True Stories
by brad-54-742109 | created - 08 Nov 2018 | updated - 4 months ago | PublicFilms I've seen that are based, sometimes loosely (sometimes *very* loosely), on actual events
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1. CBGB (2013)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Music
A look at the New York City punk-rock scene and the venerable nightclub, CBGB.
Director: Randall Miller | Stars: Alan Rickman, Malin Akerman, Justin Bartha, Richard de Klerk
Votes: 11,212 | Gross: $0.04M
2. Monster (2003)
R | 109 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Based on the life of Aileen Wuornos, a Daytona Beach prostitute who became a serial killer.
Director: Patty Jenkins | Stars: Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern, Lee Tergesen
Votes: 161,731 | Gross: $34.47M
3. 24 Hour Party People (2002)
R | 117 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
In 1976, Tony Wilson sets up Factory Records and brings Manchester's music to the world.
Director: Michael Winterbottom | Stars: Steve Coogan, Lennie James, John Thomson, Paul Popplewell
Votes: 39,677 | Gross: $1.13M
4. The Colditz Story (1955)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama, History, War
Allied prisoners - British, Dutch, French and Polish - pool their resources to plan numerous escapes from the "escape-proof" German P.O.W. camp housed in a Medieval castle known as "Colditz".
Director: Guy Hamilton | Stars: John Mills, Eric Portman, Christopher Rhodes, Lionel Jeffries
Votes: 3,074
5. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
PG | 161 min | Adventure, Drama, War
British POWs are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors in occupied Burma, not knowing that the allied forces are planning a daring commando raid through the jungle to destroy it.
Director: David Lean | Stars: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa
Votes: 233,217 | Gross: $44.91M
6. North Country (2005)
R | 126 min | Drama
A fictionalized account of the first major successful sexual harassment case in the United States, Jenson vs. Eveleth Mines, where a woman who endured a range of abuse while working as a miner filed and won the landmark 1984 lawsuit.
Director: Niki Caro | Stars: Charlize Theron, Jeremy Renner, Frances McDormand, Thomas Curtis
Votes: 44,921 | Gross: $18.32M
7. Dunkirk (2017)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Drama, History
Allied 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.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Fionn Whitehead, Barry Keoghan, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy
Votes: 739,642 | Gross: $188.37M
8. Dunkirk (1958)
Approved | 135 min | Action, Drama, History
A dramatization of the British Expeditionary Force's 1940 retreat to the beaches of France and the extraordinary seaborne evacuation that saved it from utter destruction by Nazi Germany.
Director: Leslie Norman | Stars: John Mills, Richard Attenborough, Bernard Lee, Robert Urquhart
Votes: 3,524
9. The Dam Busters (1955)
Approved | 105 min | Drama, History, War
Drama based on the attempt by the RAF to destroy six dams in Germany during World War II.
Director: Michael Anderson | Stars: Richard Todd, Michael Redgrave, Ursula Jeans, Basil Sydney
Votes: 11,365
10. Anzacs (1985)
165 min | Drama, History, War
Following the lives of a dozen Australian soldiers who served in the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) during World War I which follows them from the 1915 battle of Galipoli, to ... See full summary »
Stars: Andrew Clarke, Paul Hogan, Jon Blake, Megan Williams
Votes: 845
11. The Heroes of Telemark (1965)
Approved | 131 min | Action, Drama, History
Norwegian resistance tries to stop German efforts to produce an atomic bomb component during World War II.
Director: Anthony Mann | Stars: Kirk Douglas, Richard Harris, Ulla Jacobsson, Michael Redgrave
Votes: 8,060
12. The Elephant Man (1980)
PG | 124 min | Biography, Drama
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud
Votes: 258,334
13. 127 Hours (2010)
R | 94 min | Biography, Drama
A mountain climber becomes trapped under a boulder while canyoneering alone near Moab, Utah and resorts to desperate measures in order to survive.
Director: Danny Boyle | Stars: James Franco, Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara, Sean Bott
Votes: 401,226 | Gross: $18.34M
14. Into the Wild (2007)
R | 148 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
After 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.
