. So that was like, whoa! Could you imagine the night of conversation these men must have had?"

The Bling Ring

This Sofia Coppola film follows a group of teens who decide to rob celebrities' homes in Los Angeles. The Bling Ring, also known as Hollywood Hills Burglar Bunch, The Burglar Bunch, and the Hollywood Hills Burglars, were a real group of seven teenagers. They even robbed Paris Hilton, whose home makes a cameo in this film.

Ben Affleck's film Argo tells the tale of a CIA rescue of six Americans stuck in Tehran after they escape the US embassy following a militant takeover. The movie hews closely to what really happened; the real Tony Mendez, a CIA agent who ran the mission, even said Argo was pretty spot on.

Baz Luhrmann's 2022 biopic explores the life of Elvis Presley, starring Austin Butler as the titular Elvis. Elvis is based on the real Elvis's life, and his family approves of the depiction.

Luhrmann said, "No critique, no review was ever going to mean more to us than the one from the woman who was married to him. [Priscilla] said: ‘If my husband was here today, he’d say ‘Hot damn, you are me’…it was the best review I’ve ever had."

This thriller stars John Boyega as Brian Bowen-Easley, a Marine Corps veteran in financial trouble who robs a bank. Bowen-Easley was a real person, and his story was tragic and true; he died after issuing a bomb threat in a bank. Breaking also features Michael K. Williams in one of his last roles.

Zero Dark Thirty

Kathryn Bigelow's 2012 masterwork is a gripping action film depicting the decade-long CIA manhunt for Osama bin Laden following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. While Jessica Chastain's character is a fictional CIA operative meant to be a composite of various agents who worked on the case, all the events in the movie are very much real.

Inspired by American savant Laurence Kim Peek, Rain Man tells the story of car dealer Charlie Babbitt (played by Tom Cruise), who discovers that his recently deceased (and estranged) father left his $3 million fortune to the mental institution that his brother—who he never knew—lives. Babbitt is initially motivated by the money, so checks his brother Raymond out of the institution to return to LA, only to embark on a life-changing road trip, where the two brothers form an incredible bond.

Eat Pray Love

Based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir of the same name, Eat Pray Love chronicles Gilbert’s post-divorce journey around the world, where she embarks on the “search for everything,” from indulging in Italy’s culinary delights to mastering prayer in India.

The Pursuit of Happyness

Based on the true story of Chris Gardner, a homeless father who raised his son while aspiring to be—and eventually become—a stock broker. The Pursuit of Happyness is a heart-wrenching film that details how this one man battled with losing his home, navigating a new career, and keeping his son in good spirits amidst the chaos of life.

Based on Michael Lewis's 2003 book, Moneyball tells the story of how the Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane (played Brad Pitt), joins forces with Ivy Leaguer Peter Brand (played by Jonah Hill) to transform the struggling team despite its limited budget. By using a “sabermetric” approach to scouting players (basically shifting focus to cold hard statistics), the two pull together an underdog team of game winners.

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The 24 best movies based on true stories

From Watergate to criminal strippers, these are the best true stories ever told on film

In Hollywood, it’s best to approach certain promotional tactics with suspicion, perhaps none more so than any movies that claims to be ‘based on a true story’. In many cases, what that typically means is a filmmaker took a small dollop of truth and stretched it as far as it could possibly go. It’s not a big deal, really – these are narrative films, not documentaries, and sometimes, a liberal sprinkling of creative licence is needed to make a story work on screen. 

Every so often, though, a movie comes along that approaches its subject with something close to a journalistic eye, and those are the ones we’ve chosen to highlight here.  Among them are Oscar-winning dramas covering major moments in history, salacious crime stories drawn from magazine articles, bizarre character studies and other wild tales no one would believe if they didn’t actually happen. Sometimes, truth really is stranger than fiction — and in these specific situations, it makes for a hell of a great picture. 

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The best movies based on true stories

1.  All the President's Men (1976)

Wait, you’re telling us Watergate is an actual thing that happened, and in 1974 two reporters really did take down a sitting US president? Who knew? Jokes aside, even with its unspoilable ending, Alan Pakula’s journalism procedural stays riveting, and might be even more important today, with certain other recent leaders of the free world attempting to label the press ‘the enemy of the people’. Shot and acted with typical ‘70s naturalism, the film rejects any impulse to flesh out the home lives of Woodward and Bernstein (played by Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman), or imagine what was happening inside the White House, or otherwise deviate from or embellish the central investigation. Pakula and screenwriter William Goldman put trust in the idea that watching professionals do their work with the highest possible stakes is thrilling enough. They were right.

2.  In Cold Blood (1967)

Before true crime podcasts and Dateline NBC marathons, there was Truman Capote, whose account of the 1959 massacre of a family in rural Kansas shocked a nation not yet desensitised to random acts of unspeakable violence. As groundbreaking as the book In Cold Blood was for long-form narrative journalism, director Richard Brooks matches it on screen, detailing the murders and their aftermath with a stark realism uncommon in Hollywood at the time. Conrad Hall’s black-and-white cinematography washes out any trace of cinematic artifice, and Robert Blake and Scott Wilson give intense, frighteningly believable performances. 

3.  Hustlers (2019)

A rare depiction of a r ecession that’s neither a teary drama about farmers losing their homes nor a political screed against greedy one-percenters, Hustlers is instead a hyperkinetic story of economic survival, set in a world hit particularly hard by the 2008 financial crisis: New York strip clubs. Writer-director Lorene Scafaria based the script on a New York magazine article about a group of dancers who took to drugging their suddenly frugal Wall Street clientele and running up their credit cards, and she lenses the movie with a visual energy somewhere between Scorsese and a ‘90s rap video. Most of the accolades, though, went to Jennifer Lopez as the crew’s ringleader, who’s as charismatic on the pole as she is guarded off it. 

4.  Argo (2012)

It’s one of those stories too far-fetched for even the most inventive screenwriter to make up. At the onset of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, a movie-loving CIA agent hatched a plot to smuggle six diplomats out of the country by pretending to be a Canadian film crew shooting a fake Star Wars -alike sci-fi flick there. Somehow, it took Hollywood more than three decades to spin the tale into an actual movie – even more curious, it was Ben Affleck who finally did it. Affleck had already teased his directorial talent with Gone Baby Gone and The Town , but Argo still surprised a lot of people. With heist film tension and ’70s-style grit, the film turned out to be one of the smartest, most sharply executed thrillers of the decade. It deservedly won the Oscar for Best Picture, though Affleck was shamefully snubbed in the directing category.

5.  The Social Network (2010)

It’s almost quaint to think about a time when the most controversial thing about Facebook was where Mark Zuckerberg stole the idea from. Still, David Fincher’s darkly sleek tech-bro drama remains a must-watch precisely because its ominous undertones – given extra-hefty shading from Trent Reznor’s revelatory, Oscar-winning score – seem to foreshadow the terrifying influence social media would wield on world history in the coming years.

6.  Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

A movie about a gay man holding up a bank in order to finance his partner’s gender reassignment surgery would probably end up banned in at least three states today, so imagine how it came across to ‘70s audiences. But the incident actually happened: in August 1972, two inexperienced crooks walked into a Chase Manhattan branch in Brooklyn with guns drawn; several hours and many rookie errors later, one of them would be dead, the other in custody. Sidney Lumet interpreted the episode as a countercultural tragicomedy, and with a loose, fiery performance from Al Pacino at its center, turned it into one of the era’s signature films.

7.  I, Tonya (2018)

No one who lived through the ‘90s needs a primer on the Tonya Harding scandal: an Olympic figure skater conspiring with her doofus husband to take out her closest rival is the kind of tabloid fodder you don’t just forget once the news cycle passes. It was destined to become a movie, but director Craig Gillespie didn’t just churn out a Lifetime soap opera or live-action Wikipedia rehash. Instead, he turned in a truly electric piece of filmmaking, with an aesthetic best described as ‘trash Scorsese’. A glammed-down Margot Robbie finds the humanity and humour in Harding’s rough upbringing, but it’s Alison Janney, as her icy, abusive mother, who turned the most heads, winning an Oscar in the process.

8.  Dallas Buyers Club (2014)

The McConaissance hit its peak with this decidedly unsentimental biopic of Ron Woodruff, a homophobic redneck who nonetheless helped hundreds of early AIDS patients by exploiting loopholes in federal law and selling black-market HIV meds that the FDA was in no rush to approve. Matthew McConaughey let his famous beach bod atrophy to play Woodruff, who himself died of the disease, but it wasn’t some award-baiting stunt: the dissonance between Woodruff’s weakened frame and his intense narcissism is crucial to understanding the kind of guy he was. It won McConaughey an Oscar anyway, and he damn well deserved it.

9.  Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)

Only an actor as intrinsically lovable as Melissa McCarthy could play someone as sour as writer Lee Israel; otherwise, the prospect of spending two hours with her might be too unpleasant to bear. By the early ‘90s, the celebrity biographer had burned enough bridges that she struggled to get anything published, and turned to literary forgery to pay her bills. Somehow, McCarthy renders Israel not only sympathetic but nearly lovable herself, without smoothing her essential prickliness. Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty’s screenplay is equally sympathetic, arguing that Israel’s successful if short-lived con was only possible because, deep down, the world appreciates a good liar. It’s a point proven by the fact that her memoir, on which the film is based, ended up being her most successful book.

10.  Into the Wild (2007)

• Action and adventure

In 1992, Christopher McCandless, a rich college kid from Virginia, abandoned his inherited wealth and guaranteed future to journey into the Alaskan wilderness on a vague search for ‘enlightenment’. He was later found dead inside an abandoned bus. But Jon Krakauer, the author who used McCandless’s journal to piece together the nonfiction classic Into the Wild , didn’t see his story as a tragedy exactly, and neither did Sean Penn. In adapting Krakauer’s book, Penn is a bit too uncritical of McCandless’s motivations, but that doesn’t make the film any less beguiling, nor does it take away from Emile Hirsch’s soulful, transfixing lead performance.

11.  The Insider (1999)

At one point in time, takedowns of Big Tobacco were practically their own film genre. (See: Thank You For Smoking , Merchants of Doubt .) Michael Mann’s prestige drama about the man who initially blew the whistle on what cigarette companies knew about the danger of their products is the best of the lot. It boasts an all-star cast including Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, and Christopher Plummer and a tight, tense script based on Marie Brenner’s Vanity Fair article, ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’. A true-life masterpiece.

12.  Spotlight (2015)

For how often the profession is shown on screen, movies rarely get journalism right – and when they do, it’s usually dull as a filmgoing experience. Spotlight is perhaps second to All the President’s Men   in presenting high-level newspaper reporting in a way that’s both honest and compelling to watch. Featuring a remarkable ensemble cast led by Mark Ruffalo, Tom McCarthy’s Oscar-winner depicts the Boston Globe ’s investigative team as they go up against an institution even more diabolical than Nixon’s White House: the Catholic church. 

