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'
Open Water (2003)
5.7/10
Director: Chris Kentis
Starring: Blanchard Ryan, Daniel Travis, Saul Stein
In search of much needed relaxation, Susan (Blanchard Ryan) and Daniel (Daniel Travis) take a tropical island vacation. While scuba diving miles off t... Read more
Operation Valkyrie (2004)
6.8/10
Director: Jo Baier
Starring: Hardy Kruger, Ulrich Tukur, Sebastian Koch
A thrilling historical drama detailing the events leading up to one of the most prominent assassination attempts of Adolph Hitler by his own soldiers.... Read more
Oranges and Sunshine (2011)
7.1/10
Director: Jim Loach
Starring: David Wenham, Emily Watson, Hugo Weaving, Tara Morice
The true story of Margaret Humphreys (Emily Watson), a social worker from Nottingham who uncovered one of the most significant social scandals in rece... Read more
Out of Africa (1985)
7.2/10
Director: Sydney Pollack
Starring: Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer
The story of Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep) and her life on a coffee plantation in Kenya around 1914. Based on the autobiography of Isak Dinesen (under t... Read more
Out of Africa ( Blu-ray ) (1985)
7.2/10
Director: Sydney Pollack
Starring: Klaus Maria Brandauer, Meryl Streep, Robert Redford
The story of Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep) and her life on a coffee plantation in Kenya around 1914. Based on the autobiography of Isak Dinesen (under t... Read more
Out Of The Ashes (2003)
6.9/10
Director: Joseph Sargent
Starring: Christine Lahti, Richard Crenna, Beau Bridges, Bruce Davison
Based on a true story, this powerful drama stars Christine Lahti as Gisella Perl, a Jewish Hungarian doctor interned at Auschwitz in 1944. Surviving a... Read more
Out of the Blue (2006)
7.2/10
Director: Robert Sarkies
Starring: Karl Urban, Matthew Sunderland, Lois Lawn, Simon Ferry, Tandi Wright, Paul Glove...
The devastating true story of the 1990 Aramoana massacre is told with great care by director Robert Sarkies, based on the book 'Aramoana: 22 Hours of... Read more
Owning Mahowny (2003)
7.1/10
Director: Richard Kwietniowski
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Minnie Driver, John Hurt, Maury Chaykin
Dan Mahowny (Philip Seymour Hoffman), an unassuming bank manager with an obsessive gambling habit and a job that gives him access to a $20 million acc... Read more
Pain and Gain (2013)
Director: Michael Bay
Starring: Ed Harris, Mark Wahlberg, Tony Shalhoub, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie
Based on an unbelievable true story, this mix of comedy and action from director Michael Bay follows the half-baked kidnapping and extortion scheme pe... Read more
Pandaemonium (2000)
6.6/10
Director: Julien Temple
Starring: Linus Roache, John Hannah, Emma Fielding
Linus Roache plays Samuel Taylor Coleridge and John Hannah is William Wordsworth in this period drama that focuses on the friendship and intense rival... Read more