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Law & crime films

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Movies inspired by and based on true stories.

View trailers, reviews, films, and facts about law and crime films. 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). They have at least a 70% rating from critics and audiences alike, many with 80% or above. Enjoy the best true story films about law and crime!

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Lady Justice

​True crime films and legal dramas are among the most abundant films in the based on a true story category. "Truth is stranger than fiction" is well-demonstrated in many of these movies, which also give us a glimpse into legal systems that may affect us even today. The concept of Lady Justice is known in countries around the globe, dating back to ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman goddesses, representing truth, order, law, custom, morality, and justice. She is blindfolded because justice ought to be unbiased. Some law and crime films explore the gap between what is and what ought to be in the legal landscape. Enjoy these true crime thrillers, courtroom dramas, and portrayals of real cases in civil and criminal law. ​​​

 

70 highly rated law and crime films inspired by and based on true stories:​

  • ​A Civil Action (1998)

  • A Cry in the Dark (1988)

  • A Few Good Men (1992)

  • All the Money in the World (2017)

  • Amistad (1997)

  • American Made (2017)

  • Bad Education (2019)

  • Belle (2013)

  • Big Eyes (2014)

  • Blow (2001)

  • Bonnie & Clyde (2013)

  • Bridge of Spies (2015)

  • Capote (2005)

  • Captain Phillips (2013)

  • Catch Me If You Can (2002)

  • Changeling (2008)

  • Compliance (2012)

  • Confirmation (2016)

  • Conviction (2010)

  • Dark Waters (2019)

  • Detroit (2017)

  • Denial (2016)

  • Erin Brockovich (2000)

  • ​Fair Game (2010)

  • Foxcatcher (2014)

  • Fruitvale Station (2013)

  • Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)

  • Gorillas in the Mist (1988)

  • Heavenly Creatures (1994)

  • House of Gucci (2021)

  • Imperium (2016)

  • Inherit the Wind (1960)

  • In the Name of the Father (1993)

  • Jasper, Texas (2003)

  • JFK (1991)

  • Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

  • Just Mercy (2019)

  • Kill the Messenger (2014)

  • Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

  • Little Pink House (2017)

  • Loving (2016)

  • Marshall (2017)

  • Mississippi Burning (1988)

  • Norma Rae (1979)

  • Nothing But the Truth (2008)

  • Official Secrets (2019)

  • ​On the Basis of Sex (2018)​​

  • Percy vs Goliath (2020/2021)

  • Philadelphia (1993)

  • Quiz Show (1994)

  • Richard Jewell (2019)

  • Rosewood (1997)

  • Six Degrees of Separation (1993)

  • Snowden (2016)

  • Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005)

  • Spotlight (2015)

  • The Final Days (1989)

  • The Hurricane (1999)

  • The Insider (1999)

  • The Laramie Project (2002)

  • The Mauritanian (2021)

  • The Night of the Hunter (1955)

  • The Old Man and the Gun (2018)

  • The Report (2019)

  • The Social Network (2010)

  • The Whistleblower (2010)

  • Till (2022)

  • Tombstone (1993)

  • Trial by Fire (2018)

  • Zodiac (2007)

a civil action (1998) true story movie legal drama poster.jpg

A Civil Action (1998)

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PG-13 | Drama, Law | In 1980s Woburn, Massachusetts, personal injury lawyer Jan Schlichtmann takes on an environmental pollution case at the risk of bankrupting his firm and career. The case is against two companies responsible for several children being diagnosed with leukemia, due to contamination of the town's water supply.

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Trailers and Reviews:

 

Facts: 

a cry in the dark (1988) legal drama true story movie poster.jpg

​A Cry in the Dark (1988)

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PG-13 | Biography, Drama, Law | During a vacation in the Australian outback, a Seventh Day Adventist family's baby goes missing from their tent, and the mother witnesses a dingo (a wild Australian dog) running from the tent. She must fight to prove her innocence when public opinion and rumors turn against her, and she is accused of murder.

