19 Movies Based On True Stories

Movies can be emotional and shocking sometimes, but they are not always fictional. Some of these movies are inspired by true-life events and are replayed on our scenes. Here are 19 popular films based on true stories. 

1. A Beautiful Mind

This is the story of Nobel laureate and mathematical savant John Nash, who discovered a complex mathematical concept called Nash equilibrium (named after him). This movie shows how he had schizophrenia and the successes and failures he achieved in life while battling the disease. 

2. The Pursuit Of Happyness

This movie is centered on Chris Gardner’s life. He was an entrepreneur that suffered through homelessness and several struggles before becoming successful. Yet, he was able to go from abject poverty to become a highly successful securities broker. His hardship will draw tears from you, and his success will bring forth happiness. 

3. Lost Girls

This is a story of several unsolved murders that happened at Long Island in 2010. The movie focuses on how a desperate mother fights to uncover the truth of her daughter’s death while being setback by the police’s negligence. 

4. Moneyball 

This is a story of the 2002 season of the baseball team at Oakland Athletics and how the manager successfully assembled a competitive and strong team that became successful. It has six Academy Awards, so it’s worth a watch.

5. Darkest Hour

His role as Winston Churchill in this WWII epic won Gary Oldman an Oscar as Best Actor. The movie depicts Britain’s struggle for survival during the Nazi invasion while focusing on Churchills’ early days in government through WWII. 

6. The Theory of Everything

This movie follows the life of a younger Stephen Hawking, how he met Jane Wilde, his first love, and how he writes his famous thesis at Cambridge University, and his suffering from a motor neuron disease. The movie explores the life and love of one of the greatest minds the world has ever seen. 

7. The Blind Side

This movie tells the story of Big Mike, a poor teenager adopted by Leigh Anne Tuohy, who makes him a part of her family and allows him to follow his passion for football. 

8. The Miracle Season

This movie is about a high school volleyball team that lost their captain to an accident and played the remainder of the season to honor her and started to win match after match. This heartbreaking story is both inspiring and devastating. 

9. 12 Years a Slave

The Oscar-winning movie followed Solomon Northup’s life, a talented violinist and free man kidnapped and sold off into slavery for 12 years before being rescued by his friends in New York. 

10. Wild 

This movie is based on Cheryl Strayed’s memoir. She took an 1100 miles hike of the Pacific Crest Trail (2650 miles) without much hiking experience to heal from tragedies, including her mother’s death that got her depressed, her newly destroyed marriage, and her drug addiction. 

11. Sully 

This is how pilot Captain Sullivan landed a plane on the river Hudson after a bird strike midair. The crash landing resulted in no casualties, and Sully became a national hero. However, he was trialed subsequently with the argument that he could have landed in two nearby airports and not on a river. 

12. Titanic

Jack and Rose were not actual characters, but the Titanic is a true story of the tragedy that befell the biggest and most luxurious ship to be created (at the time) and how it sank on its maiden voyage. 

13. Apollo 13

This movie details the ill-fated Apollo 13 expedition. The Apollo 13 spacecraft developed critical problems after an explosion took on board, taking out most of the oxygen and the electrical power. The mission became a survival mission for the astronauts to land safely. 

14. Remember the Titans

This movie is about one of the US’ first integrated football teams, how they bonded and became friends, despite the racial prejudices at the time, and how they eventually united their community through the shared love for football. 

15. Coach Carter

This movie preaches balance between extra-curricular activities and studies. It is a story of how Ken Carter returned to his high school as a basketball coach and helped the team become successful. He then discovers that his players sacrificed their studies to be successful on the court. In a bid to make the students more serious about their academics, Coach Carter withdraws his team from all basketball competitions until they improve their grades. 

16. The World’s Fastest Indian

This movie is about Burt Munro, a speed bike racer who spent 20 years restoring an Indian motorcycle from the 1920s. He faced tremendous hardship before finally building it. He then raced with the bike at Bonneville salt flats in 1967, breaking the world record. 

17. Invincible

This is a story about Vince Papale, a teacher battling several life problems. While being desperate for money, he also worked as a part-time bartender. Then, as a huge football fan, he trialed for his hometown team when the opportunity came and achieved unprecedented success. 

18. Saving Private Ryan

This movie depicts the lives of some soldiers during WWII. It’s a story of how a group of soldiers searches for Private Ryan, their comrade. The private had unfortunately lost three brothers to the war, but this group wasn’t going to let him die behind the enemy lines. This movie explores their desperate search and the life-changing event in each soldier’s life. 

19. Schindler’s List

This movie was set in 1939, Germany, during the height of WWII. It’s about a German businessman and politician, Schindler, desperate to make money out of the war. So he hires the cheapest possible labor, the Jews. He got 300 Jews to work for him while the Nazis exterminated their friends and families. With time, it became more difficult to hide these Jews and keep his factory running. The movie explores the inspiration and drama that Schindler creates. 

Conclusion

These are some of the numerous movies based on true stories that have been produced on the big screen. You can still watch some of these movies on a streaming app. However, they all tell a story of past events. 

Author Bio Eun Rockwell is a blogger and academic writer from the UK who works with buy term paper as one of the dissertation writers. She likes trying new subjects and is always focused on proving her worth in new and challenging writing areas. Her hobbies are reading books and traveling.

You can reach her on Twitter @rockwell_eun_.