Name your favorite "Based on actual events" movie

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

Requirements:
1. Story line follows some historical events maybe minor details are skipped or embellished.
2. Characters have some historical basis.

Examples:
12 Strong - makes the cut
300 - a bit borderline
Rambo IV - no

[Zoonart]

1. Goodfellas

When I first saw this movie... I was so blown away that I bought another ticket and watched it again immediately .

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

2. I'm getting some ideas here on things to watch

Thanks

[Zoonart]

6. Here's another for good measure.

Another film that I watched back to back, driving to another theater to screen it again:
All That Jazz about Bob Fosse.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

11. Okay, thanks n/t

[bettyellen]

20. Two of my fave movies! List more, ha ha!

[Zoonart]

27. I thought you'd never ask.

Ed Wood
The King's Speech
The Right Stuff

[bettyellen]

30. All great and the Right Stuff is one of my top ten too! Do you like old movies? Foreign?

Here are some amazing flicks:
Ball of Fire
Sullivan’s Travels
Children of Paradise
L’Atalante

[TlalocW]

7. I prefer the other movie that was based on the same people

"My Blue Heaven."

TlalocW

[Zoonart]

9. Loved that too.

[tazkcmo]

3. A Bridge Too Far

Great movie, great cast and the first war movie I ever saw that covered an Ally defeat. It's also the only movie I watched in a movie theater while enjoying a pint of ale and smoking cigarettes.

[RandomAccess]

13. It's one of my faves too

And it's not really my preferred genre.

I do have to say, tho, whoever cast that movie had to have been drunk. Worst casting in any movie I've ever seen.

[tazkcmo]

15. I don't share your opinion

But to each her/his own.

[RandomAccess]

16. Okay, but really --

Ryan O'Neal, real age about 35, as a General??? A few others were equally absurd (tho my memory fades about the details).

Still, it was a terrific movie.

[DashOneBravo]

84. LTG Gavin

Is a legendary figure among paratroopers and anyone who has been stationed at Ft. Bragg.

He was 35 when he pinned on his BG star.

[DashOneBravo]

86. Mine too

[braddy]

4. 1,000,000 B.C.

[oasis]

114. Sarah Palin, is that you?

[AJT]

5. The Killing Fields

[MaryMagdaline]

80. Good movie

[Duppers]

92. Excellent movie.

[TlalocW]

8. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Never knew that side of him.

TlalocW

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

10. I will see your vampire hunter and...

...raise you an Atomic Blonde

[genxlib]

42. It was actually a pretty good book

I get funny looks when I tell people that because it sounds ridiculous.

The movie was superficial. The book did a much better job of evoking the allegory of vampirism to slavery. Most of the vampires were southerners literally feeding off the life blood of the slaves. Pulling off the allegory goes a long way towards selling the idea of Lincoln fighting the scourge of slavery/vampires.

But I've been wrong before.

[geardaddy]

112. Yep, the book was much more substantive compared to the movie.

[RandomAccess]

12. La Bamba

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

14. Well yes but I won't be watching again

I prefer movies that are upbeat. Thanks

[lapfog_1]

17. BlacKkKlansman - not out yet

but I got to see enough in a "sneak peek" to know that this is one of my favorites.

Apollo 13 - only slightly fictionalized.

Hidden Figures

The Right Stuff - again, only slightly fictionalized

[Glorfindel]

18. "The Lion in Winter" - simply incomparable

Nothing else even comes close, and it's actually quite historically accurate.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

19. Looks very good

Thanks

[dawg day]

25. That's a great film. Kate Hepburn is wonderful.

[Zoonart]

33. THIS

Some of the best acting ever filmed!

[lisa58]

105. Best dialogue ever!

[Sedona]

21. Schindler's List

Honorable mention, Saving Private Ryan.

(yeah, both Speilberg, he's a genius)

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

23. Good ones, both

[avebury]

22. Here are a few:

Selma

A United Kingdom - African Prilnce marries white British woman to the dismay of everyone. Goes on to become 1st President of Botswana.

