EXPLORE films
2020-2024
Movies inspired by and based on true stories.
View trailers, reviews, films, and facts behind the stories. Discover the facts vs. fiction, history vs. Hollywood.
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Most films included are highly rated on Rotten Tomatoes and the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) with at least a 70% rating from critics and audiences alike, many with 80% or above. Enjoy the best true story films of the 2020s!
Best True Story Films of 2024
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PG-13 | Adventure, Animals, Drama, Sport | Michael Light is an adventure racer who gets together a team to compete in the Adventure Racing World Championship in the Dominican Republic, where he befriends a wounded, stray dog he names Arthur, who follows him in the epic race.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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History vs Hollywood video on YouTube
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Arthur: The Dog who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home book by Mikael Lindnord on Amazon
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Arthur: The Dog who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home book preview on Google Books
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PG-13 | Biography, Drama | Francesca Cabrini is an Italian immigrant who arrives in New York City in 1889, greeted by disease, crime, and impoverished children. Cabrini sets off on a daring mission to convince the hostile mayor to secure housing and healthcare for society's most vulnerable.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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Mother Cabrini, the First American Saint of the Catholic Church article by Nick Ripatrazone on The National Endowment for the Humanities
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Dive Deeper: Free Cabrini Lesson Plans for Teachers on Angel Studios
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R | Drama | Irena Gut is a 19-year-old, young Polish woman who courageously shelters Jews in the basement of a Nazi officer's house where she works as the housekeeper.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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Coming soon!
Young Woman and the Sea (2024)
PG | Biography, Drama, Sport | In 1920s New York, Gertrude (Trudy) Ederle becomes an accomplished swimmer with the support of her older sister, mother, and trainers, overcoming sexism and other adversities, becoming the first woman to ever swim across the English Channel.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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The First Woman to Swim the English Channel Beat the Men’s Record by Two Hours by Becky Little on history.com
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National Girls & Women in Sports Day: The Greatness of Gertrude Ederle by Lianne McCluskey on Swimming World Magazine
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PG | Adventure, Animals, Drama, Family | On an island near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, humble fisherman João has turned away from the world in the wake of tragedy, but one day, he finds a lost Magellanic penguin caught in an oil spill in the ocean and rescues him, becoming unlikely friends.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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The Charming and Emotional True Story Behind My Penguin Friend, Explained article by Adam Symchuk on Movie Web
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My Penguin Friend’s True Story, Explained article by Aahana Swrup on TheCinemaholic
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Patagonian Penguin Finds Second Home in Brazil video from The Wall Street Journal on YouTube
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Penguin Returns Yearly to Visit Man Who Saved His Life video interview with João and the penguin from ABC News on YouTube
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An Old Man and His Penguin: How Dindim made João Pereira de Souza an Honorary Penguin Book Trailer video for a children's book about the true story on YouTube
Best True Story Films of 2023
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Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
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R | Crime, Drama, History, Mystery, Romance, Western | In 1920s Oklahoma, the Osage Nation tribe becomes wealthy by discovering oil on their land, but tribe members are serially murdered in what became known as the Reign of Terror, attracting an FBI investigation.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI book by David Grann on Amazon
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How Much of ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Is Actually True? by The National Archives Foundation
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What’s Fact and What’s Fiction in Killers of the Flower Moon article by Ellin Stein on Slate
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William Hale’s Brutal Role in the Osage Murders by Greg Daugherty on History.com
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R | Biography, Drama, History | During World War II, physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer works on the top-secret Manhattan Project with a team of scientists who develop the atomic bomb, resulting in the world's first nuclear explosion.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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American Prometheus book by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin on Amazon
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The Real History Behind Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ by Andy Kifer on Smithsonian Magazine
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Oppenheimer the movie: Physics World writers give their verdict on Physics World
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Oppenheimer Is a Mind-Blower, but How Is It as History? by Fred Kaplan on Slate
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J. Robert Oppenheimer: 5 Facts About the ‘Father of the Atomic Bomb’ by Becky Little on History.com
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When Oppenheimer, ‘Father of the Atomic Bomb,’ Was Blacklisted by Becky Little on History.com
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PG | Drama, History, Sport | In the 1950s, JB Peña moves to small town Del Rio, Texas, to start a job as a school superintentent, but when he is rejected by the prestigious, all-white country club, he creates a golf team, the Mustangs, with five teenage Mexican-American caddies from the club.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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Mustang Miracle book by Humberto G. Garcia on Amazon
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Entertainment Weekly article by Calie Schepp excerpt: Vasquez, now 83, spoke with EW about how it feels to see his story come to life on the big screen. "It's a dream come true, only in America, really," says the former Mustang. "We were fighting brutal poverty and brutal discrimination. Our parents were migrants, they were illiterate, and we were very poor. So to us, this was very exciting because we could enjoy caddying, making a little money, and learning how to play golf by mimicking the golfers. And then we got an idea, let's make our golf course.
