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'
Geronimo (1962)
5.9/10
Director: Arnold Laven
Starring: Chuck Connors, Pat Conway, Adam West, Armando Silvestre, Kamala Devi, Ross Marti...
'Geronimo' highlights an early '60s turning point in Hollywood's depiction of Native Americans - the great chief is drawn with sympathy - but no more... Read more
Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
7.8/10
Director: John Frankenheimer
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Karl Malden, Thelma Ritter, Neville Brand
Burt Lancaster beautifully assumes the real-life role of Robert Stroud, a world-hating convict sentenced to life in prison who becomes an authority on... Read more
The Longest Day (1962)
7.8/10
Director: Andrew Marton, Ken Annakin, Bernhard Wicki
Starring: Curt Jurgens, Eddie Albert, Gert Frobe, Henry Fonda, Jeffrey Hunter, John Wayne,...
Acclaimed as one of Hollywood's greatest epics, producer Darryl F. Zanuck's brilliant re-creation of the Allied landing at Normandy on June 6, 1944 fo... Read more
The Miracle Worker (1962)
8.1/10
Director: Arthur Penn
Starring: Anne Bancroft, Patty Duke, Victor Jory
Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke won Oscars for their roles in Arthur Penn's version of Annie Sullivan and her pupil, Helen Keller. The dramatic force of... Read more
Judgment at Nuremberg ( Blu-ray ) (1961)
8.2/10
Director: Stanley Kramer
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich, Maximilian Schell, Montgomery Cl...
In 1948 the trials of Germans for crimes against humanity where drawing to a close and this film examines one of the lesser trials, in which four judg... Read more
El Cid ( Blu-ray ) (1961)
7.3/10
Director: Anthony Mann
Starring: Charlton Heston, Gary Raymond, Genevieve Page, Herbert Lom, Hurd Hatfield, John...
Anthony Mann masterfully directs this classic tale of the 11th-century hero El Cid (Charlton Heston), who fought to unite Spain and drive out Moorish... Read more
El Cid (1961)
7.3/10
Director: Anthony Mann
Starring: Charlton Heston, Gary Raymond, Genevieve Page, Herbert Lom, Hurd Hatfield, John...
Anthony Mann masterfully directs this classic tale of the 11th-century hero El Cid (Charlton Heston), who fought to unite Spain and drive out Moorish... Read more
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
8.2/10
Director: Stanley Kramer
Starring: Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich
In 1948 the trials of Germans for crimes against humanity where drawing to a close and this film examines one of the lesser trials, in which four judg... Read more
Sink The Bismarck! (1960)
7.2/10
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Starring: Kenneth More, Dana Wynter, Carl Mohner
One of the finest war dramas ever made, showing the true story of how the British Navy planned and executed the destruction of the mighty German WWII... Read more
Destiny of a Man ( Fate of a Man ) (1959)
8.1/10
Director: Sergei Bondarchuk
Starring: Sergei Bondarchuk, Pavel Boriskin, Zinaida Kirienko, Pavel Volkov
The story of a man (Andrey Sokolov) whose life was ruthlessly crippled by World War II. Sergei Bondarchuk directs and acts in this screen adaptation o... Read more