You don’t need a total movie buff to appreciate some of Hollywood’s greatest, or even worst, films. While some flicks are enough to drive us mad with their weak story lines, the films on this list never disappoint and that may have something to do with the fact that they’re all based on very true, real life events. Take a look for yourself and maybe you’ll be surprised by what makes the list and the stories behind them.
Erin Brockovich
Erin Brockovich is a legal clerk and environmental activist, who lacked formal education in the law, but yet was absolutely crucial in the case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) of California in 1993. It was her successful lawsuit that inspired the 2000 film, Erin Brockovich, starring Julia Roberts. Brockovich herself has said that the film is “probably 98% accurate”.
Erin Brockovich
Joy
Joy is loosely based on the real life story of inventor, entrepreneur, and businesswoman, Joy Mangano. Mangano is known for the invention of the Miracle Mop (!), a self-wringing mop, which she created after becoming incredibly frustrated with plain old regular mops. The invention quickly became highly successful and in 1999, she then sold the company to the Home Shopping Network. Since then, she has released numerous other inventions like the Huggable Hangers and Forever Fragrant.
Joy
American Hustle
American Hustle follows the real life story of the late 70’s to 80’s FBI ABSCAM (Abdul Scam) operation. You see, the Feds actually used a real con man in order to track down public officials who were willing to allow a Arab sheikh (who was in reality a fake that was set up by the Feds themselves) to bribe them into giving him a fast-track citizenship and any other illegal favors. 19 people, which includes numerous congressman, a mayor, and a senator were all convicted in the case.
American Hustle
Moneyball
Love him or hate him, Brad Pitt’s performance in Moneyball as general manager Billy Beane is exceptional but did you know the film and book are based on the real life story of the Oakland Athletics baseball team? Oakland Athletics were the first to use an evidence-based approach and analytic sabermetric system to form a successful team.
Moneyball
The Wolf Of Wall Street
Jordan Belfort is actual man behind The Wolf of Wall Street, Leonardo DiCaprio is just the incredibly talented actor who brought him to the big screen. After Belfort was found guilty of fraud and other crimes related to stock-market manipulation, he was subsequently sentenced to prison. Belfort served a 22 month sentence before his release, after jail however, he wrote about his life story: The Wolf of Wall Street and Catching the Wolf of Wall Street.
The Wolf Of Wall Street
Unbroken
Angelina Jolie directed Unbroken, the story of Louis “Louie” Zamperini, the first Olympic track star and US prisoner of war survivor in World War II. After mechanical failure in a search and rescue mission, Louie crashed and survived for 47 days on a raft until he drifted to the Japanese occupied Marshall Islands and was subsequently captured. For a year, Louie was tortured until his eventual return home, where he received a hero’s welcome.
Unbroken
Deepwater Horizon
On April 20th 2010, the offshore drilling rig, Deepwater Horizon, caught fire and exploded. Two days later, the Horizon sank and there were 11 deaths with 17 injured. Regarded still as one of the worst oil spills to have ever happened.
Deepwater Horizon
Walk The Line
Epic? Legendary? Yeah, we’d say those words sum up the flick Walk The Line and Johnny Cash himself. At the start of the Rock N’ Roll era, Cash emerged on the scene and quickly became a star. While on tour, he met fellow singer June Carter and fell head over heels in love, although he was already married at the time. “The Man in Black” married June two years after his divorce and Cash credits her with helping him overcome his substance abuse problems. Cash and Carter raised their children, created music, and toured together for a staggering 35 years until June’s death in May 2003, four months later and Cash passed away.
Walk The Line
The Imitation Game
Benedict Cumberbatch portrayed Alan Turing, a brilliant computer scientist, mathematician, and cryptanalyst who is best remembered for decrypting German intelligence codes during World War II. Turing played a rather pivotal role in cracking intercepted coded messages which then enabled the Allies to defeat the Nazis in numerous crucial engagements. However he was prosecuted in 1952 for homosexual acts and died from cyanide poisoning just two years later. In 2013, Queen Elizabeth granted him with a posthumous pardon.
The Imitation Game
The People Vs. O.J. Simpson
Ahem, The People vs. O.J. Simpson recaps the tale of the “Trial of the Century”. And in case your mind is fuzzy about which criminal trial we’re on about, the 1994 O. J. Simpson murder case. NFL superstar O.J. Simpson is facing murder chargers against his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman. Almost immediately Simpson is a person of interest, but when he fails to turn himself into the authorities, an infamous televised car chase soon follows. So when Simpson was found “not guilty” on both counts of murder, people were split 50-50 on Simpson’s innocence or guilt.
