Based On True Events / True Stories
Movies based upon true events and stories, I prefer movies that are more accurate, but they don't have 100% true to reality to be on this list.
Oh, also, these aren't in any special order according to my favorites or anything - I'm just throwing them in the list as I watch them.
Some day I'll have to organize them by topic, not sure when that'll happen.
Oh, also, these aren't in any special order according to my favorites or anything - I'm just throwing them in the list as I watch them.
Some day I'll have to organize them by topic, not sure when that'll happen.
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- DirectorRidley ScottStarsDenzel WashingtonRussell CroweChiwetel EjioforAn outcast New York City cop is charged with bringing down Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas, whose real life inspired this partly biographical film.
- DirectorJimmy ChinElizabeth Chai VasarhelyiStarsAlex HonnoldTommy CaldwellJimmy ChinAlex Honnold faces the biggest challenge of his career, climbing El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. He pursues it Free Solo, which means climbing without a rope and alone.I know this is listed as a movie, but it's really a documentary with extremely high quality filming. One of the few "movies" that's more or less pure truth.
Crazy story about a guy who pretty much doesn't understand what "impossible" means. - DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsBrad PittDavid ThewlisBD WongHeinrich Harrer, an Austrian climber, breaks out of prison and travels to the holy city of Lhasa. He is employed as an instructor to the 14th Dalai Lama and soon becomes his close confidante.Really good stuff. China probably doesn't want you to see this one since they've annexed Tibet and all that.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsFionn WhiteheadBarry KeoghanMark RylanceAllied soldiers from Belgium, the British Commonwealth and Empire, and France are surrounded by the German Army and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II.
- DirectorFrancis AnnanStarsDaniel RadcliffeDaniel WebberIan HartBased on the real-life prison break of two political captives, Escape From Pretoria is a race-against-time thriller set in the tumultuous apartheid days of South Africa.
- DirectorDoug LimanStarsTom CruiseDomhnall GleesonSarah WrightThe story of Barry Seal, an American pilot who became a drug-runner for the CIA in the 1980s in a clandestine operation that would be exposed as the Iran-Contra Affair.Just the CIA doing dumb shit to help out the cartels. Nothing to see here. Move along, don't you dare question their truth.
- DirectorAaron SorkinStarsJessica ChastainIdris ElbaKevin CostnerThe true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game and became an FBI target.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsOrlando BloomEva GreenLiam NeesonBalian of Ibelin travels to Jerusalem during the Crusades of the 12th century, and there he finds himself as the defender of the city and its people.
- DirectorJan KomasaStarsJózef PawlowskiZofia WichlaczAnna PróchniakA story of love, friendship and the pursuit of adventure during the bloody and brutal reality of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising.Hauntingly beautiful story.
- DirectorGabriela CowperthwaiteStarsKate MaraRamón RodríguezTom FeltonBased on the true life story of a young Marine corporal whose unique discipline and bond with her military combat dog saved many lives during their deployment in Iraq.Pretty decent movie, if you loved dogs and Marine's this is pretty much a match made in heaven. Good watch.
- DirectorAmi Canaan MannStarsSam WorthingtonJeffrey Dean MorganChloë Grace MoretzIn the Texas bayous, a local homicide detective teams up with a cop from New York City to investigate a series of unsolved murders.
- DirectorEdward ZwickStarsDaniel CraigLiev SchreiberJamie BellJewish brothers in German-occupied Eastern Europe escape into a Belorussian forest, where they join Russian resistance fighters, and endeavor to build a village, in order to protect themselves and about one thousand Jewish non-combatants.Surprise, an armed populace can fight back against a tyrannical government!
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsSean ConneryRyan O'NealMichael CaineOperation Market Garden, September 1944: The Allies attempt to capture several strategically important bridges in the Netherlands in the hope of breaking the German lines.
- DirectorSean PennStarsEmile HirschVince VaughnCatherine KeenerAfter graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life.True story, yes, romanticized by Hollywood, yes. In fact, maybe a little too romanticized, this story seems to have inspired tons of idiots to follow Christopher's footsteps. You know, the guy who was a complete idiot and naively thought he could survive in the wilderness without any skills, planning, or emergency supplies.
Ignorance kills idiots in the wild. Mother Nature does not fuck around, respect her and understand nature is not cuddly or nice. It's harsh and brutal, those with inflated ego's and a self-centered mindset don't do so well. - DirectorJoe WrightStarsGary OldmanLily JamesKristin Scott ThomasIn May 1940, the fate of World War II hangs on Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Adolf Hitler, or fight on knowing that it could mean the end of the British Empire.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsJames FrancoAmber TamblynKate MaraA mountain climber becomes trapped under a boulder while canyoneering alone near Moab, Utah and resorts to desperate measures in order to survive.Really well done movie, actually holds true to the events as they happened. Movies like this show the true importance of taking proper safety measures and communicating with people who could send emergency services to you.
- DirectorJonathan KaplanStarsKelly McGillisJodie FosterBernie CoulsonAfter a young woman suffers a brutal gang rape in a bar one night, a prosecutor assists in bringing the perpetrators to justice, including the ones who encouraged and cheered on the attack.Good courtroom drama.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsAlek SkarlatosAnthony SadlerSpencer StoneThree courageous young Americans prevent a terrorist attack on a train bound for Paris.This movie really deserved better ratings, but it probably didn't because it's a touchy topic and people don't like the possible reality of an attack.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsTom HanksAaron EckhartLaura LinneyWhen pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger lands his damaged plane on the Hudson River in order to save the flight's passengers and crew, some consider him a hero while others think he was reckless.Awesome movie, probably a little dramatized because of Hollywood, but very well done.
- DirectorSergei BodrovStarsTadanobu AsanoAmadu MamadakovKhulan ChuluunThe story recounts the early life of Genghis Khan who was a slave before going on to conquer half the world in 1206.This movie probably isn't even close to following true events, since there's very little written record of what happened in this time in history. But a good watch nonetheless.
- StarsBradley JamesMartin SensmeierJose Miguel VasquezThe true story of one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.Amazing mix of computer animation and true events. One of my favorites.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsTom HanksJulia RobertsPhilip Seymour HoffmanA drama based on a Texas congressman Charlie Wilson's covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.
- DirectorNicolas Winding RefnStarsTom HardyKelly AdamsLuing AndrewsA young man who was sentenced to seven years in prison for robbing a post office ends up spending three decades in solitary confinement. During this time, his own personality is supplanted by his alter-ego, Charles Bronson.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsJim SturgessEd HarrisColin FarrellSiberian gulag escapees travel four thousand miles by foot to freedom in India.No one really knows how close this movie is to the reality that it took place in. There's very little source material. However, even if it's not close to the truth, it's an amazing movie. One of my favorites.
- DirectorJoseph KosinskiStarsJosh BrolinMiles TellerJeff BridgesBased on the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a group of elite firefighters who risk everything to protect a town from a historic wildfire.