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PG | Biography, Drama, History | Nicholas ("Nicky") Winton is a young London broker who visits Prague in 1938, convincing the British Committee for Refugees in Czechoslovakia to work with him to rescue over 600 children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia in the months leading up to World War II.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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The Emotional True Story Behind Holocaust Drama One Life article in Time by Armani Syed
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Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton (That's Life - 1988) the real TV episode dramatized in the film
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60 Minutes: Sir Nicholas Winton "Saving the Children" news story with interviews of Nicholas Winton and others
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If It's Not Impossible...: The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton book by Barbara Winton on Amazon
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R | Adventure, Biography, Disaster & Survival, Drama, History | In 1972, a rugby team on Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 is en route to Chile when the plane crashes on a glacier in the Andes Mountains. The few survivors trapped in the cold, harsh environment resort to extreme measures to stay alive.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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History vs Hollywood article
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History vs Hollywood video on YouTube
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How Society of the Snow Changed the True Story's Ending | Fact-Check History vs Hollywood video on YouTube
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Society of the Snow: The Definitive Account of the World’s Greatest Survival Story book by Pablo Vierci on Amazon
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Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home book by Nando Parrado and Vince Rause on Amazon
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Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors book by historian and biographer Piers Paul Read on Amazon
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PG-13 | Biography, Drama, History, Medical & Disability | Ming Wang is an impoverished Chinese prodigy who flees Communist China to become a pioneering eye surgeon in America. When tasked with restoring the sight of an orphan who was blinded by her stepmother, he must confront the trauma of living through the violent uprising in his youth, the Cultural Revolution.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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From Darkness to Sight: A Journey from Hardship to Healing autobiography by Ming Wang on Amazon
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What is True in the SIGHT Movie? article by Angel Studios
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PG-13 | Action, Adventure, Drama, Sport | Jann Mardenborough is a teenage Gran Turismo player who won a series of video game competitions to become a real-life professional race car driver on a team of underdogs.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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The Gran Turismo Movie Tells a Remarkable True Story—With One Big Exception article by Tyler Piccotti on Biography.com
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TV-PG | Adventure, Biography, Drama, Family, Sport | Australian teenager Jessica Watson is the youngest person ever to sail solo, nonstop, and unassisted around the world.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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Everything Netflix’s True Spirit Movie Changes From The Real Story article by Holly McFarlane on Screen Rant
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R | Biography, Comedy, Drama, History | This is the story of the rise and fall of the world's first smartphone. Canadian startup founders Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin invent the BlackBerry with their modest startup. They are joined by businessman Jim Balsillie as Co-CEO, who helps catapult the company into success. A few short years later, they face challenges from the SEC and competition from Apple's iPhone.
