Best Films Based On Real People
by yawael | created - 12 Feb 2018 | updated - 07 Jan 2019 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. My Week with Marilyn (2011)
R | 99 min | Biography, Drama
Colin Clark, an employee of Sir Laurence Olivier, documents the tense interactions between Olivier and Marilyn Monroe during the production of The Prince and the Showgirl (1957).
Director: Simon Curtis | Stars: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Julia Ormond
Votes: 89,596 | Gross: $14.60M
2. Joy (I) (2015)
PG-13 | 124 min | Biography, Drama
Joy is the story of the title character, who rose to become founder and matriarch of a powerful family business dynasty.
Director: David O. Russell | Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Edgar Ramírez
Votes: 145,124 | Gross: $56.45M
3. Molly's Game (2017)
R | 140 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The 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.
Director: Aaron Sorkin | Stars: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera
Votes: 187,618 | Gross: $28.78M
4. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
PG-13 | 135 min | Biography, Drama, Mystery
A mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer
Votes: 986,721 | Gross: $170.74M
5. The Wizard of Lies (2017 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 133 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The fall of Bernie Madoff, whose Ponzi scheme robbed $65 billion from unsuspecting victims; the largest fraud in U.S. history.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Alessandro Nivola, Nathan Darrow
Votes: 28,658
6. The Iron Lady (2011)
PG-13 | 105 min | Biography, Drama
An elderly Margaret Thatcher talks to the imagined presence of her recently deceased husband as she struggles to come to terms with his death while scenes from her past life, from girlhood to British prime minister, intervene.
Director: Phyllida Lloyd | Stars: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Richard E. Grant, Susan Brown
Votes: 113,611 | Gross: $30.02M
7. Changeling (2008)
R | 141 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
After Christine's son goes missing, she reaches out to the LAPD to find him. But when they try to pass off an impostor as her son to quieten public protests, she refuses to accept him or give up hope.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Angelina Jolie, Colm Feore, Amy Ryan, Gattlin Griffith
Votes: 265,238 | Gross: $35.74M
8. The Imitation Game (2014)
PG-13 | 114 min | Biography, Drama, Thriller
During World War II, the English mathematical genius Alan Turing tries to crack the German Enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians while attempting to come to terms with his troubled private life.
Director: Morten Tyldum | Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Allen Leech
Votes: 824,809 | Gross: $91.13M
9. The Theory of Everything (2014)
PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Stephen Hawking gets unprecedented success in the field of physics despite being diagnosed with motor neuron disease at the age of 21. He defeats awful odds as his first wife Jane aids him loyally.
Director: James Marsh | Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Tom Prior, Sophie Perry
Votes: 481,964 | Gross: $35.89M
10. Braveheart (1995)
R | 178 min | Biography, Drama, War
Scottish warrior William Wallace leads his countrymen in a rebellion to free his homeland from the tyranny of King Edward I of England.
Director: Mel Gibson | Stars: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Angus Macfadyen
Votes: 1,091,102 | Gross: $75.60M
11. Catch Me If You Can (2002)
PG-13 | 141 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Barely 17 yet, Frank is a skilled forger who has passed as a doctor, lawyer and pilot. FBI agent Carl becomes obsessed with tracking down the con man, who only revels in the pursuit.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen
Votes: 1,095,130 | Gross: $164.62M
12. Walk the Line (2005)
PG-13 | 136 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick
Votes: 265,798 | Gross: $119.52M
13. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
PG-13 | 117 min | Biography, Drama
A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career
Director: Gabriele Muccino | Stars: Will Smith, Thandiwe Newton, Jaden Smith, Brian Howe
Votes: 560,558 | Gross: $163.57M
14. The Blind Side (2009)
PG-13 | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All-American football player and first-round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.
Director: John Lee Hancock | Stars: Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Jae Head
Votes: 360,405 | Gross: $255.96M
15. The Sound of Music (1965)
G | 172 min | Biography, Drama, Family
A young novice is sent by her convent in 1930s Austria to become a governess to the seven children of a widowed naval officer.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker, Richard Haydn
Votes: 260,964 | Gross: $163.21M
16. Erin Brockovich (2000)
R | 131 min | Biography, Drama
An unemployed single mother becomes a legal assistant and almost single-handedly brings down a California power company accused of polluting a city's water supply.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, David Brisbin, Dawn Didawick
Votes: 221,183 | Gross: $125.60M
17. La Vie En Rose (2007)
PG-13 | 140 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Biopic of the iconic French singer Édith Piaf. Raised by her grandmother in a brothel, she was discovered while singing on a street corner at the age of 19. Despite her success, Piaf's life was filled with tragedy.
Director: Olivier Dahan | Stars: Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory, Emmanuelle Seigner
Votes: 90,733 | Gross: $10.30M
18. All the Money in the World (2017)
R | 132 min | Crime, Drama, History
The story of the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother to convince his billionaire grandfather Jean Paul Getty to pay the ransom.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer, Mark Wahlberg, Romain Duris
Votes: 90,998 | Gross: $25.11M
19. Missing (1982)
PG | 122 min | Biography, Drama, History
When an idealistic American writer disappears during the Chilean coup d'état in September 1973, his wife and father try to find him.
