True Stories
True Stories are those based (sometimes loosely!) on fact. They cover topics as diverse as drug addiction, poverty, political unrest, the corruption of power, alcoholism, class divisions, sexual inequality, mental illness and other human struggles. Meet some of history's most intriguing characters, find out what it's really like to climb a mountain or paint a masterpiece. Truly, the True Story is one of cinema's most engaging and enthralling genres.
Bio-pics feature in this section and are also gathered together separately under the 'Biography' sublink left.
Pictured: Inside the Las Vegas mob, Scorsese's unromantic 'Goodfellas'
Jarhead (2005)
7/10
Director: Sam Mendes
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Lucas Black, Chris Cooper, Jamie Foxx, Jacob V...
When Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) followed family tradition into the Marines he wasn't counting on the 1991 Gulf War. Trained as a sniper with... Read more
Jefferson In Paris (1995)
5.7/10
Director: James Ivory
Starring: Nick Nolte, Greta Scacchi, Thandie Newton
This ambitious, stately, biographical epic is set in 1785 and concerns a widowed Thomas Jefferson (Nick Nolte) as Ambassador to France, and his fallin... Read more
Jesse James (1939)
7.1/10
Director: Henry King
Starring: Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Nancy Kelly, Randolph Scott, Henry Hull
The classic account of the lives of outlaw brothers Jesse (Tyrone Power) and Frank (Henry Fonda) James, the circumstances that drove them to crime and... Read more
JFK (1991)
8/10
Director: Oliver Stone
Starring: Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, Sissy Spacek, Kevin Bacon, Laurie Metcalf, Gary...
Oliver Stone's triumphant speculative drama is based on New Orleans D.A. Jim Garrison's experience in bringing charges - the only ones ever levelled a... Read more
Jimi: All is By My Side (2013)
5.7/10
Director: John Ridley
Starring: Andre Benjamin, Hayley Atwell, Burn Gorman, Imogen Poots, Ruth Negga
A drama based on Jimi Hendrix's life as he left New York City for London, where his career took off. The film is set in 1966 and 1967 includes the son... Read more
Jimi: All is By My Side (Blu-ray) (2013)
5.7/10
Director: John Ridley
Starring: Andre Benjamin, Hayley Atwell, Burn Gorman, Imogen Poots, Ruth Negga
A drama based on Jimi Hendrix's life as he left New York City for London, where his career took off. The film is set in 1966 and 1967 includes the son... Read more
Jimmy's Hall (2014)
6.7/10
Director: Ken Loach
Starring: Jim Norton, Andrew Scott, Barry Ward, Simone Kirby, Francis Magee, Aisling Franc...
1932. Jimmy Gralton is back home in the Irish countryside after ten years of forced exile in the USA. When Jimmy reopens the village hall, thus enabli... Read more
Joan of Arc (Bergman) (1948)
6.7/10
Director: Victor Fleming
Starring: Cecil Kellaway, Francis L Sullivan, Gene Lockhart, Hurd Hatfield, Ingrid Bergman...
The life story of one of history's most remarkable heroines is boldly brought to the screen in this Academy Award winning production, an epic tale of... Read more
Joan of Arc (Jovovich) (1999)
6.7/10
Director: Luc Besson
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Faye Dunaway, Dustin Hoffman, John Malkovich
Aka "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc". French filmmaker Luc Besson's ("The Big Blue") lavish historical biodrama about the visionary French pe... Read more
Joan of Arc (Sobieski) (1999)
6.7/10
Director: Christian Duguay
Starring: Leelee Sobieski, Peter O'Toole, Shirley MacLaine, Peter Strauss, Jacqueline Biss...
She was a visionary, a warrior, a heroine and a martyr, all before the age of 20. Leelee Sobieski stars as the French peasant girl whose devine vision... Read more