Based on true events movies and TV shows

The list contains the best, new and most relevant based on true events movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out realistic, suspense, suspenseful, inspirational, thought provoking and serious films and TV shows about / with biopic, husband wife relationship, real life, storytelling, death, historical event, violence, blood, catastrophe and runaway plots mostly in Drama, Biography and Thriller genres shot in USA, UK, France and other countries.
based on true events movies
2373
TOP 10 movies tagged as based on true events: Only the Brave (2017), Chernobyl (2019), Hacksaw Ridge (2016), The Founder (2016), The Blind Side (2009), Schindler's List (1993), Open Water (2003), Breathe (2017), The Act (2019), Everest (2015).

List of based on true events movies

Type:
 7.6
 90K
Only the Brave (2017)
Genre: Action, Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 134 min.
Story: Members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots battle deadly wildfires to save an Arizona town.
Style: exciting, emotional, tense, dramatic, suspense ...
Audience: boys' night, teens
Plot: natural disaster, forest fire, firefighter, heroism, tragedy, rescue, danger, friends, mentor, firefighting, fire department, male camaraderie ...
Time: year 2007, year 2017, 2010s, 2000s, year 2013 ...
Place: arizona, usa
Is relevant?
 9.3
 1.0M
Chernobyl (2019)
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story: A dramatization of the true story of one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history, the catastrophic nuclear accident at Chernobyl. A tale of the brave men and women who sacrificed to save Europe from unimaginable disaster.
Style: dark, atmospheric, harsh, realistic, thought provoking ...
Audience: chick flick, boys' night
Plot: radiation, nuclear power plant, nuclear holocaust, nuclear reactor, disaster, radiation poisoning, save the day, nuclear explosion, salvation, abandoned city, evacuation, nuclear threat ...
Time: year 1986, 2010s, 80s, 20th century
Place: chernobyl, ussr, soviet union, ukraine, europe ...
Is relevant?
 8.1
 671K
Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 139 min.
Story: WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first Conscientious Objector in American history to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Style: inspirational, touching, sentimental, christian film, harsh ...
Audience: manly, girls' night
Plot: world war two, war, soldier, conscientious objector, survival, us military, combat, american soldier, religion, bible, military, pacifist ...
Time: 1940s, year 2016, 20th century, middle ages, year 1945 ...
Place: okinawa japan, japan, tennessee, usa
Is relevant?
 7.2
 202K
The Founder (2016)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min.
Story: The true story of how Ray Kroc, a salesman from Illinois, met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers’ speedy system of making the food and saw franchise ...
Style: inspirational, motivational, realistic, cerebral, uplifting ...
Audience: family friendly, teens
Plot: business, businessman, fast food, capitalism, rags to riches, entrepreneurship, entrepreneur, salesman, money, marketing, greed, food ...
Time: 50s, 1950s, 2010s, year 2016, year 1954 ...
Place: usa, america, california, arizona, illinois ...
Is relevant?
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13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016)
Genre: Action, Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: Malta, USA
Duration: 144 min.
Story: An American Ambassador is killed during an attack at a U.S. compound in Libya as a security team struggles to make sense out of the chaos.
Style: intense, tense, suspenseful, realistic, factual ...
Audience: manly
Plot: war, terrorism, cia, courage, mercenary, rescue mission, combat, soldier, commando, embassy, navy seal, cia agent ...
Time: year 2012, year 2016, year 2011, 2010s, 21st century
Place: libya, middle east, africa, pentagon, langley virginia ...
Is relevant?
 7.6
 384K
The Blind Side (2009)
Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min.
Story: Oversized African-American, Michael Oher, the teen from across the tracks and a broken home, has nowhere to sleep at age 16. Taken in by an affluent Memphis couple, Michael embarks on a remarkable rise to play for the NFL.
Style: touching, inspirational, sentimental, emotional, motivational ...
Audience: chick flick, family outing, teens, kids, family friendly ...
Plot: american football, adoption, life, african american, football, christian, interracial relations, human spirit, family drama, rising to stardom, interracial adoption, strong female character ...
Time: year 2009, 20th century, 2000s, 21st century
Place: usa, boston, tennessee, america, mississippi ...
Is relevant?
Schindler's List (1993)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 195 min.
Story: The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.
Style: touching, emotional, heartbreaking, realistic, thought provoking ...
Audience: date night, chick flick, adult
Plot: holocaust, world war two, genocide, nazi, wartime, war, concentration camp, storytelling, holocaust survivor, anti semitism, nazism, against humanity ...