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A Few Good Men (1992) true story legal drama movie poster.jpg

A Few Good Men (1992)

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R | Drama, Law & Crime, Thriller | Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee and Liutenant Commander JoAnne Galloway are military lawyers who defend two U.S. Marines charged with killing another Marine at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba.

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Trailers and Reviews:

 

Facts: 

  • Can You Handle the True Story Behind Aaron Sorkin's 'A Few Good Men'? article by Shreejit Nair on Collider

  • AFI Catalog of Feature Films: A Few Good Men (1992) History "Castle Rock Entertainment was sued for $10 million in damages by several Marines involved in the incident that inspired the film, as reported in a 26 Feb 1994 The Times (London) brief. The marines claimed they never gave permission for filmmakers to use their story, and pointed out key details that were taken from real life, including the stuffing of a poisoned rag down the victim’s throat. A Castle Rock executive responded that the lawsuit was without merit. . . . Less than two months after The Times (London) brief, a 7 Apr 1994 HR item reported that David V. Cox, one of the marines who had been acquitted and honorably discharged, was found shot to death on 2 Apr 1994."

  • The Real Story Behind ‘A Few Good Men’ article on Film School Rejects

All the Money in the World (2017) true story true crime drama film poster

All the Money in the World (2017)

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R | Biography, True Crime, Drama, Mystery, Survival, Thriller | In 1973 Rome, Italy, the grandson of billionaire Jean Paul Getty, the richest person in the world, is kidnapped, but Getty refuses to pay the ransom, despite desperate pleas from his grandson's mother and his adviser.

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Amistad (1997) based on a true story legal, historical drama movie poster.jpg

Amistad (1997)

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R | Biography, Drama, History, Law | In 1839, the slave ship Amistad sets sail from Cuba to America, when the slaves aboard revolt. The courts in the USA decide whether those captured are slaves or free.

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American Made (2017) true crime based on a true story movie poster.jpg

American Made (2017)

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R | Action, Comedy, True Crime, Drama | Barry Seal, a TWA pilot, is recruited by the CIA in 1978 and soon finds himself involved with the Medellín Cartel and in charge of one of the biggest drug trafficking and covert CIA operations in the history of the United States.

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Bad Education (2019) true crime based on a story movie poster.jpg

Bad Education (2019)

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TV-MA | Biography, Comedy, True Crime, Drama | Frank is a beloved Long Island school superintendent, whom a student reporter reveals is involved in the largest public school embezzlement scheme in American history.

 

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Belle (2013) true story movie poster.jpg

Belle (2013)

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PG | Biography, Drama, Law, Romance | Dido Elizabeth Belle is the illegitimate biracial daughter of a Royal Navy captain, raised by her aristocratic great-uncle Lord William Murray, Earl of Mansfield and Lord Chief Justice. Belle helps influence her uncle's role in the end of slavery in England when he presides over the Zong case, involving a shipping company's drowning of over a hundred slaves. 

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Big Eyes (2014) true crime, artist biography, based on a true story movie poster.jpg

Big Eyes (2014)

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PG-13 | Biography, Drama, Law & Crime | In the 1950s to 1960s, Walter Keane achieves wild success and fame as an artist of portraits featuring big-eyed children, despite his wife, Margaret, being the real painter who receives no recognition while living with her controlling husband.

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Blow (2001) true crime based on a true story movie poster.jpg

Blow (2001)

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R | Biography, True Crime, Drama | The film dramatizes the rise and fall of George Jung, who quickly transformed from an ordinary American to the world's premiere importer of cocaine from Colombia's Medellin cartel in the 1970s.

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bonnie and clyde 2013 TV miniseries true crime based on a true story movie poster.jpg

​Bonnie & Clyde (2013)

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TV-14 | Biography, True Crime, Drama | Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, the infamous American robbery duo, embarked on a 21-month crime spree in 1932, robbing gas stations, restaurants, and small-town banks in Texas, Oklahoma, and other states.