Director: Sean Penn | Stars: Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener, Marcia Gay Harden
Votes: 657,916 | Gross: $18.35M
15. Touching the Void (2003)
R | 106 min | Documentary, Adventure, Drama
The true story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.
Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: Simon Yates, Joe Simpson, Brendan Mackey, Nicholas Aaron
Votes: 38,086 | Gross: $4.59M
16. Snowden (2016)
R | 134 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The NSA's illegal surveillance techniques are leaked to the public by one of the agency's employees, Edward Snowden, in the form of thousands of classified documents distributed to the press.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto
Votes: 162,913 | Gross: $21.59M
17. American Sniper (2014)
R | 133 min | Action, Biography, Drama
Navy S.E.A.L. sniper Chris Kyle's pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. Back home with his family after four tours of duty, however, Chris finds that it is the war he can't leave behind.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner, Cole Konis
Votes: 529,025 | Gross: $350.13M
18. Colditz (1972–1974)
50 min | Drama, History, War
The series deals with Allied prisoners of war imprisoned at Colditz Castle and their many attempts to escape captivity, as well as the relationships formed between the various nationalities and their German captors.
Stars: David McCallum, Richard Heffer, Paul Chapman, Jack Hedley
Votes: 1,021
19. The Great Escape (1963)
Approved | 172 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Allied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.
Director: John Sturges | Stars: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson
Votes: 258,804 | Gross: $12.10M
20. Apollo 13 (I) (1995)
PG | 140 min | Adventure, Drama, History
NASA must devise a strategy to return Apollo 13 to Earth safely after the spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise
Votes: 315,413 | Gross: $173.84M
21. Sid and Nancy (1986)
R | 112 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The relationship between Sid Vicious, bassist for British punk group Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen is portrayed.
Director: Alex Cox | Stars: Gary Oldman, Chloe Webb, David Hayman, Debby Bishop
Votes: 34,668 | Gross: $2.83M
22. Harold Shipman: Doctor Death (2002 TV Movie)
98 min | Drama
A dramatisation of the true story of Doctor Harold Shipman, a general practitioner from Hyde, Manchester, who was convicted in 2000 of murdering fifteen of his elderly patients and is ... See full summary »
Director: Roger Bamford | Stars: Michael Stainton, Olive Pendleton, Veda Warwick, Tony Melody
Votes: 211
23. Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2010)
TV-MA | 115 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A biography of Ian Dury, who was stricken with polio at a young age and defied expectations by becoming one of the founders of the punk-rock scene in Britain in the 1970s.
Director: Mat Whitecross | Stars: Andy Serkis, Tom Hughes, Clifford Samuel, Joseph Kennedy
Votes: 4,422
24. Whisky Galore! (1949)
Approved | 82 min | Comedy, Crime
Scottish islanders try to plunder 50,000 cases of whisky from a stranded ship.
Director: Alexander Mackendrick | Stars: Basil Radford, Joan Greenwood, Catherine Lacey, Bruce Seton
Votes: 6,652
25. Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
PG | 112 min | Action, Biography, Crime
Alcatraz is the most secure prison of its time. It is believed that no one can ever escape from it, until three daring men make a possibly successful attempt at escaping from one of the most infamous prisons in the world.
Director: Don Siegel | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, Roberts Blossom, Jack Thibeau
Votes: 147,380 | Gross: $43.00M
26. Hell, Heaven or Hoboken (1958)
101 min | Drama, History, War
During World War II, a British actor impersonates Field Marshal Montgomery in order to confuse German intelligence.
Director: John Guillermin | Stars: M.E. Clifton James, John Mills, Cecil Parker, Patrick Allen
Votes: 1,642
27. Control (2007)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A profile of Ian Curtis, the enigmatic singer of Joy Division whose personal, professional, and romantic troubles led him to die by suicide at the age of 23.
Director: Anton Corbijn | Stars: Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Craig Parkinson, Alexandra Maria Lara
Votes: 68,535 | Gross: $0.87M
28. The Wooden Horse (1950)
101 min | Drama, History, War
True story of three British POWs and their attempt to escape from Nazi Germany.
