25 Great Movies "Based on a True Story"
by tcrane-282-142972 | created - 06 Mar 2012 | updated - 06 Mar 2012 | PublicIn ranking this order I asked myself how well did the director tell the story, did I feel invested in the story like I was there or apart of the action? Would those that actually were there want to see the movie? How closely did the screenwriters stay on message, or did they correctly edit so I did not fall asleep? And the question I always ask of any movie: Would I want to see it again?
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1. Miracle (2004)
PG | 135 min | Biography, Drama, History
The true story of Herb Brooks, the player-turned-coach who led the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to victory over the seemingly invincible Soviet squad.
Director: Gavin O'Connor | Stars: Kurt Russell, Patricia Clarkson, Nathan West, Noah Emmerich
Votes: 58,830 | Gross: $64.38M
2. 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: 315,179 | Gross: $173.84M
3. Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 95 min | Biography, Drama, History
History of Apple and Microsoft.
Director: Martyn Burke | Stars: Anthony Michael Hall, Noah Wyle, Joey Slotnick, J.G. Hertzler
Votes: 25,228
4. The World's Fastest Indian (2005)
PG-13 | 127 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years rebuilding a 1920 Indian motorcycle, which helped him set the land speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967.
Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Diane Ladd, Iain Rea, Tessa Mitchell
Votes: 58,487 | Gross: $5.13M
5. 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: 1,093,318 | Gross: $164.62M
6. The Social Network (2010)
PG-13 | 120 min | Biography, Drama
As Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, he is sued by the twins who claimed he stole their idea and by the co-founder who was later squeezed out of the business.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Rooney Mara
Votes: 757,599 | Gross: $96.96M
7. Black Hawk Down (2001)
R | 144 min | Action, Drama, History
The story of 160 elite U.S. soldiers who dropped into Mogadishu in October 1993 to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord, but found themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily armed Somalis.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana
Votes: 423,010 | Gross: $108.64M
8. Seabiscuit (2003)
PG-13 | 140 min | Drama, History, Sport
True story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation.
Director: Gary Ross | Stars: Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Elizabeth Banks, Chris Cooper
Votes: 76,720 | Gross: $120.28M
9. We Were Soldiers (2002)
R | 138 min | Action, Drama, History
The story of the first major battle of the American phase of the Vietnam War, and the soldiers on both sides that fought it, while their wives wait nervously and anxiously at home for the good news or the bad news.
Director: Randall Wallace | Stars: Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Greg Kinnear, Sam Elliott
Votes: 151,103 | Gross: $78.12M
10. Something the Lord Made (2004 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 110 min | Biography, Drama
A dramatization of the relationship between heart surgery pioneers Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas.
Director: Joseph Sargent | Stars: Cliff McMullen, Yasiin Bey, Luray Cooper, Alan Rickman
Votes: 15,315
11. Pollock (2000)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama
A film about the life and career of the American painter, Jackson Pollock.
Director: Ed Harris | Stars: Ed Harris, Marcia Gay Harden, Robert Knott, Molly Regan
Votes: 29,595 | Gross: $8.60M
12. We Are Marshall (2006)
PG | 131 min | Drama, Sport
When a plane crash claims the lives of members of the Marshall University football team and some of its fans, the team's new coach and his surviving players try to keep the football program alive.
Director: McG | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, Anthony Mackie, David Strathairn
Votes: 64,790 | Gross: $43.55M
13. Thirteen Days (2000)
PG-13 | 145 min | Drama, History, Thriller
In October 1962, the Kennedy administration struggles to contain the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Shawn Driscoll, Drake Cook
Votes: 62,632 | Gross: $34.59M
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: 360,105 | Gross: $255.96M
15. A Civil Action (1998)
PG-13 | 115 min | Biography, Drama
A tenacious lawyer takes on a case involving two companies responsible for causing several children to be diagnosed with leukemia due to the town's water supply being contaminated, at the risk of bankrupting his firm and career.
Director: Steven Zaillian | Stars: John Travolta, Robert Duvall, Kathleen Quinlan, Tony Shalhoub
Votes: 31,038 | Gross: $56.71M
16. 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: 158,466 | Gross: $52.10M
17. The Great Debaters (2007)
PG-13 | 126 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
A drama based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College Texas. In 1935, he inspired students to form the school's first debate team, which went on to challenge Harvard in the national championship.
Director: Denzel Washington | Stars: Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Kimberly Elise, Nate Parker
Votes: 62,814 | Gross: $30.23M
18. The Hammer (2010)
PG-13 | 108 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
A coming of age drama following the life of Matt Hamill, the first deaf wrestler to win a National Collegiate Wrestling Championship.
Director: Oren Kaplan | Stars: Russell Harvard, Raymond J. Barry, Shoshannah Stern, Michael Anthony Spady
Votes: 1,877 | Gross: $0.08M
19. Hoffa (1992)
R | 140 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The story of the notorious American labor union figure Jimmy Hoffa, who organizes a bitter strike, makes deals with members of the organized crime syndicate and mysteriously disappears in 1975.
Director: Danny DeVito | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Armand Assante, J.T. Walsh
Votes: 24,767 | Gross: $24.28M
20. The King's Speech (2010)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.
Director: Tom Hooper | Stars: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Derek Jacobi
Votes: 707,468 | Gross: $138.80M
21. Recount (2008 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 116 min | Drama, History
A chronicle of the weeks after the 2000 U.S. Presidential election, and the subsequent recounts in Florida.
Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Bob Balaban, Denis Leary, Ed Begley Jr.
Votes: 13,591
22. October Sky (1999)
PG | 108 min | Biography, Drama, Family
The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.
Director: Joe Johnston | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern, Chris Owen
Votes: 97,789 | Gross: $32.48M
23. Invincible (2006)
PG | 105 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Based on the story of Vince Papale, a 30-year-old bartender from South Philadelphia who overcame long odds to play for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles in 1976.
Director: Ericson Core | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Greg Kinnear, Elizabeth Banks, Kevin Conway
Votes: 75,270 | Gross: $57.81M
24. Gotti (1996 TV Movie)
R | 117 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
John Gotti rises to head the powerful Gambino crime family before being convicted in 1992 of racketeering and murder.
Director: Robert Harmon | Stars: Armand Assante, Anthony Quinn, William Forsythe, Richard C. Sarafian
Votes: 8,647
25. Radio (2003)
PG | 109 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The story of a high school coach and the developmentally challenged man who he took under his wing.
Director: Michael Tollin | Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr., Ed Harris, Debra Winger, S. Epatha Merkerson
Votes: 43,955 | Gross: $52.33M
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