Best film based on a true story

r/movies, asked to name a favourite that really happened — biopics, disasters, heists, and one bear.

0 / 1880%

Asked in“What is your favorite movie that is "based on a true story?"”Reddit · r/movies · 2023 · 6,047 comments ↗

#	Named by	Director & year	Film	Watch · source
001	35×	Elizabeth Banks, 2023	Cocaine Bear	▶ Trailer · r/movies
002	31×	Joel & Ethan Coen, 1996	Fargo	▶ Trailer · r/movies
003	24×	Martin Scorsese, 1990	Goodfellas	▶ Trailer · r/movies
004	17×	Mel Gibson, 2016	Hacksaw Ridge	▶ Trailer · r/movies
005	15×	David Fincher, 2007	Zodiac	▶ Trailer · r/movies
006	14×	Steven Spielberg, 2002	Catch Me If You Can	▶ Trailer · r/movies
007	14×	Sean Penn, 2007	Into the Wild	▶ Trailer · r/movies
008	12×	David Fincher, 2010	The Social Network	▶ Trailer · r/movies
009	12×	Martin Scorsese, 2013	The Wolf of Wall Street	▶ Trailer · r/movies
010	11×	Adam McKay, 2015	The Big Short	▶ Trailer · r/movies
011	9×	Boaz Yakin, 2000	Remember the Titans	▶ Trailer · r/movies
012	9×	Ben Affleck, 2012	Argo	▶ Trailer · r/movies
013	9×	James Mangold, 2019	Ford v Ferrari	▶ Trailer · r/movies
014	8×	Newt Arnold, 1988	Bloodsport	▶ Trailer · r/movies
015	7×	Ron Howard, 1995	Apollo 13	▶ Trailer · r/movies
016	7×	Steven Spielberg, 1993	Schindler's List	▶ Trailer · r/movies
017	7×	Joe Johnston, 1999	October Sky	▶ Trailer · r/movies
018	7×	Ridley Scott, 2001	Black Hawk Down	▶ Trailer · r/movies
019	7×	Eric Appel, 2022	Weird: The Al Yankovic Story	▶ Trailer · r/movies
020	7×	Mel Gibson, 1995	Braveheart	▶ Trailer · r/movies
021	6×	Fernando Meirelles, 2002	City of God	▶ Trailer · r/movies
022	6×	Michael Bay, 2013	Pain & Gain	▶ Trailer · r/movies
023	6×	Alan J. Pakula, 1976	All the President's Men	▶ Trailer · r/movies
024	6×	Ron Howard, 2013	Rush	▶ Trailer · r/movies
025	6×	Tom McCarthy, 2015	Spotlight	▶ Trailer · r/movies
026	6×	Morten Tyldum, 2014	The Imitation Game	▶ Trailer · r/movies
027	6×	David Lean, 1962	Lawrence of Arabia	▶ Trailer · r/movies
028	6×	Gavin O'Connor, 2004	Miracle	▶ Trailer · r/movies
029	5×	Bennett Miller, 2011	Moneyball	▶ Trailer · r/movies
030	5×	James Mangold, 2005	Walk the Line	▶ Trailer · r/movies
031	5×	George P. Cosmatos, 1993	Tombstone	▶ Trailer · r/movies
032	5×	Sidney Lumet, 1975	Dog Day Afternoon	▶ Trailer · r/movies
033	5×	Theodore Melfi, 2016	Hidden Figures	▶ Trailer · r/movies
034	5×	Christopher Nolan, 2017	Dunkirk	▶ Trailer · r/movies
035	5×	Steven Soderbergh, 2000	Erin Brockovich	▶ Trailer · r/movies
036	5×	Robert Lieberman, 1993	Fire in the Sky	▶ Trailer · r/movies
037	5×	David Anspaugh, 1993	Rudy	▶ Trailer · r/movies
038	5×	Tobe Hooper, 1974	The Texas Chain Saw Massacre	▶ Trailer · r/movies
039	5×	James Cameron, 1997	Titanic	▶ Trailer · r/movies
040	5×	Paul Greengrass, 2013	Captain Phillips	▶ Trailer · r/movies
041	5×	Grant Heslov, 2009	The Men Who Stare at Goats	▶ Trailer · r/movies
042	5×	Danny Boyle, 2010	127 Hours	▶ Trailer · r/movies
043	5×	J. A. Bayona, 2012	The Impossible	▶ Trailer · r/movies
044	5×	Andrew Niccol, 2005	Lord of War	▶ Trailer · r/movies
045	5×	Mark Pellington, 2002	The Mothman Prophecies	▶ Trailer · r/movies
046	4×	Jon Turteltaub, 1993	Cool Runnings	▶ Trailer · r/movies
047	4×	Penny Marshall, 1992	A League of Their Own	▶ Trailer · r/movies