13.  Bernie (2011)

In 1996, Bernie Tiede, a quirky funeral director regarded as the sweetest man in the town of Carthage, Texas, killed 81-year-old Marjorie Nugent, a wealthy widow regarded almost universally as the meanest woman in town. Naturally, the citizens sided with Tiede. Adapting a Texas Monthly article about the crime, Richard Linklater interpreted the affair as a dark comedy, and made the genius move of casting Jack Black in the title role. Despite playing against type, it’s arguably Black’s greatest performance, and earned him a Golden Globe nomination. Another brilliant Linklater decision: weaving in interviews with actual residents of Carthage, creating what amounts to a fascinating docudrama about the peculiarities of small-town America. 

14.  Zola (2021)

It was only a matter of time before a viral Twitter thread became the basis for a motion picture. To be fair, anyone who read through the entirety of stripper Aziah King’s 2015 tweetstorm about her ill-fated trip to Florida probably had to come away knowing it’d be a movie one day. (Although technically, Zola is based on the Rolling Stone article that investigated her story.) After James Franco thankfully dropped out of the project, newcomer Janicza Bravo stepped in, spinning a darkly comedic yarn of sex, drugs, pimps and guns that shares DNA with Spring Breakers , The Bling Ring   and other lurid tales of amoral youth.

15.  Hunger (2008)

Director Steve McQueen broke through with this harrowing depiction of an ultimately fatal six-week hunger strike perpetrated by IRA member Bobby Sands at Northern Ireland’s Maze Prison. Haunted by childhood memories of news stories about Sands, McQueen immersed himself in literature about the the five-year 'no wash protest' at the prison, and the end result is a remarkably detailed vision of life in a nearly literal hell. Michael Fassbender emaciated himself to play Sands, a necessary physical transformation that transcends a Method stunt and makes an already vivid performance even harder to shake. 

16.  Moneyball (2011)

Baseball movies were already a tough sell in 2011, let alone baseball movies that are less about the players on the field than the front-office jostling that put them there. But in dramatising the unconventional thinking that elevated the hard-luck Oakland A’s to playoff contention in the early 2000s, Moneyball – based on the book by Michael Lewis, also of   The Big Short fame  –  becomes a sort of meta-commentary on the stubborn conservatism that’s made America’s pastime increasingly anachronistic. Besides, watching Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman toss around Aaron Sorkin’s heady dialogue is athletic enough.

17.  Zodiac (2007)

Ironically, given their M.O., the search for the Zodiac Killer over the years has become simply a puzzle for obsessed amateur internet sleuths to solve. But that has hardly diluted the ability of David Fincher’s magnum opus to unnerve – the broad-daylight murder of a picnicking couple remains perhaps the scariest horror movie moment of the last two decades.

18.  Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Kathryn Bigelow directed this hard-nosed depiction of the hunt for – and eventual assassination of – Osama Bin Laden, utilising the skills she sharpened in The Hurt Locker   to craft a white-knucle wartime thriller that sticks mostly to the facts. Emphasis on ‘mostly’: Jessica Chastain’s character is a fictional composite of several CIA officers involved in the manhunt, and some critics accused the movie of defending the torture techniques the military used to extract information. All in all, though, it’s a riveting historical drama that never devolves into patriotic flag-waving. 

19.  Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

Filmmakers had been trying to adapt Hunter S Thompson’s gonzo roman a clef for decades before Terry Gilliam finally brought it to the screen, and the end result shows why directors including Martin Scorsese and Oliver Stone ultimately abandoned their attempts – a plotless drug-trip ruminating on the death of the ‘60s plays a lot better on the page. Still, it’s a wild ride, with Thompson’s good friend, Johnny Depp, embodying the author  – or rather, his slightly fictionalized avatar, Raoul Duke –  as a mescaline-infused Wile E Coyote. It might require digesting an entire chem lab to understand in the literal sense, but Gilliam’s surrealist odyssey still gets across Thompson’s main point: that America is decadent, depraved, and totally doomed. 

20.  Compliance (2012)

It’s hard to believe that the incident that inspired this disturbing indie thriller actually happened. Who would possibly fall for a prank caller claiming to be a police officer and ordering a random citizen to strip search one of their co-workers? But that’s exactly what happened at a Kentucky fast food restaurant in 2004 – and the humiliation did not end there. It’s mind-boggling, but writer-director Craig Zobel uses the event to examine the American fealty to authority. And through that lens, it’s actually not hard to fathom at all.

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Best Movies Based on Real-Life Scientists

From Hidden Figures to Oppenheimer, these films were the best biopics that explored real-life scientists.

We are undeniably living in an era where some stories for cinema are often based on — whether directly adapted or subtly inspired by — real-life monumental events that have shaped history. Movies like Zero Dark Thirty , Hidden Figures , and The King's Speech are just a few critically and commercially acclaimed stories that brought to life significant periods of human history. Of course, there are films on the other end of the quality spectrum that, though based on real life, are devoid of authenticity, or fail in terms of accuracy. One genre that has been a staple in cinema history — and one that we are currently witnessing a boom of sorts — is the biopic, or biographical movie .

Taking real historical figures, their stories, and major accomplishments, biopics help audiences dive into the lives of people who changed the world as we know it. One major subgenre is the biopic. This year a huge biopic called Oppenheimer directed by Christopher Nolan featured a number of real-life scientists, though it wasn't the first to explore the concept.

Updated on August 11th, 2023, by Federico Furzan : This article has been updated with additional content to keep the discussion fresh and relevant with even more information and new entries.

11 The Theory of Everything (2014)

Led by Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything is a balanced renaissance of romance, drama, and honesty on its own merit. The movie, based on the life of renowned English astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, delves deeper into the timeline of Hawkins’ life when he is diagnosed with ALS, which slowly begins affecting his brain and nerves’ basic functions.

Despite that, Hawking harbors an ambition to revolutionize the uncharted theories of physics with his intelligence and simultaneously hopes to cherish the finite days with his love and fellow collegian Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones). Interestingly, in an interview with Variety, the real-life Hawking cited that the film was “broadly true,” and was for him largely synonymous with watching himself play the character.

10 Temple Grandin (2010)

In one of the best performances of her career, Claire Danes played real-life American scholar Temple Grandin. Temple Grandin is a great depiction of the ordeal Grandin had to go through in order to be taken seriously as a specialist in the basics of cattle management.

Autism was the condition through which people belittled her. Besides having Danes as a fantastic lead, Temple Grandin is also a great portrayal of female resilience and a heartwarming film that never disappoints.

9 The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015)

The Man Who Knew Infinity is a treasure trove of the last decade, serving as an epic biographical drama that leaves the theatergoers gut-wrenched as the film inches close to its conclusion. The film tells the tale of brilliant Indian mathematician Srinivasan Ramanujan.

It spotlights Ramanujan’s grit at making a mark through his groundbreaking mathematic discoveries after gaining admittance to Cambridge University during World War Ⅰ. The Man Who Knew Infinity , starring Dev Patel as the titular character, remodels impoverished, yet brainy Srinivasan’s life into an exceptional genius under the unerring guidance of his mentor G.H. Hardy, played exceptionally by Jeremy Irons.

8 Tesla (2020)

In 2020's biopic Tesla , we explore the life of the real-life enigma of Nikola Tesla. All through the performance of an impeccable Ethan Hawke who goes skin-deep when trying to embody such a twisted frame of mind.

The life of the genius who practically invented electrical power is depicted through the relationships Tesla suffered through, which ultimately turned him into a mysterious scientist who still doesn't get the recognition he deserves.

7 The Imitation Game (2014)

The historical drama The Imitation Game , adapted from the novel Alan Turing: The Enigma, is based on the life of British prodigal mathematician Alan Turning, an alumnus of Cambridge University. The movie serves as a nail-biting plot of a team decrypting near-impossible Nazi codes that harbor sensitive information about impending German attacks during World War Ⅱ.

Indeed, The Imitation Game sets the narrative against time and sees Benedict Cumberbatch triumphantly portraying Turing. Turing is also accompanied by the brains of Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley), Hugh Alexander (Matthew Goode), and John Cairncross (Allen Leech) in this quest to decode the unbreakable Enigma, as he's also going through an emotional ordeal regarding a hidden secret.

Related: 8 Biopics That Were Criticized by the Real-Life Figures They Were About

6 Creation (2009)

British romance-drama biopic Creation stars Paul Bettany as Charles Darwin, the famous naturalist. The film dives broadly into the lives of Emma (Jennifer Connelly) and Darwin, who are leading an unstable life after the untimely demise of their eldest daughter Annie.

Creation traces the events leading up to the publication of the book titled On The Origin of Species, a scientific journal logging ground-breaking evolutionary discoveries and theories of the planetary species, written by Charles. Jon Amiel directed Creation , offering moviegoers the chance to conclusively ponder over precisely two conflicting thoughts: whether species are a creation of God or descendants of evolution. The movie, however, contrary to its title, leans towards evolution.

5 October Sky (1999)

An inspiring story of emotional power that tells a real-life story that not many people know about. October Sky is based on the memoir of real-life NASA specialist Homer Hickam, and it tells the story of Hickam's prominence in going against the will of the town and his family to become fascinated with rocket science.

Of course, in 1957 only the Soviet's first iteration of Sputnik had gone to outer space and this couldn't be considered inspiring. Hickam, with the help of his friends and the support of his science teacher, thrives and becomes the town's most interesting teenager when he starts building a rocket of his own. The masterful direction by genre icon Joe Johnston is one of his best. This was one of Jake Gyllenhaal's first noteworthy performances.

4 Hidden Figures (2016)

Hidden Figures , inspired by Margot Lee Shetterly’s novel of the same name, re-narrates the story of NASA’s Black women employees: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. As portrayed, the characters were the catalyst in the successful accomplishment of Project Mercury, which involved the orbital launch of astronaut John Glenn.

The biopic starring stellar actors Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe, also brings forward the history of racial and gender discrimination faced by the team at their work. Indeed, the movie is a must-watch as it reinvigorates the message that women are cerebrally equal to men in every aspect.

3 Gorillas in the Mist (1988)

In Michael Apted's Gorillas in the Mist , the scientist whose life we discover through a truly endearing film, is Dian Fossey, the environmentalist who until she was brutally murdered, fought for the conservation of mountain gorilla habitats in the Congo.

Played by Sigourney Weaver in an award-winning performance, Fossey was a fierce lady who faced dangers from two sides: the one with the wild animals who she trusted more than anything, and the one with the humans who cowardly ended her life too soon. The scenes involving Fossey interacting with gorillas are impressive.

2 A Beautiful Mind (2001)

A Beautiful Mind is an American drama loosely based on the life of mathematician Josh Forbes Nash, a Nobel Laureate in Economics, played by Russell Crowe. The film sees Nash accepting the decrypting assignment from a mysterious man named William Parcher, working with the United States Department of Defense.

