True Stories / based on true stories
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- StarsCindy PickettJohn AshtonCorin NemecThe harrowing true account of Steven Stayner, who was kidnapped by a perverted pseudo-priest and his lackey during the 1970s. As he gets older, he realizes that he needs to try to make an escape and get back home.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsMeryl StreepKurt RussellCherA worker at a plutonium processing plant is purposefully contaminated, psychologically tortured and possibly murdered to prevent her from exposing worker safety violations at the plant.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsJim CarreyDanny DeVitoGerry BeckerThe life and career of legendary comedian Andy Kaufman.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsRobert Downey Jr.Geraldine ChaplinPaul RhysAn elderly Charlie Chaplin discusses his autobiography with his editor, recounting his amazing journey from his poverty-stricken childhood to world-wide success after the ingenious invention of the Little Tramp.
- DirectorJames MangoldStarsWinona RyderAngelina JolieClea DuVallA directionless teenager, Susanna, is rushed to Claymoore, a mental institution, after a supposed suicide attempt. There, she befriends a group of troubled women who deeply influence her life.
- DirectorBob FosseStarsDustin HoffmanValerie PerrineJan MinerThe story of acerbic 1960s comic Lenny Bruce, whose groundbreaking, no-holds-barred style and social commentary was often deemed by the Establishment as too obscene for the public.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsAl PacinoJohn RandolphJack KehoeAn honest New York cop named Frank Serpico blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsJake GyllenhaalRobert Downey Jr.Mark RuffaloBetween 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.
- DirectorSam Taylor-JohnsonStarsAaron Taylor-JohnsonKristin Scott ThomasAnne-Marie DuffA chronicle of John Lennon's first years, focused mainly in his adolescence and his relationship with his stern aunt Mimi, who raised him, and his absentee mother Julia, who re-entered his life at a crucial moment in his young life.
- DirectorAlex CoxStarsGary OldmanChloe WebbDavid HaymanThe relationship between Sid Vicious, bassist for British punk group Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen is portrayed.
- DirectorSean PennStarsEmile HirschVince VaughnCatherine KeenerAfter graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsWoody HarrelsonCourtney LoveEdward NortonThe story of controversial pornography publisher Larry Flynt, and how he became a defender of free speech.
- DirectorGraeme CliffordStarsJessica LangeJonathan BanksBonnie BartlettThe story of Frances Farmer's meteoric rise to fame in Hollywood and the tragic turn her life took when she was blacklisted.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsAnthony HopkinsJohn HurtAnne BancroftA Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication.
- DirectorTrevor NunnStarsHelena Bonham CarterCary ElwesJohn WoodThe story of Lady Jane Grey, who was Queen of England for only nine days.
- DirectorJorge MontesiStarsArt HindleRosemary DunsmoreSusan HoganA young Canadian girl accuses her father of child molestation. She's upset to discover that most of the people in her life believe that she's lying about it, and struggles with the public backlash.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJohnny DeppBenicio Del ToroTobey MaguireAn oddball journalist and his psychopathic lawyer travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychedelic escapades.
- DirectorTed DemmeStarsJohnny DeppPenélope CruzFranka PotenteThe story of how George Jung, along with the Medellín Cartel headed by Pablo Escobar, established the American cocaine market in the 1970s in the United States.
- DirectorMikael HåfströmStarsAndreas WilsonHenrik LundströmGustaf SkarsgårdA teenage boy expelled from school for fighting arrives at a boarding school where the systematic bullying of younger students is encouraged as a means to maintain discipline, and decides to fight back.
- DirectorDavid AttwoodStarsBenedict CumberbatchTom HardyNicola DuffettA writer takes a backwards look at the life of his unlikely friend, Stuart, a homeless alcoholic who experienced a traumatic childhood event.
- DirectorMorten TyldumStarsBenedict CumberbatchKeira KnightleyMatthew GoodeDuring World War II, the English mathematical genius Alan Turing tries to crack the German Enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians while attempting to come to terms with his troubled private life.
- DirectorNeill FearnleyStarsGeorge StanchevL.B. FisherJeff GeddisThe story of the Pre-Fab Four and their fight to be taken seriously as musicians.
- DirectorJulian JarroldStarsAnne HathawayJames McAvoyJulie WaltersA biographical portrait of a pre-fame Jane Austen and her romance with a young Irishman.
