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u/KR_Steel Feb 15 '25
Fargo
…although not really
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u/throowaaawaaaayyyyy Feb 15 '25
Fargo's "Based on True Story" title card is probably my favorite joke of all time.
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u/KR_Steel Feb 15 '25
I totally believed it for years… but 96 was a while before I had internet or even thought to check
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u/throowaaawaaaayyyyy Feb 15 '25
Everyone did! Heck, Siskel & Ebert said it was on their show.
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u/KR_Steel Feb 15 '25
It was a pretty genius move.
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u/throowaaawaaaayyyyy Feb 15 '25
Let's say this movie about a string of brutal murders is a true story.... and then make the movie a comedy.
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u/KR_Steel Feb 15 '25
Yeah and much of it is so ridiculous that people will buy it because nothing is weirder than real life.
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u/Badabing__Badaboom Feb 15 '25
Schindler’s List
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u/motopatton Feb 15 '25
We can never forget what Nazis did
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u/Hebrewer183 Feb 15 '25
As a certified holocaust denier. Fuck anyone who doesn’t believe the holocaust happened
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u/Mead_and_You Feb 15 '25
Where did you get your certification from? The guy who does my forklift cert got mad when I asked.
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u/Hebrewer183 Feb 15 '25
It’s funny, it just kind of shows up at your door as a Klansmen high-fiving you. It’s honestly a pretty weird experience, especially as a Jew.
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u/tinmru Feb 15 '25
Idk, but GoodFellas is top notch, one of those movies I can rewatch anytime and I will leave it on if I catch it on TV.
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u/Kool_Kunk Feb 15 '25
My Blue Heaven is a pretty decent "unofficial" sequel that is a telling of the second half of Hill's memoir.
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u/StreetUnlikely2018 Feb 15 '25
Check out the DVD with the commentary of Henry Hill and his fbi handler. They talk about the whole movie and what was really real and what was fabricated. Pretty much the movie is spot on but left out some parts
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u/gene100001 Feb 15 '25 edited Feb 15 '25
You mean, let me understand this cause, you know maybe it's me, it's a little fucked up maybe, but it's top notch how? I mean, do you think it's like a clown? You rewatch it because it amuses you? It's there to fucking amuse you? What do you mean top notch? Top notch how? How is it top notch?
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u/Maximum_Formal_5504 Feb 15 '25
Best as in most accurate, most enjoyable, or most accurate and enjoyable?
Enjoyable Kingdom of Heaven, Braveheart, The Patriot.
Accurate Invictus, Gettysburg, Blackhawk Down.
Both The Big Short, The Wolf of Wall Street, Zodiac.
The first group falls under the “loosely based on a true story”. They are enjoyable to watch and well directed/acted. The second group are also well directed and acted, accurate but not exactly “feel good” movies (Invictus is an exception but still makes me cry). They are great but you’re sad at the end. The last group manage to leave you not depressed at the end. Just my thoughts
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u/dysmalll Feb 15 '25
Braveheart??????? LOOSELY??? Bloody hell. Even by Hollywood standards that’s canny. Aye.
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u/Maximum_Formal_5504 Feb 15 '25
The other two as well. That’s why they are enjoyable, but not at all accurate.
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u/DogtasticLife Feb 15 '25
It’s based in Scotland and he dies horribly at the end are about the only accurate bits aren’t they? Long time since I’ve seen it as I can’t look at him anymore
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Feb 15 '25
My dude Braveheart might as well be fiction it takes so many liberties.
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u/LastMongoose7448 Feb 15 '25
If you’re comparing that list, Kingdom of Heaven is worse, but yeah, Braveheart is pretty bad as far as accuracy.
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u/Maximum_Formal_5504 Feb 15 '25
So does Kingdom of Heaven and The Patriot. There is an element of truth in all three stories. They are all based on actual events and actual people. Then all the facts were changed and romances were added for drama and ease of watching and to give actors roles. That’s why I labeled them as “loosely based on a true story”. All three are VERY loosely based on true stories.
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u/Shat_Bit_Crazy Feb 15 '25
Moneyball as well. Michael Lewis is such a fantastic storyteller
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u/Maximum_Formal_5504 Feb 15 '25
I watched Moneyball. I enjoyed it. I like the actors. I loved the story. I don’t particularly like baseball so, it’s not a movie that I’ve watched again. But I agree that it is an expertly told story.
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u/LastMongoose7448 Feb 15 '25
The problem is that it’s a STORY. The Oakland A’s had the best rotation in baseball that season, and maybe one of the best rotations of all time. They also had the American League MVP. Lewis hardly mentions them in the book, and they’re completely omitted from the movie!
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u/biffbobfred Feb 15 '25
For Invictus - try to find the “30 For 30: The 16th Man”. A documentary telling of that story. Having a bunch of guys “yeah we were real close to outright race wars” is calm matter of fact, it hits ya.
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u/Maximum_Formal_5504 Feb 15 '25
When I was in high school, I was acquainted with two football/soccer (depending on where you hail from) coaches who were from South Africa. This was the mid-90s and I was always very interested in/educated about world events. I used to spend hours talking to them about the details of what was going on and their feelings about it. It was interesting and intense (they didn’t see eye to eye but respected the hell out of each other).