As such, assignments handed to Nash are largely focused on identifying patterns in magazines and clippings to thwart the Soviets' schemes. It is eventually revealed that Nash is experiencing episodes of delusion and suffering from schizophrenia, hinting that every montage is his figment of imagination. While A Beautiful Mind never intended to exhibit the exact life of the mathematician, it boded fairly well at depicting the agonies one goes through at the hands of a mental disorder.

1 Oppenheimer (2023)

In Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer , we explore the life of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer during the peak of his life when he participated in The Manhattan Project and eventually masterminded the plan for creating an atomic bomb. The film heavily focuses on Oppenheimer's intimate life as he always fought misconceptions and ideological obstacles.

Ultimately, the film shows his success in creating the most lethal object of the 20th century, but it also shows how his image was darkened by the security hearings in which he was formally accused of being a closeted communist. This is Nolan's most dramatic film to date, so fans of his spectacle-based films will surely be confused at how Oppenheimer plays out. But in the end, it's a masterful adaptation of events that actually took place.

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Entertainment News

25 greatest sports movies based on a true story

When Hollywood goes hunting for captivating drama, they need look no further than the world of sports. All the elements are there: the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, triumph over adversity and healing in the face of tragedy. Sometimes filmmakers work a variation on a real-life event (e.g. "Rocky" was inspired by the Muhammad Ali-Chuck Wepner fight), but they're just as likely to tear a story straight from the headlines or a history book. Here are twenty-five of the very best fact-based sports films.

"Raging Bull" (1980)

By the end of Martin Scorsese’s masterful “Raging Bull,” you feel like you’ve gone a full fifteen rounds with its pugilist protagonist, Jake LaMotta . The former middleweight champion is a brawler in and out of the ring; he beats his wife, his brother and anyone who triggers his violent temper. It’s a bruising portrait of a monster that’s all the more disturbing because Robert De Niro, in the performance of a lifetime, resists caricature. This beast exists (still, in 2017, at the age of ninety-six).

"Hoosiers" (1986)

No list like this one would be complete without "Hoosiers." Prior to 1986, you’d have to be an Indiana native to know the story of Milan High School’s David-vs-Goliath upset of Muncie Central in the 1954 state basketball championship. Now everyone knows at least a semi-fictionalized version of the tale thanks to David Anspaugh’s rousing “Hoosiers.” Gene Hackman is at his no-nonsense best as Norman Dale, the new coach of Hickory High’s undersized, undermanned and unathletic basketball team. By preaching fundamentals (“Four passes!”) and winning over the town’s recalcitrant best player (Jimmy Chitwood), Dale guides the Huskers to glory.

"Eight Men Out" (1988)

John Sayles’s account of the 1919 Black Sox scandal –wherein members of the Chicago White Sox conspired with mobsters to throw the World Series – is a multi-layered tale of greed, revenge, gullibility and tragic ignorance. The players went along with the scheme for a variety of personal reasons, but they were all united in their hatred of cheapskate owner Charles Comiskey. The plight of Shoeless Joe Jackson (played here by D.B. Sweeney), one of the era’s greatest players until he was banned, was later exploited in the fantastical tear-jerker “Field of Dreams.”

"Brian's Song" (1971)

The ultimate male weepie. Though Gayle Sayers and Brian Piccolo competed for the same running back position on the Chicago Bears , the men became the best of friends. That bond only grew stronger when Piccolo was diagnosed with cancer. Billy Dee Williams and James Caan are perfectly cast as Sayers and Piccolo in this classic TV movie. If you’re not an emotional sobbing mess by the end of the film, you are an insensate monster.

"Cinderella Man" (2005)

James J. Braddock was on his way to heavyweight boxing glory before he broke his hand in a 1929 fight against Tommy Loughran. The timing couldn’t have been worse: the country had just been hit by the Great Depression, leaving the otherwise unskilled Braddock working long hours as a longshoreman to support his family. Years later, with the country still struggling, Braddock made an improbable comeback that inspired many a down-on-their-luck American. Russell Crowe plays Braddock as a loveable lug, and is plenty convincing as a hard-hitting heavyweight.

"Friday Night Lights" (2004)

This 2004 film has been overshadowed by the critically acclaimed television show, which is a shame because it’s a terrific, more fact-based adaptation of Buzz Bissinger’s nonfiction account of the 1988 Permian Panthers’ high school football season, which ended in a dramatic defeat to the Dallas Carter Cowboys. The movie embellishes some details for dramatic effect, but it’s a fascinating, infuriating and ultimately heartbreaking portrayal of a decaying Texas town’s unhealthy obsession with a high school sports team.

"Rudy" (1993)

“Hoosiers” filmmaker David Anspaugh returned to his native Indiana for another underdog story, this one centered on young Rudy Ruettiger’s tenacious efforts to play for his favorite college football team, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. As played by Sean Astin, Rudy’s journey from junior college to Notre Dame is an inspiring story of self-improvement. But it’ll all feel like a hollow victory if he never gets to suit up for one game in a Notre Dame uniform. He gets his wish, and with a little Hollywood embellishment, your living room gets awfully dusty in the movie’s final minutes.

"Fear Strikes Out" (1957)

Jimmy Piersall came into the Boston Red Sox organization as a brash young outfielder with a prodigious gift for hitting the baseball. When he began hitting other players (and, in one troubling incident, spanking the four-year-old son of a teammate), his career appeared to be over. Piersall’s struggles with bipolar disorder are given a fairly reductive treatment in Robert Mulligan’s “Fear Strikes Out,” but Anthony Perkins’s portrayal of Piersall is phenomenal (though Piersall later disowned the movie).

"Seabiscuit" (2003)

Everyone loves a good comeback story, so what could be better than a story about a racehorse that always ran from behind? Based on Laura Hillenbrand’s nonfiction bestseller, “Seabiscuit” is an uplifting tale of overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds to not just win a race, but to rebuild one’s life. As Seabiscuit wins race after race, the horse becomes a symbol of hope for people devastated by the Great Depression.

"Miracle" (2004)

When the United States Men’s olympic hockey team knocked off the Soviet Union’s highly favored squad, the upset transcended sports. America had just endured a rough decade that included the Vietnam War, stagflation and, stretching into early 1980, the Iran Hostage Crisis. Out of nowhere, a bunch of scrappy college kids came together to topple one of the greatest hockey teams ever assembled. The film is pretty standard inspirational fare, but Kurt Russell ’s performance as coach Herb Brooks gives it a loveable hard-nosed kick.

"The Pride of the Yankees" (1942)

“Today… I consider myself… the luckiest man… on the face of the Earth.” Lou Gehrig ’s emotional farewell speech at Yankee Stadium came at the abrupt end of a brilliant sixteen-year career. The New York baseball legend is brought to aw-shucks life by Gary Cooper in this sports movie classic, which celebrates the Iron Horse’s talent, durability and kindness (including Gehrig’s promise, subsequently fulfilled, to smack two homers for a sick child). It’s earnest, corny stuff, but it works.

"*61" (2001)

The 1961 pursuit of Babe Ruth ’s single-season home run record gets an entertaining and sentimental revisit by director (and Yankee fan) Billy Crystal in "*61." It’s a surprisingly dramatic story: Mickey Mantle was the fan favorite and heir-apparent to Ruth’s power-hitting pinstripe legacy, while Roger Maris was the low-key opposite of the gregarious, fun-loving Mantle. Maris, of course, broke the record, but the disdain heaped upon him by MLB fans made his historic season a living hell.

"Remember the Titans" (2000)

Jerry Bruckheimer first applied his glossy commercial aesthetic to inspirational sports dramas with this 2000 film, which stars Denzel Washington as real-life high school football coach Herman Boone. The film leaves no sports movie cliché unused as it depicts Boone’s efforts to integrate the T.C. Williams High School football team. There are no surprises here, but you won’t find an actor better equipped to rattle off a motivational speech than Denzel.

"Chariots of Fire" (1981)

Two different men run for very different reasons. Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) is a Jewish athlete is out to combat anti-Semitism; Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson) is a devout Christian who runs at God’s “pleasure.” This very British film, set around the 1924 Summer Olympics, was a surprise winner for Best Picture in 1981, and is probably best remembered for Vangelis’ inspirational main theme. It’s a polite crowd pleaser.

"The Last American Hero" (1973)

Moonshine runner Junior Johnson was headed for a life spent in and out of a jail cell before he found the natural – and legal – outlet for his driving talents in stock car racing. This charmer of a film stars a young Jeff Bridges as a fictionalized version of Junior, but while the biographical details don’t always jibe, the basic contours of Johnson’s rise to racing stardom are accurately depicted. Jim Croce’s “I Got a Name” was written for the film, and subsequently became a hit single.

"Ali" (2001)

Michael Mann’s "Ali" goes toe-to-toe with “Raging Bull” as the greatest sports biopic of all time, and, as in boxing, it comes down to a preference of style. “Ali” reflects the personality of its subject: it’s exuberant, meditative, punishing, hilarious, defiant and proud. The film begins with Ali’s improbable defeat of Sonny Liston in 1964 and concludes with his impossible knockout of George Foreman ten years later in Zaire. It’s pure cinema all the way through.

"Moneyball" (2009)

Oakland Athletics ’ general manager Billy Beane revolutionized MLB scouting by adopting sabermetrics (i.e. advanced statistics) to measure a player’s potential and value. He also cheesed off a lot of people in the process. Beane’s unconventional approach was the subject of Michael Lewis’s bestseller “Moneyball,” which loosely forms the basis for this hugely entertaining film starring Brad Pitt as Beane and Jonah Hill as his stat-crunching assistant (based on John DePodesta).

"Cobb" (1994)

Ty Cobb was one of MLB’s greatest and most loathed players. His hitting prowess was unmatched, as was the ferocity with which he attacked the game (and occasionally teammates and, in one unfortunate case, a disabled spectator). Ron Shelton ’s biopic couldn’t be more different than his minor league masterpiece “Bull Durham.” It stars Tommy Lee Jones as a late-in-life Cobb attempting to bully his biographer into writing a hagiographic take on his life. It’s a fierce and unsettling film, a corrosive spiritual companion to Scorsese’s “Raging Bull.”

"Somebody Up There Likes Me" (1956)

Paul Newman stars in this conventionally told biopic about the rags-to-prison-to-riches life of middleweight champion Rocky Graziano . Graziano overcomes standard boxer adversity (an abusive dad and a youth wasted committing petty crimes) to become a successful prize fighter, but when he is blackmailed into ducking a fight, he loses his license. Robert Wise’s film ends on a triumphant note with Graziano avenging a loss to his rival Tony Hale (and regaining the middleweight title in the process).

"Without Limits" (1998)

In the late 1990s, the studios got Steve Prefontaine fever. Dueling projects about the long-distance runner were greenlit: “Prefontaine” starring Jared Leto, and “Without Limits” with Billy Crudup. The latter is by far the better film, a keenly observed character study of a supremely talented athlete and a visionary track coach, Bill Bowerman ( Donald Sutherland ), who would go on to co-found Nike. The film concludes with Prefontaine’s fatal 1975 automobile accident, but leaves you with a deep understanding of this one-of-a-kind athlete’s impact on the sport.