- DirectorAmma AsanteStarsGugu Mbatha-RawMatthew GoodeEmily WatsonThe biracial daughter, Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), of Royal Navy Captain Sir John Lindsay (Matthew Goode) is raised by aristocratic Great-uncle Lord William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson) in 18th century England.
- DirectorAnton CorbijnStarsSam RileySamantha MortonCraig ParkinsonA profile of Ian Curtis, the enigmatic singer of Joy Division whose personal, professional, and romantic troubles led him to die by suicide at the age of 23.
- DirectorPeter LevinStarsThora BirchMichael RileyRobert BockstaelBased on a true story. Liz Murray is a young girl who is taken care of by her loving, but drug-addicted parents. Liz becomes homeless at 15 and after a tragedy comes upon her, she begins her work to finish high school.
- DirectorRob CohenStarsJason Scott LeeLauren HollyRobert WagnerA fictionalized account of the life of the martial arts superstar.
- DirectorArvin BrownStarsVirginia MadsenJeffrey NordlingGraham BeckelA couple is accused of sodomy and pedophilia by two little girls. Soon they find their beloved sons taken away from them and themselves thrown in jail.
- DirectorBill NortonStarsShannen DohertyKevin DillonDixie CarterA husband and wife are accused of the murder of their own daughter.
- DirectorMichael TuchnerStarsDaniel J. TravantiJoBeth WilliamsMartha ScottAfter their child is abducted, John and Reve Walsh are trying to find him. But, shortly after that, Adam is found dead.
- DirectorDelbert MannStarsRichard ThomasMolly CheekJulie CobbA young man wishes to adopt a problematical eight-year-old boy being kept in an institution. Simply because he is single, he has an uphill battle with the government bureaucracy and particularly with a power-hungry, administrator. After many delays, they deny his application. Then he finds a way to turn the tables on them for the boy's own good.
- DirectorPeter WernerStarsKristen BellDiane LaddShedrack Anderson IIIA teenage girl tries to raise her three half-brothers and one half-sister on her own after their drug-addicted mother is sent to jail.
- DirectorMichael Caton-JonesStarsRobert De NiroLeonardo DiCaprioEllen BarkinThe story about the relationship between a rebellious 1950s teenager and his abusive stepfather, based on the memoirs of writer and literature Professor Tobias Wolff.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsChristian BaleSteve ZahnJeremy DaviesA U.S. fighter pilot's epic struggle of survival after being shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam War.
- DirectorChuck BowmanStarsChris NothLoryn LocklinMegan GallagherA man kidnaps his little girl to protect her from an abusive mother, then becomes the first man to enter a woman's underground movement.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsEric BogosianEllen GreeneLeslie HopeA rude, contemptuous talk show host becomes overwhelmed by the hatred that surrounds his program just before it goes national.
- DirectorJim SheridanStarsDaniel Day-LewisBrenda FrickerAlison WhelanChristy Brown, born with cerebral palsy, learns to paint and write with his only controllable limb - his left foot.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsJulia RobertsAlbert FinneyDavid BrisbinAn unemployed single mother becomes a legal assistant and almost single-handedly brings down a California power company accused of polluting a city's water supply.
- DirectorJohn Lee HancockStarsQuinton AaronSandra BullockTim McGrawThe 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.
- DirectorJim SheridanStarsDaniel Day-LewisPete PostlethwaiteAlison CrosbieAn Irish man's coerced confession to an I.R.A. bombing he did not commit results in the imprisonment of his father as well. Meanwhile, a British lawyer fights to clear their names and free them.
- DirectorGeorge ClooneyStarsSam RockwellDrew BarrymoreGeorge ClooneyAn adaptation of the cult memoir of game show impresario Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell), in which he purports to have been a C.I.A. hitman.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsLeonardo DiCaprioTom HanksChristopher WalkenBarely 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.
- DirectorMarc ForsterStarsJohnny DeppKate WinsletJulie ChristieThe story of Sir J.M. Barrie's friendship with a family who inspired him to create Peter Pan.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioCate BlanchettKate BeckinsaleA biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career from the late 1920s to the mid 1940s.
- DirectorNick CassavetesStarsEmile HirschJustin TimberlakeAnton YelchinJohnny and his pals kidnap Jake's 15-year-old brother Zach, then assign his buddy Frankie to be Zach's minder. They develop a brotherly friendship. Zach parties with his captors as things begin to spin out of control.
