Highest-Rated Movies about 'Based On True Events'

Lion of the Desert (1980), Cinderella Man (2005), JFK (1991), Loving Vincent (2017), Salvador (1986), Darkest Hour (2017), 13 Hours (2016), Des hommes et des dieux (2010) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Based On True Events movies.

#1. Lion of the Desert (1980)

Storyline: In Fascist Italy pre-World War II, the cruel General Rodolfo Graziani is directly assigned by Benito Mussolini to fight in the colonial war in Libya to vanquish the Arab nation. However, his troops are frequently defeated by the national leader Omar Mukhtar and his army of Bedouins. But the Butcher of Ethiopia and Libya uses a dirty war against the natives, slaughtering women, children, and aged people, to subdue Mukhtar.

Plot Keywords: arab, muslim, rebel, world war two, 1920s, 1930s, execution ...

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#2. Cinderella Man (2005)

Storyline: During the Great Depression, a common-man hero, James J. Braddock--a.k.a. the Cinderella Man--was to become one of the most surprising sports legends in history. By the early 1930s, the impoverished ex-prizefighter was seemingly as broken-down, beaten-up and out-of-luck as much of the rest of the American populace who had hit rock bottom. His career appeared to be finished, he was unable to pay the bills, the only thing that mattered to him--his family--was in danger, and he was even forced to go on Public Relief. But deep inside, Jim Braddock never relinquished his determination. Driven by love, honor and an incredible dose of grit, he willed an impossible dream to come true. In a last-chance bid to help his family, Braddock returned to the ring. No one thought he had a shot. However Braddock, fueled by something beyond mere competition, kept winning. Suddenly, the ordinary working man became the mythic athlete. Carrying the hopes and dreams of the disenfranchised on his shoulders, ...

Plot Keywords: boxing, boy, girl, flashback, flash forward, cigarette smoking, cigar smoking ...

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#3. JFK (1991)

Storyline: On November 22, 1963, president John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas. Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested for the crime and subsequently shot by Jack Ruby, supposedly avenging the president's death. An investigation concludes that Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby acted alone in their respective crimes, but Louisiana district attorney Jim Garrison is skeptical. Assembling a trusted group of people, Garrison conducts his own investigation, bringing about backlash from powerful government and political figures.

Plot Keywords: conspiracy theory, investigation, president, assassination, assassination of president, conspiracy, conspiracy theorist ...

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#4. Loving Vincent (2017)

Storyline: A year after the death of the artist, Vincent van Gogh, Postman Roulin gets his slacker son, Armand, to hand deliver the artist's final letter written to his now late brother, Theo, to some worthy recipient after multiple failed postal delivery attempts. Although disdainful of this seemingly pointless chore, Armand travels to Auvers-sur-Oise where a purported close companion to Vincent, Dr. Gachet, lives. Having to wait until the doctor returns from business, Armand meets many of the people of that village who not only knew Vincent, but were apparently also models and inspirations for his art. In doing so, Armand becomes increasingly fascinated in the psyche and fate of Van Gogh as numerous suspicious details fail to add up. However, as Armand digs further, he comes to realize that Vincent's troubled life is as much a matter of interpretation as his paintings and there are no easy answers for a man whose work and tragedy would only be truly appreciated in the future.

Plot Keywords: painting, artist, character name in title, painter, obsession, guilt, suicide ...

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#5. Salvador (1986)

Storyline: A journalist, down on his luck in the US, drives to El Salvador to chronicle the events of the 1980 military dictatorship, including the assasination of Archbishop Oscar Romero. He forms an uneasy alliance with both guerillas in the countryside who want him to get pictures out to the US press, and the right-wing military, who want him to bring them photographs of the rebels. Meanwhile he has to find a way of protecting his Salvadorean girlfriend and getting her out of the country.

Plot Keywords: based on true story, rape and murder, based on true events, 1970s, photojournalist, 1980s, reporter ...

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#6. Darkest Hour (2017)

Storyline: During World War II, as Adolf Hitler's powerful Wehrmacht rampages across Europe, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Neville Chamberlain, is forced to resign, recommending Winston Churchill as his replacement. But even in his early days as the country's leader, Churchill is under pressure to commence peace negotiations with the German dictator or to fight head-on the seemingly invincible Nazi regime, whatever the cost. However difficult and dangerous his decision may be, Churchill has no choice but to shine in the country's darkest hour.

Plot Keywords: world war two, prime minister, speech, year 1940, reference to adolf hitler, secretary, reference to benito mussolini ...

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#7. 13 Hours (2016)

Storyline: Libya, 2012. At an unofficial CIA base in Benghazi a group of ex-military contractors are providing security. In the aftermath of Gaddafi's downfall a power vacuum exists and the climate is volatile. Military weapons are freely available. The US Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, makes a visit to the area, staying in a compound near the CIA base. On the night of 11 September, 2012, the Ambassador's compound is attacked by hordes of heavily armed locals. The only forces willing and able to defend it are six CIA contractors.

Plot Keywords: based on true story, heroism, based on book, city name in title, death of friend, american abroad, year 2012 ...

