Movies Based on a True Story
Kinora's catalogue lists 117 films based on a true story, spanning 1928–2023. Each is tagged by where and when it takes place — filter by real-world setting, era, and environment, or open any film for its full tagged world.
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- 2013
12 Years a Slave
Ruraldir. Steve McQueen - 2010
127 Hours
Wilderness · Desert · Undergrounddir. Danny Boyle - 1998
A Civil Action
Urban · Suburbandir. Steven Zaillian - 2012
A Royal Affair
Urbandir. Nikolaj Arcel - 1993
Alive
Mountain · Wildernessdir. Frank Marshall - 1976
All the President's Men
Urbandir. Alan J. Pakula - 2003
American Splendor
Urbandir. Robert Pulcini - 1997
Amistad
Coastal Sea · Urbandir. Steven Spielberg - 2002
Antwone Fisher
Urbandir. Denzel Washington - 1995
Apollo 13
Off Worlddir. Ron Howard - 2022
Argentina 1985
Urbandir. Santiago Mitre - 2012
Argo
Urbandir. Ben Affleck - 2023
BlackBerry
Urbandir. Matt Johnson - 2018
BlacKkKlansman
Urbandir. Spike Lee - 1999
Boys Don't Cry
Ruraldir. Kimberly Peirce - 1995
Braveheart
Ruraldir. Mel Gibson - 2015
Bridge of Spies
Urbandir. Steven Spielberg - 2005
Capote
Ruraldir. Bennett Miller - 2002
Catch Me If You Can
Urbandir. Steven Spielberg - 2008
Changeling
Urbandir. Clint Eastwood - 1981
Chariots of Fire
Urbandir. Hugh Hudson - 2000
Chopper
Urbandir. Andrew Dominik - 1990
Close-Up
Urbandir. Abbas Kiarostami - 1980
Coal Miner's Daughter
Ruraldir. Michael Apted - 2007
Control
Urbandir. Anton Corbijn - 2013
Dallas Buyers Club
Urbandir. Jean-Marc Vallée - 2016
Dangal
Ruraldir. Nitesh Tiwari - 2019
Dark Waters
Urban · Ruraldir. Todd Haynes - 1995
Dead Man Walking
dir. Tim Robbins - 2016
Deepwater Horizon
Coastal Seadir. Peter Berg - 1975
Dog Day Afternoon
Urbandir. Sidney Lumet - 1997
Donnie Brasco
Urbandir. Mike Newell - 2004
Downfall
Urban · Undergrounddir. Oliver Hirschbiegel - 1994
Ed Wood
Urbandir. Tim Burton - 2000
Erin Brockovich
Urban · Suburbandir. Steven Soderbergh - 1979
Escape from Alcatraz
Island · Coastal Seadir. Don Siegel - 2015
Everest
Mountain · Wildernessdir. Baltasar Kormákur - 2018
First Man
Suburban · Off Worlddir. Damien Chazelle - 2019
Ford v Ferrari
Urbandir. James Mangold - 2016
Free State of Jones
Ruraldir. Gary Ross - 2013
Fruitvale Station
Urbandir. Ryan Coogler - 1982
Gandhi
Urban · Ruraldir. Richard Attenborough - 1989
Glory
Coastal Sea · Ruraldir. Edward Zwick - 2005
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Urbandir. George Clooney - 1990
GoodFellas
Urbandir. Martin Scorsese - 2005
Grizzly Man
Wildernessdir. Werner Herzog - 2016
Hidden Figures
Urbandir. Theodore Melfi - 2019
Hotel Mumbai
Urbandir. Anthony Maras - 2004
Hotel Rwanda
Urbandir. Terry George - 2007
Into the Wild
Wilderness · Rural · Desertdir. Sean Penn - 2014
Jersey Boys
Urbandir. Clint Eastwood - 2021
Judas and the Black Messiah
Urbandir. Shaka King - 2009
Julie & Julia
Urbandir. Nora Ephron - 2023
Killers of the Flower Moon
Ruraldir. Martin Scorsese - 2016
Lion
Urban · Ruraldir. Garth Davis - 2016
Loving
Ruraldir. Jeff Nichols - 1992
Malcolm X
Urbandir. Spike Lee - 2006
Marie Antoinette
Urbandir. Sofia Coppola - 2016
Maudie
Rural · Coastal Seadir. Aisling Walsh - 2008
Milk
Urbandir. Gus Van Sant - 2004
Miracle
Urbandir. Gavin O'Connor - 2011
Moneyball
Urbandir. Bennett Miller - 2003
Monster
Urbandir. Patty Jenkins - 1999
October Sky
