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'
Lion ( Blu-ray ) (2016)
8.1/10
Director: Garth Davis
Starring: David Wenham, Nicole Kidman, Dev Patel, Rooney Mara
Five-year-old Saroo gets lost on a train which takes him thousands of miles across India, away from home and family. Saroo must learn to survive alone... Read more
Lipstick (2006)
7.4/10
Director: Peter Werner
Starring: Sarah Chalke, Lally Cadeau, Patti Labelle, Jay Harrington, Robin Brule
Having recently graduated from journalism school and landed her dream job, the last thing 27-year-old Geralyn expects to hear is a breast cancer diagn... Read more
Live From Baghdad (2002)
7.4/10
Director: Mick Jackson
Starring: Michael Keaton, Helena Bonham Carter, Lili Taylor, Bruce McGill, David Suchet
Adapted from the book by former CNN News executive producer Robert Wiener, this intense drama tells the story of how CNN became the only news network... Read more
Lone Survivor (2013)
7.5/10
Director: Peter Berg
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Eric Bana, Ben Foster, Emile Hirsch, Ali Suliman, Jerry Ferrara,...
Based on The New York Times bestselling true story of heroism, courage and survival, "Lone Survivor" tells the incredible tale of four Navy SEALs on a... Read more
Lonely Hearts (2006)
6.5/10
Director: Todd Robinson
Starring: John Travolta, Salma Hayek, Jared Leto, James Gandolfini, Scott Caan, Laura Dern
Based on the story of real-life 'lonely hearts killers', Martha Beck and Ray Fernandez, who left a bloody trail of murdered, mostly elderly women, acr... Read more
Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy (1986)
7.3/10
Director: Tom Clegg
Starring: Nicol Williamson, Janet Suzman, Ian Richardson, Nigel Davenport
August the 14th, 1947 marked the beginning of the end for the British Empire - India became independent and Pakistan was born. The seemingly impossibl... Read more
Lord of War (2005)
7.6/10
Director: Andrew Niccol
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Jared Leto, Bridget Moynahan, Ethan Hawke
In this black comedy/drama Nic Cage plays opportunistic businessman Yuri Orlov who has made a killing (excuse the pun) selling the left-over Soviet we... Read more
Lords of Dogtown (2005)
7.1/10
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Starring: Michael Angarano, Emile Hirsch, Victor Rasuk, Nikki Reed, John Robinson, Rebecca...
Stacy Peralta wrote the screenplay for this filmisation of his 2001 documentary 'Dogtown and Z-Boys'. Recalling the story of pioneer skaters Tony Alv... Read more
Lorenzo's Oil (1993)
7.3/10
Director: George Miller
Starring: Nick Nolte, Susan Sarandon, Peter Ustinov
A stirring adaptation of the real-life story of Michaela and Agusto Odone, whose son Lorenzo was stricken by an incurable, and fatal, disease known as... Read more
Love and Mercy (2014)
Director: Bill Pohlad
Starring: John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks, Paul Giamatti
Bill Pohlad's Love & Mercy, a biopic of Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson, focuses on two distinct periods in the songwriter's life. One timeline fol... Read more