"Rush" (2013)

Formula 1 racing is a much bigger deal internationally than it is in the United States, so it’s no surprise that this Ron Howard-directed film about the rivalry between drivers James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) stalled out at the box office. It’s too bad because this is the racing movie “Days of Thunder” tried to be: an exhilarating battle of wills between two men who like to drive really freaking fast.

"Knute Rockne: All American" (1940)

They don’t come any cornier than this tribute to the coaching genius of Knute Rockne, who turned Notre Dame’s football team into a national powerhouse. Pat O’Brien stars as Rockne, but the film is best remembered for starring Ronald Reagan as Fighting Irish halfback George Gipp. Gipp’s deathbed exhortation to “win just one for the Gipper” sets the stage for maybe the greatest rallying speech in film history.

"Soul of the Game" (1996)

This 1996 made-for-HBO film remains the only attempt at a fact-based take on Negro League baseball, and works quite well as both entertainment and a primer on the legacy left (and, in too many cases, forgotten) by these players. “Soul of the Game” focuses on Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey’s scouting of a black player to break Major League Baseball’s color barrier. Blair Underwood is solid as Jackie Robinson, but the movie belongs to Delroy Lindo as the aging pitcher Satchel Paige and Mykelti Williamson as the boundlessly talented but troubled Josh Gibson.

"Heart Like a Wheel" (1983)

Bonnie Bedelia stars in this biopic about Shirley Muldowney, the “First Lady of Drag Racing.” It’s a fascinating look into the funny car subculture, which didn’t exactly welcome the ambitious housewife into the sport with open arms. Muldowney overcomes sexism and unwanted sexual advances from competitors and supposed backers on her way to becoming a world champion driver.

"The Rookie" (2002)

Jim Morris was a happily married high school baseball coach who’d long ago given up on his childhood dream of playing in MLB when, after a series of arm surgeries, he discovered he could throw a 98-mph fastball. Morris made a deal with his players: if the team wins their conference, he’ll try out for the majors. Dennis Quaid plays Morris, who impresses enough in the minors to earn a brief stint as a relief pitcher with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. It’s a by-the-numbers inspirational drama, but it hits those numbers with plenty of heart.

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• Good acoustics: The 20 greatest MTV 'Unplugged' albums
• 20 facts you might not know about 'Hulk'

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15 Intense and Heartbreaking Movies Based on True Events

You won't believe these were real stories!

Unfortunately, misfortune is no stranger to history, and movies about real-life tragedies are actually pretty popular in the drama genre. Because there have been countless devastating events throughout the years, it is only natural that the film industry brings those poignant moments to light while simultaneously paying homage to those involved. Whether it be a tragic true tale of hope, courage, and bravery like 2017's Stronger or a cinematic depiction of a hero soldier in a warzone in 2016's six-time Academy Award-nominated Hacksaw Ridge , heartbreaking true-story movies can range in a wide variety.

From survival stories and epic war dramas to natural disasters and terrorist attacks, movies have, for decades now, held the power to bring audiences to nothing more than a sobbing mess with gut-wrenching portrayals of heroism to disastrous occurrences. These are some of the most impactful and poignant movies based on real-life disasters.

15 'Breathe' (2017)

Director: andy serkis.

Undoubtedly a film to tug on the heartstrings, 2017's Breathe stars Andrew Garfield as Robin Cavendish , a man paralyzed by Polio from the neck down when he was just twenty-eight years old. Cavendish's son, Jonathan , produced the movie as a way to tell his father's story and the inspirational impact Robin had on the lives of people with disabilities at the time.

Robin had the idea of installing a built-in respirator on a chair. That idea went on to accomplish at the time unimaginable steps in improving the lives of people in the same situation as himself. With more chairs distributed, the quality and quantity of life of those in his position greatly improved. Following a bittersweet goodbye to his friends after starting to suffer heavy bleeding from the respirator, Robin died with Diana and Jonathan by his side. While not a must-see, Breathe makes for an intriguing viewing experience for those who are looking for a well-crafted film based on real-life stories .

Watch on Hoopla

14 'Everest' (2015)

Direcotor: baltasar kormákur.

When it comes to great natural disaster movies based on true stories, 2015s Everest is a good pick. As the title suggests, the film is based on the 1996 Mount Everest disaster and focuses on the journey of hope, faith, courage, and bravery between two expedition groups as they attempt to descend from the summit during treacherous weather conditions, having made it to the top of the tallest mountain in the world.

The film stars Josh Brolin , Jason Clarke , and Jake Gyllenhaal to name a few, and depicts the heartbreaking story of the eight people who lost their lives during the third deadliest Everest expedition. From Beck Weathers' (Brolin) miraculous survival to Rob Hall's (Clarke) gutwrenching goodbye to his wife and unborn daughter as he dies, Everest wasn't lacking in the emotional scenes, even if some feel it would've been a better documentary than a film . The movie ends with a clip of the real Beck Weathers , having lost both hands and his nose due to severe frostbite, and reveals that Rob Hall 's body sadly remains on Everest.

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13 'Deepwater Horizon' (2016)

Director: peter berg.

This great must-see disaster movie follows the events leading up to and the aftermath of the explosion and oil spill of the Deepwater Horizon. An inextinguishable fire resulted, and the rig sank after burning for over a day. The incident resulted in approximately 200 million gallons of oil spilling into the ocean over 87 days, eleven deaths, and is the worst oil disaster in United States history.

Starring Mark Wahlberg and Kurt Russel as Mike Williams and Jimmy "Mr. Jimmy" Harrell , there aren't many movies like Deepwater Horizon ; the nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat film was nominated for two Oscars. Deepwater Horizon is filled with tense scenes and life-threatening experiences , culminating in a heartbreaking scene with the survivors reuniting with their families and a shaken Mike having a panic attack while being comforted by his wife and daughter. Before the credits roll, footage of the rig and pictures of the eleven people who died play out on screen.

Deepwater Horizon

12 'the impossible' (2012), director: j. a. bayona.

Starring Naomi Watts , Ewan McGregor , and a young but talented Tom Holland in his film debut , 2012's The Impossible follows one family's incredible journey to find each other after being separated during the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. The movie was considered one of the best films of 2012 and received highly positive reviews for its acting and directing, becoming one of the most well-known true disaster movies.

Throughout its entirety, The Impossible is chock-full of incredibly hard-hitting emotion and doesn't lack tough-to-watch scenes. From losing loved ones in such a tragic way to that heartbreaking reunion scene, The Impossible left viewers reeling from the devastation depicted and the trauma that thousands experienced from the natural disaster that killed over 200,000 people. Its impact on the disaster genre is undeniable.

The Impossible

11 'changeling' (2008), director: clint eastwood.

Starring Angelina Jolie in one of her best movie performances (it earned her her second Academy Award nom), Clint Eastwood 's intense Changeling is based on the real-life events surrounding the 1928 Wineville Chicken Coop murders in Mira Loma, California. It focuses on a woman who is reunited with a boy who she then realizes is not really her missing son, depicting her struggles as she is vilified as delusional.

The critically acclaimed feature is undoubtedly a must-see film based on real-life events, especially given the powerfully poignant messages it sends about the anxieties of being a woman and a mother and the constant begging to be believed that comes with it. The heartbreaking Changeling is impactful and recommendable , though the faint of heart may find it difficult to sit through it all.

10 'Hacksaw Ridge' (2016)

Director: mel gibson.

Desmond Doss was a combat medic who refused to carry a firearm or weapon of any kind and heroically saved the lives of an estimated seventy-five soldiers during the World War II Battle of Okinawa. Directed by Mel Gibson and starring Andrew Garfield in the lead role , 2016's Hacksaw Ridge is a biographical drama that follows the story of Doss, who became the first conscientious objector to win the Medal of Honor.

Throughout this heartwrenching film, Doss was often looked down upon for refusing to bear arms, earning him zero respect from his fellow soldiers. His sergeant and Captain put him through intense labor to get him to quit, his fellow soldiers beat him up, and he faced potential imprisonment. Despite everything, Doss saved dozens of lives and became a hero in the face of treacherous conditions. There is no doubt that Hacksaw Ridge is an incredibly touching film based on real-life events .

Hacksaw Ridge

9 'united 93' (2006), director: paul greengrass.

United 93 , which is among the most popular terrorism movies based on a true story, is a docudrama written and directed by Paul Greengrass that tells the harrowing story of the only hijacked plane that didn't reach its intended target during the 9/11 attacks. While Flights 11, 77, and 175 devastatingly hit their targets, Flight 93 didn't. Instead, it crashed into a Pennsylvania field due to the bravery of the flight crew and passengers on board.

The two-time Academy Award-nominated film follows the passengers and crew as they attempt to retain control from the al-Queda terrorists after a violent hijacking. The heartbreaking reality of Flight 93 remains instilled in the hearts and minds of the people directly impacted and the world. What could've added thousands of losses to the death toll was prevented by the forty courageous people who sadly lost their lives aboard Flight 93 on that tragic day.

8 'Stronger' (2017)

Director: david gordon green.

Those who enjoy movies like Patriots Day should check out 2017's Stronger . It follows the events surrounding the Boston Marathon bombings that happened on April 15th, 2013. However, unlike Patriots Day , which follows the investigative side of things, Stronger is a biographical drama that highlights the impact it had on one man who was hailed a hero after identifying one of the bombers involved.

Based on Jeff Bauman and Bret Witter 's memoir of the same name, the movie emotionally depicts the personal struggles faced by Jeff (played by Jake Gyllenhaal ) as he adjusted to life after losing both legs in the attack. Jeff struggled greatly with his mental health, and PTSD and had flashbacks to the day of the bombings, not helped by the constant media attention. But, despite his mental health conditions (depicted with precision), he overcame the challenges he faced, learned how to walk again, and became an inspiration to thousands. With that being said, Stronger is easily one of the most encouraging and captivating films about real-life events .

Watch on Netflix

7 'Hotel Rwanda' (2004)

Director: terry george.

Based on the Rwandan genocide twenty years before the film's release, Hotel Rwanda is a multi-award-nominated movie that follows the events that took place between April 7th and July 15th, 1994, and resulted in an estimated 500,000 to 800,000 Tutsi deaths over a timeline of just one hundred days.

The film pursues the story of Paul Rusesabagina and his wife Tatiana (played by Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo ) as they embark on saving the lives of their family and over a thousand other Hutu and Tutsi refugees during the Rwandan civil war. Hotel Rwanda is full of chilling and tear-jerking scenes. It's among the best sad movies based on true stories , with the real-life conflict that inspired the heartbreaking but high-rated film remaining as one of the most difficult to fathom for many.

Hotel Rwanda

6 'captain phillips' (2013).