The People Vs. O.J. Simpson
Gangs Of New York
Gangs of New York came to life due to the nonfiction book of the same name which described the life of 19th century New York City gangs. As it happens, these gangs were the source of the city’s major crime contributors and also came before the rise of the Mafia during the 20’s Prohibition period.
Gangs Of New York
Goodfellas
Goodfellas is based on the book Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family however the film itself follows a more fictional version of events. New York city mobster, Henry Hill, and his association with the Lucchese crime family is the focus of the film. Hill worked for the Lucchese from 1955 to 1980 until he became an FBI informant in 1980. It was Hill’s testimony that allowed the FBI to capture about 50 convictions!
Goodfellas
Catch Me If You Can
Once again, Leonardo DiCaprio, ladies and gents. All before the ripe age of 22, Frank Abagnale was a criminal mastermind, his rap sheet includes check forger, expert imposter, and of course confidence trickster. He successfully went around impersonating a pilot, physician, lawyer, and even a U.S. Bureau of Prisons agent. Furthermore Abagnale escaped police custody…TWICE. When he was finally caught, he worked for the FBI as consultant and lecturer after finishing his sentence. Currently Abagnale runs a financial fraud consultancy firm.
Catch Me If You Can
The Founder
A tale about good ol’ Mickey D’s, why not? The Founder follows the real life fast food chain McDonald’s founder, Ray Kroc, and his life story. Kroc opened the very first McDonald’s Inc. restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois when the McDonald brothers recruited him to help out with the franchise game. After Kroc successfully franchised, he then bought the company from the brothers for a whopping $2.7 million. Moreover Kroc was the mastermind of standardized operations so that consistency was found from restaurant to restaurant. At the time of his passing in 1984, there were 7,500 McDonald’s franchises open worldwide.
The Founder
Big Eyes
Big Eyes is the 2014 flick following the life story of artist Margaret Keane, best known for her work which portray subjects with considerably large eyes. Why would this make it to the Hollywood big screen? The answer concerns her former husband. Walter Keane took credit for her stunning work throughout the 60’s until she finally announced on a radio show that she was in fact the real artist behind the art. Margaret sued her then ex-husband and won the case, since then she has received the rightful recognition for her art.
Big Eyes
Black Mass
Former organized crime boss of the Boston-based Winter Hill Gang, Whitey Bulger, was indicted for 19 murders from grand jury testimonies after 16 years of evading prosecution. The FBI claimed he was their informant, although Bulger denies this. As such, the FBI ignored his criminal dealings in exchange for information about the Italian-American Patriarca crime family. He was 81 when he was finally captured.
Black Mass
Seabiscuit
Tobey Maguire stars as the jockey Red Pollard for champion Thoroughbred racehorse Seabiscuit and if you haven’t seen the 2003 film yet, you’re missing out. Seabiscuit was often overlooked on the track as he was quite a small horse but he emerged as an underdog and became a champion horse. What’s most noteworthy about Seabiscuit’s story is how he became a beacon of hope, prosperity, and the American way during the Great Depression.
Seabiscuit
Titanic
Most of us know the tragic tale of the RMS Titanic: the ship was on route to New York City from Southampton, on its maiden voyage, until it struck an iceberg and sank. Of the 2,224 crew and passengers on board, 1,500 died. Considered one of the deadliest peacetime maritime accidents to this day, moreover, many of the characters in the film were in fact based on real people aboard the ship at the time.
Titanic
War Dogs
Based loosely on two arms dealers, David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli, who won a $300 million Pentagon contract to arm America’s allies in Afghanistan. War Dogs reflects on how the duo were caught selling repackaged crumbling and outdated Chinese ammunition. Diveroli served four years in prison while Packouz spent seven months under house arrest.
War Dogs
The Revenant
After all of the brilliant films Leonardo DiCaprio has starred in, it was his role in The Revenant that finally earned him an Oscar. With that being said, the film is based on Hugh Glass, a hunter, frontiersman, trader, and explorer who got mauled by a grizzly bear and was left behind by his companions. Glass then crawled some 200 miles to South Dakota to reach help. Many have claimed this story as false due to little written evidence but that hasn’t stopped his tale from turning into one of legend.