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Trailer and Reviews: IMDb

 

Facts: 

Bridge of Spies (2015) film based on a true story about Cold War spies, movie poster

Bridge of Spies (2015)

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PG-13 | Drama, History, Law, Thriller | During the Cold War, an American lawyer, James Donovan, is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy, Rudolf Abel, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for an American spy plane pilot whom the Soviets captured.

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Capote (2005) true crime based on a true story movie poster.jpg

Capote (2005)

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R | Biography, True Crime, Drama | In 1959, New York City novelist Truman Capote reads about the murder of a Kansas family and decides to write a true story novel about the case. Capote develops a relationship with one of the killers, Perry Smith, while interviewing him in jail and on death row for his research to write his novel, In Cold Blood.

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Trailers and Reviews:

 

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Captain Phillips (2013) true crime, survival, based on a true story movie poster

Captain Phillips (2013)

 

PG-13 | Action, Biography, True Crime, Disaster & Survival, Drama, Thriller | In 2009, Somali pirates hijack the U.S. Maersk Alabama and hold its crew and captain hostage in the first American cargo ship hijacking in two hundred years.

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Catch Me if You Can (2002) true crime film, based on a true story movie poster.jpg

Catch Me if You Can (2002)

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PG-13 | Biography, True Crime, Drama | Frank Abagnale, Jr. uses his skill of deception and forgery to work as a doctor, a lawyer, and a co-pilot across the USA before he is even 18 years old, while FBI agent Carl is determined to track down the young con man.

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Changeling (2008) true crime movie about Christine Collins, Walter Collins, and LAPD, film poster

Changeling (2008)

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R | Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Mystery, Thriller | In 1928 Los Angeles, single mother Christine Collins arrives home to find her son, Walter, missing. The LAPD tries to pass off an impostor as her son to quiet public protests, and Christine's only ally becomes a clergyman who exposes corruption in the police department.

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compliance (2012) true crime, based on a true story movie poster.jpg

Compliance (2012)

 

R | True Crime, Drama, History | "A normal Friday service at a fast food restaurant becomes interrupted by a police officer who claims an employee stole from a customer, but something more sinister is going on."

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Confirmation (2016) Anita Hill Clarence Thomas based on a true story movie poster.jpg

Confirmation (2016)

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TV-14 | Biography, Drama, History | In 1991, Judge Clarence Thomas' nomination to the United States Supreme Court is called into question when Anita Hill, his former employee, testifies to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he sexually harassed her.

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Conviction (2010) law and crime movie based on a true story about Betty Anne Waters and Kenny Waters, movie poster

Conviction (2010)

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R | Biography, Law & Crime, Drama | In 1983, Massachusetts, Betty Anne Waters' older brother Kenny is convicted of murder and sentenced to life, but Betty vows to get the conviction overturned and spends 18 years on a quest to exonerate Kenny, putting herself through college and law school.

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dark waters (2019) dupont legal drama based on a true story movie poster.jpg

Dark Waters (2019)

 

PG-13 | Biography, Drama, History, Law, Mystery | A courageous attorney risks his career and family by bringing an environmental lawsuit against a large and powerful chemical corporation connected to unexplained deaths and pollution in a rural town. 

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Detroit (2017) true crime based on a true story movie poster

Detroit (2017)

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R | True Crime, Drama, History, Survival, Thriller | A violent police raid in Detroit in 1967 results in one of the largest race riots in United States history.

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Denial (2016) legal drama about Holocaust denier libel case based on a true story movie poster

Denial (2016)

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PG-13 | Biography, Drama, Law | Professor Deborah E. Lipstadt includes World War II historian David Irving in her book about Holocaust deniers, but Irving accuses her of libel, and the legal burden of proof is placed on the accused.

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Erin Brockovich (2000) legal drama based on a true story movie poster

Erin Brockovich (2000)

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R | Biography, Drama, Law | Erin Brockovich is an unemployed, single mother when she convinces her attorney Ed Masry to hire her at his law firm, where she discovers records indicating a Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) cover-up of contaminated water and related illnesses in residents of a California community.