Directed by Paul Greengrass and starring America's dad Tom Hanks as the title character, this 2013 biographical drama follows the story of Captain Richard Phillips and his hostage-taking during the Maersk Alabama hijacking in 2009. With a screenplay inspired by Phillips' book, the film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Captain Phillips certainly isn't lacking in intensity and hard-to-watch scenes. From nail-biting confrontation and negotiation to Hanks' incredibly emotional performance as Phillips , the film was a critical success. In the aftermath of his kidnapping, Richard Phillips became an author and returned to sea just over a year later until his retirement in 2014. If you're looking for sad true story movies, this might be worth a shot.

Captain Phillips

5 'titanic' (1997), director: james cameron.

Possibly the most famous of the bunch, James Cameron 's highly popular drama was inspired by the events of the sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912, a British-registered ship that was launched on May 31, 1911. After striking an iceberg, the Titanic broke apart and sank to the bottom of the ocean. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in the lead roles, depicting their ill-fated, timeless love story.

Although it contains both historical and fictionalized aspects, the iconic 1997 movie is indeed a widely appreciated one. For the date it was released, the heartwrenching Titanic featured a massive budget and high production, which ultimately made the whole viewing experience extremely immersive , especially in movie theaters.

4 'One Life' (2023)

Director: james hawes.

When it comes to devastating pictures, 2023's drama One Life also deserves a mention. Based on a true story about a tragic real-life event, James Hawes ' powerful movie follows British humanitarian Sir Nicholas Winton (portrayed by Sir Anthony Hopkins ) as he looks back on his past efforts to help groups of Jewish children in German-occupied Czechoslovakia to hide and escape just before the beginning of World War II.

This heart-wrenching film is guaranteed to move audiences to tears given the sensitive topic it tackles and Hopkins' dramatic performance that anchors it. Despite its sad bits, though, the highly emotional One Life also celebrates Winton's incredible accomplishments and the numerous lives that he saved. Based on the book If It's Not Impossible...: The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton by Barbara Winton .

Watch on Amazon Prime

3 'Fruitvale Station' (2013)

Director: ryan coogler.

This powerfully acted Michael B. Jordan -led film directed by the MCU filmmaker Ryan Coogler is one of the most heartbreaking portrayals of police brutality on-screen. It centers on 22-year-old Bay Area resident Oscar Grant III, who makes the New Year's Eve resolution of being a better son, boyfriend, and father on the final day of 2008. In the meantime, he runs into friends, foes, family, and strangers.

As viewers would guess, Coogler's thoroughly impressive directorial debut is inspired by the events leading to the death of a young man who was brutally killed by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer Johannes Mehserle at the Fruitvale district station in Oakland in the year of 2009. Shining a poignant light on prejudice and an increasingly unjust system, Fruitvale Station makes for a deeply touching and memorable watch that provides food for thought .

Fruitvale Station

2 'letters from iwo jima' (2006).

From the mind of the iconic Clint Eastwood , this intriguing 2006 adventure drama introduces audiences to the true story of the Battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II. It is, of course, told from the point of view of the Japanese who fought in the war.

Featuring an absorbing storyline that shines a light on the humanistic side of such tragic events, this engaging feature is likely to glue the audience's eyes to their screens. While it may not be as ostentatious and bold as other war films — but silently heartbreaking instead — Letters From Iwo Jima is nonetheless essential viewing for those who enjoy true story movies .

Letters from Iwo Jima

The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.

Rent on Apple TV

1 'Schindler's List' (1993)

Director: steven spielberg.

Steven Spielberg 's 1993 historical drama, Schindler's List , remains one of the most heartbreaking depictions of the Holocaust of all time. The film is based on the non-fiction novel Schindler's Ark , written by Thomas Keneally in 1982, and was nominated for twelve Academy Awards, winning seven, including Best Picture and Best Director for Spielberg.

The war film which doesn't actually focus on the fighting stars Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler , a German industrialist responsible for saving the lives of over a thousand Jewish people from the Holocaust. The Nazi's genocide of the Jewish people resulted in the deaths of an estimated six million Jews, and Schindler saved approximately 1200, who became known as the Schindlerjuden (Schindler Jews). An epilogue for the film shows the surviving Schindlerjuden and the actors visiting Schindler's grave. Schindler's List is widely regarded as one of the best movies of all time, so it only makes sense that it is essential in the genre.

Schindler's List

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The Best Survival Movies Based on True Stories

There are hundreds if not thousands of movies about survival, but only a choice few are based on true events. The survival movies based on true stories can offer harrowing examples of people performing extraordinary feats in the most desperate of circumstances, but those films are few and far between. Survival films often depict what really happened to people whose life is told in a story that could be inspirational or end in disaster.

You may think a survival movie like Tom Hanks' Castaway  would wind up on a list like this one, but that film was based on multiple survival accounts of people who survived that sort of situation instead of a single, true event. The strict criteria for this list means you'll find the best survival movies - if and only if they are based on true events! Real stories about people surviving or struggling to overcome obstacles offer an interesting and sometimes difficult viewing of struggle, perseverance, and the will to overcome... but not everyone survives and often, these movies end in ways you may not desire...

Apollo 13 , directed by Ron Howard, is a gripping account of the ill-fated lunar mission, with Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton portraying astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise. The film depicts their courageous fight for survival as they navigate their damaged spacecraft back to Earth.

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Alive , directed by Frank Marshall, tells the harrowing tale of a Uruguayan rugby team stranded in the Andes Mountains after their plane crashes in 1972. The cast, led by Ethan Hawke, must battle extreme cold, avalanches, and resort to unthinkable measures in order to stay alive.

• # 54 of 240 on The 200+ Best Movies Based On A True Story
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127 Hours , helmed by Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle, stars James Franco as real-life mountain climber Aron Ralston. The film chronicles Ralston's harrowing experience trapped in a Utah canyon for over five days, ultimately leading him to take desperate measures to save his life.

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Society of the Snow

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Jungle , directed by Greg McLean, features Daniel Radcliffe as Yossi Ghinsberg, an Israeli adventurer who finds himself lost in the unforgiving Bolivian Amazon rainforest. The film follows Ghinsberg's incredible three-week journey battling starvation, predators, and nature itself.

Touching the Void

Touching the Void , directed by Kevin Macdonald, is a gripping documentary-style film that recounts the true story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates' perilous climb up the Siula Grande mountain in the Peruvian Andes. The film explores themes of friendship, trust, and resilience as the two climbers are pushed to their physical and emotional limits.

The Cave , directed by Tom Waller, is a gripping retelling of the 2018 Thai cave rescue that captured the world's attention. The film showcases the extraordinary efforts of international divers and the local community to save a young soccer team and their coach trapped in a flooded cave system.

The Way Back

The Way Back , directed by Peter Weir, follows a group of prisoners who escape a Siberian gulag during World War II and traverse over 4,000 miles through treacherous terrain. Led by a powerful performance from Jim Sturgess, the film is an epic testament to the will to survive and the bonds forged in adversity.

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• # 165 of 240 on The 200+ Best Movies Based On A True Story
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The Perfect Storm

The Perfect Storm , directed by Wolfgang Petersen, tells the gripping story of the Andrea Gail, a fishing vessel caught in the midst of a massive storm in the North Atlantic. With an ensemble cast led by George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg, this film is a heart-wrenching tribute to the power of the sea and the strength of the human spirit.

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Against the Ice

Against the Ice , directed by Peter Flinth, chronicles the harrowing journey of two Danish explorers, played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Joe Cole, as they strive to survive the brutal Arctic conditions while proving Greenland's connection to the North Pole. This Netflix original serves as an intense, character-driven tribute to human perseverance.

United 93 , helmed by Paul Greengrass, is a chilling reenactment of the events aboard United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. The film pays homage to the passengers' heroic efforts to prevent the hijacked plane from reaching its intended target, ultimately sacrificing their lives in the process.

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The Revenant

The Revenant , directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, stars Leonardo DiCaprio as real-life frontiersman Hugh Glass. This intense survival drama showcases Glass's incredible journey of vengeance and redemption after being left for dead by his fellow trappers in the wilderness of 1820s South Dakota.

• # 71 of 288 on The 250+ Best Western Movies Of All Time
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Rabbit-Proof Fence

Rabbit-Proof Fence, directed by Phillip Noyce, is a powerful drama based on the true story of three Aboriginal girls forcibly removed from their families in 1930s Australia. Their incredible journey across the outback highlights the resilience and determination of these young girls and their fight for freedom.

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• # 35 of 51 on The 35+ Best Drama Movies About Survival

Adrift , directed by Baltasar Kormákur, stars Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin as a young couple who find themselves stranded at sea after their boat is ravaged by a powerful hurricane. Based on the true story of Tami Oldham and Richard Sharp, the film is a harrowing account of love, loss, and survival.

Escape from Alcatraz

Escape from Alcatraz , directed by Don Siegel, features Clint Eastwood as Frank Morris, an inmate who orchestrated one of the most notorious prison escapes in history. The film recounts Morris's daring 1962 escape from the seemingly impenetrable Alcatraz federal penitentiary.

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• # 6 of 59 on The Best Movies Based on Non-Fiction Books

12 Years a Slave

12 Years a Slave , helmed by acclaimed director Steve McQueen, stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup, a free African American man kidnapped and sold into slavery in pre-Civil War America. This Oscar-winning film serves as a brutal testament to the strength of the human spirit and the horrors of slavery.

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Togo , directed by Ericson Core, stars Willem Dafoe as Leonhard Seppala, the musher responsible for navigating his sled dog Togo through treacherous Alaskan terrain to deliver life-saving serum during the 1925 Nome Serum Run. The Disney+ original is an inspiring tale of heroism and the unbreakable bond between man and dog.

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Into the Wild

Into the Wild , directed by Sean Penn , tells the incredible true story of Christopher McCandless, played by Emile Hirsch, who leaves his privileged life behind to embark on a journey of self-discovery through the Alaskan wilderness. This poignant film is both an ode to wanderlust and a cautionary tale about the perils of venturing into the unknown.

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Open Water , directed by Chris Kentis, is a chilling tale of two scuba divers accidentally left behind in shark-infested waters. Inspired by the true story of Tom and Eileen Lonergan , this low-budget thriller is an unnerving reminder of the unpredictability and dangers of the open ocean.

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6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain

6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain , directed by Scott Waugh, stars Josh Hartnett as Eric LeMarque, a former professional hockey player stranded in the Sierra Nevada mountains after a snowboarding accident. The film chronicles LeMarque's eight-day struggle against the elements, addiction, and his own demons.

All Is Lost

All Is Lost , directed by J.C. Chandor, features Robert Redford as an unnamed sailor who finds himself lost at sea after his yacht is damaged by a shipping container. This near-silent film is a masterclass in minimalist storytelling and a powerful exploration of one man's fight for survival against insurmountable odds.

