What is the best movie based on a true story?

From courtroom dramas to wartime heroics, these films blur the line between Hollywood and reality. Some surprised even the people they depicted — cast your vote!

1

The Social Network

David Fincher's razor-sharp dramatization of the founding of Facebook and the lawsuits that followed.

2

Schindler's List

Steven Spielberg's harrowing account of industrialist Oskar Schindler who saved over a thousand Jewish lives during the Holocaust.

3

Bohemian Rhapsody

The electrifying story of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, culminating in their legendary 1985 Live Aid performance.

4

12 Years a Slave

Steve McQueen's devastating true story of Solomon Northup, a free Black man kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841.

5

Goodfellas

Martin Scorsese's mob epic follows Henry Hill's rise and fall in the New York underworld, based on a true story.

6

The Imitation Game

Benedict Cumberbatch plays Alan Turing, the mathematical genius who cracked the Nazi Enigma code during World War II.

7

Hacksaw Ridge

The true story of Desmond Doss, the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor for saving 75 men at Okinawa.

8

Spotlight

The Boston Globe's investigative journalism team uncovers a decades-long cover-up of clergy abuse within the Catholic Church.

9

Catch Me If You Can

Steven Spielberg's cat-and-mouse tale of Frank Abagnale Jr., one of the most successful con men in history, pursued by FBI agent Carl Hanratty.

10

Moneyball

Brad Pitt stars as Oakland A's GM Billy Beane, who revolutionized baseball by building a winning team using statistical analysis.

11

The Big Short

Adam McKay's frenetic retelling of the handful of outsiders who saw the 2008 financial crisis coming and bet against the big banks.

12

Erin Brockovich

Julia Roberts won an Oscar playing Erin Brockovich, a legal clerk who single-handedly built a case against Pacific Gas and Electric.

13

Dallas Buyers Club

Matthew McConaughey's Oscar-winning portrayal of Ron Woodroof, an AIDS patient who smuggled unapproved drugs into the US to help fellow sufferers.