- DirectorJohn Lee HancockStarsEmma ThompsonTom HanksAnnie Rose BuckleyAuthor P.L. Travers reflects on her childhood after reluctantly meeting with Walt Disney, who seeks to adapt her Mary Poppins books for the big screen.
- DirectorHarry WinerStarsPeter StraussJudith LightJames GammonThis movie shows another side to spousal abuse that not too many people thought is possible--the husband being abused and the wife the abuser.
- DirectorIain SoftleyStarsStephen DorffSheryl LeeIan HartA dramatization of the Hamburg, Germany phase of The Beatles' early history.
- DirectorJag MundhraStarsAishwarya Rai BachchanMichael WatsonMiranda RichardsonBased on the true story of Kiranjit Ahluwalia, a Punjabi woman, who was abused by her husband for 10 years. After killing her husband in self-defense, Ahluwalia is imprisoned as those close to her fight to set her free.
- StarsTom CavanaghCurrie GrahamAmy DavidsonA pair of girls seeking adventure beyond their western Washington trailer park encounter the area's most ruthless serial killer. The series is based on Sheriff David Reichert's book, "Chasing the Devil: My Twenty-Year Quest to Capture the Green River Killer".
- DirectorJohn KortyStarsRicky SchroderDavid AndrewsVeronica CartwrightThe touching true story of 15-year-old Terry who promised his dying mother to look after his six younger brothers and keep them together as a family--a man's job on a boy's shoulders. He had to face many misfortunes and "parenthood" had such hard and unpleasant surprises for him, he was almost tempted to disappoint his mother..
- DirectorPeter LevinStarsMichele LeeRicky SchroderCorin NemecA talented boy whose hoodlum older brother constantly bullies and harasses him takes desperate measures to end his suffering. Soon the boys' mother must come to terms with the way she enabled the bad behavior.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsStephen DorffArmin Mueller-StahlMorgan FreemanAn English boy, living in Africa during World War II, through his boxing prowess, becomes a symbol of hope, in a time of war.
- DirectorJohn GrayStarsCheryl PollakDale MidkiffKirk BaltzAn aspiring model moves to New York City and meets a man during a photo shoot who helps her get an apartment in one of the buildings he manages. He then keeps hitting on her but she keeps rejecting him. Out of spite, he sends two men to assault her. She is left disfigured and is further traumatised when she has to fight justice for herself at the trial.
- DirectorJohn Kent HarrisonStarsJeff HephnerFrank LangellaJulianne NicholsonPat Conroy, an ambitious, slightly rebellious, idealistic teacher, accepts Beaumont County South Carolina's school board superintendent's offer to teach the all-black kids of the pauper fishery community on Yamacraw Island. Staffless 'head' mistress Brown incarnates stupidity and blind rule obedience, her didactic skills consisting in scolding and spanking her students. Pat moves heaven and earth to motivate and educate, but after finally getting through to pupils and parents, is refused contract renewal by the arch-conservative authorities.
- DirectorSondra LockeStarsRichard ThomasShawn ElliottTess HarperOne night, Nancy Lyon awakes in pain and dies shortly after--poisoned with arsenic. Her family immediately suspects her husband Richard, who left her temporarily the year before because of an affair. Nancy's brother is especially keen on getting her children away from the suspected murderer. All evidence points against Richard, but in court Richard surprisingly presents proof that his wife had depression, so perhaps she killed herself. Or is this "proof" just fake? Depicts an authentic case.
- DirectorLinda OttoStarsBill SmitrovichKathleen YorkRobert JoyGregory Kingsley is placed in a boys' ranch after his mother can't take care of him and his two brothers; there he meets a lawyer who wants to adopt him.
- DirectorSandy SmolanStarsRichard CrennaRhea PerlmanLinda KelseyGregory Kingsley, a boy passed off onto social services by his natural mother and abused by his natural father, finds the foster family he is put into to be the type of family he needs and takes his natural mother to court to have her parental rights revoked so that he can be adopted by the Russes. The story is based on the real case of the boy who really did have to take this action to avoid being sent back into an unacceptable situation.
- StarsClancy BrownSheryl LeeMoira KellyWhen a young housewife is murdered, the cops find her troubled daughter guilty after she confesses to the crime - but was she really the killer?