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• # 5 of 44 on The 40+ Best Lost At Sea Movies
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White Squall

In White Squall , director Ridley Scott brings together a talented cast, including Jeff Bridges, to tell the gripping story of a group of shipwrecked young men who must rely on their wits and one another to survive the treacherous ocean after their sailing vessel is hit by a massive storm. Based on a true story, the film provides a harrowing look at human endurance and the power of camaraderie in the face of insurmountable odds.

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Rescue Dawn

Rescue Dawn,   directed by Werner Herzog, features Christian Bale in an outstanding performance as Dieter Dengler, a U.S. Navy pilot shot down and captured during the Vietnam War. Based on Dengler's incredible true story, the film chronicles his daring escape from a POW camp and subsequent fight for survival in the inhospitable jungles of Laos, making it a gritty and visceral exploration of the limits of human endurance.

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Alaska  stars Thora Birch and Vincent Kartheiser as two siblings who embark on a perilous quest through the Alaskan wilderness in search of their father, played by Dirk Benedict, after his plane crashes in the mountains. This thrilling survival tale, inspired by actual events, showcases the breathtaking beauty of Alaska's landscape while underscoring the resilience of the human spirit in the most challenging circumstances.

The Great Alaskan Race

The Great Alaskan Race  recounts the heroic efforts of a group of mushers, led by Leonhard Seppala (played by Brian Presley), who embark on a treacherous journey across the Alaskan wilderness to deliver life-saving serum to the isolated town of Nome during a diphtheria outbreak in 1925. This inspiring tale, based on the true story of the famous Serum Run, captures the courage and determination it takes to survive and triumph over adversity in the most unforgiving conditions.

• # 18 of 22 on The Best Animal Movies Of 2019
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• # 57 of 75 on The 70+ Best New & Recent Adventure Movies, Ranked

The Aeronauts

The Aeronauts  pairs Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne as 19th-century meteorologist James Glaisher and daredevil balloon pilot Amelia Wren, who undertake a dangerous journey into the sky in a gas balloon to advance scientific knowledge about the Earth's atmosphere. Inspired by real-life aeronauts, this visually stunning film offers a thrilling tale of survival at dizzying heights amidst seemingly impossible odds.

In The Mercy , Colin Firth delivers a heart-wrenching performance as Donald Crowhurst, an amateur sailor who sets out on a solo voyage around the world in an ill-fated attempt to win the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. Based on true events, this poignant film delves into Crowhurst's desperate struggle for survival and sheds light on the devastating consequences of ambition, isolation, and human frailty.

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30 Lifetime Movies Based on True Stories

Prosecuting casey anthony.

This true-crime drama starring Rob Lowe as Jeff Ashton, the prosecutor in the infamous Casey Anthony murder trial, provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the prosecution’s case against Anthony and what led to the controversial verdict.

Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story

Overcoming impossible odds—negligent drug-addict parents, an abusive grandfather, and homelessness—Liz Murray finished high school in two years and won a scholarship to Harvard University through an essay contest sponsored by the New York Times. This adaptation stars “Now and Then”’s Thora Birch as Murray.

Taken in Broad Daylight

17-year-old Anne Sluti was abducted in broad daylight and held captive for six days before narrowly escaping. The movie version features James Van Der Beek as Sluti’s abductor and Levar Burton as a heroic cop hot on their trail.

William & Kate

Originally broadcast just a few days before the actual couple married, this film tells the true story of England’s Prince William and Kate Middleton courtship and engagement — a real-life fairy tale.

Natalee Holloway

In 2005, 18-year-old Natalee disappeared while on vacation in Aruba. Based on her mother Beth Holloway’s book “Loving Natalee,” the film depicts the events leading up to Natalee’s disappearance and the frenzied investigation that followed.

Britney Ever After

Curious about Britney Spears’ rise and fall — and redemptive arc? Look no further than this two-hour chronicle, which covers Spears’ staggering ascent to pop icon status, the implosion of her personal life and downward mental health spiral, and her steady recovery ever since.

Anna Nicole

Anna Nicole Smith’s tragic real life — from small-town single mother and dancer to world-famous Playboy centerfold struggling with drug and alcohol addiction — is explored in this sympathetic biopic.

Mendez: The Blood Brothers

When entertainment mogul Jose Menendez and his wife Kitty were murdered by their sons Lyle and Erik in 1989, the sensational trial gripped a scandalized America. This movie, starring Courtney Love and Nico Tortorella, delves into the abuse suffered by the infamous brothers and the motives behind their crimes.

Who is Clark Rockefeller?

This twist-filled drama features Eric McCormack as a German con artist who throughout his life impersonated many people, including an advisor to the Pentagon, a talk show host, and a member of the Rockefeller family.

Magic Beyond Words: The JK Rowling Story

Based on Sean Smith’s “J.K. Rowling: A Biography,” this biopic charts the “Harry Potter” author’s inspirational rise from struggling single mother to beloved household name.

Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy

Starring Hayden Panettiere as Amanda Knox, this true-crime drama is based on the murder of Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy, and the subsequent trials of Knox and her Italian boyfriend for the crime.

Coco Chanel

Chronicling legendary fashion designer Coco Chanel’s astonishing life and enduring style legacy, this biopic stars Shirley MacLaine, who received an Emmy nomination for her performance as Chanel.

Cries Unheard: The Donna Yaklich Story

After years of suffering at his hand, Donna Yaklich murdered her abusive, steroid-addicted husband. The ensuing trial and her conviction were the focus of a media circus. This film recounts her harrowing story through flashbacks narrated by her character to the son she loves dearly.

The Two Mr. Kissels

Told primarily through vivid flashbacks and interviews, this drama recounts the lurid details surrounding the murders of Andrew and Robert Kissel, two real-life brothers neck-deep in dirty deeds. Starring John Stamos and Anson Mount as the titular brothers.

Pregnancy Pact

In 2008, a group of female high school students in Gloucester, Massachusetts, allegedly made a pact to get pregnant at the same time and raise their children as a group. This take on the story stars Thora Birch and Camryn Manheim.

Girl in the Box

In 1977, 20-year-old Colleen Stan was kidnapped while hitchhiking by a young couple who held her prisoner for seven years in a coffin-sized box, letting her out only to watch their children and participate in violent, sadistic sex. This dark psychological drama is not for the faint of heart.

Liz & Dick

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were one of Hollywood’s most fabled couples, and their tempestuous, passionate relationship is chronicled in this fittingly over-the-top biopic — featuring none other than Lindsay Lohan, an equally fabulous figure.

Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story

The heart-pounding true story of Tiffany Rubin’s rescue of her kidnapped 7-year-old son — who’d been taken from his home in Queens to Seoul, South Korea in 2008 — is captured in this gripping drama, with an impassioned performance from a pre-“Empire” Taraji P. Henson.

Gracie's Choice

Kristen Bell and Anne Heche star in this emotional drama, inspired by actual events, about a 16-year-old girl struggling to provide for her younger siblings while their drug-addicted mother self-destructs and lands in jail. Heche was Emmy-nominated for her performance.

Drew Peterson: Untouchable

Rob Lowe returns to Lifetime as Drew Peterson, the infamous, womanizing Chicago police officer accused of murdering his third wife after his fourth goes missing in a disappearance that remains unsolved. The movie also features Kaley Cuoco as Stacy Peterson, the missing fourth wife.

Abducted: The Carlina White Story

A young woman who was abducted as a baby from a New York hospital solves her own story and goes on to find her biological parents.

The Real MVP: The Wanda Durant Story

The inspiring true story of Wanda Durant, a single mother who selflessly put aside her own dreams and desires to allow her son to have his, making him the NBA's Most Valuable Player: Kevin Durant.

Who Killed JonBenet?

The murder of six-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey in 1996 is still unsolved, but recently surfaced information could potentially confirm what really happened.

I Am Elizabeth Smart

A harrowing kidnapping story of Elizabeth Smart by a religious fanatic who held her captive for nine months, narrated by Elizabeth herself.

Girl in the Bunker

A young woman is kidnapped and held inside an underground bunker by a man disguised as a sheriff deputy. In order to survive, she takes matters into her own hands.

Betty and Coretta 

After the tragic assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, their wives Betty and Coretta take on life by inheriting the mantle of the civil rights movement as single mothers.

Cocaine Godmother: The Griselda Blanco Story

After moving to the U.S at the age of 17, Griselda Blanco embarks on a life full of drugs and crime making her Miami’s biggest drug lord and cocaine trade pioneer, nicknamed The Black Widow.

A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story

This documentary follows the life of Lizzie Velasquez who weighing 58 pounds due to a rare syndrome goes from a cyber-bullying victim to an anti-bullying activist.

A retelling of the biggest environmental crisis of our generation that shook the nation while highlighting the whistle-blowers who exposed it all.

Oscar Pistorius: Blade Runner Killer

A Paralympic champion and the Olympic's first double-leg amputee participant was quickly a crowd favorite, but that all changed when his super model girlfriend is murdered on Valentine's Day.

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The True Stories Behind 'The Godfather'

These are the real-life mobsters and events that inspired the books and movies.

Starring Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone and Al Pacino as his son Michael, The Godfather was lauded by both critics and audiences alike and spawned a pair of sequels: The Godfather II (1974) and The Godfather III (1990).

The Godfather franchise is heavily influenced by many real-life mobsters and events. Here are some of the true stories behind the films:

Real-life mobsters and entertainers served as inspiration for the characters

Vito corleone was inspired by frank costello.

Portrayed by Brando, the character of Vito was actually a combination of a few mobsters . Like real-life mobster Joe Profaci, Vito had an olive oil business to serve as a front for his illegal activities and kept his circle small and intimate. Like Carlo Gambino, Vito had a reputation for being a modest, under-the-radar figure. However, the Godfather character is most similar to real-life mobster Frank Costello, who was strategic, reasonable and known as "The Prime Minister" of the mob because of his wise counsel. Like Costello, Vito used his diplomatic skills and his connections to influential businessmen and politicians to keep his power in place and also discouraged his underlings from getting involved in the narcotics business.

Johnny Fontane was inspired by Frank Sinatra

The similarities between the character of Johnny Fontane (played by Al Martino) and singer Frank Sinatra were so conspicuous that Sinatra was purportedly irked by it. In the film, Fontane reaches out to Vito to help him get out of a contract he was unhappy with. Likewise, in real life, Sinatra was able to wiggle out of his contract with the help of his mob connections. Desperate to rescue his fading career, Fontane decides to go into acting and gets cast in a big movie — a move that Sinatra made when he starred in From Here to Eternity , which subsequently reinvigorated his popularity. Interestingly, Coppola briefly mulled over the idea of casting Sinatra as Vito.