Time: 1940s, 20th century, 90s, ancient times, year 1943 ...
Place: poland, germany, iran, persia, europe ...
Is relevant?
 5.8
 59K
Open Water (2003)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 79 min.
Story: Two divers are left out at sea without a boat. There’s nothing but water for miles, unless they look at what’s underneath them...
Style: scary, suspense, sexy, clever, psychological ...
Plot: survival, shark, shark attack, stranded, diving, ocean, panic, isolation, lost at sea, shipwreck, animal attack, fish ...
Time: year 2003, 2000s, 21st century
Place: caribbean, australia
Is relevant?
 7.2
 26K
Breathe (2017)
Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, Switzerland
Duration: 118 min.
Story: Based on the true story of Robin, a handsome, brilliant and adventurous man whose life takes a dramatic turn when polio leaves him paralyzed.
Style: sad, touching, inspirational, compassionate, factual ...
Audience: toddlers
Plot: disability, illness, supportive spouse, paralysis, marriage, husband wife relationship, love, hospital, quadriplegic, biopic, adaptation, human spirit ...
Time: year 2017, 50s, year 1971, year 1981, year 1965 ...
Place: africa, england, germany, spain, kenya
Is relevant?
 7.8
 42K
The Act (2019)
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story: Dee Dee Blanchard is overprotective of her daughter, Gypsy, who is trying to escape the toxic relationship she has with her mother. Gypsy's quest for independence opens up a Pandora's box of secrets, which ultimately leads to murder. The ...
Style: disturbing, suspense, rough, anime, psychological ...
Plot: overprotective parent, true crime, treatment, murder of mother, fake illness, manipulation, mother daughter relationship, deception, pretense, teenage life, murder investigation, female warrior ...
Time: 2010s, 2000s, year 2015, 21st century
Place: usa, syria
Is relevant?
 7.1
 246K
Everest (2015)
Genre: Adventure, Biography, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, Iceland, USA, Italy
Duration: 121 min.
Story: Inspired by the incredible events surrounding a treacherous attempt to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain, "Everest" documents the awe-inspiring journey of two different expeditions challenged beyond their limits by one ...
Style: realistic, scenic, dramatic, breathtaking, suspenseful ...
Audience: family friendly
Plot: survival, mountain climbing, mountain, mountaineer, natural disaster, disaster, snow, stranded, forces of nature, frostbite, tragedy, wilderness ...
Time: year 1996, year 2015, 2010s, 90s, 20th century
Place: mount everest, himalaya, nepal, asia, texas
Is relevant?
 7.5
 422K
127 Hours (2010)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, USA, France
Duration: 94 min.
Story: The true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah.
Style: suspense, unusual plot structure, inspirational, intense, breathtaking ...
Audience: adult
Plot: survival, isolation, trapped, mountain, wilderness, canyon, courage, alone, desert, trap, loneliness, life & death ...
Time: year 2010, 2010s, 20th century, 2000s, year 2003 ...
Place: utah, usa
Is relevant?
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 7.6
 121K
The Wave (2008)
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Germany, France
Duration: 107 min.
Story: A school teacher discusses types of government with his class. His students find it too boring to repeatedly go over national socialism and believe that dictatorship cannot be established in modern Germany. He starts an experiment to show how easily ...
Style: philosophical, political, disturbing, suspense, educational ...
Audience: teens, pre-teens, teen drama
Plot: fascism, nazism, suicide, dictator, experiment, bullying, teacher, teachers and students, high school, fanaticism, dictatorship, against humanity ...
Time: year 2008, 20th century, year 2011
Place: germany, middle east, israel, europe, berlin germany ...
Is relevant?
 7.1
 3K
Children... (2011)
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Country: South Korea
Duration: 132 min.
Story: The film is based on a true yet unsolved murder case from the early 1990s that is known among Koreans as the "disappearance of the frog children." In 1991, five elementary school students told their parents that they were going to hang out ...
Style: suspense, emotional, suspenseful, serious, tense ...
Plot: missing child, riddles and clues, amateur detective, investigation, murder, partner, small town, serial killer, serial murder, murder mystery, kids in trouble, mysterious disappearance ...
Time: 20th century, 90s, 21st century
Place: south korea, korea
Is relevant?
 6.2
 27K
6 Days (2017)
Genre: Action, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: New Zealand, UK
Duration: 94 min.
Story: In April 1980, armed gunmen stormed the Iranian Embassy in Princes Gate, London and took all inside hostage. Over the next six days a tense standoff took place, all the while a group of highly trained soldiers from the SAS prepared for a raid the ...