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#8. Des hommes et des dieux (2010)

Storyline: In 1996, in Algeria, eight French monks of The Monastery Notre-Dame de l'Atlas of Tibhirine have a simple life serving the poor community that was raised around the monastery. During the Algerian Civil War, they are threatened by terrorists but they decide to stay in the country and not return to France.

Plot Keywords: monk, algeria, catholic church, heroism, based on true story, stubbornness, martyr ...

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#9. Everest (2015)

Storyline: On the morning of May 10, 1996, climbers from two commercial expeditions start their final ascent toward the summit of Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. With little warning, a violent storm strikes the mountain, engulfing the adventurers in one of the fiercest blizzards ever encountered by man. Challenged by the harshest conditions imaginable, the teams must endure blistering winds and freezing temperatures in an epic battle to survive against nearly impossible odds.

Plot Keywords: mountain climbing, survival, mountain, man versus nature, oxygen, falling to death, ladder ...

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#10. Goodbye Bafana (2007)

Storyline: James Gregory once lived in a farm and had befriended a native youth, Bafana, and had even had a photograph taken with him. Years later, now married to Gloria and father of three children (Chris, Brett, and Natasha), James has nothing but shame and regret, as many South African Caucasians in the oppressive Apartheid-era ridiculed him, leading him to hate Africans. He seeks to redeem himself by spying on imprisoned African National Congress Leader, Nelson Mandela. In the restrictive high security prison his job is to censor all written and verbal communications between prisoners, their visitors, and correspondence. James is uncomfortable when he witnesses Caucasian police and security officers' brutality against civilians, including infants, and tries to understand why Nelson became a rebel. This leads him to examine the 'Freedom Charter', a banned document, reportedly known to incite violence against 'whites'. And when he does read this document, he changes his mind about Nelson's ...

Plot Keywords: prison cell, political prisoner, husband wife reunion, freedom fighter, 1990s, 1980s, 1970s ...

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#11. Sweet Dreams (1985)

Storyline: Patsy Cline was the first female solo artist to be elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Thirty-two years after her untimely death in a plane crash in Tennessee, her "Greatest Hits" album sold over six million copies. Loved by her fans today as much - if not more - than she was at the height of her fame, the life, the loves and most of all the voice of Patsy Cline is legendary. This film tells the story of the passionate, fun-loving, soft-spoken, loud-living life of one of country music's - and one of popular music's - greatest singing stars. This film covers the years 1956 through 1963, from her rise to fame and the top of the charts through TB talent shows and country bars - through her turbulent marriage to Charlie Dick and the demands of touring which would lead to the fatal plane crash.—HBO Home Video

Plot Keywords: wedding, dance, airport, scar, doctor, auditorium, blood ...

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#12. Stronger (2017)

Storyline: Jeff Bauman is a well-intention-ed but underachieving Boston native who works at the deli counter of a Costco and lives in a small two-bedroom apartment with his alcoholic mother, Patty. One day at the local bar, Jeff runs into his ex-girlfriend Erin, who is attracted to his kindness and charm but finds herself constantly frustrated by his lack of commitment. After learning that Erin is running in the Boston Marathon to raise money for the hospital she works at, Jeff asks every patron in the bar to donate and then promises Erin he'll wait at the finish line for her with a big sign. The day of the Marathon, Jeff scrambles to make it to the finish line on time but reaches it just before Erin reaches the finish line. As she approaches a bomb goes off right where Jeff is standing. After being rushed to a hospital, both of Jeff's legs are amputated above the knee. When he regains consciousness, Jeff tells his brother that he saw the bomber before the explosion. Patty calls the FBI, and ...

Plot Keywords: conspiracy, looking at oneself in a mirror, mirror, amputation, doctor, ambulance, tragic event ...

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#13. Wilde (1997)

Storyline: The story of Oscar Wilde, genius, poet, playwright and the First Modern Man. The self-realization of his homosexuality caused Wilde enormous torment as he juggled marriage, fatherhood and responsibility with his obsessive love for Lord Alfred Douglas, nicknamed Bosie. After legal action instigated by Bosie's father, the enraged Marquise of Queensberry, Wilde refused to flee the country and was sentenced to two years at hard labor by the courts of an intolerant Victorian society.

Plot Keywords: gay protagonist, male frontal nudity, male nudity, scandal, hypocrisy, victorian era, based on true story ...

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#14. Victoria & Abdul (2017)

Storyline: Abdul Karim arrives from India to participate in Queen Victoria's golden jubilee. The young clerk is surprised to find favor with the queen herself. As Victoria questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance that her household and inner circle try to destroy. As their friendship deepens, the queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes, joyfully reclaiming her humanity.

Plot Keywords: royal court, unlikely friendship, falling asleep, based on book, based on true story, odd couple, snob ...

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#15. The Sugarland Express (1974)

Storyline: Lou-Jean, a blonde woman, tells her husband, who is imprisoned, to escape. They plan to kidnap their own child, who was placed with foster parents. The escape is partly successful, they take a hostage, who is a policeman and are pursued through to Texas...

Plot Keywords: texas, based on true story, child custody, chase, texas ranger, jail break, fugitive ...

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