Rural · Undergrounddir. Joe Johnston - 2017
Only the Brave
Wilderness · Ruraldir. Joseph Kosinski - 2023
Oppenheimer
Desert · Urbandir. Christopher Nolan - 2007
Persepolis
Urbandir. Vincent Paronnaud - 2014
Pride
Rural · Urbandir. Matthew Warchus - 2009
Public Enemies
Urban · Ruraldir. Michael Mann - 2002
Rabbit-Proof Fence
Desert · Wildernessdir. Phillip Noyce - 1980
Raging Bull
Urbandir. Martin Scorsese - 1981
Reds
Urbandir. Warren Beatty - 2000
Remember the Titans
Urbandir. Boaz Yakin - 1993
Rudy
Urbandir. David Anspaugh - 1993
Schindler's List
Urbandir. Steven Spielberg - 2012
Searching for Sugar Man
Urbandir. Malik Bendjelloul - 2014
Selma
Urban · Ruraldir. Ava DuVernay - 1973
Serpico
Urbandir. Sidney Lumet - 1996
Shine
Suburban · Urbandir. Scott Hicks - 1983
Silkwood
Ruraldir. Mike Nichols - 2011
Snowtown
Suburban · Ruraldir. Justin Kurzel - 2023
Society of the Snow
Mountain · Wildernessdir. J. A. Bayona - 2015
Spotlight
Urbandir. Tom McCarthy - 2015
Straight Outta Compton
Urbandir. F. Gary Gray - 2015
The 33
Underground · Ruraldir. Patricia Riggen - 2007
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Ruraldir. Andrew Dominik - 2008
The Baader Meinhof Complex
Urbandir. Uli Edel - 2015
The Big Short
Urbandir. Adam McKay - 2017
The Big Sick
Urbandir. Michael Showalter - 2009
The Blind Side
Suburban · Urbandir. John Lee Hancock - 2007
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Coastal Seadir. Julian Schnabel - 1980
The Elephant Man
Urbandir. David Lynch - 2019
The Farewell
Urbandir. Lulu Wang - 2010
The Fighter
Urbandir. David O. Russell - 2016
The Founder
Suburbandir. John Lee Hancock - 2012
The Impossible
Coastal Seadir. J. A. Bayona - 1999
The Insider
Urbandir. Michael Mann - 2011
The Intouchables
Urbandir. Éric Toledano - 2010
The King's Speech
Urbandir. Tom Hooper - 2021
The Last Duel
Rural · Urbandir. Ridley Scott - 2004
The Motorcycle Diaries
Mountain · Desert · Ruraldir. Walter Salles - 1928
The Passion of Joan of Arc
Urbandir. Carl Theodor Dreyer - 2000
The Perfect Storm
Coastal Seadir. Wolfgang Petersen - 2002
The Pianist
Urbandir. Roman Polanski - 2017
The Post
Urbandir. Steven Spielberg - 1983
The Right Stuff
Desert · Off Worlddir. Philip Kaufman - 2004
The Sea Inside
Rural · Coastal Seadir. Alejandro Amenábar - 2010
The Social Network
Urbandir. David Fincher - 1999
The Straight Story
Ruraldir. David Lynch - 2020
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Urbandir. Aaron Sorkin - 2013
The Wolf of Wall Street
Urbandir. Martin Scorsese - 2005
The World's Fastest Indian
Rural · Desert · Urbandir. Roger Donaldson - 2022
Thirteen Lives
Underground · Mountaindir. Ron Howard - 2005
Walk the Line
Rural · Urbandir. James Mangold - 2008
Waltz with Bashir
Urbandir. Ari Folman - 2006
We Are Marshall
Urbandir. McG - 2007
Zodiac
Urbandir. David Fincher
Frequently asked
How many movies are based on a true story?
Kinora's catalogue lists 117 films based on a true story, spanning 1928–2023.
What are some movies based on a true story?
Films based on a true story in our catalogue include 12 Years a Slave (2013), 127 Hours (2010), A Civil Action (1998), A Royal Affair (2012), and Alive (1993).
What is the oldest movie based on a true story?
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) is the earliest film based on a true story in our catalogue; the most recent is Society of the Snow (2023).