25 Best True Movies
The sublime, the ridiculous, the real
List activity
683 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
25 titles
- DirectorWarren BeattyStarsWarren BeattyDiane KeatonEdward HerrmannA radical American journalist becomes involved with the Communist revolution in Russia, and hopes to bring its spirit and idealism to the United States.I'm not a communist, but this portrayal of the raw idealism of early 20th Century Western civilisation shows perfectly how the best intentions can be misled by dark, raw power and ill-thought out individual strategies.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJohnny DeppBenicio Del ToroTobey MaguireAn oddball journalist and his psychopathic lawyer travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychedelic escapades.Bear in mind that despite managing to even function on an insane cocktail of mind-bending substances, these guys managed to take Las Vegas for a complete ride, and at a time when the Mob had the most amount of control over the city, running up a substantial unpaid bill.
- DirectorScott HicksStarsGeoffrey RushArmin Mueller-StahlJustin BrainePianist David Helfgott, driven by his father and teachers, has a breakdown. Years later he returns to the piano, to popular if not critical acclaim.One man's incredible story
- DirectorSean PennStarsEmile HirschVince VaughnCatherine KeenerAfter graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life.I don't care if the book on which this is based has errors. The way in which Penn captures the essence of McCandless is truly brilliant.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioCate BlanchettKate BeckinsaleA biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career from the late 1920s to the mid 1940s.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsCasey AffleckMatt DamonA friendship between two young men is tested when they go for a hike in a desert and forget to bring any water or food with them.Not wholly true, but mesmerising
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsAnthony HopkinsJoan AllenPowers BootheA biographical story of former U.S. President Richard Nixon, from his days as a young boy, to his eventual Presidency, which ended in shame.A decently rounded profile, considering Stone's personal views. Although I enjoyed 'W.' more, I have to admit that Nixon is the better film.
- DirectorJean-Marc ValléeStarsMatthew McConaugheyJennifer GarnerJared LetoIn 1985 Dallas, electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof works around the system to help AIDS patients get the medication they need after he is diagnosed with the disease.Although Garner and Leto's characters were composites, the essential facts of this story were unchanged, as far as I know.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsDenzel WashingtonRussell CroweChiwetel EjioforAn outcast New York City cop is charged with bringing down Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas, whose real life inspired this partly biographical film.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsJim SturgessEd HarrisColin FarrellSiberian gulag escapees travel four thousand miles by foot to freedom in India.A debate rages as to whether this journey ever actually happened, but my own personal historiography gives me the view that it is more likely than not. And if it DID happen, it's really quite incredible.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsAngelina JolieColm FeoreAmy RyanAfter Christine's son goes missing, she reaches out to the LAPD to find him. But when they try to pass off an impostor as her son to quieten public protests, she refuses to accept him or give up hope.
- DirectorPhilip KaufmanStarsSam ShepardScott GlennEd HarrisThe U.S. space program's development from the breaking of the sound barrier to selection of the Mercury 7 astronauts, from a group of test pilots with a more seat-of-the-pants approach than the program's more cautious engineers preferred.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsMichael FassbenderKeira KnightleyViggo MortensenA look at how the intense relationship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud gives birth to psychoanalysis.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsSteve McQueenDustin HoffmanVictor JoryA French convict in the 1930s befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence in the South American penal colony on Devil's Island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.
- DirectorRobert De NiroStarsMatt DamonAngelina JolieRobert De NiroThe tumultuous early history of the Central Intelligence Agency is viewed through the prism of one man's life.Names are changed, a few characters are composites, but the central timeline and themes are true.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsColin FarrellQ'orianka KilcherChristopher PlummerThe story of the English exploration of Virginia, and of the changing world and loves of Pocahontas.
- DirectorOlivier DahanStarsMarion CotillardSylvie TestudPascal GreggoryBiopic of the iconic French singer Édith Piaf. Raised by her grandmother in a brothel, she was discovered while singing on a street corner at the age of 19. Despite her success, Piaf's life was filled with tragedy.
- DirectorEd HarrisStarsEd HarrisMarcia Gay HardenRobert KnottA film about the life and career of the American painter, Jackson Pollock.The first biopic that ever really caught my imagination. A powerhouse central performance.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsBrad DavisIrene MiracleBo HopkinsBilly Hayes, an American college student, is caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey and thrown into prison.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsLeonardo DiCaprioTom HanksChristopher WalkenBarely 17 yet, Frank is a skilled forger who has passed as a doctor, lawyer and pilot. FBI agent Carl becomes obsessed with tracking down the con man, who only revels in the pursuit.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsRussell CroweEd HarrisJennifer ConnellyA mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.
- DirectorMike NewellStarsAl PacinoJohnny DeppMichael MadsenAn FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob and finds himself identifying more with the Mafia life--at the expense of his regular one.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsJosh BrolinElizabeth BanksIoan GruffuddA chronicle of the life and Presidency of George W. Bush.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsLeonardo DiCaprioArmie HammerNaomi WattsJ. Edgar Hoover, powerful head of the F.B.I. for nearly fifty years, looks back on his professional and personal life.
- DirectorJim LoachStarsEmily WatsonAisling LoftusStuart WolfendenSet in 1980s Nottingham, social worker Margaret Humphreys holds the British government accountable for child migration schemes and reunites the children involved -- now adults living mostly in Australia -- with their parents in Britain.An expose of government child snatching. Tragic drama.