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'
Serpico (1973)
7.8/10
Director: Sidney Lumet
Starring: Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, Biff McGuire
An exciting filmisation of the true-life accounts of a N.Y.C. Undercover cop whose non-conformity and exposure of department corruption isolate him fr... Read more
Dead Ringers (1988)
7.3/10
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Jeremy Irons, Genevieve Bujold, Heidi Von Palleske
David Cronenberg does it again in this psychological horror film starring Jeremy Irons as a pair of disturbed, identical twin gynaecologists. A techni... Read more
The Lion in Winter (1968)
8.1/10
Director: Anthony Harvey
Starring: Katharine Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins, Peter O'Toole, John Castle, Nigel Terry, Tim...
Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn tear strips off one another in this grand historical drama about 12th Century King Henry II choosing an heir to th... Read more
Patton (1970)
8/10
Director: Franklin J Schaffner
Starring: George C Scott, Karl Malden, Michael Strong
A critically acclaimed film and a true milestone in screen biographies, "Patton" is a riveting portrait of one of the 20th century's greatest military... Read more
The Butler (2013)
5.9/10
Director: Lee Daniels
Starring: Alan Rickman, Clarence Williams III, Cuba Gooding Jr, Forest Whitaker, Jane Fond...
"The Butler" tells the story of a White House butler who served seven American presidents over three decades. The film traces the dramatic changes tha... Read more
A Civil Action (1999)
6.5/10
Director: Steven Zaillian
Starring: John Travolta, Robert Duvall, James Gandolfini
Based on a true story and focusing on a high-priced personal injury attorney (John Travolta) who only takes big-money cases he can safely settle out o... Read more
The Emerald Forest (1985)
6.9/10
Director: John Boorman
Starring: Powers Boothe, Meg Foster, Charley Boorman
The Emerald Forest is based on a true story, as related by Los Angeles Times correspondent Leonard Greenwood. Powers Boothe stars as Bill Markham, a U... Read more
Lawrence After Arabia, A Dangerous Man: (1991)
Director: Christopher Menaul
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Denis Quilley, Paul Freeman
This informative look at T E Lawrence at the Paris Peace Conference, as he serves as the liaison to the Hashemite delegation in an effort to have the... Read more
Philadelphia (1993)
7.7/10
Director: Jonathan Demme
Starring: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen, Antonio Banderas
Tom Hanks in an Oscar-winning performance as a hotshot gay lawyer fired from his firm for having AIDS. Denzel Washington is the legal ace hired to def... Read more
The Great Raid (2005)
6.7/10
Director: John Dahl
Starring: Benjamin Bratt, James Franco, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Fiennes, Marton Csokas
Telling the story of one of the most successful rescue missions in US armed forces history, in which Army Rangers raided a Philippine POW camp freeing... Read more