- DirectorJoyce ChopraStarsVeronica HamelNancy McKeonMichael MadsenA woman is delighted to have given birth to a baby girl. Her life is turned into a nightmare, however, when her daughter goes missing. The police mount a frantic search, but, to the woman's horror, she finds out that the police suspect her of the crime.
- DirectorArlene SanfordStarsMelissa GilbertShanna ReedTom VericaMarried couples unable to conceive are thrilled to find they are going to become parents, thanks to a larger-than-life "miracle doctor" and his unusual treatments. However, joy soon turns to outrage with the discovery that the physician has taken bizarre and inconceivably unethical means to deceive his patients. In some case, the doctor deliberately misled couples into falsely believing they might have a chance to become pregnant when they could not. In others, the twisted physician actually served as a "secret donor," fathering countless children himself. Outraged by these shocking discoveries, one couple leads a seemingly impossible fight to keep hopeful families from being victimized again.
- DirectorJerry LondonStarsDelta BurkeSwoosie KurtzShirley KnightTwo feuding adult sisters from a dysfunctional family decide to finally uncover the truth about a childhood trauma, the sudden death of their third sibling, from back in the 1950's.
- DirectorJames MangoldStarsJoaquin PhoenixReese WitherspoonGinnifer GoodwinA chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins.
- DirectorDouglas MackinnonStarsJonny Lee MillerLaura FraserBrian CoxThe true story of Graeme Obree, the Champion cyclist who built his bicycle from old bits of washing machines who won his championship only to have his title stripped from him and his mental health problems which he has suffered since.
- DirectorAgnieszka HollandStarsMercedes RuehlJD PardoLupe OntiverosThe true story of Gwen Araujo, a young trans woman who was brutally murdered by four men in 2002.
- DirectorRanda HainesStarsMatthew PerryJudith BuchanGriffin CorkA small-town teacher relocates to one of the country's toughest classrooms.
- DirectorCatherine HardwickeStarsHeath LedgerEmile HirschVictor RasukThe film follows the surf and skateboarding trends that originated in Venice, California during the 1970s.
- DirectorRob EpsteinJeffrey FriedmanStarsAmanda SeyfriedPeter SarsgaardSharon StoneThe story of Linda Lovelace, who is used and abused by the porn industry at the behest of her coercive husband before taking control of her life.
- DirectorPatty JenkinsStarsCharlize TheronChristina RicciBruce DernBased on the life of Aileen Wuornos, a Daytona Beach prostitute who became a serial killer.
- DirectorDavid JacobsonStarsJeremy RennerBruce DavisonArtel GreatBiopic about notorious American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, taking place in both the past and the present.
- DirectorBennett MillerStarsPhilip Seymour HoffmanClifton Collins Jr.Catherine KeenerIn 1959, Truman Capote learns of the murder of a Kansas family and decides to write a book about the case. While researching for his novel In Cold Blood, Capote forms a relationship with one of the killers, Perry Smith, who is on death row.
- DirectorDouglas McGrathStarsToby JonesDaniel CraigSandra BullockWhile researching his novel "In Cold Blood", Truman Capote develops a close relationship with convicted murderers Dick Hickock and Perry Smith.
- StarsJoanne WoodwardSally FieldBrad DavisA young woman whose childhood was so harrowing to her that she developed sixteen different personalities is treated by a doctor.
- DirectorKimberly PeirceStarsHilary SwankChloë SevignyPeter SarsgaardA young man named Brandon Teena navigates love, life, and being transgender in rural Nebraska.
- DirectorRichard LaGraveneseStarsHilary SwankImelda StauntonPatrick DempseyA young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves and pursue education beyond high school.
- DirectorJulie TaymorStarsSalma HayekAlfred MolinaGeoffrey RushA biography of artist Frida Kahlo, who channeled the pain of a crippling injury and her tempestuous marriage into her work.
- DirectorTaylor HackfordStarsJamie FoxxRegina KingKerry WashingtonThe story of the life and career of the legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles, from his humble beginnings in the South, where he went blind at age seven, to his meteoric rise to stardom during the 1950s and 1960s.
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsJudi DenchSteve CooganSophie Kennedy ClarkA world-weary political journalist picks up the story of a woman's search for her son, who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent.