048	4×	Tom Hooper, 2010	The King's Speech	▶ Trailer · r/movies
049	4×	Terry Gilliam, 1998	Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas	▶ Trailer · r/movies
050	4×	Nakache & Toledano, 2011	The Intouchables	▶ Trailer · r/movies
051	4×	Tim Burton, 1994	Ed Wood	▶ Trailer · r/movies
052	4×	Martin Scorsese, 1995	Casino	▶ Trailer · r/movies
053	4×	Craig Mazin, 2019	Chernobyl	▶ Trailer · r/movies
054	4×	Aaron Sorkin, 2020	The Trial of the Chicago 7	▶ Trailer · r/movies
055	4×	Angelina Jolie, 2014	Unbroken	▶ Trailer · r/movies
056	4×	John Lee Hancock, 2009	The Blind Side	▶ Trailer · r/movies
057	4×	John Lee Hancock, 2016	The Founder	▶ Trailer · r/movies
058	4×	Robert Wise, 1965	The Sound of Music	▶ Trailer · r/movies
059	4×	Roger Donaldson, 2005	The World's Fastest Indian	▶ Trailer · r/movies
060	4×	Michael Bay, 2016	13 Hours	▶ Trailer · r/movies
061	4×	Clint Eastwood, 2014	American Sniper	▶ Trailer · r/movies
062	4×	Dexter Fletcher, 2016	Eddie the Eagle	▶ Trailer · r/movies
063	3×	Spielberg & Hanks, 2001	Band of Brothers	▶ Trailer · r/movies
064	3×	Stephen Hopkins, 1996	The Ghost and the Darkness	▶ Trailer · r/movies
065	3×	George Clooney, 2002	Confessions of a Dangerous Mind	▶ Trailer · r/movies
066	3×	Spike Lee, 2018	BlacKkKlansman	▶ Trailer · r/movies
067	3×	Gabriele Muccino, 2006	The Pursuit of Happyness	▶ Trailer · r/movies
068	3×	Thomas Carter, 2005	Coach Carter	▶ Trailer · r/movies
069	3×	Peter Farrelly, 2018	Green Book	▶ Trailer · r/movies
070	3×	William Friedkin, 1973	The Exorcist	▶ Trailer · r/movies
071	3×	Cameron Crowe, 2000	Almost Famous	▶ Trailer · r/movies
072	3×	Spike Lee, 1992	Malcolm X	▶ Trailer · r/movies
073	3×	Oliver Stone, 1991	JFK	▶ Trailer · r/movies
074	3×	Ron Howard, 2022	Thirteen Lives	▶ Trailer · r/movies
075	3×	Ted Demme, 2001	Blow	▶ Trailer · r/movies
076	3×	Lasse Hallström, 2009	Hachi: A Dog's Tale	▶ Trailer · r/movies
077	3×	McG, 2006	We Are Marshall	▶ Trailer · r/movies
078	3×	Bong Joon-ho, 2003	Memories of Murder	▶ Trailer · r/movies
079	3×	Todd Phillips, 2016	War Dogs	▶ Trailer · r/movies
080	3×	James Marsh, 2014	The Theory of Everything	▶ Trailer · r/movies
081	2×	Richard Linklater, 2011	Bernie	▶ Trailer · r/movies
082	2×	Craig Gillespie, 2017	I, Tonya	▶ Trailer · r/movies
083	2×	Miloš Forman, 1984	Amadeus	▶ Trailer · r/movies
084	2×	Bernardo Bertolucci, 1987	The Last Emperor	▶ Trailer · r/movies
085	2×	Robert Redford, 1994	Quiz Show	▶ Trailer · r/movies
086	2×	Terry Jones, 1979	Life of Brian	▶ Trailer · r/movies
087	2×	Edward Zwick, 1989	Glory	▶ Trailer · r/movies
088	2×	Peter Jackson, 1994	Heavenly Creatures	▶ Trailer · r/movies
089	2×	Hideo Nakata, 2002	Dark Water	▶ Trailer · r/movies
090	2×	Quentin Tarantino, 2019	Once Upon a Time in Hollywood	▶ Trailer · r/movies
091	2×	James Cox, 2003	Wonderland	▶ Trailer · r/movies
092	2×	Scott Derrickson, 2005	The Exorcism of Emily Rose	▶ Trailer · r/movies
093	2×	Miloš Forman, 1999	Man on the Moon	▶ Trailer · r/movies
094	2×	Ron Howard, 2001	A Beautiful Mind	▶ Trailer · r/movies
095	2×	Joe Johnston, 2004	Hidalgo	▶ Trailer · r/movies
096	2×	Randall Wallace, 2010	Secretariat	▶ Trailer · r/movies
097	2×	Michael Apted, 1980	Coal Miner's Daughter	▶ Trailer · r/movies