Directors: Jack Lee, Ian Dalrymple | Stars: Leo Genn, David Tomlinson, Anthony Steel, David Greene
Votes: 1,594
29. A League of Their Own (1992)
PG | 128 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
Two sisters join the first female professional baseball league and struggle to help it succeed amid their own growing rivalry.
Director: Penny Marshall | Stars: Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Madonna
Votes: 120,980 | Gross: $107.53M
30. The Longest Day (1962)
G | 178 min | Action, Drama, History
The events of D-Day, told on a grand scale from both the Allied and German points of view.
Directors: Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Gerd Oswald, Bernhard Wicki, Darryl F. Zanuck | Stars: John Wayne, Robert Ryan, Richard Burton, Henry Fonda
Votes: 59,049 | Gross: $39.10M
31. The Krays (1990)
R | 115 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
This fact-based movie follows the life of the twin crime-lords in London's '60s underworld.
Director: Peter Medak | Stars: Gary Kemp, Martin Kemp, Billie Whitelaw, Tom Bell
Votes: 9,046 | Gross: $2.06M
32. Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
PG-13 | 134 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of the legendary British rock band Queen and lead singer Freddie Mercury, leading up to their famous performance at Live Aid (1985).
Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy
Votes: 592,454 | Gross: $216.43M
33. Spartacus (2010–2013)
TV-MA | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
The life of Spartacus, the gladiator who lead a rebellion against the Romans. From his time as an ally of the Romans, to his betrayal and becoming a gladiator, to the rebellion he leads and its ultimate outcome.
Stars: Andy Whitfield, Lucy Lawless, Manu Bennett, Daniel Feuerriegel
Votes: 256,868
34. Battle in Seattle (2007)
R | 98 min | Action, Drama, History
Activists arrive in Seattle, Washington en masse to protest a meeting of the World Trade Organization. Riots and chaos ensue as demonstrators successfully stop the WTO meetings.
Director: Stuart Townsend | Stars: André 3000, Jennifer Carpenter, Isaach De Bankolé, Woody Harrelson
Votes: 15,171 | Gross: $0.22M
35. Battle of Britain (1969)
G | 132 min | Action, Drama, History
In 1940, the British Royal Air Force fights a desperate battle to prevent the Luftwaffe from gaining air superiority over the English Channel as a prelude to a possible Axis invasion of the U.K.
Director: Guy Hamilton | Stars: Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Harry Andrews, Curd Jürgens
Votes: 24,501 | Gross: $4.36M
36. Spartacus (1960)
PG-13 | 197 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
The slave Spartacus survives brutal training as a gladiator and leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic, as the ambitious Crassus seeks to gain power by crushing the uprising.
Directors: Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Mann | Stars: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton
Votes: 143,126 | Gross: $30.00M
37. The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004)
TV-MA | 122 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
The feature adaptation of Roger Lewis' book about the actor best remembered as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther movies.
Director: Stephen Hopkins | Stars: Geoffrey Rush, Charlize Theron, Emily Watson, John Lithgow
Votes: 15,285
38. The Impossible (2012)
PG-13 | 114 min | Drama, History, Thriller
The story of a tourist family in Thailand caught in the destruction and chaotic aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Director: J.A. Bayona | Stars: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Oaklee Pendergast
Votes: 243,965 | Gross: $19.02M
39. The King and I (1956)
G | 133 min | Biography, Drama, Musical
A widow accepts a job as a live-in governess to the King of Siam's children.
Director: Walter Lang | Stars: Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr, Rita Moreno, Martin Benson
Votes: 27,913 | Gross: $21.30M
40. Men of Honor (2000)
R | 129 min | Biography, Drama
The story of Carl Brashear, the first African-American U.S. Navy Diver, and the man who trained him.
Director: George Tillman Jr. | Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr., Robert De Niro, Charlize Theron, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor
Votes: 125,105 | Gross: $48.82M
41. Bombshell (I) (2019)
R | 109 min | Biography, Drama
A group of women take on Fox News head Roger Ailes and the toxic atmosphere he presided over at the network.
Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, John Lithgow
Votes: 126,828
42. Fighting with My Family (2019)
PG-13 | 108 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A former wrestler and his family make a living performing at small venues around the country while his kids dream of joining World Wrestling Entertainment.
