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'
Mr Turner ( Blu-ray ) (2014)
6.8/10
Director: Mike Leigh
Starring: Timothy Spall, Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey, Paul Jesson, Lesley Manville, Ma...
A look at the last quarter century of the great British painter J. M. W. Turner. Profoundly affected by the death of his esteemed father, loved by his... Read more
Mrs Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994)
6.4/10
Director: Alan Rudolph
Starring: Andrew McCarthy, Campbell Scott, Gwyneth Paltrow, Heather Graham, James LeGros,...
Director/co-writer Alan Rudolph's acclaimed look at the life of writer Dorothy Parker and her colorful Algonquin Round Table colleagues stars Jennifer... Read more
Mrs Soffel (1984)
6.3/10
Director: Gillian Armstrong
Starring: Diane Keaton, Mel Gibson, Matthew Modine
Diane Keaton is the sheltered wife of a stern prison warden who surrenders to the powerful attraction of a death-row convict (Mel Gibson); both become... Read more
Munich (2005)
7.6/10
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Ciaran Hinds, Mathieu Kassovitz, Hanns Zischler, Geoffr...
Following the horrific events of the 1972 Munich Olympics in which 11 Israeli athletes were killed (along with their Palestinian captors), Israel's el... Read more
Murder in the Outback (2007)
6.6/10
Director: Tony Tilse
Starring: Bryan Brown, Joanne Froggatt, John Wood, Tom Long, Richard Carter, Asher Keddie
In 2001, English backpackers Joanne Lees and Peter Falconio were travelling around Austraia in a Kombi van when they were flagged down by a bearded ma... Read more
Murder on Pleasant Drive (2006)
5.9/10
Director: Michael Scott
Starring: Adam Arkin, Kelli Williams, Amy Madigan
When the bubbly young Fran Smith mysteriously disappears after a whirlwind romance and marriage with the seemingly mild-mannered John (Adam Arkin), he... Read more
Music of the Heart (1999)
6.8/10
Director: Wes Craven
Starring: Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, Angela Bassett, Kieran Culkin, Cloris Leachman, Glori...
This sensitive, true-life drama stars Meryl Streep as Roberta Guaspari, a single mother of two asked by a friend to teach music at an impoverished Eas... Read more
Music Within (2007)
7.4/10
Director: Steven Sawalich
Starring: Ron Livingston, Michael Sheen, Melissa George, Rebecca De Mornay, Hector Elizond...
This powerful drama tells the inspiring true story of Richard Pimentel (Ron Livingston), a Vietnam veteran who suffered hearing loss in combat and lat... Read more
Mussolini And I (1985)
6.3/10
Director: Alberto Negrin
Starring: Bob Hoskins, Anthony Hopkins, Susan Sarandon
A compelling critically acclaimed drama/documentary chronicling the life and death of Il Duce himself, from his days as a terrorist to his alliance wi... Read more
My Family and Other Animals (2005)
7.5/10
Director: Sheree Folkson
Starring: Imelda Staunton, Tom Goodman-Hill, Matthew Goode, Omid Djalili, Russell Tovey, C...
Adapted by Simon Nye ('Men Behaving Badly') from Gerald Durrell's beloved book, this BBC made-for-tv production follows the eccentric Durrell family a... Read more