098	2×	Aaron Sorkin, 2017	Molly's Game	▶ Trailer · r/movies
099	2×	Roman Polanski, 2002	The Pianist	▶ Trailer · r/movies
100	2×	David Anspaugh, 1986	Hoosiers	▶ Trailer · r/movies
101	2×	Joseph Kosinski, 2017	Only the Brave	▶ Trailer · r/movies
102	2×	Mike Newell, 1997	Donnie Brasco	▶ Trailer · r/movies
103	2×	Roger Donaldson, 2000	Thirteen Days	▶ Trailer · r/movies
104	2×	Martin Scorsese, 2006	The Departed	▶ Trailer · r/movies
105	2×	Lin-Manuel Miranda, 2021	Tick, Tick… Boom!	▶ Trailer · r/movies
106	2×	Roland Emmerich, 2019	Midway	▶ Trailer · r/movies
107	2×	Steven Spielberg, 2015	Bridge of Spies	▶ Trailer · r/movies
108	2×	Bryan Singer, 2008	Valkyrie	▶ Trailer · r/movies
109	2×	Doug Liman, 2017	American Made	▶ Trailer · r/movies
110	2×	Buzz Kulik, 1971	Brian's Song	▶ Trailer · r/movies
111	2×	Richard Brooks, 1967	In Cold Blood	▶ Trailer · r/movies
112	2×	Bill Pohlad, 2014	Love & Mercy	▶ Trailer · r/movies
113	2×	David Lynch, 1999	The Straight Story	▶ Trailer · r/movies
114	2×	Gina Prince-Bythewood, 2022	The Woman King	▶ Trailer · r/movies
115	2×	David O. Russell, 2013	American Hustle	▶ Trailer · r/movies
116	2×	Stuart Rosenberg, 1979	Amityville Horror	▶ Trailer · r/movies
117	2×	Damien Chazelle, 2018	First Man	▶ Trailer · r/movies
118	2×	Richard LaGravenese, 2007	Freedom Writers	▶ Trailer · r/movies
119	2×	Peter Weir, 1981	Gallipoli	▶ Trailer · r/movies
120	2×	Tom Shadyac, 1998	Patch Adams	▶ Trailer · r/movies
121	2×	Steven Spielberg, 1998	Saving Private Ryan	▶ Trailer · r/movies
122	2×	Mick Jackson, 2010	Temple Grandin	▶ Trailer · r/movies
123	2×	James Franco, 2017	The Disaster Artist	▶ Trailer · r/movies
124	2×	Kathryn Bigelow, 2012	Zero Dark Thirty	▶ Trailer · r/movies
125	1×	Kevin Macdonald, 2003	Touching the Void	▶ Trailer · r/movies
126	1×	Philip Kaufman, 1983	The Right Stuff	▶ Trailer · r/movies
127	1×	Carroll Ballard, 1996	Fly Away Home	▶ Trailer · r/movies
128	1×	John Sturges, 1963	The Great Escape	▶ Trailer · r/movies
129	1×	Catherine Hardwicke, 2005	Lords of Dogtown	▶ Trailer · r/movies
130	1×	Peter Bogdanovich, 1985	Mask	▶ Trailer · r/movies
131	1×	Roland Joffé, 1984	The Killing Fields	▶ Trailer · r/movies
132	1×	Taylor Hackford, 2004	Ray	▶ Trailer · r/movies
133	1×	Bob Fosse, 1983	Star 80	▶ Trailer · r/movies
134	1×	Randall Wallace, 2002	We Were Soldiers	▶ Trailer · r/movies
135	1×	J. C. Chandor, 2011	Margin Call	▶ Trailer · r/movies
136	1×	Martin McDonagh, 2017	Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri	▶ Trailer · r/movies
137	1×	Clint Eastwood, 2016	Sully	▶ Trailer · r/movies
138	1×	Malik Bendjelloul, 2012	Searching for Sugar Man	▶ Trailer · r/movies
139	1×	Jeff Tremaine, 2002	Jackass: The Movie	▶ Trailer · r/movies
140	1×	Frank Marshall, 1993	Alive	▶ Trailer · r/movies
141	1×	John Lee Hancock, 2013	Saving Mr. Banks	▶ Trailer · r/movies
142	1×	Ruben Fleischer, 2011	30 Minutes or Less	▶ Trailer · r/movies
143	1×	Howard Hawks, 1941	Sergeant York	▶ Trailer · r/movies
144	1×	Steven Spielberg, 2017	The Post	▶ Trailer · r/movies
145	1×	Warren Beatty, 1981	Reds	▶ Trailer · r/movies
146	1×	Mike Nichols, 2007	Charlie Wilson's War	▶ Trailer · r/movies
147	1×	Francis Ford Coppola, 1979	Apocalypse Now	▶ Trailer · r/movies
148	1×	Steven Spielberg, 2012	Lincoln	▶ Trailer · r/movies