The Revenant
Donnie Brasco
Donnie Brasco was the alias name for Joseph Dominick “Joe” Pistone, an undercover FBI agent who spent six years with the Bonanno crime family. For 27 years, Brasaco worked undercover, infiltrating many notorious crime family inner circles, mainly due to the fact that he spoke fluent Italian and comes from Sicilian backgrounds. It was Brasco’s work that showed just how vital undercover work can be.
Donnie Brasco
Apollo 13
Apollo 13 may be a nail biting worthy film but at least it has a happy ending. With the intended purpose to become the third manned mission to land on the moon, the crew took off from the Kennedy Space Center in April of 1970. As you should know, after an oxygen tank exploded, the mission failed. Quite quickly, the crew felt cabin heat loss, limited power, and a water shortage. However despite all the obstacles and threats faced, the crew survived and returned home safely.
Apollo 13
Schindler’s List
Thomas Keneally’s book ‘Schindler’s Ark’ told the story of the German Oskar Schindler, a Nazi Party member who saved about 1,200 Jews from the Holocaust. Schindler employed the Jews in his ammunition’s and enamelware factories. Furthermore, he is the only Nazi Party member buried in Mount Zion in Jerusalem, Israel.
Schindler’s List
12 Years A Slave
New York State-born Solomon Northup was kidnapped and sold into slavery, even though he was born to free slaves. For 12 years, he was held captive and forced to work at a plantation in Louisiana. He penned his entire ordeal until a Canadian working on the same plantation got his story to New York, where Governor Washing Hunt helped him return to the Big Apple and live in freedom. What’s shocking is that Northup’s captors never received any punishment.
12 Years A Slave
Hachi
More often than not, when a story involves a dog, you know it’ll be heartwarming and a total tear jerker, and Hachi is no exception. Hachiko was an Akita born in Japan who is long remembered for his unwavering loyalty to his owner, well after his owner passed away. Referred to as “chuken Hachiko,” or “faithful dog Hachi,” he remains a symbol of faithfulness, companionship, and loyalty.
Hachi
The Pianist
Wladyslaw Szpilman was a Jewish Polish pianist and classical composer and the historical drama of The Pianist is his survival story. During the German occupation of Warshaw, specifically the Holocaust, Szpilman was forced into hiding for two years until a German officer (who opposed the Nazi occupation and policies) helped him earn his freedom.
The Pianist
The Danish Girl
The Danish Girl follows Lili Elbe, a transgender Danish woman (born Einar Magnus Andreas Wegener) who is known as one of the first identifiable recipients of gender reassignment surgery. Publicly, she would introduce herself as Einar’s sister until the surgery was successfully completed. In 1930, she officially transitioned and started going by the name “Lili.”
The Danish Girl
Monster
Aileen Wuornos, portrayed by Charlize Theron, was a former prostitute who turned into a serial killer and throughout the 80’s and 90’s she murdered six men. Wuornos reported that the men sexually abused her or attempted to while was an escort. Although she claimed it was self defense, she was prosecuted and executed.
Monster
American Gangster
American Gangster was the epic film that fictionalized the true story of Frank Lucas, a drug lord and gangster from North Carolina who smuggled hard drugs into the United States on American service planes returning from the Vietnam War. During the 60’s and 70’s in Harlem, he became a more prominent figure and is notoriously remembered for his ability to cut out the middle man and buy substances directly from the source in the Golden Triangle.
American Gangster
The Pursuit Of Happyness
As far as tear-jerkers go, The Pursuit Of Happyness doesn’t disappoint. Chris Gardner chronicled his many struggles as a homeless man raising his son all on his own. He notes how he and his son moved around a lot as they had no home to go to while Chris worked as an unpaid trainee and eventually he began earning a small salary. It took time but not only did Chris secure a home but he became an extremely successful trader who owned his own company. Currently he’s a motivational speaker.
The Pursuit Of Happyness
The Devil Wears Prada
In 2006, we were blessed with Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway’s breathtaking performance in The Devil Wears Prada, a movie based on Lauren Weisberger’s own experience working as Anna Wintour’s personal assistant. Wintour is now considered one of the most prominent and demanding figures in the entire fashion industry.
The Devil Wears Prada
Hacksaw Ridge
Desmond Doss was a combat medic during World War II who earned a Bronze Star Medal. At the Battle of Okinawa, he amazingly saved the lives of 75 wounded infantrymen atop Hacksaw Ridge, for this he received the Medal of Honor. Moreover, he became the first conscientious objector to receive such a distinguished medal.