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Trailers and Reviews:
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Facts:
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BlackBerry: The Rise and Fall of the Famous Smartphone and Its Inventors article by Colin McEvoy on biography.com
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​BlackBerry: A Story of Constant Success and Failure article by Shobhit Seth on Investopedia
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This Day In History: January 19, 1999: First BlackBerry device hits the market article by history.com editors
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Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry book by Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff on Amazon
Best True Story Films of 2022
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PG-13 | Drama | Inspired by director Steven Spielberg's childhood and adolescence, this drama depicts Sammy Fabelman falling in love with movies as a boy and learning to make his own, along with coping with the drama of family life and peers.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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The Fabelmans True Story: How Accurate It Is To Spielberg's Childhood article by Taylor Diamond on Screen Rant
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Steven Spielberg: National Humanities Medal 1999 article on National Endowment for the Humanities
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TV-G | Animals, Biography, Drama, Family | State trooper Dan dreams of joining the K-9 Search & Rescue team, and fate brings him to Ruby, a smart and ill-behaved shelter dog who needs a forever home.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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PG | Biography, Drama, Sport | Three Nigerian-Greek brothers and their family struggle financially and with the threat of deportation, but the brothers rise from anonymity to become the first family trio to become NBA champions.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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Giannis Antetokounmpo biography on Britannica.com
PG-13 | Docudrama, Biography, Drama, Music | The film explores the life and music of Elvis Presley, seen through the prism of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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Elvis True Story: How Accurate It Is & What The Movie Changes by Colin McCormick & Tommy Lethbridge on Screen Rant
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The Definitive ‘Elvis’ Fact Check: What’s True and What’s Fiction in the New Movie? by Steve Pond on The Wrap
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7 Fascinating Facts About Elvis Presley by Elizabeth Nix on history.com
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Elvis Presley biography on biography.com
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Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1970) documentary showing Elvis backstage, in rehearsal, and in concert for his 1970 Las Vegas shows
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Elvis Music playlist of hits, including studio recordings and live performances from Elvis's breakthrough in 1954 through the year of his death in 1977
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PG-13 | Biography, True Crime, Drama, History | In 1955, Emmett Till is a fourteen-year-old Black boy from Chicago visiting his cousins in Mississippi when he is murdered in a brutal lynching. His grieving mother, Mamie Till Mobley, battles racism in her effort to bring about justice.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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The Untold Story of EMMETT LUIS TILL (Documentary 2005) by Keith Beauchamp on the Mamie Till Mobley YouTube channel
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​The Lost Story of Emmett Till: The Universal Child docudrama part 1 from NBC Chicago on YouTube
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The Lost Story of Emmett Till: Trial in the Delta docudrama part 2 from NBC Chicago on YouTube
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The Lost Story of Emmett Till: Then & Now docudrama part 3 from NBC Chicago on YouTube
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PG-13 | Biography, Drama, Disaster & Survival, Thriller | A rescue mission is assembled in Thailand where a group of young boys and their soccer coach are trapped in a system of underground caves that are flooding.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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Coming soon!
Best True Story Films of 2021
R | Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Mystery, Thriller, War | Based on the NY Times best-selling memoir Guantánamo Diary, this drama portrays Mohamedou Ould Slahi's struggle for freedom from Guantanamo, where he was detained without any charges against him, with the aid of his two U.S. defense attorneys.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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Guantánamo Diary book by Mohamedou Ould Slahi on Amazon
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R | Biography, Crime, Drama | Inspired by the true story of the Italian family that owned the Gucci fashion empire, this drama depicts the ambitious Patrizia Reggiani as the outsider who marries into the Gucci family and the reckless downward spiral that ensues with the family.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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How Patrizia Reggiani Plotted to Kill Her Ex-Husband Maurizio Gucci on Biography.com
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Patrizia Reggiani biography on Wikipedia
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House of Gucci True Story: Everything The Movie Leaves Out on Screen Rant​
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Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
R | Biography, Drama, History | Offered a plea deal by the FBI, William O'Neal infiltrates the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party to gather intelligence on Chairman Fred Hampton.
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​Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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PG-13 | Biography, Drama, Sport | The story of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams, who grew up in a ghetto in Compton and whose father, Richard, writes a plan for them to become tennis champions.