149	1×	Peter Berg, 2013	Lone Survivor	▶ Trailer · r/movies
150	1×	Alan Parker, 1978	Midnight Express	▶ Trailer · r/movies
151	1×	Spike Jonze, 2002	Adaptation	▶ Trailer · r/movies
152	1×	Kimberly Peirce, 1999	Boys Don't Cry	▶ Trailer · r/movies
153	1×	Jean-Marc Vallée, 2013	Dallas Buyers Club	▶ Trailer · r/movies
154	1×	Jim Sheridan, 1993	In the Name of the Father	▶ Trailer · r/movies
155	1×	Garth Davis, 2016	Lion	▶ Trailer · r/movies
156	1×	Franklin J. Schaffner, 1973	Papillon	▶ Trailer · r/movies
157	1×	Sam Mendes, 2019	1917	▶ Trailer · r/movies
158	1×	Roy Ward Baker, 1958	A Night to Remember	▶ Trailer · r/movies
159	1×	Penny Marshall, 1990	Awakenings	▶ Trailer · r/movies
160	1×	Edward Zwick, 2006	Blood Diamond	▶ Trailer · r/movies
161	1×	Bruce Beresford, 1980	Breaker Morant	▶ Trailer · r/movies
162	1×	Nicolas Winding Refn, 2008	Bronson	▶ Trailer · r/movies
163	1×	Hugh Hudson, 1981	Chariots of Fire	▶ Trailer · r/movies
164	1×	Ron Howard, 2005	Cinderella Man	▶ Trailer · r/movies
165	1×	Elem Klimov, 1985	Come and See	▶ Trailer · r/movies
166	1×	Tim Robbins, 1995	Dead Man Walking	▶ Trailer · r/movies
167	1×	Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2004	Downfall	▶ Trailer · r/movies
168	1×	Richard Attenborough, 1982	Gandhi	▶ Trailer · r/movies
169	1×	Ronald F. Maxwell, 1993	Gettysburg	▶ Trailer · r/movies
170	1×	George Clooney, 2005	Good Night, and Good Luck	▶ Trailer · r/movies
171	1×	Terry George, 2004	Hotel Rwanda	▶ Trailer · r/movies
172	1×	Pablo Larraín, 2016	Jackie	▶ Trailer · r/movies
173	1×	Arthur Penn, 1970	Little Big Man	▶ Trailer · r/movies
174	1×	Tony Scott, 2004	Man on Fire	▶ Trailer · r/movies
175	1×	Jean-François Richet, 2008	Mesrine	▶ Trailer · r/movies
176	1×	Chris Kentis, 2003	Open Water	▶ Trailer · r/movies
177	1×	John Madden, 2021	Operation Mincemeat	▶ Trailer · r/movies
178	1×	Lenny Abrahamson, 2015	Room	▶ Trailer · r/movies
179	1×	Pablo Larraín, 2021	Spencer	▶ Trailer · r/movies
180	1×	Ramón Menéndez, 1988	Stand and Deliver	▶ Trailer · r/movies
181	1×	Julian Schnabel, 2007	The Diving Bell and the Butterfly	▶ Trailer · r/movies
182	1×	David Lynch, 1980	The Elephant Man	▶ Trailer · r/movies
183	1×	Brad Furman, 2016	The Infiltrator	▶ Trailer · r/movies
184	1×	Martin Scorsese, 2019	The Irishman	▶ Trailer · r/movies
185	1×	Maya Forbes, 2017	The Polka King	▶ Trailer · r/movies
186	1×	Steven Spielberg, 2004	The Terminal	▶ Trailer · r/movies
187	1×	Ericson Core, 2019	Togo	▶ Trailer · r/movies
188	1×	Fleischer, Masuda & Fukasaku, 1970	Tora! Tora! Tora!	▶ Trailer · r/movies

How this was counted. Counted by distinct redditor. The thread is far too big to read whole, so five sort orders of it (best, top, new, old, controversial) were captured with replies stripped — one top-level answer per person — and merged: 895 answers from 779 people, roughly the top sixth of the thread by attention. Where a comment named several films, each one counts. Joke answers are dropped: a large minority of this thread replies "Star Wars", "Idiocracy", "The Matrix", "Shrek 2", the running gag being that those are documentaries too. Fargo stays, because it opens with a title card claiming to be a true story and doesn't mean it, which makes it the one joke that is actually about the question.