The King's Speech

Spotlight - 2028 Best Picture - Boston Globe investigates Catholic Priest abuses

Marshall- Thurhood Marshall early case, learns he doesn't have to handle Civil Rights Cases alone.

RBG - Documentary on Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I love, love, love this documentary. She is an incredible woman.

Blossoms In The Dust - the story of Edna Gladney. There is no such thing as illegitimate children, only illegitimate parents.

Che Part I and Part II

Chariots of Fire

Darkest Hour

Cry Freedom

The Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican

Eat Pray Love

Eleanor First Lady Of The World

Gandhi

The Glenn Miller Story

Hidden Figure

The Imitation Game

Out of Africa

[mainstreetonce]

24. The Right Stuff

...

[Leghorn21]

36. +++ Hard to beat this one, main! - One of my very few regrets in life is that I did not - no, I

DID NOT - catch this marvelous film on the big screen!!! But yeah, I fkn love every second of this timeless piece of work!

[mainstreetonce]

66. Patriots' Day

...

[dawg day]

26. All the President's Men...

The Right Stuff was also wonderful. Even though we KNEW the astronauts had made it home, it was still very tense watching the end of the film. "Please, please! Let them survive!"

[VMA131Marine]

104. I think you just confused "The Right Stuff" for "Apollo 13"

The end of "The Right Stuff" had Gordo Cooper blasting triumphantly into orbit.

[lisa58]

106. My All-Time Favorite

[NightWatcher]

28. The Great Escape and Howard the Duck.

[thbobby]

29. Seems obvious... All The President's Men

One of my all-time favorite movies.

[fleabiscuit]

31. Serpico

[spooky3]

32. Hidden Figures nt

[Demovictory9]

53. awesome movie!

[applegrove]

34. All the Presidents Men.

[fleabiscuit]

35. Patton

[fleabiscuit]

37. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

[randr]

38. Medium Cool

Docu drama shot during 68 Chicago riots

[LSFL]

39. "It" by Stephen KIng

It is real. Derry is real. Don't take this from me you bastards.

[Snackshack]

40. History of...

The World. Part 1...loosely based...

The Right Stuff.

Apollo 13.

Steve Jobs. w/ Micheal Fassbender.

The Imitation Game.

A Beautiful Mind.

Ray.

[Docreed2003]

41. "Walk the Line"

Both Johnny and June Cash hand picked their portrayers before their deaths...they also had a heavy hand in the script content. It wasn't a perfect portrayal of what happened, but it was a "condensed for Hollywood" view of their life together.

[exboyfil]

43. I really enjoyed Lincoln

Probably not as much as others listed here. Still I did not like how they screwed Connecticut during the vote.

[MaryMagdaline]

81. Love that movie

Lincoln’s soliloquy on why we needed the 13th Amendment was brilliant. Best part of the movie

[Varaddem]

44. Still can't watch

Still can’t watch anything on the Kennedy assassination. Why wasn’ ask every time he was in public why he lied about being in Dallas the day before JFK Assassination.Got into it with Lee Atwater in 1980. If I had brought up Prescott Bush and Hitler I would probably still be in in an undisclosed Location

[cyclonefence]

45. Bernie

Not that Bernie. Bernie Tiede, an undertaker who insinuated himself into the life of a lonely, wealthy widow. What could possibly go wrong? Jack Black as Bernie, Shirley MacLaine as the old lady. A wonderful black Black comedy. And a true story.

[yankeepants]

58. Great movie!

[MaryMagdaline]

79. Very good movie

[jg10003]

46. The Great Escape

[muntrv]

49. Wolf Of Wall Street.

[Bayard]

50. Lawrence of Arabia

Seabiscuit

Oh, and of course--Fargo

[Lint Head]

51. Ed Wood

[madamesilverspurs]

52. Judgement at Nuremberg

[RockRaven]

54. The Passion of the Christ

LOL, j/k

Let's see... on the same grounds I suppose Monty Python and the Life of Brian and Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Forrest Gump would be disqualified...