Director: Costa-Gavras | Stars: Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek, Melanie Mayron, John Shea
Votes: 23,356 | Gross: $14.00M
20. Girl, Interrupted (1999)
R | 127 min | Biography, Drama
A directionless teenager, Susanna, is rushed to Claymoore, a mental institution, after a supposed suicide attempt. There, she befriends a group of troubled women who deeply influence her life.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea DuVall, Brittany Murphy
Votes: 211,238 | Gross: $28.87M
21. Julie & Julia (2009)
PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Julia Child's story of her start in the cooking profession is intertwined with blogger Julie Powell's 2002 challenge to cook all the recipes in Child's first book.
Director: Nora Ephron | Stars: Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, Chris Messina, Stanley Tucci
Votes: 128,841 | Gross: $94.13M
22. Unbroken (I) (2014)
PG-13 | 137 min | Action, Biography, Drama
After a near-fatal plane crash in WWII, Olympian Louis Zamperini spends a harrowing 47 days in a raft with two fellow crewmen before he's caught by the Japanese navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp.
Director: Angelina Jolie | Stars: Jack O'Connell, Miyavi, Domhnall Gleeson, Garrett Hedlund
Votes: 182,685 | Gross: $115.64M
23. Cry Freedom (1987)
PG | 157 min | Biography, Drama, History
South African journalist Donald Woods is forced to flee the country after attempting to investigate the death in custody of his friend, the Black anti-Apartheid activist Steve Biko.
Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Denzel Washington, Kevin Kline, Josette Simon, Wabei Siyolwe
Votes: 14,461 | Gross: $5.90M
24. Big Eyes (I) (2014)
PG-13 | 106 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A drama about the awakening of painter Margaret Keane, her phenomenal success in the 1950s, and the subsequent legal difficulties she had with her husband, who claimed credit for her works in the 1960s.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz, Danny Huston, Krysten Ritter
Votes: 99,081 | Gross: $14.48M
25. One Chance (2013)
PG-13 | 103 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
The true story of Paul Potts, a shy, bullied shop assistant by day and an amateur opera singer by night who became a phenomenon after being chosen for -- and ultimately winning -- Britain's Got Talent (2007).
Director: David Frankel | Stars: James Corden, Alexandra Roach, Julie Walters, Colm Meaney
Votes: 13,118 | Gross: $0.09M
26. Woman Walks Ahead (2017)
R | 101 min | Biography, Drama, History
Catherine Weldon, a portrait painter from 1890s Brooklyn, travels to Dakota to paint a portrait of Sitting Bull and becomes embroiled in the Lakota peoples' struggle over the rights to their land.
Director: Susanna White | Stars: Jessica Chastain, Louisa Krause, Boots Southerland, Chaske Spencer
Votes: 8,418 | Gross: $0.06M
27. Confirmation (2016 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 110 min | Biography, Drama, History
Judge Clarence Thomas' nomination to the United States Supreme Court is called into question when Anita Hill, a former colleague, testifies that he sexually harassed her.
Director: Rick Famuyiwa | Stars: Kerry Washington, Wendell Pierce, Greg Kinnear, Jeffrey Wright
Votes: 5,601
28. Tracks (I) (2013)
PG-13 | 112 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
A young woman goes on a 1,700-mile trek across the deserts of West Australia with four camels and her faithful dog.
Director: John Curran | Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Adam Driver, Lily Pearl, Philip Dodd
Votes: 31,721 | Gross: $0.51M
29. Wild (I) (2014)
R | 115 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
A chronicle of one woman's 1,100-mile solo hike undertaken as a way to recover from a recent personal tragedy.
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée | Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Gaby Hoffmann, Michiel Huisman
Votes: 138,819 | Gross: $37.88M
30. Deadly Intentions (1985 TV Movie)
200 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Young, naive Katherine falls for, marries, and has a child with Dr. Charles Raynor. Then she realizes that he is a tormenting sadist. She divorces him and tries to take their child away, so he decides to kill her.
Director: Noel Black | Stars: Michael Biehn, Madolyn Smith Osborne, Cloris Leachman, Morgana King
Votes: 451
31. Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999 TV Movie)
R | 120 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Dorothy Dandridge's way to fame and fortune as a dancer, singer and actress.
Director: Martha Coolidge | Stars: Halle Berry, Brent Spiner, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Obba Babatundé
Votes: 3,917
32. Grey Gardens (2009 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 104 min | Biography, Drama
The lives of Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith, aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
Director: Michael Sucsy | Stars: Drew Barrymore, Jessica Lange, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Ken Howard
Votes: 11,211
33. The Mystery of Natalie Wood (2004)
172 min | Biography, Drama, Mystery
Uses accounts from family, friends, and acquaintances to tell the story of Natalie Wood and how she started young, acting in the spotlight, making the transition from a childhood actress to... See full summary »
Stars: Justine Waddell, Michael Weatherly, Matthew Settle, Colin Friels
Votes: 1,034
34. Bridge of Spies (2015)
PG-13 | 142 min | Drama, History, Thriller
During the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda, Amy Ryan
Votes: 327,670 | Gross: $72.31M
35. 42 (2013)
PG-13 | 128 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
In 1947, Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era when he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and faces considerable racism in the process.
Director: Brian Helgeland | Stars: Chadwick Boseman, T.R. Knight, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie
Votes: 102,689 | Gross: $95.00M
36. K2 (1991)
R | 104 min | Adventure, Drama, Sport
A U.S. climbing team, funded by millionaire Clairborne is determined to conquer K2.
Director: Franc Roddam | Stars: Michael Biehn, Matt Craven, Annie Grindlay, Elena Wohl
Votes: 7,224 | Gross: $3.11M
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