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Fair Game (2010) movie based on a true story about CIA operative Valerie Plame, film poster

Fair Game (2010)

 

PG-13 | Biography, Drama, Thriller | "CIA operative Valerie Plame discovers her identity is allegedly leaked by the government as payback for an op-ed article her husband wrote criticizing the Bush administration."

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Foxcatcher (2014) sports crime drama movie based on a true story, film poster

Foxcatcher (2014)

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R | Biography, True Crime, Drama, History, Sport | Eccentric millionaire John du Pont invites U.S. Olympic wrestling champions and brothers Mark Schultz and Dave Schultz to move to his estate and form "Team Foxcatcher" to train for the 1988 Olympics, but John's self-destructive behavior threatens tragedy for everyone.

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Fruitvale Station (2013) true story movie poster.jpg

Fruitvale Station (2013)

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R | Biography, True Crime, Drama, Romance | Oscar Grant is a 22-year-old Bay Area resident and black man who is trying to live a clean life and support his girlfriend and daughter. He takes the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train with family and friends to watch fireworks on New Year's Eve, but upon returning to a station in Oakland, he becomes involved in a police altercation.

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Ghosts of Mississippi (1996) movie based on a true story about Medgar Evers murder case, true crime legal drama, film poster

Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)

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PG-13 | Drama, History, Law & Crime | A Mississippi district attorney and the widow of black activist and murder victim Medgar Evers struggle to finally bring a white racist to justice for the 1963 murder of the civil rights leader.

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Gorillas in the Mist (1988) movie based on a true story about animals, film about Dian Fossey and gorillas, film poster

Gorillas in the Mist (1988)

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PG-13 | Animals, Biography, True Crime, Drama | Scientist Dian Fossey comes to Africa to study the vanishing mountain gorillas and later fights to protect them from exploitation.

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Heavenly Creatures (1994) crime movie based on a true story, film poster

Heavenly Creatures (1994)

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R | Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller | In Christchurch, New Zealand, 1954, when teenage girls Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme become friends, their parents become concerned that their intense relationship is unhealthy, but the girls plan to take revenge and run away to prevent their separation.

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House of Gucci (2021) true crime movie based on a true story, biographical crime drama about Gucci and Patrizia Reggiani, film poster

House of Gucci (2021)

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R | Biography, True 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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Imperium (2016) movie inspired by real events about an FBI agent undercover as a white supremacist, true crime drama, film poster

Imperium (2016)

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R | Biography, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | An idealistic, young FBI agent goes undercover to infiltrate a white supremacist group that's plotting an act of terror.

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Inherit the Wind (1960) movie based on a true story, legal drama about the Scopes Monkey Trial, film poster

Inherit the Wind (1960)

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Unrated | Biography, Drama, History, Law & Crime | In 1925 Tennessee, a science teacher is on trial for the state crime of teaching Darwin's theory of evolution instead of creationism in public school, and two of the USA's top lawyers argue their cases. 

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Trailers and Reviews: 

 

Facts: 

  • Scopes Trial on history.com

  • Scopes v. State full text opinion filed January 17, 1927, available on casetext.com

  • "The Scopes trial, formally The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes, and commonly referred to as the Scopes Monkey Trial, was an American legal case from July 10 to July 21, 1925, in which a high school teacher, John T. Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which had made it unlawful to teach human evolution in any state-funded school. . .The trial was deliberately staged in order to attract publicity to the small town of Dayton, Tennessee, where it was held. Scopes was unsure whether he had ever actually taught evolution, but he incriminated himself deliberately so the case could have a defendant." - Wikipedia

In the Name of the Father (1993) law and crime movie based on a true story about Gerry Conlon and the Guildford Four, movie poster

In the Name of the Father (1993)

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R | Biography, Drama, Law & Crime | Gerry Conlon is a young Irishman whose coerced confession to an IRA bombing in Guildford, England results in his imprisonment and his father's imprisonment. He spends 15 years trying to clear their names with the help of a British lawyer.