Moe Greene was inspired by Bugsy Siegel

"Do you know who I am? I'm Moe Greene!" exclaimed a defiant Moe Greene to Michael in The Godfather . Portrayed by Alex Rocco, Greene was a huge, brash personality who helped bring life to the Las Vegas scene. In real life, mobster Bugsy Siegel did just that. As a hitman for the East Coast organization Murder Inc., Siegel moved out West and helped build Vegas, operating the luxury casino the Flamingo. Siegel had no qualms about showing off and circulating in the celebrity crowd, and Greene expressed the same characteristics. Both of Jewish descent, Siegel and Greene also met similar fates when a fusillade of bullets was shot through their bodies, notably each man received a bullet in their eye sockets. However, Siegel was killed for stealing money from the mob, while Greene's disrespect for the Corleones hastened his end.

Michael Corleone was inspired by Salvatore “Bill” Bonanno

Mobster Joseph Bonanno didn't want his son, Bill, to get into the family business. Encouraging Bill to live on the straight-and-narrow, Joseph got his son to go to law school — just like Vito had his son Michael do.

Despite his father's wishes, Michael — like Bill — found his way into the mob life. However, that's where the common thread ends. In real life, Bill's personality was more like Michael's older brother, Fredo. He was ostentatious, attention-seeking, lived off of his family's wealth and never received the respect he so badly wanted from his father's men.

Salvatore Tessio was inspired by Gaspar DiGregorio

In The Godfather , the Corleones discovered one of their own was conspiring against Michael's ascent to power. At first, the suspicion is directed to a more brazen mobster, but the family soon finds out it is the quiet stalwart Salvatore Tessio (played by Abe Vigoda) who was behind the attempted assassination of Michael at a mob summit.

Real-life gangster Gaspar DiGregorio was the inspiration behind Tessio's character. When Joseph Bonanno tried to transfer his power over to his son, DiGregorio felt wronged and began a divisive campaign against the mob leader, which the newspapers dubbed, the Banana War. As Tessio did in the film, DiGregorio tried to pull a meeting together between the two factions, with the intention of assassinating the Bonnanos. Unlike DiGregorio's jealousy and lust for power, though, Tessio wanted Michael removed because he just didn't think the latter was the best man for the job. While DiGregorio failed to kill his rivals and died in obscurity, Tessio was "taken for a ride" and executed for his betrayal.

The Place and Circumstances

Michael's restaurant shooting was inspired by an encounter between lucky luciano and joe masseria.

In one of the most memorable scenes in The Godfather , Michael makes a pivotal shift from being innocent to turning into a full-fledged gangster. Inviting two of his father's enemies to a restaurant to settle their issues, Michael takes off to the bathroom, where he locates a gun planted for him. He returns to dinner and proceeds to shoot both men to death.

The film's restaurant shooting was inspired by one of the most notorious public executions in mob history. In 1931, famed mobster Lucky Luciano , who was bent on usurping power from his mentor and boss Giuseppe "Joe" Masseria, asked him out to lunch at a restaurant in Coney Island. When Luciano took off to the men's room, Masseria met his untimely end when he was gunned down by a group of hitmen.

Michael testifying during a Senate hearing was inspired by Frank Costello and Vito Genovese's court hearings

The Senate hearings in Godfather II , which forced Michael to testify about the mafia, were similar to the real-life Congressional hearings that occurred in the 1950s and 1960s that brought mobsters Costello and Vito Genovese before the public.

Most notably, mobster Joe Valachi offered testimony, but not as a devoted mobster but rather as a government witness. He was the first mafia member to appear in a public setting and acknowledge the organization's existence, which ultimately initiated its downfall.

Michael fleeing to Italy and falling in love was inspired by Genovese and Luciano

When Michael guns down his father's enemies, he takes off to Sicily, ends up falling in love and marries local village girl Apollonia Vitelli. The storyline was a page taken from the lives of mobster Genovese and Luciano. To avoid prosecution for a murder he committed, Genovese escaped to Italy and only returned when he was in the clear. In Luciano's case, he was deported to the homeland and ended up directing his illegal activities in the United States from there — never to return home again. And like Michael, Luciano fell in love with a young Italian woman, a ballerina named Igea Lissoni, whom he stayed with until her death.

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The True Story of Pop-Tarts and ‘Unfrosted’

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• Biography Movies
• Drama Movies

The 15 Best War Movies Based on True Stories and Events

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Nothing makes a film more shocking, tragic, or inspiring than the truth. Tons of war movies have been made over the years, but the most hard-hitting ones are usually based on true stories.

These heroic—and oftentimes horrific—tales celebrate the lives of real people who suffered at the hands of war, whether while behind enemy lines, navigating the skies, or even sat at a desk.

Risks were taken, sacrifices were made, and a few people managed to get out on the other side alive. Some of those people eventually had their journeys told on the big screen.

Here are our picks for the best war movies based on true stories and real events. How many of them have you seen?

15. Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Directed by Mel Gibson

Starring Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey

Drama, History, War (2h 19m)

8.1 on IMDb — 84% on RT

A pacifist in a war zone? Talk about oxymoronic! Ironically, Desmond T. Doss actually won the Congressional Medal of Honor for refusing to use or carry weapons in World War II.

Doss was at first punished and ridiculed for his refusal to bear arms, but later earned a huge amount of respect when he saved 75 men in the Battle of Okinawa without shooting a single bullet.

Andrew Garfield gives an impassioned performance in this biographical war drama directed by Mel Gibson. Hacksaw Ridge won two Oscars and was commended for its punchy combat scenes and emotionally taut melodrama. It's the classic hero's tale.

14. We Were Soldiers (2002)

Directed by Randall Wallace

Starring Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Greg Kinnear

Action, Drama, History (2h 18m)

7.1 on IMDb — 64% on RT

Randall Wallace directs this Vietnam War movie starring Mel Gibson as Lt. Gen. Hal Moore. Moore was the leader of a US battalion set against Vietnamese troops in La Drang Valley, 1965. Those were the middle days of the disastrous Vietnam War, which lasted from 1955 to 1973.

It's based on the best-selling book by Moore and journalist Joseph L. Galloway, titled We Were Soldiers Once... and Young and published in 1992. Wallace's violent yet compelling adaptation honors Moore's story and the atrociousness he faced during combat.

Though a little clunky at the start, We Were Soldiers quickly finds its footing to tell an ardent story of faith among death.

13. Valkyrie (2008)

Directed by Bryan Singer

Starring Tom Cruise, Bill Nighy, Carice van Houten

Drama, History, Thriller (2h 1m)

7.1 on IMDb — 62% on RT

You might have heard of Operation Valkyrie, the historical plot where Nazi officers attempted to take down Hitler themselves.

The group of high-ranking men feared for the future of Germany in Hitler's unstable hands, so they planned to use a national emergency to take control. A political thriller that's sure to entertain, Valkyrie is right on the money in terms of historical accuracy.

Bryan Singer directs the all-star cast featuring Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, and Tom Wilkinson. If these household names aren't enough to draw you in, the promised thrills of one of the most famous and difficult plots in history should.

It's no spoiler to say they weren't successful in their mission to assassinate Hitler, but some pretty intense stuff went down nonetheless.

12. The Killing Fields (1984)

Directed by Roland Joffé

Starring Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, John Malkovich

Biography, Drama, History (2h 21m)

7.8 on IMDb — 93% on RT

Most of the war movies on this list are from the POV of soldiers and other military personnel. But in The Killing Fields , we're looking through the lenses of two war journalists: Dith Pran (played by Haing S. Ngor) and Sydney Schanberg (played by Sam Waterston).

In the early 70s, Cambodia was in a state of civil war between the national army and the communist Khmer Rouge. Reporting in Phnom Penh was hard enough in a country ravaged by guerrilla warfare, but it was getting out that was the real challenge.

Ngor was cast to play the real-life Cambodian interpreter for The New York Times because of his own experiences during the Cambodian genocide, where he personally escaped being a prisoner-of-war just years before production began!

11. American Sniper (2014)

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Starring Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner

Action, Biography, Drama (2h 13m)

7.3 on IMDb — 72% on RT

American Sniper stars Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle, an American sniper who served in four tours of duty in Iraq.

It's a biographical drama in the looser sense, as some of the facts have been fictionalized for cinematic effect. Still, the core of the story remains true and offers insight into the world of modern warfare.

Clint Eastwood directs this Oscar-winning story, where Kyle's PTSD begins to affect his life back home. As a Navy SEAL sniper, Kyle might be well-adjusted to the chaotic environments of bombs and guns, but not as much when it comes to everyday suburban life.

American Sniper is a powerful story of sacrifice, terror, and love that flip-flops between the past and present day.

10. The Courier (2020)

Directed by Dominic Cooke

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Merab Ninidze, Rachel Brosnahan

Drama, History, Thriller (1h 52m)

7.2 on IMDb — 85% on RT

The Courier is a war movie that doesn't involve any soldiers, trenches, or ballistic armaments. From 1947 to 1991, the Cold War had the world holding its breath on the brink of nuclear destruction.

One unlikely spy candidate? Greville Wynne (played by Benedict Cumberbatch), an everyday British businessman who was recruited by MI6. Cumberbatch gets suited and booted for his role as the unassuming engineer who proved his bravery against the KGB.

Wynne had no idea this sort of employment was coming his way. In fact, MI6 had purposefully picked him because he had no spy history, which allowed him to avoid suspicion and detection.

9. Black Hawk Down (2001)

Directed by Ridley Scott

Starring Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore

Action, Drama, History (2h 24m)

7.7 on IMDb — 77% on RT

Black Hawk Down recounts the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993. Just one cog in the broader Somali Civil War, "Black Hawk Down" was the name of a helicopter incident that killed 20 troops and hundreds of civilians.

Journalist Mark Bowden wrote about the events in his 1999 nonfiction book, which Ridley Scott brought to life with a dazzling cast: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana, Jason Isaacs, Sam Shepard, Tom Hardy, and Orlando Bloom—just to name a few!

Although not 100% accurate, Black Hawk Down is a gritty, bloody, action-packed depiction of the US raid of Mogadishu, which was solid enough to win two Academy Awards.

8. The Imitation Game (2014)

Directed by Morten Tyldum

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode

Biography, Drama, Thriller (1h 54m)

8.0 on IMDb — 90% on RT

Taking a step back from gunfire, The Imitation Game is a character study of one the most important figures in British history. Alan Turing may have never step foot on a battlefield, but he still managed to save millions of lives during World War II.

The Nazi cipher device (called the Enigma Machine) had settings that changed every day, which meant that Turing and his team of English mathematicians only had 24 hours to crack the code.

This cipher, which was used by the German military to communicate secret messages, eventually became the key to defeating Hitler—and only Turing was able to open that door.

One half of director Morten Tyldum's historical drama is tightly packed with the tension of breaking the Enigma code. The other half is an intimate exploration of Turing, who was ostracized by many for his eccentric genius and (illegal at the time) homosexuality.

Tragic yet inspirational, The Imitation Game is carried by Benedict Cumberbatch's poignant performance alongside Keira Knightley.

7. Unbroken (2014)

Directed by Angelina Jolie

Starring Jack O'Connell, Miyavi, Domhnall Gleeson

Action, Biography, Drama (2h 17m)

7.2 on IMDb — 52% on RT

Of Jack O'Connell's many brilliant and gritty performances after starring in the British teen show Skins , his best showing of them all might just be as Louis Zamperini in Unbroken .

