Best films based on true stories

Real people, real events, told as drama. These films are based on true stories or real lives, though all of them take some liberties along the way. Every pick has a TMDB rating of 7.0 or more from at least 1,000 votes, and new releases wait until their ratings settle. The order follows the Boxlist quality score, and we checked the list by hand to remove obvious misfits.

1
Schindler's List (1993)
Film8.6
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...
US Amazon Prime (rent), Google Play (rent), UK Netflix, NowTV
2
GoodFellas (1990)
Film8.5
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...
US AMC, Amazon Prime (rent), UK NowTV, Amazon Prime (rent)
3
Oppenheimer (2023)
Film8.1
The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.
US Amazon Prime (rent), iTunes (rent), UK Netflix, NowTV
4
12 Years a Slave (2013)
Film7.9
In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.
US Amazon Prime (rent), Google Play (rent), UK Amazon Prime (rent), Bfi Player (rent)
5
Ford v Ferrari (2019)
Film8.0
American car designer Carroll Shelby and the British-born driver Ken Miles work together to battle corporate interference, the laws of physics...
US FX, Hulu, UK Disney, Amazon Prime (rent)
6
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Film7.5
When oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one by one, until the FBI steps in to unravel the...
US Apple TV+, Amazon Prime (rent), UK Apple TV+, Amazon Prime (buy)
7
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Film7.9
A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr. who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot...
US MGM+, Amazon Prime (rent), UK ITV, NowTV
8
The Zone of Interest (2023)
Film7.1
The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.
US Cinemax, HBO, UK Amazon Prime, iTunes (rent)
9
Hidden Figures (2016)
Film8.1
The untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson – brilliant African-American women working at NASA and serving as the...
US Amazon Prime, Disney, UK Disney, Amazon Prime (rent)
10
Raging Bull (1980)
Film8.0
The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
US Amazon Prime, IMDB TV, UK Amazon Prime, Chili (rent)
11
The Death of Stalin (2017)
Film7.0
Proclaimed the funniest political comedy of the year (The Daily Beast), The Death of Stalin delivers a brutally executed parody of Cold War Russia.
US AMC, Hulu, UK Amazon Prime, Bfi Player (rent)
12
The Pianist (2002)
Film8.4
The true story of pianist Władysław Szpilman's experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation.
US Amazon Prime, IMDB TV, UK Amazon Prime (rent), iTunes (rent)
13
The Straight Story (1999)
Film7.7
A retired farmer and widower in his 70s, Alvin Straight learns one day that his distant brother Lyle has suffered a stroke and may not recover.
US Disney, Amazon Prime (rent), UK Amazon Prime (rent)
14
Argo (2012)
Film7.3
As the Iranian revolution reaches a boiling point, a CIA 'exfiltration' specialist concocts a risky plan to free six Americans who have found...
US Amazon Prime (rent), Google Play (rent), UK Amazon Prime, Chili (rent)
15
The Big Short (2015)
Film7.3
The men who made millions from a global economic meltdown.
US Amazon Prime (rent), iTunes (rent), UK Amazon Prime, Disney
16
The Imitation Game (2014)
Film8.0
Based on the real life story of legendary cryptanalyst Alan Turing, the film portrays the nail-biting race against time by Turing and his...
US Cinemax, Amazon Prime (rent), UK Amazon Prime, BBC
17
BlacKkKlansman (2018)
Film7.6
Colorado Springs, late 1970s. Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer, and Flip Zimmerman, his Jewish colleague, run an undercover...
US Amazon Prime (rent), Google Play (rent), UK Amazon Prime, Chili (rent)
18
Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
Film8.2
WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first Conscientious...
US Amazon Prime (rent), iTunes (buy), UK ITV, Netflix
19
Into the Wild (2007)
Film7.8
After graduating from Emory University in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000...
US MGM+, Amazon Prime (rent), UK Amazon Prime (rent), Chili (rent)
20
The Aviator (2004)
Film7.2
A biopic depicting the life of filmmaker and aviation pioneer Howard Hughes from 1927 to 1947, during which time he became a successful film...
US Kanopy, Paramount+, UK Amazon Prime (rent), Chili (rent)