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Jasper, Texas (2003) movie based on a true story, film poster.jpg

Jasper, Texas (2003)

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R | True Crime, Drama | In 1998, the small town of Jasper, Texas attracts national attention when three white supremacists brutally murder a black man. The town's first black mayor and the town's white sheriff try to control racial tension as the town swarms with reporters, racists, and Black Panthers.

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JFK (1991) movie based on a true story film poster.jpg

JFK (1991)

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R | True Crime, Drama, History, Law, Thriller | New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison leads the investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, facing government resistance when he doubts conventional thinking about the murder.

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Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) law and crime movie based on a true story, movie poster

Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

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Unrated | Drama, Law & Crime | In 1947, Nuremberg, West Germany, four former German judges of Nazi Germany face a military tribunal to answer charges of crimes against humanity. The film depicts the Judges' Trial with fictional characters.

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Just Mercy (2019) movie based on a true story, true crime, legal drama, true story film poster

Just Mercy (2019)

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PG-13 | Biography, True Crime, Drama, Law | In 1980s Alabama, Bryan Stevenson seeks to defend those wrongly accused or too impoverished to afford legal representation. In one of his first cases, his client Walter McMillian is sentenced to death for murder, despite evidence proving his innocence.

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Kill the Messenger (2014) true crime movie based on a true story about journalist Gary Webb, CIA, 1980s operation smuggling crack cocaine, movie poster

Kill the Messenger (2014)

 

R | Biography, True Crime, Drama, Journalism, Mystery & Thriller | In 1996 California, journalist Gary Webb begins investigating the CIA's role in the 1980s operation to smuggle crack cocaine to Los Angeles to obtain money and weapons for the Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

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Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) true crime movie based on a true story about Osage Nation Native American Indian Reign of Terror and FBI investigation, starring DiCaprio and De Niro, film poster

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

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R | True 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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Little Pink House (2017) legal drama based on a true story about Kelo v. New London, eminent domain abuse, movie poster

Little Pink House (2017)

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Unrated | Drama, Law | A woman fights a group trying to evict her whole neighborhood and give it to a corporation, taking her case to the Supreme Court.

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Loving (2016) legal drama based on a true story about Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court decision, interracial marriage, true story movie poster

Loving (2016)

 

PG-13 | Biography, Drama, Law, Romance | In 1958 Virginia, Richard and Mildred Loving are an interracial couple who get married and whose subsequent arrest for interracial marriage leads to a legal battle culminating in a historic U.S. Supreme Court decision.

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Marshall (2017) true crime legal drama about Thurgood Marshall case State of Connecticut v. Spell, true story movie poster

Marshall (2017)

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PG-13 | True Crime, Drama, History, Law | In 1940s Connecticut, Thurgood Marshall is a young lawyer working for the NAACP in one of his most challenging, career-defining cases. Marshall and a Jewish lawyer face racism and anti-Semitism while defending a Black chauffer, Joseph Spell, against his wealthy socialite boss, Eleanor Strubing, who accuses Spell of sexual assault and attempted murder.

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Mississippi Burning (1988) true crime drama movie based on a true story about FBI agents investigating in Mississippi, true story film poster

Mississippi Burning (1988)

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R | True Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | In June 1964 Mississippi, a group of civil rights activists disappears, prompting two F.B.I. agents to investigate, but the agents clash over their strategies when dealing with a refusal to cooperate from both the small town's local authorities and its Black community.

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Norma Rae (1979) movie based on a true story, inspired by Crystal Lee, working class conditions, unionization, Sally Field film poster

Norma Rae (1979)

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PG | Drama, Law | Norma Rae is a young, single mother who works at a local textile mill for low pay with long hours and poor working conditions, but she is inspired to unionize, despite opposition from her family, fiancé, and employer.

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Nothing But The Truth (2008) movie inspired by true events about journalism, reporter Judith Miller, outing CIA operative Valerie Plame, legal drama, movie poster

Nothing But the Truth (2008)

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R | Drama, Law & Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Journalism | Inspired by the true story of reporter Judith Miller, who writes a story outing covert CIA operative Valerie Plame. The characters' names are changed in this fictionalized version of the story, which dramatizes the reporter's refusal to reveal her source and its legal repercussions.