Style: suspenseful, realistic, serious, factual, tension ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: terrorist, terrorism, military, politics, commando mission, rescue, danger, siege, violence, hostage, hostage situation, hostage rescue ...
Time: 80s, year 1980
Place: england, iran, london
Is relevant?
 7.2
 48K
Conviction (2010)
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: Switzerland, UK, USA
Duration: 107 min.
Story: When Betty Anne Waters' older brother Kenny is arrested for murder and sentenced to life in 1983, Betty Anne, a Massachusetts wife and mother of two, dedicates her life to overturning the murder conviction. Convinced that her brother is ...
Style: sincere, emotional, inspirational, touching, sad ...
Audience: family friendly, adult
Plot: legal, lawyer, courtroom drama, fighting the system, trial, prison, injustice, false accusation, hopes, court, strong female character, freedom ...
Time: year 1995, year 2001, year 1989, year 1992, 90s ...
Place: massachusetts, rhode island, usa, boston
Is relevant?
 8.1
 390K
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: USA, UK, South Africa, Italy
Duration: 121 min.
Story: Inspired by true events, this film takes place in Rwanda in the 1990s when more than a million Tutsis were killed in a genocide that went mostly unnoticed by the rest of the world. Hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina houses over a thousand refuges in his ...
Style: emotional, intense, sincere, rough, political ...
Audience: chick flick
Plot: genocide, racism, hotel, against humanity, war, violence, politics, cruelty, civil war, war crime, refugee, un ...
Time: 20th century, year 2004, 90s, 2000s
Place: rwanda, africa, south africa, congo, somalia ...
Is relevant?
 7.3
 66K
Woman in Gold (2015)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, USA, Austria
Duration: 109 min.
Story: Maria Altmann, an octogenarian Jewish refugee, takes on the Austrian government to recover a world famous painting of her aunt plundered by the Nazis during World War II, she believes rightfully belongs to her family. She did so not just to regain ...
Style: captivating, realistic, touching, cute, dramatic ...
Plot: holocaust, art, lawyer, nazi, courtroom drama, justice, art theft, painting, injustice, legal, legal action, stolen painting ...
Time: year 2015, 1930s, 1900s, 20th century, 90s
Place: austria, vienna, los angeles, pasadena california, california ...
Is relevant?
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 7.2
 171K
The Post (2017)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: USA, India
Duration: 116 min.
Story: A cover-up that spanned four U.S. Presidents pushed the country's first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor to join an unprecedented battle between journalist and government. Inspired by true events.
Style: political thriller, inspirational, period piece, political, factual ...
Audience: family friendly, adult
Plot: journalism, truth, expose, whistleblower, newspaper office, newspaper, journalist, cover up, lie, wartime, freedom of the press, u.s. government ...
Time: year 2017, year 1965, 90s, 70s, year 1972 ...
Place: washington d.c., usa, vietnam
Is relevant?
The Hillside Strangler (2004)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story: Kenneth Bianchi is a security guard whose attempts to become a police officer are repeatedly thwarted. He moves to California to live with his cousin Angelo and dates a string of women, becoming increasingly preoccupied with sex. Eventually the ...
Style: realistic, serious, disturbing, rough, sexual ...
Plot: serial killer, strangulation, strangler, prostitute, rape, murder of a nude woman, killer, psychopath, sex, voyeurism, murder, murderous pair ...
Time: 70s
Place: oregon, usa, california, los angeles
Is relevant?
Escape at Dannemora (2018)
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story: The stranger-than-fiction account of a prison break in upstate New York in the summer of 2015, which spawned a massive manhunt for two convicted murderers who were aided in their escape by a married female prison employee with whom they both became ...
Style: melancholic, captivating, atmospheric, non fiction, historical drama ...
Plot: prison escape, prison, prison life, true crime, love triangle, prisoner, deception, twists and turns, love affair, sex scene, jail, prison break ...
Time: 2010s
Is relevant?
The Golden Glove (2019)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: Germany, France
Duration: 115 min.
Story: A serial killer strikes fear in the hearts of residents of Hamburg during the early 1970s.
Style: disturbing, erotic, controversial, bleak, perverse ...
Plot: serial killer, murder, murder of a prostitute, loner, mentally unstable, macabre, brutality, sadism, loser, sex crime, serial murder, misfit ...
Time: 70s, year 2019, year 1974, 20th century, year 1970
Place: hamburg germany, northern germany, germany, west germany, europe ...
