True Stories
True Stories are those based (sometimes loosely!) on fact. They cover topics as diverse as drug addiction, poverty, political unrest, the corruption of power, alcoholism, class divisions, sexual inequality, mental illness and other human struggles. Meet some of history's most intriguing characters, find out what it's really like to climb a mountain or paint a masterpiece. Truly, the True Story is one of cinema's most engaging and enthralling genres.
Bio-pics feature in this section and are also gathered together separately under the 'Biography' sublink left.
Pictured: Inside the Las Vegas mob, Scorsese's unromantic 'Goodfellas'
Casino (1995)
8.2/10
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, Don Rickles, Alan King, Kevin Pollak, J...
A dazzling, richly layered record of a criminal dynasty during the transformation of Las Vegas from a sin-laden mecca to a family-oriented Disneyland,... Read more
Dead Man Walking (1995)
7.5/10
Director: Tim Robbins
Starring: Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Robert Prosky
Sister Helen Prejean's 1993 bestseller is the basis for this harrowing account of her life's work'; a spiritual advisor for condemned killers awaiting... Read more
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
8.3/10
Director: David Lean
Starring: Alec Guinness, Anthony Quayle, Anthony Quinn, Arthur Kennedy, Claude Rains, Jack...
Director David Lean follows the heroic, true-life odyssey of T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) in this dramatic portrait of the famed British Officer's jo... Read more
Monster (2003)
7.3/10
Director: Patty Jenkins
Starring: Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern, Lee Tergesen
Charlize Theron won the Best Actress Academy Award for her astonishing performance as Aileen Wuornos, the prostitute convicted of killing several men... Read more
Bomber Harris (1989)
7.2/10
Starring: John Thaw, Robert Hardy
John Thaw gives a compelling and insightful performance as the Commander-in-Chief of RAF Bomber Command, Sir Arthur Harris. One of the most controvers... Read more
The Pianist (2002)
8.5/10
Director: Roman Polanski
Starring: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Maureen Lipman
Internationally acclaimed filmmaker Roman Polanski directs this award-winning testament to the power of the human spirit, based on the true-life story... Read more
Helen Mirren Collection: Red King, White Knight / Cause Celebre (1987)
Director: Geoff Murphy
Starring: Helen Mirren, Tom Skerritt, Max von Sydow, Tom Bell, David Suchet, David Morriss...
'Red King, White Knight' (1989): Helen Mirren stars in a gripping political thriller about a plot to assassinate Mikhail Gorbachev at the beginning of... Read more
Joy (2015)
6.6/10
Director: David O Russell
Starring: Diane Ladd, Isabella Rossellini, Robert De Niro, Virginia Madsen, Edgar Ramirez,...
"Joy" is the wild story of a family across four generations centered on the girl who becomes the woman who founds a business dynasty and becomes a mat... Read more
Remember the Titans (2000)
7.8/10
Director: Boaz Yakin
Starring: Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Donald Faison, Ryan Hurst, Wood Harris
The racial tensions filling the halls of a newly integrated Alexandria, Virginia high school in 1971 spill over onto the football field, where new hea... Read more
BlacKkKlansman (2018)
7.8/10
Director: Spike Lee
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Robert John Burke, Topher Grace, Ashlie Atkinson, Adam Driver, Rya...
From Spike Lee comes the incredible true story of an American hero. Its the early 1970s, and Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) is the first Afri... Read more