Hacksaw Ridge
Jackie
Natalie Portman plays former first lady Jackie Kennedy and tells her story following the assassination of her husband. The film is heavily based off an interview with Life magazine. Jackie remained at the White House for two weeks following JFK’s assassination and requested that Lyndon B. Johnson rename the space center in Florida to the John F. Kennedy Space Center. Which he did.
Jackie
Everest
Beck Weathers’ wrote about his survival during the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, Left for Dead: My Journey Home From Everest. Weathers was just one of eight who were being guided through Mount Everest, not long after, a massive blizzard plowed through but Weathers survived (although just barely) and made it back home.
Everest
Lion
Saroo Brierley was only five years old when he got separated from his biological family while on a train. Brierley was separated from his brother as they traveled to Burhanpur from his home town, Khandwa. He wound up miles away from home and somehow survived all on his own for weeks in the station before he eventually ventured out into the city. Shortly after and Brierley is adopted by an Australian couple and its not until 25 years later go by that he locates his biological mother…with the help of Google Maps.
Lion
Finding Neverland
Finding Neverland is the tale of the Scottish writer J. M. Barrie, his friendship with Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and his very close friendships with her sons George, Jack, Peter, and Michael. It was these friendships that inspired Barrie to pen the classic play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Never Grew Up.
Finding Neverland
Girl, Interrupted
Susanna Kaysen penned an emotional 1993 memoir about her 18 month stay at a mental institution, where she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Girl, Interrupted, the film, is a loosely based adaptation of the raw and powerful memoir.
Girl Interrupted
Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man follow’s the true life story of the heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock, A.K.A. Cinderella Man. During the Great Depression, Braddock was forced to work hard-labor jobs due to his broken, injured hand. However when an opportunity to step back into the ring presented itself, Braddock would go on to fight and win. The money he won was then donated to charity and used to pay the government assistance fund back. Cast and crew received tons of critical accolades for their breathtaking work.
Cinderella Man
127 Hours
Aron Lee Ralston’s autobiography Between a Rock and a Hard Place pens the brutal tale of how an outdoorsman was pushed to unspeakable circumstances in order to survive. In case you watched 127 Hours starring James Franco, then you know the story. Ralston was forced to amputate his own arm with a dull pocketknife after he became trapped in a dislodged boulder. He was stuck at Blue John Canyon for five days and seven hours. i.e. 127 hours.
127 Hours
Remember The Titans
“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” is as iconic as the story of African-American coach Herman Boone. Boone, as you know, attempted to integrate T. C. Williams High School’s football team in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1971. Together with Bill Yoast, the assistant coach, and various athletes on the field, we are presented with a classic flick. However the “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” fairytale isn’t exactly historically accurate. In real life, Boone is a hard man who causes some athletes to quit the team, Bertier’s accident took place AFTER the Championship game, and countless other facts.
Remember The Titans
Munich
During the 1972 Summer Olympics, the Palestine Liberation Organization took the 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team as hostages. After an attempted rescue mission, all 11 Israeli hostages perished. Munich follows the story of Operation Wrath of God, where undercover Israeli agents underwent a secret retaliation against “Black September”, the terrorists behind the slaughtering of innocent lives. While some moments in the film have been tweaked, most of the film is accurate.
Munich
Escape From Alcatraz
Clarence Anglin, John Anglin, and Frank Morris were the only successful inmates to escape from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in June 1962. Basically they created papier-mâché replicas of their faces and placed the replicas in their beds before they escaped via a deserted utility corridor. Evidence has never confirmed if the escapees actually survived, although the film depicts it as so.
Escape From Alcatraz
Bridge Of Spies
Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks bring us Bridge of Spies, the real life story of James B. Donovan. During the Cold War, Donovan serves as a lawyer assigned to the negotiations regarding the release of Francis Gary Powers, who was an Air Force pilot that had his spy plane shot down above the Soviet Union in 1960.
Bridge Of Spies
Into The Wild
Sean Penn produced and directed the iconic film which recaps the story of Christopher McCandless. In the early 90’s, McCandless, an American hiker and traveler, traveled all across North America and spent tons of time in Alaska. While on the Stampede Trail, McCandless has little supplies but hopes to embrace the wild as he’s determined to survive on materials and food provided by Mother Nature. Some four months later, his decomposing body, which weighs a staggering 66 lbs, is found by hunters; presumably he passed from starvation, but it’s still unclear.