Is relevant?
 8.1
 554K
Rush (2013)
Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 123 min.
Story: A biographical drama centered on the rivalry between Formula 1 drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the 1976 Formula One motor-racing season.
Style: inspirational, realistic, exciting, clever, visually stunning ...
Audience: boys' night, adult
Plot: racing, race car, car race, racecar driver, formula 1, success, rise to the top, motor sport, car racing, race, world champion, rivalry ...
Time: 70s, year 2013, 2010s, year 1970, year 1976 ...
Place: europe, britain, vienna, japan, mount fuji ...
Is relevant?
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The Best of Enemies (2019)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 133 min.
Story: The story of the real-life unlikely relationship between an outspoken civil rights activist and a local Ku Klux Klan leader in 1971 North Carolina.
Style: sincere, thought provoking, period piece, disturbing, rough ...
Audience: date night, adult
Plot: civil rights, interracial friendship, human spirit, segregation, african american, reverend, activism, human rights, ku klux klan, racism, black, name calling ...
Time: year 1971, 70s, year 2016, year 2005
Place: north carolina, usa
Is relevant?
 5.9
 23K
The Vanishing (2018)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 107 min.
Story: Three lighthouse keepers on an uninhabited island off the coast of Scotland discover something that isn't theirs to keep.
Style: suspenseful, suspense, enigmatic, captivating, bloody ...
Audience: adult
Plot: lighthouse, remote island, lighthouse keeper, disappearance, treasure chest, mental disorder, disorder, danger, investigation, loneliness, gold bar, gold ...
Time: 1900s, 19th century, year 1900, 20th century, 90s
Place: scotland
Is relevant?
 8.7
 1.4M
Goodfellas (1990)
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 145 min.
Story: The true story of Henry Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian Brooklyn kid who is adopted by neighbourhood gangsters at an early age and climbs the ranks of a Mafia family under the guidance of Jimmy Conway.
Style: rough, homoerotic, realistic, epic, inspirational ...
Audience: boys' night, adult
Plot: organized crime, mafia, gangster, rise and fall, violence, mentor, mobster, drug traffic, cosa nostra, italian mafia, murder, psychopath ...
Time: 50s, 70s, 90s, year 1990, year 1980 ...
Place: brooklyn new york city, new york, florida, italy, usa ...
Is relevant?
 6.8
 23K
Truth (2015)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: Australia, USA
Duration: 125 min.
Story: As a renowned producer and close associate of Dan Rather, Mary Mapes believes she’s broken the biggest story of the 2004 election: revelations of a sitting U.S. President’s military service. But when allegations come pouring in, sources change ...
Style: suspense, factual, tense, suspenseful, intense ...
Plot: journalism, politics, political scandal, election, justice, american politics, fired from the job, betrayal, conspiracy theory, tv reporter, presidential election, journalist ...
Time: 90s, 2000s, 21st century
Place: texas, new york
Is relevant?
 6.6
 26K
Brain on Fire (2016)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: USA, Canada, Ireland
Duration: 88 min.
Story: Susannah Cahalan, an up-and-coming journalist at the New York Post becomes plagued by voices in her head and seizures, causing a rapid descent into insanity.
Style: medical drama, thought provoking, neurotic, realistic, suspenseful ...
Plot: strong female lead, hospital, diagnosis, psychiatry, fighting illness, human brain, journalist, visual hallucination, doctor, female protagonist, newspaper reporter, catatonia ...
Time: 21st century
Place: america, new york
Is relevant?
 6.5
 100K
12 Strong (2018)
Genre: Action, Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min.
Story: A team of CIA agents and special forces head into Afghanistan in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks in an attempt to dismantle the Taliban.
Style: touching, anamorphic, historical drama, suspenseful, exciting ...
Audience: adult
Plot: soldier, taliban, war on terror, behind enemy lines, heroism, military, cia, us military, war in afghanistan, special forces, machismo, commando mission ...
Time: september 11 2001, 2000s, year 2001, 21st century
Place: afghanistan, middle east, usa
Is relevant?
Against the Sun (2014)
Genre: Biography, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story: A WWII pilot, bombardier, and radioman find themselves adrift on a lifeboat without food or water after being forced to ditch their plane during a scouting mission.
Style: tense, captivating, realistic, serious, psychological ...
Plot: survival, world war two, military, human spirit, danger, ocean, soldier, disaster, human nature, getting home, isolation, wilderness ...
Time: 1940s, year 1942, 20th century
Place: pacific ocean
Is relevant?
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