Movies Based on a True Story

Movies Based on a True Story

First Man

Release Date 2018
Rating : 7.3 Production Companies: DreamWorks Pictures, Temple Hill Entertainment Director: Damien Chazelle, Scott Robertson, James M. Churchman Stars: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke

Summary: A look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.

Schindler's List

Release Date 1993
Rating : 9 Production Companies: Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment Director: Steven Spielberg, Nada Pinter Stars: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes

Summary: The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.

Moneyball

Release Date 2011
Rating : 7.6 Production Companies: Columbia Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions Director: Bennett Miller, Sharron Reynolds-Enriquez, Courtenay Miles Stars: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman

Summary: The story of Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball team on a budget, by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.

127 Hours

Release Date 2010
Rating : 7.5 Production Companies: Film4, HandMade Films Director: Kristin Ludwin, Tracey Merkle, Danny Boyle Stars: James Franco, Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara

Summary: The true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah.

Soul Surfer

Release Date 2011
Rating : 7 Production Companies: Mandalay Pictures, TriStar Pictures Director: Sean McNamara, Hope Garrison, Jeffrey F. January Stars: AnnaSophia Robb, Helen Hunt, Dennis Quaid

Summary: The true story of teen surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm in a shark attack and courageously overcame all odds to become a champion again, through her sheer determination and unwavering faith.

Catch Me If You Can

Release Date 2002
Rating : 8.1 Production Companies: Parkes/MacDonald Productions, DreamWorks SKG Director: Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, Ana Maria Quintana, Steven Spielberg Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken

Summary: A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr. who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor. An FBI agent makes it his mission to put him behind bars. But Frank not only eludes capture, he revels in the pursuit.

Remember the Titans

Release Date 2000
Rating : 7.8 Production Companies: Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films Director: Boaz Yakin, Gail Hunter Stars: Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris

Summary: After leading his football team to 15 winning seasons, coach Bill Yoast is demoted and replaced by Herman Boone – tough, opinionated and as different from the beloved Yoast as he could be. The two men learn to overcome their differences and turn a group of hostile young men into champions.

The Aviator

Release Date 2004
Rating : 7.5 Production Companies: Miramax, Appian Way Director: Martha Pinson, Joseph P. Reidy, John Trujillo Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale

Summary: A biopic depicting the life of filmmaker and aviation pioneer Howard Hughes from 1927 to 1947, during which time he became a successful film producer and an aviation magnate, while simultaneously growing more unstable due to severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Finding Neverland

Release Date 2004
Rating : 7.7 Production Companies: Miramax, Film Colony Director: Marc Forster Stars: Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie

Summary: During a writing slump, playwright J.M. Barrie meets a widow and her four children, all young boys—who soon become an important part of Barrie’s life and the inspiration that lead him to create his masterpiece. Peter Pan.

Apollo 13

Release Date 1995
Rating : 7.7 Production Companies: Imagine Entertainment, Universal Pictures Director: Ron Howard, Bruce Moriarty, Eva Z. Cabrera Stars: Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon

Summary: The true story of technical troubles that scuttle the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew, with the failed journey turning into a thrilling saga of heroism. Drifting more than 200,000 miles from Earth, the astronauts work furiously with the ground crew to avert tragedy.

Becoming Jane

Release Date 2007
Rating : 7 Production Companies: Ecosse Films, 2 Entertain Director: Julian Jarrold, Jeanette McGrath Stars: Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, Julie Walters

Summary: A biographical portrait of a pre-fame Jane Austen and her romance with a young Irishman.

Miracle

Release Date 2004
Rating : 7.4 Production Companies: Walt Disney, Walt Disney Pictures Director: Gavin O'Connor Stars: Kurt Russell, Patricia Clarkson, Noah Emmerich

Summary: When college coach Herb Brooks is hired to helm the 1980 U.S. men's Olympic hockey team, he brings a unique and brash style to the ice. After assembling a team of hot-headed college all-stars, who are humiliated in an early match, Brooks unites his squad against a common foe: the heavily-favored Soviet team.

Zero Dark Thirty

Release Date 2012
Rating : 7.4 Production Companies: Columbia Pictures, Annapurna Pictures Director: Scott Robertson, John Mahaffie, David Ticotin Stars: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler

Summary: A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in May, 2011.