Into The Wild
The Impossible
Doesn’t get much better than the real life story of Maria Belón. In 2004, Maria and her family manage to survive the Indian Ocean tsunami (Thailand) while on Christmas vacation. Belón, her husband Enrique, and their three sons are all separated by the tragic tsunami. In the midst of chaos, Belón is critically wounded but manages to reunite with her son Lucas. As they are seeking medical attention, Lucas stumbles upon his father and two brothers in a hospital! Now Belón is a public speaker and advocate for tsunami survivors.
The Impossible
Captain Phillips
You know the real life story, in 2009 Captain Richard Phillips and his crew of the Maersk Alabama are taken hostage by pirates, led by Abduwali Muse, in the Indian Ocean. Some claim that the full story was not told, especially regarding Phillips more heroic than he really was.
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
During the mid 80’s Ron Woodroof is diagnosed with AIDS but the treatment for such a disease is seriously under-researched. However, Woodroof smuggles unapproved pharmaceutical drugs into Texas to treat the symptoms, moreover he distributes them to fellow AIDS patients through the “Dallas Buyers Club” all while facing opposition from the FDA. Dr. Eve Saks and Rayon are both fictional characters but the roles were created from real life interviews with transgender AIDS patients, activists, and doctors.
Dallas Buyers Club
United 93
The tragedy that 9/11 brought is one that the United States of America will never, ever forget. United 93 narrates one of the flights, United Airlines Flight 93, that was hijacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists to complete the September 11 attacks. Historically, United 93 was the only flight that didn’t reach the hijackers’ target because the passengers regained control of the plane. Paul Greengrass, the film’s director, used what information was available in order to accurately develop the film, as a result he used stories from surviving family members, cockpit recordings, and some additional sources.
United 93
Hidden Figures
Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson are three African American female mathematicians who work at NASA. Johnson developed flight trajectories for Project Mercury and other missions, these three women are brilliant beyond belief and their story is one of underlying importance. Some scenes were beefed up for entertainment value, although it’s pretty accurate.
Hidden Figures
50 First Dates
Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler in 50 First Dates was quite the romantic comedy to watch. Barrymore portrayed a woman with a rare kind of amnesia inflicted from a car accident. Whenever she went to sleep, any and all of her recent memories were completely erased. Until she meets a man who decides to fight for her and their even though he has to remind her who he is every single day. It seemed like just your typical Hollywood rom-com but in reality, Michelle Philpots suffers from the same kind of amnesia but in her case, she met her husband before her amnesia.
50 First Dates
The Terminal
From 1988 to 2006, Mehran Karimi Nasseri spent 18 years, nope not a typo, he spent 18 whole years living in Terminal 1 of the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France. As an Iranian refugee, Nasseri was expelled from his home country and was at an impasse with nowhere to go. Now he had legally entered the airport therefore he couldn’t just be sent out, however he also couldn’t just enter France legally either. That left just one option, he lived in the airport. However in the film, it takes place at JFK and Tom Hank’s character is denied entry due to a military coup in his home country.
The Terminal
McFarland, USA
Based on the astonishing true story of the 1987 cross country team from a predominantly Latino high school located in McFarland, California, Jim White is the coach who impressively leads the team to a state championship win. Jim White, who is played by Kevin Costner, says the film was done very well but was not a documentary as some facts were changed.
McFarland USA
Sully
When you’ve got a film that’s directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Todd Komarnicki, plus it’s based on a true story that has Tom Hanks as the lead character – you know you’re in for a darn good flick. Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and First Officer Jeff Skiles, in 2009, had to land their aircraft with 155 passengers and crew on-board onto the Hudson River after both engines are disabled. Furthermore, all those on-board only suffer minor injuries and there are no casualties, heroic much? We’d say so.
Sully
Pain & Gain
Pain & Gain tells the tale of the Sun Gym Gang, a group of bodybuilders turned criminals; whose charges include kidnapping, extortion, torture, and murder. Some events were changed but for the most part, it’s pretty accurate.
Pain & Gain
The Blind Side
Michael Oher is currently the offensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers but his road to such a high profile life wasn’t an easy one. Oher had bounced around homes of foster families as his mother was a drug addict and his father was killed in prison. It wasn’t until 2004 that his life made a turn for the better. Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, a couple with a daughter and son attending the same school as Oher, allowed him to live with them and eventually adopted him.
The Blind Side