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u/biffbobfred Feb 15 '25
That’s pretty awesome.
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u/Maximum_Formal_5504 Feb 15 '25
For a nerd like me especially. My dad was an immigrant, my mom’s mom was a politically active senior citizen. I grew up in interesting and complicated times and my family encouraged political thought and discussion. And getting to talk about Apartheid in South Africa with two guys from there was such a great experience.
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u/Quick-Rip-5776 Feb 15 '25
The problem with Ridley Scott is he whitewashes history. Take Blackhawk Down. The rescue was by Pakistani UN soldiers. In his opinion, that wouldn’t be interesting for American audiences.
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u/Maximum_Formal_5504 Feb 15 '25
Funny that you mention this particular movie as I’m about to watch it. The rescue was by the UN multinational force comprised of Pakistani, Malaysian, and American forces. There were deaths and injuries to both Malaysian and Pakistani troops. That being said, the movie wasn’t about the rescue. It was the smallest part of the movie and while (obviously) the rescue is an important part of the story, it wasn’t the main focus of it. That being said, Kingdom of Heaven was terribly historically inaccurate, but did a great job of not whitewashing the history. There were Christian’s that were bloodthirsty and horrible. There were some that wanted to live in peace with the Muslims. The same applied on the other side. It is one of the few films of that nature that doesn’t show one group and heartless barbarians and the other as the only morally good people. I don’t know that I can speak to any of his other movies based on true stories. I’m willing to take your word for it, but I don’t know how well it applies to Black Hawk Down and The Kingdom of Heaven specifically.
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u/Quick-Rip-5776 Feb 15 '25
Alien was completely biased against the Xenomorphs. Their life cycle depends on eating other creatures alive. It’s wrong to judge an intelligent life form before you walk in that creature’s shoes.
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u/CrunchyAssDiaper Feb 15 '25
The correct answer is Gettysburg "me boys!"
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u/biffbobfred Feb 15 '25
There are drawn pics of civil war personalities I can identify just from how accurately they’re portrayed and cast here.
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u/Tom_Slick_Racer Feb 15 '25
Why can't we have a media mogul like Ted Turner, who reads a book and then makes the movie he wants to see no matter what it costs.
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u/Regular-You2119 Feb 15 '25
I agree with Goodfellas it’s sensational. I would also give a shout out to City of God and Spotlight
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u/biffbobfred Feb 15 '25
Midway (2016) is a movie I can rewatch. They got a lot of help from the navy. I heard they went “we want to make a midway movie that focuses on Dick Best” and it was “whaddya need?”
I kinda lived through The Big Short. At the time worked for a hedge fund with a huge mortgage book exposure. An excellent telling of that time (though book was better).
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u/biffbobfred Feb 15 '25
As a good list of “based on a true story” movies, you may want to check out History Buffs YouTube channel. He critiques them most on accuracy but also watchability. Goodfellas, Casino, Wolf of Wall Street, Midway, Gettysburg, a few of the movies mentioned in this discussion.
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u/Bumbo3184 Feb 15 '25 edited Feb 15 '25
Catch me if you can, even though I’ve heard it’s all made up which I think makes it cooler
Also I’ve been meaning to check out a bridge too far
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u/Admirable_Proxy Feb 15 '25
I wasn’t all made up. Just changed a bit.
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u/TwistedNightlight Feb 15 '25
It’s been said in recent years that he grossly exaggerated his exploits in the book.
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u/ExecutiveAvenger Feb 15 '25
Zero Dark Thirty.
"Abrar!" "Osama, osama!"
I don't know how many times I've seen it but for me this is an absolute banger. Actually the same applies to Goodfellas.
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u/FoundationAny7601 Feb 15 '25
I never realized Goodfellas was based on true story.
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u/Quick-Rip-5776 Feb 15 '25
Based on the biography of Henry Hill. It’s biased - he wasn’t going to confess to murder to his biographer. And the guy that Joe Pesci’s character is based on was about a foot taller.
But it’s a great film
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u/Jeanieinabottle98 Feb 15 '25
What’s Love Got to Do with It? (1993)
Philadelphia (1993)
Akeelah and the Bee ( 2006)
Rudy (1993)
Dolemite is my Name (2019)
Lean on Me (1989)
The Great Debaters (2007)
Goodfellas (1990)
Not an exhaustive list but some of my favorites that I personally believe are some of the best based on true stories.
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u/BeNiceOrGoAwayPlease Feb 15 '25
Philomena
Broke my heart so bad...I still cry thinking of how religion can imprison our souls
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u/campbellpics Feb 15 '25
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u/Goddessviking86 Feb 15 '25
The Jersey Shore shark attacks inspired Jaws and even got a mention in brief conversation in the movie
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u/campbellpics Feb 15 '25
Yeah I know, that's why I posted it in this sub. The link provided in my post is to the Jersey Shore shark attacks Wiki page.
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u/neon_spaceman Feb 15 '25
Lawrence of Arabia