Goodfellas -- the subject matter isn't for everybody, and the characters are not likable per se, but this is a great example of film-making at the highest level. Story pacing, how shots are set up, music, judicial use of voice-over, editing, it's all great. And the main half-dozen actors/actresses are top notch.

Remember the Titans -- pretty cheesy, but what else would you expect from a Disney film about high school football in an era of desegregation. Denzel Washington delivers a good performance and holds together a decent film in what could have been a real stink-bomb of a film if his role had been mis-cast.

Band of Brothers -- a miniseries, not a film, but extremely well made and well acted. And with 10 hour-long episodes it is like ~5 feature films.

[DBoon]

55. Argo

With Hugo as my second choice

[TexasBushwhacker]

71. If Argo was fiction it never would have been made into a movie

They'd say it was ridiculous and unbelievable.

[kwassa]

56. Powers Boothe as Jim Jones ....

Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones

Boothe pulled off the charismatic quality of a cult leader. A great performance.

[pangaia]

57. DR STRANGELOVE

[Freddie]

59. Coal Miner's Daughter

I love musical biopics.
Walk The Line
Ray
Sweet Dreams (Patsy Cline)
La Bamba
Buddy Holly Story
Personally I think the following would make great biopics: Nat King Cole, Sam Cooke, Roy Orbison. Before people forget about them.

[lunatica]

63. Did you see Jersey Boys

It was directed by Clint Eastwood. I loved the songs! I think all of Eastwood’s movies about real people are excellent!

[Freddie]

64. Yes loved it

Great movie. Also loved Dreamgirls, Eddie Murphy was robbed of an Oscar!
Critics hated Evita but I loved it and thought Madonna was excellent in the role. You know how kids like to watch a movie over and over, my kids were that age then and watched Evita countless times.

[Boomerproud]

75. Silkwood

All The President's Men
Coal Miner's Daughter
La Bamba
Nowhere Boy

Too many others I can't think of at the moment.

[MaryMagdaline]

78. Coal Miner's Daughter is one of my favorite movies.

I have probably seen it 6 or 7 times.

All the President’s Men I listed as 2nd choice in this poll.

Last 2 I haven’t seen but based on your first 2 choices I am inclined to watch

[mucifer]

60. The Diary of Anne Frank, The Miracle Worker

[Xolodno]

61. 13 Days...

Argo
Alive
Casino
Enemy at the Gates

[pnwest]

62. Alive - the rugby team plane crash.

[Eugene]

65. Helter Skelter

If based on sort-of real events, The Ten Commandments.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

67. I see things have taken an amusing turn with some of you

A sense of humor is a really great thing to have especially now.

Dr. Strangelove indeed.

Well here's a few of my choices:
The 15 17 To Paris
Bridge of Spies
Lord of War
American Made

Now, not for everyone but if you enjoy auto racing at all (and maybe even if you don't) Rush.

Set against the sexy, glamorous golden age of Formula 1 racing in the 1970s, the film is based on the true story of a great sporting rivalry between handsome English playboy James Hunt (Hemsworth), and his methodical, brilliant opponent, Austrian driver Niki Lauda (Bruhl). The story follows their distinctly different personal styles on and off the track, their loves and the astonishing 1976 season in which both drivers were willing to risk everything to become world champion in a sport with no margin for error: if you make a mistake, you die.
Quote:
Niki Lauda: Twenty five drivers start every season in Formula One, and each year two of us die. What kind of person does a job like this? Not normal men, for sure. Rebels, lunatics, dreamers. People who are that desperate to make a mark, and are prepared to die trying. My name is Niki Lauda, and racing people know me for two things. The first is my rivalry with him.
[James Hunt]
Niki Lauda: I don't know why it became such a big thing. We were just drivers busting each other's balls. To me this is perfectly normal, but other people saw in differently. That whatever it was between us went deeper. The other thing I'm remembered for is what happened on 1st August 1976, when I was chasing him like an asshole...