Directed by Angelina Jolie, Unbroken traces the Olympic record-holder's life from childhood to World War II service. When his aircraft crashed into the Pacific, Zamperini narrowly survived 47 days stranded on a lifeboat with two crew members.

But the bad luck doesn't stop there. Zamperini was then held in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, where Imperial Officer Mutsuhiro Watanabe took a particular "liking" to him.

Forced to undergo all sorts of torture, Zamperini—as the title suggests—refused to give Watanabe the satisfaction of killing his spirit. Unbroken is a superbly performed and beautifully filmed tale of strength and humanity in the face of harrowing evil.

6. Platoon (1986)

Directed by Oliver Stone

Starring Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe

Drama, War (2h)

8.1 on IMDb — 89% on RT

Platoon isn't a straight war biopic like some of the other movies on this list. That said, it's such an iconic movie—and pinnacle of the war movie genre—that we had to include it!

Director Oliver Stone, who himself won medals for his service in the Vietnam War, based Platoon on his own military experiences. In opposition to John Wayne's depiction of the Vietnam War in 1968's The Green Berets , Oliver Stone wrote Platoon with accuracy in mind.

Stone took 10 years to get the script to screen, which was brought to life by Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Keith David, Forest Whitaker, and Johnny Depp.

Platoon is one of the many award-winning cinematic classics brought to us by Stone after Scarface and Midnight Express . Even if you haven't seen it before, you're sure to recognize the poignant soundtrack as Dafoe famously falls to his knees.

5. The Pianist (2002)

Directed by Roman Polanski

Starring Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay

Biography, Drama, Music (2h 30m)

8.5 on IMDb — 95% on RT

Adrien Brody will have you weeping in this heartfelt biography of Polish musician Władysław Szpilman. Adapted from his autobiography, The Pianist follows Szpilman as he hides in various places across Warsaw (or what's left of Warsaw).

Torn from his family, Szpilman suffers under the constant threat of capture and is tormented by starvation and loneliness. Brody's astounding performance tugs at every heartstring there is, showing us the power of one human's will to survive.

The Holocaust memoir, directed by Roman Polanski, won the Palme d'Or at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival as well as multiple Academy Awards. It's an important story—one of the many that should never be forgotten as part of society's horrifying history.

4. A Bridge Too Far (1977)

Directed by Richard Attenborough

Starring Sean Connery, Ryan O'Neal, Michael Caine

Drama, History, War (2h 55m)

7.4 on IMDb — 59% on RT

Sean Connery, Michael Caine, and Gene Hackman? Yes, please! This classic ensemble of acting legends star in Richard Attenborough's 1970s war epic that follows a combined British and American paratrooper unit who plan to take the highway into Germany.

Unfortunately for them, the Allies underestimated the German resistance. A Bridge Too Far remains as authentic as cinematically possible, dodging Hollywood clichés and glamorization of war.

Based on the 1974 book by Cornelius Ryan, A Bridge Too Far probes into the victories and tactical mistakes made at the Battle of Arnhem in 1944. Ryan also wrote The Longest Day in 1962, which was made into a similarly epic wartime classic.

3. The Great Escape (1963)

Directed by John Sturges

Starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough

Adventure, Drama, History (2h 52m)

8.2 on IMDb — 94% on RT

It's hard to imagine an escape like this one actually taking place, but it did! Of course, a 1960s Hollywood studio was bound to dramatize it—and they made the US involvement larger than it actually was—but it still really happened nonetheless.

In his 1950 book, Paul Brickhill detailed the extraordinary escape of British prisoners of war from a German camp. John Sturges then turned it into this legendary war flick that's (mostly) suitable for the family.

The Great Escape tunes down the horrific realities of war camps to cater to a wider audience, but its strength, soul, and nobility are never lost.

The prisoners plotted their escape for years before tunneling themselves to freedom. Sadly, only 76 of the original 200 made it to the other side alive... and most were recaptured shortly after.

2. Dunkirk (2017)

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Starring Fionn Whitehead, Barry Keoghan, Mark Rylance

Action, Drama, History (1h 46m)

7.8 on IMDb — 92% on RT

Christopher Nolan is no stranger to sweeping cinematic visuals, and Dunkirk is a feat of cinematography that takes us on a journey across land, sea, and sky during the Battle of Dunkirk.

Sparse dialogue makes room for a more atmospheric marvel, which was mostly shot on 65mm IMAX. The air is heavy with fear and tension as Nolan documents the lives of various men who are struggling to evacuate the beaches of Dunkirk in May 1940.

Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Kenneth Branagh, and Harry Styles are just some of the big names that appear in Dunkirk . Although the characters are fictional, Nolan hits every other historical fact on the head as he bases his story on real-life accounts.

These characters serve as symbols of the real men who fought, waited, escaped, and died on that monumental day—which some consider to be the greatest failure of World War II and others an outright miracle.

1. Schindler's List (1993)

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Starring Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley

Biography, Drama, History (3h 15m)

9.0 on IMDb — 98% on RT

Steven Spielberg not only managed to direct an iconic cinematic masterpiece, but did so in the same year that he made the legendary blockbuster hit Jurassic Park ! But Schindler's List is a very different story from Spielberg's usual fare.

This Holocaust drama celebrates the efforts of businessman Oskar Schindler, who ultimately saved 1,200 Jews from concentration camps. Using his position as a privileged German industrialist, Schindler employed hundreds of Jewish people to work in his factories.

Spielberg employs an expert use of black-and-white to evoke not only the historical setting, but also the deeply tragic themes of a world stripped of joy. Liam Neeson stars as the heroic figure alongside Ralph Fiennes as the truly infuriating and sadistic Nazi commander Amon Göth.

The Parents' Guide To What They're Watching

10 best movies based on true stories

We pick the 10 best true stories that were made into movies suitable for a family audience. from the sound of music to the diary of anne frank, there's something for everyone....

While the new release Goodbye Christopher Robin, about the author AA Milne, is aimed at older kids and adults, there are plenty of movies based on true stories and real people that are suitable for kids of all ages.

Here is Movies4Kids pick of the 10 best true stories for kids – and all the family.

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The Sound Of Music (U)

Based on the memoir The Story Of The Trapp Family Singers, this classic 1965 musical plays a little fast and loose with the facts (Von Trapp wasn’t as reserved as the film makes out, while the children don’t remember tutor Maria being as cuddly as Julie Andrews, either). Historical quibbles aside, it’s a lovely movie about how Maria comes to care for widower Von Trapp’s seven children featuring beautiful locations, unforgettable performances from Andrews and Christopher Plummer and, of course, those perfect Rodgers and Hammerstein songs (My Favourite Things, Do Re Mi, Edelweiss).

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Dolphin Tale (U)

There are lots of based-on-a-true-story movies about animals, including the lovely Oddball And The Penguins, Born Free and Balto, but cutest of all has to be 2011’s story about a bottlenose dolphin named Winter that was rescued off the Florida coast. Having lost her tail, she was fitted with a prosthetic one and her adventures are fictionalised here, with Winter playing herself alongside Nathan Gamble, Harry Connick Jr, Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman.

Cool Runnings (PG)

If you want a true story that will make you laugh and cheer, you can’t go wrong with Cool Runnings, which is loosely based on the true story of the Jamaican national bobsleigh team’s entrance in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. Just as fun and equally as unlikely (but true!) is the biopic Eddie The Eagle, starring Taron Egerton as Eddie Edwards, the determined British ski jumper who competed in the same Winter Games. Hugh Jackman costars as his (fictional) coach.

Queen Of Katwe (PG)

A Disney drama from 2016 based on the true story of Phiona Mutesi (Madina Nalwanga), a young Ugandan girl who developed a talent for chess under the tutelage of Robert Katende (David Oyelowo) that led to her competing for her country. Lupita Nyong’o also stars as Phiona’s mother.

October Sky (PG)

Based on the memoir Rocket Boys, this lovely 1999 movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Homer Hickam, a teenager in West Virginia in the 1950s who became inspired by the Russian launch of the Sputnik satellite. Together with his friends, Homer decides to build his own rocket, his first step on the road to becoming a NASA engineer.

Fairytale: A True Story (U)

Have the hankies ready for this sweet movie, loosely based on the true story of two little girls at the beginning of the 20 th century who caused controversy when they produced photos they said proved the existence of fairies. Harvey Keitel (as Houdini), Peter O’Toole (as Arthur Conan Doyle), Paul McGann, Bob Peck, Bill Nighy and Mel Gibson star alongside Elizabeth Earl and Florence Hoath as the girls.

The Diary Of Anne Frank (U)

There have been other versions of this story, but this 1959 biopic remains the best telling of the life of Anne Frank. Inspired by her diary, it is, of course, the story of how 13-year-old Anne and her family hid from Nazi persecution for more than two years during the Second World War in a secret place above her father’s business in Amsterdam.

Red Dog (PG)

Dog lovers will adore this story of the adventures of a red kelpie (Australian sheepdog) who warms the hearts of the men in a remote mining town in Western Australia and affects all their lives. It’s a real weepie that won awards in Australia, including one for Koko, who played the title role (his acceptance speech can be viewed here:

Rabbit Proof Fence (PG)

The heart-breaking story of three Aboriginal girls in the 1930s, who were snatched from their families and taken to an institution 1500 miles away. Determined to return home, the girls escaped and used the wire fence that cuts across Western Australia as their guide. One for older kids, this features stunning performances from the girls and Kenneth Branagh as the ‘Chief Protector’ who was responsible for their plight.

Eight Below (PG)

Based on the Japanese movie Nankyoku Monogatari, this is the true story of how eight husky dogs, stranded during an Antarctic transport mission, fend for themselves in the unforgiving landscape and try to survive. There are some upsetting scenes that may not be suitable for young children, but it is a fascinating movie and well worth a look. And the dogs are adorable.

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Top 50 Best Bollywood Movies based on True Stories

1. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

2. Paan Singh Tomar

4. Gangs of Wasseypur

5. Special 26

6. The Attacks of 26/11

7. Mary Kom

8. The Dirty Picture

10. Madras Cafe

11. Gulaab Gang

12. Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai

14. No One Killed Jessica

15. Airlift

16. Shootout at Lokhandwala

17. LOC: Kargil

18. The Legend of Bhagat Singh

20. Hawaizaada

22. Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai

25. Chak De! India

26. Bajirao Mastani

27. Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram Leela

28. Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey

30. Bombay Velvet

32. Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain

33. Sarkar Raj

34. Mumbai Meri Jaan

35. Jolly LLB

36. Bawandar

38. Rahasya

39. Bandit Queen

40. Shoot on Sight

41. Not a Love Story

42. Black Friday

43. Ek Doctor Ki Maut

44. Zubeidaa

45. Main Aur Charles

48. M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story

49. The Ghazi Attack

50. Punjab 1984

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