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Official Secrets (2019) true crime movie based on a true story about Katharine Gun whistleblower, illegal NSA spy operation, Iraq invasion, legal drama, Keira Knightley film poster

Official Secrets (2019)

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R | Biography, Drama, Law & Crime, Thriller, War | In 2003, British intelligence specialist Katharine Gun becomes a whistleblower, leaking information to the press about an illegal NSA spy operation after she receives a work memo from the United States seeking Britain's aid in gathering information on U.N. Security Council members to blackmail them to vote for the invasion of Iraq.

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On the Basis of Sex (2018) movie based on a true story, legal drama about Ruth Bader Ginsberg and gender discrimination, movie poster

On the Basis of Sex (2018)

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PG-13 | Biography, Drama, Law | This true story film dramatizes the early career of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg when she is a new attorney and mother struggling in her fight for equal rights. She takes on a groundbreaking tax case with her husband, which changes the way the courts view gender discrimination.

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Trailers and Reviews:

 

Facts: 

  • Ruth Bader Ginsburg biography on History.com

  • Ruther Bader Ginsburg biography on Biography.com

  • Ruth Bader Ginsburg quotes with sources on wikiquote​

    • "Dissents speak to a future age. It's not simply to say, 'My colleagues are wrong and I would do it this way.' But the greatest dissents do become court opinions and gradually over time their views become the dominant view. So that's the dissenter's hope: that they are writing not for today but for tomorrow." - RBG, interview with Nina Totenberg of National Public Radio (2 May 2002). Also quoted in: Li Cohen (September 19, 2022): Ruth Bader Ginsburg's iconic quotes on law, love and the fight for equality. In: CBS News. Archived from the original on September 9, 2022.

    • "I tell law students…if you are going to be a lawyer and just practice your profession, you have a skill—very much like a plumber. But if you want to be a true professional, you will do something outside yourself…something that makes life a little better for people less fortunate than you." RBG, On law. Source: The Mercury News, February 6, 2017. As quoted in: Li Cohen (September 19, 2022): Ruth Bader Ginsburg's iconic quotes on law, love and the fight for equality. In: CBS News. Archived from the original on September 9, 2022.

Percy vs Goliath (2020) film poster.jpg

Percy vs Goliath (2020/2021)

 

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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Philadelphia (1993) movie based on a true story, true legal drama, Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, film poster

Philadelphia (1993)

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PG-13 | Drama, Law | Lawyer Andrew Beckett hides his homosexuality and HIV condition from his Philadelphia law firm, but he is fired when his secret is exposed, and he hires a homophobic lawyer, the only attorney who will represent him in a discrimination lawsuit.

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Facts: 

  • Coming soon!

Quiz Show (1994) movie based on a true story about 1950s game show rigging, film poster

Quiz Show (1994)

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PG-13 | Biography, Drama, History, Law | A young lawyer, Richard Goodwin, investigates the game show "Twenty One" and show winner Charles Van Doren to examine the claim that winners were given the answers.

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Richard Jewell (2019) true crime drama movie based on a true story about Richard Jewell, Atlanta Olympics bombing, film poster

Richard Jewell (2019)

 

R | Biography, True Crime, Drama | Richard Jewell, a security guard, is praised as a hero for saving lives during a bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics, but then his life unravels when the FBI investigates him as a suspect.

 

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Rosewood (1997) movie based on a true story about Rosewood, Florida racist lynch mob, true story film poster

Rosewood (1997)

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R | True Crime, Drama, History | On New Year's Day 1923, a racist lynch mob storms the small, peaceful town of Rosewood, Florida, an almost completely African-American community.

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Trailers and Reviews:

  • Rotten Tomatoes

  • IMDb

 

Facts: 

  • Coming soon!