[Number9Dream]

68. "Inherit the Wind" (1960), based on the Scopes "Monkey" trial

A stellar cast in a thought provoking film. The finest adaptation of the Lawrence & Lee play. Excellent acting by all. Spencer Tracy's performance was powerful, and nominated for a best actor Academy Award. The play never claimed to be totally historically accurate. It was intended to defend intellectual freedom, and provoke thought. It succeeded brilliantly.

[lisa58]

107. Excellent Movie! Love Span er Tracy & Gene Kelly

[Floyd R. Turbo]

69. Miracle, Rudy, Tombstone, J.F.K., The Miracle Worker, Casino, Raging Bull, The Exorcist, and one of

my all time favorites The Grey Fox!

[Wounded Bear]

70. Gettysburg and Glory...

Two excellent period pieces about the Civil War. Highly authentic. Hard to choose between them for me.

[TexasBushwhacker]

72. 127 Hours

Not only was it an amazing story, James Franco was the only person on screen for 90% of the film. I was seriously impressed.

[Initech]

115. Deadpool: "Hey! Did you ever see that movie 127 Hours? Spoiler alert!"

[dembotoz]

73. The longest day

Sucker for ww2movies

[Codeine]

74. Gettysburg and the opening part of Saving Private Ryan. nt

[samir.g]

76. Rendition

It centers on the controversial CIA practice of extraordinary rendition and is based on the true story of Khalid El-Masri,

[MaryMagdaline]

77. The Post

2nd place All the President’s Men

[wryter2000]

82. Just because they haven't been mentioned

The Crucible
Birdman of Alcatraz

[brewens]

83. The Big Short. Most of my others have already been mentioned. n/t

[TexasBushwhacker]

117. That was a great movie! N/t

[kydo]

85. And the Band Played On

And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic is a 1987 book by San Francisco Chronicle journalist Randy Shilts. The book chronicles epidemiologist Don Francis (Matthew Modine) as he learns of an increased rate of death among gay men in urban areas. The startling information leads him to begin investigating the outbreak, which is ultimately identified as AIDS.

[red dog 1]

87. I have 12 "favorites"

1) K-19 The Widowmaker
2) Aviator
3) Wyatt Earp
4) Frost-Nixon
5) Breach
6) Wonderland
7) World Trade Center
8) Moneyball
9) Zodiac
10) The Thin Blue Line
11) The Blind Side
12) Codetalkers

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

90. I've seen some of these

I've seen 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 11. All of them range from very good to excellent.
BTW I prefer Tombstone to Wyatt Earp but it has a much shorter timeline.

Let me ask you about Breach. First, if you know any history of the case, why do you think Hanssen went into "business" for himself? (I have an opinion but I don't want to influence you.)

[beachbum bob]

88. Kill the Messenger

[bdtrppr6]

89. The Amityville Horror

Love the flies!

[lpbk2713]

91. Rosewood

A haunting story.

[Duppers]

93. Out of Africa, Mississippi Burning*, Hidden Figures,

The Right Stuff,
Apollo 13,
Seabiscuit,
Hidalgo,*
Ray
Sweet Dreams (Patsy Cline),
Silkwood.

*Only ones not mentioned above.

[jmowreader]

94. Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Not the cartoon part, but the Red Car shutdown was real.

[Rhiannon12866]

95. My first thought was Gallipoli - my Dad really liked that one

And yes, Mel Gibson is in it, but that's before we knew he was an a******. A couple more on that list would be "Missing" and "The Year of Living Dangerously."

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

97. Thanks for mentioning that. My wife may be interested due to her Armenian family.

It's not the best weekend. Our 14 year old cat was getting sicker and had to be euthanized.
I hope things are perking up for you now that more snow is unlikely.

[brewens]

118. Gallipoli reminded me of Breaker Morant. I just wantched it again recently. Excellent movie about

the Boer War in S. Africa.

[AmandaRuth]

96. I, Tonya

now streaming on hulu. very highly recommended.

