The Best Movies Based on Real Events or People

Ben Affleck’s third directorial feature culls from a memoir by CIA operative Tony Mendez (played by Affleck). In the midst of the Iran Hostage Crisis, Mendez and a Hollywood producer (Alan Arkin) enter hostile territory under the guise of movie location scouts. It won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Henry Fonda plays legendary lawman Wyatt Earp in this John Ford Western, which builds toward the famous gunfight at O.K. Corral. “The film subtly complicates viewer expectations early on, eschewing clear-cut character rivalries in favor of more complex emotional and social configurations,” wrote critic Matthew Connolly for Slant Magazine.

Terrence Malick’s directorial feature debut draws loose inspiration from a real-life murder spree in the late 1950s. The story follows a rebellious killer (Martin Sheen) and his teenage girlfriend (Sissy Spacek) through the American Midwest. Despite the lurid subject matter, Malick injects the film with visual majesty and unspools the story at a slow pace.

An acclaimed novel by Tom Wolfe laid the groundwork for this sprawling chronicle of America’s early space program. The movie takes creative liberties but still feels relatively authentic in its portrayal of fearless fliers. It opened to positive reviews but disappointing box office numbers.

Director Michael Mann followed the crime classic “Heat” with this gripping drama about whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand. Fighting a sea of troubles, Wigand and TV producer Lowell Bergman (played by Al Pacino) set out to expose Big Tobacco on “60 Minutes.” The story draws from a 1996 Vanity Fair article called “The Man Who Knew Too Much” by Marie Brenner.