- DirectorMick JacksonStarsClaire DanesJulia OrmondDavid StrathairnA biopic of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who has become one of the top scientists in the humane livestock handling industry.
- DirectorScott KalvertStarsLeonardo DiCaprioLorraine BraccoMarilyn SokolA teenager finds his dreams of becoming a basketball star threatened after he free falls into the harrowing world of drug addiction.
- DirectorDavid CarsonStarsPhilip McQuillanDaniel McGowanMark Rice-OxleyA film about the early life of the rock musician and his burgeoning career as a member of the Beatles.
- DirectorMichael FeiferStarsCorin NemecKane HodderJen NikolaisenBased on the true story of one of history's most demented serial killers.
- DirectorMichael FeiferStarsCorin NemecAmy LyndonColey FeiferA film based on the notorious mass killer Richard Speck, who systematically tortured, raped and murdered a group of student nurses from South Chicago Community Hospital in 1966.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsMartin SheenSissy SpacekWarren OatesAn impressionable teenage girl from a dead-end town, and her older greaser boyfriend, embark on a killing spree in the South Dakota Badlands.
- DirectorArthur PennStarsWarren BeattyFaye DunawayMichael J. PollardBored waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow and together they start a violent crime spree through the country, stealing cars and robbing banks.
- DirectorNeil ArmfieldStarsRyan CorrSarah SnookFrancesco FerdinandiThe warm, funny and achingly sad story of the 15-year-long love affair between Timothy Conigrave and the boy he fell in love with at high school, John Caleo.
- DirectorJames KentStarsMaxine PeakeAnna MadeleySusan LynchA look at the life of 19th-century Yorkshire landowner Anne Lister (1791-1840), who lived openly as a lesbian and kept diaries chronicling the details of her daily life.
- DirectorBrian GilbertStarsStephen FryJude LawVanessa RedgraveThe turmoil in poet/playwright Oscar Wilde's life after he discovers his homosexuality.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsSandra BullockChris O'DonnellMackenzie AstinA bitter love story between a talented writer and a gentle nurse.
- DirectorDon McBreartyStarsAlly SheedyMark RendallJohn BourgeoisThe lives of Escondido, California residents Cheryl and Stephen Crowe change one morning when they find their twelve year old daughter Stephanie Crowe stabbed to death in her bedroom. As procedure dictates, the police take each member of the household away individually to be questioned, and the remaining children - fourteen year old Michael Crowe and adolescent Shannon Crowe - are taken into protective custody until Cheryl and Stephen can be cleared. The police end up placing much of their focus on the sullen Michael, who they question without counsel and without discussion with his parents. The tone of the police questioning is that they believe Michael did kill his sister, the police lying, harassing and coercing in the process. Under the barrage of questioning, Michael eventually confesses, as do two of his friends, both questioned under the same threatening tone. Cheryl and Stephen, who are finally made aware of the questioning and the confessions, enlist the help of sympathetic attorney, Dorothy Sorenson, to clear Michael and his friends while trying to find the real killer, who they believe is a transient named Richard Tuite.
- DirectorFrank PiersonStarsTroy GarityLee PaceAndre BraugherThe true story of the price a young soldier paid for falling in love with a transsexual night-club performer.
- DirectorArliss HowardStarsDebra WingerAlex VanSam HowardThe true story of a single mom who overcomes many of life's obstacles.
- DirectorBill EaglesStarsBruce GreenwoodSam JaegerSarah ManninenA series of interviews are conducted with convicted serial killer Ted Bundy in hopes of gaining insight into the Green River Killer who is terrorizing Seattle.
- StarsBrian DennehyMichael RileyMargot Kidder"To Catch a Killer" tells the true gruesome story of John Wayne Gacy - a good friend and helpful neighbour, a great child entertainer, a respectful businessman, and a violent serial killer who raped and murdered over 30 young boys.
- DirectorMichael TuchnerStarsMarsha MasonKiefer SutherlandJohn MahoneyA pschologist tries hard to get through to kid who can talk - but won't.
- DirectorJay SilvermanStarsTaylor SpreitlerPeter CoyoteGil BellowsA troubled teenager falls victim to an online predator. Unable to cope with the trauma, Hannah Green becomes self destructive, and her parents make the heartbreaking decision to send her away to an alternative healing center in the wilderness.