Six Degrees of Separation (1993) movie based on a true story about David Hampton, Will Smith true story film poster

Six Degrees of Separation (1993)

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R | Comedy, Drama, Mystery | An affluent New York City couple finds their lives touched and intruded upon by a mysterious young black man who claims to be a friend of their Ivy League children and who is never quite who he says he is.

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Snowden (2016) movie based on a true story about Edward Snowden and NSA surveillance, true story film poster

Snowden (2016)

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R | Biography, True Crime, Drama, Journalism, Thriller | Edward Snowden is a National Security Agency (NSA) contractor who leaves his job to leak classified information about the NSA tracking all forms of digital communication from not only foreign governments and terrorist groups but also ordinary Americans. In so doing, Snowden becomes a traitor to some, a hero to others, and a fugitive from the law.

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Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005) movie based on a true story, biography, anti-Nazi The White Rose, true story film poster

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005)

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Unrated | Biography, True Crime, Drama, History, Thriller, War | Sophie Scholl was a student activist in Germany's anti-Nazi resistance group, The White Rose. She and fellow members distribute anti-war and anti-Nazi propapanda in Munich, leading to their arrest in 1943. The film re-creates the last six days of Sophie Scholl's life.

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Spotlight (2015) movie based on a true story about The Boston Globe investigation, Catholic Church child molestation cover-up, true story movie poster

Spotlight (2015)

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R | Biography, True Crime, Drama, Journalism | In 2001, journalists at The Boston Globe investigate and uncover the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the Roman Catholic Church.

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The Final Days (1989) movie based on a true story about President Richard Nixon and Watergate, true story film poster.jpg

The Final Days (1989)

 

PG | Biography, True Crime, Drama, History | After the Watergate scandal, President Richard Nixon faces impeachment and conviction, becoming paranoid and reclusive in his web of lies during his last six months in The White House.

 

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Facts: Coming soon!​

The Hurricane (1999) movie based on a true story about Rubin Carter wrongful imprisonment, film poster

The Hurricane (1999)

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R | Biography, Drama, Sport, Survival | Rubin "Hurricane" Carter is a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, but a few people aide in his fight to prove his innocence.

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Trailers and Reviews: 

 

Facts: 

  • History vs Hollywood

  • Separating Truth From Fiction in 'The Hurricane' by Selwyn Raab in The New York Times

  • Rubin Carter biography on Biography.com

  • Rubin Carter on The National Registry of Exonerations

  • Bob Dylan's "The Hurricane" song on YouTube with lyrics

  • Eye of the Hurricane: My Path from Darkness to Freedom autobiography by Rubin Carter and Ken Klonsky on Amazon

  • "To every human being in prison, guilty or innocent, I would say that everything depends upon attitude. The physical body is the vehicle in which we traverse life, but our attitude is our steering wheel. In prison, people find themselves at the bottom of human existence. What a prisoner must say is, OK, whatever I’ve done in life has led me to where I am today. Therefore, if I want to get out of prison and stay out, I’ve got to turn around and go back the other way."- Rubin Carter, Eye of the Hurricane: My Path from Darkness to Freedom

The Insider (1999) movie based on a true about Big Tobacco, Lowell Bergman, 60 Minutes, Jeffrey Wigand, Al Pacino, Russell Crowe true story film poster

The Insider (1999)

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R | Biography, Drama, Journalism, Law, Thriller | Lowell Bergman is the producer of the TV show 60 Minutes who pursues a story from Jeffrey Wigand, a research chemist reluctant to share his knowledge of Big Tobacco's industry secrets as the corporations and courts stand in the way of exposing the truth.

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The Laramie Project (2002) movie based on a true story about Matthew Shepard murder and interviews, true story film poster

The Laramie Project (2002)

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TV-14 | True Crime, Drama, History | In Laramie, Wyoming, 21-year-old Matthew Shepard is murdered, after which an eight-member theater troupe prepares for the stage version of "The Laramie Project." They travel onsite, recording interviews with the town's citizens over two years. The film uses actual words from the transcripts.

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Facts: 

  • Coming soon!