Director: Stephen Merchant | Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Lena Headey, Vince Vaughn, Florence Pugh
Votes: 87,541 | Gross: $22.96M
43. The Dig (2021)
PG-13 | 112 min | Biography, Drama, History
An archaeologist embarks on the historically important excavation of Sutton Hoo in 1938.
Director: Simon Stone | Stars: Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Lily James, Johnny Flynn
Votes: 82,538
44. A Bridge Too Far (1977)
PG | 175 min | Drama, History, War
Operation Market Garden, September 1944: The Allies attempt to capture several strategically important bridges in the Netherlands in the hope of breaking the German lines.
Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Sean Connery, Ryan O'Neal, Michael Caine, Laurence Olivier
Votes: 61,506 | Gross: $50.80M
45. 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: 138,803 | Gross: $37.88M
46. Schindler's List (1993)
R | 195 min | Biography, Drama, History
In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall
Votes: 1,449,878 | Gross: $96.90M
47. 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: 1,090,955 | Gross: $75.60M
48. We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story (2015 TV Movie)
60 min | Comedy, Drama, History
A dramatization of the creation of the BBC's classic sitcom Dad's Army (1968).
Director: Steve Bendelack | Stars: Paul Ritter, Richard Dormer, Stuart McQuarrie, Sarah Alexander
Votes: 559
49. McVicar (1980)
R | 112 min | Crime, Drama
John McVicar was a notorious London criminal known as "Public Enemy No. 1" for armed bank robberies. He was captured and imprisoned in a high security facility, but continued attempting escapes.
Director: Tom Clegg | Stars: Roger Daltrey, Adam Faith, Cheryl Campbell, Billy Murray
Votes: 2,356
50. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
R | 121 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
In 1965, an unorthodox and irreverent DJ named Adrian Cronauer begins to shake up things when he is assigned to the U.S. Armed Services radio station in Vietnam.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Tom T. Tran, Chintara Sukapatana
Votes: 153,713 | Gross: $123.92M
51. Awakenings (1990)
PG-13 | 121 min | Biography, Drama
The victims of an encephalitis epidemic many years ago have been catatonic ever since, but now a new drug offers the prospect of reviving them.
Director: Penny Marshall | Stars: Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Julie Kavner, Ruth Nelson
Votes: 158,650 | Gross: $52.10M
52. Kidnapped: The Hannah Anderson Story (2015 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 87 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Follows the abduction of 16 year old girl in California in 2013.
Director: Peter Sullivan | Stars: Jessica Amlee, Scott Patterson, Brian McNamara, Jay Pickett
Votes: 744
53. Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011)
TV-MA | 55 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
In the time before the arrival of Spartacus, the House of Batiatus faces many challenges from competitors, and within its own household.
Stars: John Hannah, Manu Bennett, Peter Mensah, Dustin Clare
Votes: 145,319
54. The Runaways (2010)
R | 106 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A coming-of-age biographical film about the 1970s teenage all-girl rock band The Runaways. The relationship between band members Cherie Currie and Joan Jett is also explored.
Director: Floria Sigismondi | Stars: Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon, Stella Maeve
Votes: 50,934 | Gross: $3.57M
55. In the Valley of Elah (2007)
R | 121 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A retired military investigator works with a police detective to uncover the truth behind his son's disappearance following his return from a tour of duty in Iraq.
Director: Paul Haggis | Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Jonathan Tucker, Jason Patric
Votes: 75,090 | Gross: $6.78M
56. Cocaine Bear (2023)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Thriller
An oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converge on a Georgia forest where a huge black bear goes on a murderous rampage after unintentionally ingesting cocaine.
Director: Elizabeth Banks | Stars: Keri Russell, Alden Ehrenreich, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Ray Liotta
Votes: 107,202
57. The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2021)
PG-13 | 111 min | Biography, Drama, History
English artist Louis Wain rises to prominence at the end of the 19th century for his surreal cat paintings that seemed to reflect his declining sanity.
Director: Will Sharpe | Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Foy, Andrea Riseborough, Toby Jones
Votes: 20,429
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