70+ Movies Based on True Stories
Incredible movies based on true stories for kids and teens help history come alive, and open a window to other people’s experiences!
The links below may be affiliate links, meaning I earn a small compensation at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure policy here.
Monday nights are one of my favorite nights of the week since I started a rhythm of making them the night we watch movies based on true stories– biographies, inspiring endurance and bravery, important figures in history, amazing animals, and more.
I love Mondays as a rule– they’re the days we do the bulk of our family learning together at the table– but by the end of the day, I’m DONE. Which is how the regular movie night tradition began.
Watching movies based on true stories together continues our learning, yes. More importantly, though, they give us the chance to enter into a time period other than our own, they nurture empathy and understanding when we experience life from a different perspective, and they model virtues like integrity, resilience, and bravery from real events and people.
I’ve put together a list of over seventy movies that are each based on history. The list is divided into type for easy reference. Be sure to save this list so you can check back, and maybe even start your own historical movie night!
Movie Based on True Stories
- Biographical Movies
- Inspiring Science & Engineering
- Movies About Authors
- Amazing Sports Stories
- Paths to the Olympics
- True Animal Movies
- Based on True Events
- Historical Movies with more Mature Content
- WWII Movie
- Espionage & the Cold War
We have watched most of these movies over the years, many of them more than once. Some of the movies are wonderful for the whole family, and others we reserve for the older kids since they have more mature content, language, and situations.
The last three segments of the list are movies that are generally considered for teens and older. However, I would absolutely recommend doing your own research and vetting of any movie on this list before you decide whether it is appropriate for your family or not.
I use Common Sense Media to look into books and movies for my kids. It’s a great resource to preview content ahead of time to make an informed decision before reading or watching.
We also love the selection of movie on Amazon Prime Video! Many are free and others are just a few dollars to rent. It’s our only streaming service we’re using right now.
1. Biographical Movies
- True Spirit
- A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
- Temple Grandin
- Lost on A Mountain in Maine
- Searching for Bobby Fischer
- Mr. Holland’s Opus
- Queen of Katwe
- Young Woman & The Sea
- The Miracle Worker
- Ruby Bridges
2. Inspiring Science & Engineering
- The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
- A Million Miles Away
- Hidden Figures
- October Sky
- The World’s Fastest Indian
- Ford vs Ferrari
3. Movies About Authors
4. Amazing Sports Stories
- Rudy
- Miracle
- Free Solo
- Invincible
- Hoosiers
- Moneyball
- McFarland, USA
- Iron Will
- Undefeated
- We Are Marshall
- The Greatest Game Ever Played
- Radio
5. Paths to the Olympics
6. True Animal Movies
7. Based on True Events
- Kon Tiki
- Apollo 13
- The Sound of Music
- The King’s Speech
- Hiding Place
- Rosa Parks Story
- One Life
- The Diary of Anne Frank
- The Finest Hours
- Rule Breakers
8. Historical Movies with more Mature Content
- The Highway Men
- Catch Me If You Can
- Pursuit of Happyness
- Selma
- The Great Debaters
- The Impossible
- The Perfect Storm
- Quiz Show
- Harriet
- Amazing Grace
- The Help
- Stand & Deliver
9. WWII Movies
10. Espionage & Cold War
Share in the comments if any of these are movies you’ve enjoyed, or if you have others to add to this list!
Don’t forget to PIN for later and share with friends!
A few of these jump out as not based on true stories (not just like Catch Me If You Can stuff where the filmmakers believed someone who was lying, but outright fiction marketed as such).
The Hunt for Red October is a Tom Clancy thriller novel – a fun one for sure (although it does go off the rails towards the end), but not that realistic. Others like War Horse (based on a play) and The Help (based on a novel) are also just historical fiction.
I have seen The Perfect Storm a number of times when it was newer though and if I ever knew that it was a true story, I had forgotten that! I was going to put that on the list as well but when I went to check I found out that I was mistaken so I am definitely not throwing stones!
Apollo 13 and The Imitation Game might be a good candidate for your engineering section but maybe not optimistic enough?
There are more movies that I would suggest, The Triple Six Six (WW11), Radium Girls (20’s) and Respect (Aretha Franklin) These were all women leads and excellent true stories portrayed in movies.
Hi, this is a great list. Thank you so much for sharing it.
I live in the Faroe Islands where we have a small, eclectic group of movie fans who meet up regularly to share our enthusiasm. We take turns choosing, and I am particularly drawn to stories based on real people and true events.
Could I ask you to consider drawing up a list of films about artists? Personally, I loved Mr Turner, Loving Vincent, Big Eyes and Maudie in that genre, but I’m sure there are heaps of others that I haven’t come across yet.
Also, if you are not familiar with it, try The Dish for either your science or events sections.
Again, takk fyri, as we say in our little part of the world.
Heyy! Love this list!
I would recommend two more movies that are beautiful and based on true stories!!
“The Freedom Writers” and “Front of the Class”
Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken is a great one you missed. If you haven’t seen it yet I good you love it like we do!
Thirteen Lives is on our list but we haven’t watched it yet.
We love Wild Hearts can’t be broken! Thanks for the recs!
I LOVE this! Thank you for compiling this and I will definitely be referencing it as my kids get older for our family movie nights!
Thank You Rachel. Can’t wait to watch you movie compilation. Have already seen several of your picks. Great choices.