The Mauritanian (2021) movie based on a true story about Mohamedou Ould Slahi imprisonment in Guantanamo, true story film poster

The Mauritanian (2021)

 

R | Biography, True 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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The Night of the Hunter (1955) crime movie inspired by a true story, film poster

The Night of the Hunter (1955)

 

​Unrated | Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | The Rev. Harry Powell is a religious fanatic and serial killer who targets women who use their sexuality to attract men. Serving time in prison for car theft, he meets condemned murderer Ben Harper, who confesses to hiding $10,000 in stolen loot. Released from jail, Powell is obsessed with finding the money, and he tracks down Harper's widow, Willa, and her two children, John and Pearl.

 

Trailers and Reviews: 

 

Facts: 

  • Harry Powers/Harm Drenth biography - Wikipedia, Murderpedia

  • "Powers lured his victims through 'lonely hearts' advertisements, claiming he was looking for love, but ultimately murdering them for their money. Davis Grubb's 1953 novel The Night of the Hunter and its 1955 film adaptation were based on these crimes." - Wikipedia

The Old Man and the Gun (2018) true crime movie based on a true story about bank robber Forrest Tucker, Robert Redford true story film poster

The Old Man and the Gun (2018)

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PG-13 | Biography, Comedy, True Crime, Drama, Romance | Forrest Tucker escapes from San Quentin at the age of 70, followed by committing a series of armed robberies that confound authorities and enchant the public due to his polite nature, and he meets a woman who loves him despite his profession.

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The Report (2019) true story movie about Daniel J. Jones investigation of CIA use of torture, film poster

The Report (2019)

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R | Biography, Drama, History, Law & Crime, Political Drama, Political Thriller | FBI agent and senate staffer Daniel J. Jones leads an exhaustive investigation into the CIA's use of torture on suspected terrorists in its post 9/11 Detention and Interrogation Program.

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The Social Network (2010) film based on a true story about Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, movie poster.jpg

The Social Network (2010)

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PG-13 | Biography, Drama, Law | In 2003, Harvard undergrad Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that became known as Facebook. Six years later, when he is one of the youngest billionaires in the world, Zuckerberg is sued by the twins who claimed he stole their idea and by the former co-founder. Based on the book The Accidental Billionaires.

 

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The Whistleblower (2010) true crime movie based on a true story about Kathryn Bokovac, United Nations sex trafficking coverup scandal, Rachel Weisz true story film poster

The Whistleblower (2010)

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R | Biography, True Crime, Drama | Kathryn Bolkovac is a Nebraska police officer who works as a peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia, where she outs the United Nations for a sex trafficking coverup.

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Till (2022) true crime film based on a true story about Emmett Till murder, movie poster

Till (2022)

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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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Tombstone (1993) true crime western movie based on a true story about Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Cowboy gang, Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer true story film poster

Tombstone (1993)

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R | Biography, True Crime, Drama, History, Western | Wyatt Earp is a lawman who plans to retire in Tombstone, Arizona by starting a business with his brothers, but when they become targets of the Cowboy gang, they and Wyatt's best friend, Doc Holliday, arm themselves to restore order to a lawless land.

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Trial by Fire (2018) movie based on a true story, biography, legal drama about Cameron Todd Willingham, Texas wrongful imprisonment, film poster

Trial by Fire (2018)

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R | Biography, Drama, Law | The tragic and controversial story of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was sentenced to death in Texas for killing his three children even after scientific evidence and expert testimony bolstered his claims of innocence.

 

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Zodiac (2007) true story film poster.jpg

Zodiac (2007)

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R | True Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | In the 1960s and 1970s, San Francisco cartoonist Robert Graysmith, a crime reporter, and the cops become obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac, a serial killer who terrorizes Northern California.

 

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More to Come!

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Other law and crime movies inspired by and based on true stories:

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Rob Peace (2024)
The Good Nurse (2022)
 

Are there more true crime and legal films based on a true story to include here? Any more facts vs. fiction? Reach out and contact me. I am open to respectful questions, comments, positive feedback, and constructive feedback about this website. Thank you, and enjoy the movies!

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