[jrandom421]

98. We Were Soldiers

I had a number of friends who were stationed at Ft Campbell when Hal Moore was given command of the 1/7th Cav, and they said that the movie was mostly factual, especially the3 scenes of the wives delivering the condolence telegrams from the Pentagon.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

99. Indeed there are many very special service spouses

My hat is off to them and those who have served.


I have special regard for General Moore and for Joe Galloway. I know the General died last year and Julia a few years before. They live on for me as very special people.


I like the movie a lot as well.

[jalan48]

100. In Cold Blood (1967)

[Bleacher Creature]

102. Guardians of the Galaxy.

Parts 1 and 2. They nailed the real Groot both times.

[VMA131Marine]

103. "A Night to Remember"

The (still) definitive Titanic movie
"The Dambusters" and "The Battle of Britain" - both staples growing up in 70s Britain
"Sink the Bismarck" - a classic

[rickford66]

108. Raging Bull

[samnsara]

109. Game Change

[DiverDave]

110. Lion

A five-year-old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia. 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.
Just saw it on Netflix, GREAT story.

[grantcart]

120. Great movie, even better on the theater

[mahatmakanejeeves]

111. Not necessarily my favorite, but "The Bridge at Remagen."

Remagen

Remagen is a town in Germany in the Land Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler. It is about a one-hour drive from Cologne, just south of Bonn, the former West German capital. It is situated on the left (western) bank of the river Rhine. There is a ferry across the Rhine from Remagen every 10–15 minutes in the summer. Remagen has many beautiful and well-maintained buildings, churches, castles and monuments. It also has a sizeable pedestrian zone with plenty of shops.
....

Bridge at Remagen

Main article: Ludendorff Bridge

The Ludendorff Bridge was originally built during World War I as a means of moving troops and logistics west over the Rhine to reinforce the Western Front. The bridge was designed by Karl Wiener, an architect from Mannheim. It was 325 metres (1,066 ft) long, had a clearance of 14.8 metres (49 ft) above the normal water level of the Rhine, and its highest point measured 29.25 metres (96.0 ft). The bridge was designed to be defended by troops with towers on each bank with machine gun slits in the towers. The bridge carried two railway tracks and a pedestrian walkway. During World War II, one track was planked over to allow vehicular traffic.

Capture of the bridge

Main article: Battle of Remagen

During Operation Lumberjack, on 7 March 1945, troops of the U.S. Army's 9th Armored Division reached the Ludendorff Bridge during the closing weeks of World War II and were very surprised to see that the railroad bridge was still standing. It was the last of 22 road and railroad bridges over the Rhine still standing after German defenders failed to demolish it. U.S. forces were able to capture the bridge. The unexpected availability of the first major crossing of the Rhine, Germany's last major natural barrier and line of defense, caused Allied high commander Dwight Eisenhower to alter his plans to end the war and possibly shortened the war in Europe.

The ability to quickly establish a bridgehead on the eastern side of the Rhine and to get forces into Germany allowed the U.S. forces to envelop the German industrial area of the Ruhr more quickly than planned. The Allies were able to get six divisions across the bridge before it collapsed on 17 March 1945, ten days after it was captured. The collapse killed 18 U.S. Army Engineers.

A large number of books and articles in newspapers and magazines on the battle for the bridge have been published. The best-known work on the battle is 1957's The Bridge at Remagen by the American author Ken Hechler. In 1968 David L. Wolper produced an American motion picture, The Bridge at Remagen. The film depicts historical events, but is fictional in all other aspects.
....

[geardaddy]

113. Mr. Nice

The story of Howard Marks, Welsh drug smuggler extraordinaire.

Hedd Wyn - The story of the poet Ellis Evans (nom de plume: Hedd Wyn) and his life as a poet and a soldier in WWI

[Initech]

116. I got to nominate the Ip Man trilogy.

If you watch those movies, what happened in China at that time nearly mirrors what's happening in the US now.

[CTyankee]

119. Dunkirk. Wonderful film. I saw it and "Darkest Hour" on the same day.

Spectacular movies. Really enjoyed that full movie day with daughter and son in law...

[frogmarch]

121. Philomena