Captain Phillips

Release Date 2013
Rating : 7.8 Production Companies: Columbia Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions Director: Paul Greengrass, Annie Penn, Julia Chiavetta Stars: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman

Summary: The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.

My Week with Marilyn

Release Date 2011
Rating : 6.9 Production Companies: BBC Film, The Weinstein Company Director: Vicki Howe, Charlie Reed, Chris Foggin Stars: Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne

Summary: London, 1956. Genius actor and film director Laurence Olivier is about to begin the shooting of his upcoming movie, premiered in 1957 as The Prince and the Showgirl, starring Marilyn Monroe. Young Colin Clark, who dreams on having a career in movie business, manages to get a job on the set as third assistant director.

Hotel Rwanda

Release Date 2004
Rating : 8.1 Production Companies: Lions Gate Films, United Artists Director: Terry George, A. Kitman Ho, Alex Oakley Stars: Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte

Summary: Inspired by true events, this film takes place in Rwanda in the 1990s when more than a million Tutsis were killed in a genocide that went mostly unnoticed by the rest of the world. Hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina houses over a thousand refuges in his hotel in attempt to save their lives.

The Wolf of Wall Street

Release Date 2013
Rating : 8.2 Production Companies: Paramount, Appian Way Director: Adam Somner, Julie A. Bloom, Don H. Julien Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie

Summary: A New York stockbroker refuses to cooperate in a large securities fraud case involving corruption on Wall Street, corporate banking world and mob infiltration. Based on Jordan Belfort's autobiography.

12 Years a Slave

Release Date 2013
Rating : 8.1 Production Companies: Plan B Entertainment, Regency Enterprises Director: Eva Z. Cabrera, Steve McQueen, Doug Torres Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o

Summary: In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty as well as unexpected kindnesses Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon’s chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.

The Queen

Release Date 2006
Rating : 7.3 Production Companies: Miramax Films, Canal+ Director: Stuart Renfrew, Penny Eyles, Stephen Frears Stars: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell

Summary: The Queen is an intimate behind the scenes glimpse at the interaction between HM Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair during their struggle, following the death of Diana, to reach a compromise between what was a private tragedy for the Royal family and the public's demand for an overt display of mourning.

Lincoln

Release Date 2012
Rating : 7.3 Production Companies: DreamWorks Pictures, Amblin Entertainment Director: Steven Spielberg Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn

Summary: The revealing story of the 16th US President's tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.

Yankee Doodle Dandy

Release Date 1942
Rating : 7.6 Production Companies: Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Pictures Director: Michael Curtiz Stars: James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston

Summary: A film of the life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer George M. Cohan.

Thirteen Days

Release Date 2000
Rating : 7.3 Production Companies: New Line Cinema, Tig Productions Director: Deirdre Horgan, Roger Donaldson Stars: Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Steven Culp

Summary: The story of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962—the nuclear standoff with the USSR sparked by the discovery by the Americans of missile bases established on the Soviet-allied island of Cuba.

Cinderella Man

Release Date 2005
Rating : 8 Production Companies: Miramax, Imagine Entertainment Director: William M. Connor, Anna Rane, Ron Howard Stars: Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger, Paul Giamatti

Summary: The true story of boxer Jim Braddock who, following his retirement in the 1930s, makes a surprise comeback in order to lift his family out of poverty.

The King's Speech

Release Date 2010
Rating : 8 Production Companies: The Weinstein Company, UK Film Council Director: Chris Stoaling, Martin Harrison, Cathy Doubleday Stars: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter

Summary: The King's Speech tells the story of the man who became King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George ('Bertie') reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded stutter and considered unfit to be king, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue. Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country into war.

A Beautiful Mind

Release Date 2001
Rating : 8.2 Production Companies: Imagine Entertainment, DreamWorks SKG Director: Eva Z. Cabrera, Ron Howard, Todd Hallowell Stars: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris

Summary: In a decades-spanning biopic, brilliant mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. makes history in his field as schizophrenia sets in.

Titanic

Release Date 2017
Rating : 7.9 Production Companies: Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation Director: Shelley Crawford, James Cameron, Josh McLaglen Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane

Summary: 101-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater tells the story of her life aboard the Titanic, 84 years later. A young Rose boards the ship with her mother and fiancé. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson and Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets aboard the ship. Rose tells the whole story from Titanic's departure through to its death—on its first and last voyage—on April 15, 1912.