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​Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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What’s Fact and What’s Fiction in King Richard by Ellin Stein on Slate
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King Richard True Story: How Much Is Real (& What It Left Out) by Katy Rath on screenrant
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PG-13 | Biography, Drama, Law | Percy Schmeiser is a Canadian farmer who is sued by Monsanto, one of the largest agricultural corporations, for allegedly using their patented seeds after their GMOs interfere with his crops.
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​Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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Monsanto vs Schmeiser full text case decision from Canadian Supreme Court​
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‘Percy vs. Goliath’ Is a Cautionary Tale of Corporate Control in Agriculture interview by Lynne Curry on Civil Eats
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PG-13 | Docudrama, Pop Musical, Biography, Comedy, Drama, Musical | Lin-Manuel Miranda adapts Jonathan Larson's autobiographical musical, portaying him as an aspiring theater composer on the brink of turning thirty as he navigates love, friendship, and the pressure to create something great before time runs out.
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​Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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Jonathan Larson peforming the rock monologue tick, tick...BOOM! Performing at Village Gate, NYC, November 25th, 1991. Songs: "30/90," "Johnny Can't Decide," "Sunday," and "Why."
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Thank You, Jonathan Larson biography on Signature Theater
Best True Story Films of 2020
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PG-13 | Drama, History, Mystery, Thriller | In this Cold War spy thiller inspired by a true story, ordinary businessman Greville Wynne is recruited by UK's MI-6 and a CIA operative to form a covert partnership with a Russian officer to help prevent nuclear conflict and end the Cuban Missile Crisis.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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Greville Wynne biography on Wikipedia
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The True Story Behind "The Courier" in Smithsonian Magazine
R | Biography, Drama, History, War | Before reaching fame as a mime, Marcel Marceau works with a group of Jewish boy scouts and the French Resistance to save the lives of ten thousand orphans during World War II.
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Trailers and Reviews:
Facts: ​
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Marcel Marceau biography on Biography.com and Wikipedia​
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9 People You May Not Know Were WWII Veterans (Marcel Marceau is # 6) on history.com ​
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The French Resistance's Secret Weapon? The Mime Marcel Marceau on history.com
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Marcel Marceau quotes with sources on Wikiquote
PG | Biography, Drama, Sport | Kurt Warner went from stocking shelves at a supermarket and years of challenges to becoming an American Football star, two-time NFL MVP, and Hall of Fame quarterback.
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​Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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Kurt Warner biography on Wikipedia and Biography.com
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"Kurt Warner's football career has proven to be of the more improbable rags-to-riches stories ever to come out of the sports world." - the Biography.com website
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R | Drama | A woman in her sixties, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.
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​Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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What to Know About Nomadland and the Real-Life Community Behind the Movie by Annabel Gutterman on Time
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Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century non-fiction book by Jessica Bruder on Amazon
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R | Biography, Comedy, Drama | 1930s Hollywood is re-evaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane (1941).
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​Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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History vs Hollywood article
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History vs Hollywood video on YouTube
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The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
R | Drama, History, Thriller | The story of 7 people on trial stemming from various charges surrounding the uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.
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​Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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History vs Hollywood article
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History vs Hollywood video on YouTube
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Unrated | Comedy, Drama, History | A group of women hatch a plan to disrupt the 1970 Miss World beauty competition in London.
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​Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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Miss World Bob Hope video of the host's sexist language during the 1970 Miss World beauty contest, followed by the activist protest. In his own words:"I am very happy to be here at this cattle market tonight. Moo." - Bob Hope
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'You are a trophy': ex-beauty queens judge Misbehaviour article by Emine Saner on The Guardian
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Why did this woman storm Miss World pageant? Witness - BBC News video interview with Sally Alexander, one of the activists
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PG-13 | Documentary, Docudrama, Drama | Documentary exploring the harmful impact of social media and advertising as tech experts sound the alarm on their own creations, featuring interviews with current and former big tech founders and executives, including some fictional enactments.
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​Trailers and Reviews:
Facts:
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How a handful of tech companies control billions of minds every day | Tristan Harris TED Talk on YouTube
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Tristan Harris Congress Testimony: Understanding the Use of Persuasive Technology from Center for Humane Technology video on YouTube