Many of Hollywood's greatest successes are historical biopic films. From war dramas like The Pianist to profiles on historical figures like Jackie Kennedy and Harvey Milk, some of the Academy's best directors have won more awards for their authentic works rather than their fictitious ones. Here are critics' and historians' favorite films...
Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is considered one of the best movies ever made, let alone the most historically accurate war biopic. Steven Spielberg opens the film with a 27-minute reenactment of the Omaha Beach Landing, which has been called one of the best battle scenes of all time. Spielberg and his team's attention to detail regarding set design and scripting made for an incredibly immersive viewing experience.
Sole-Survivor Policy
Though the actual search for "Private Ryan" is fictional, the film is based on a real directive that was enacted in 1942. The "Sole-Survivor Policy" stated that if only one member of a family remains, they were to be protected from military duty. There was a real search and rescue mission for a man named Frederick Niland, who lost three of his brothers died at war over just one month.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Though the plot of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is nearly entirely fictional, the production value is what makes it a stand-out among historical adaptations. Though the characters aren't real people, and the main battle actually never took place, the costumes, set, and prop designs are award-worthy.
Realistic 1800s Ships
Before this film, the screen had never seen such accurate colonial costumes or ships in a film before. The naval battle scenes are nearly exactly how author Patrick O'Brian described them in the novel the film is based on. The sea captain uniforms are so precise and accurate, you'll feel like you're back in the 1800s while you're watching this film from 2003.
The Wolf of Wall Street
Leonardo DiCaprio's depiction of famous Wall Street stockbroker Jordan Belfort comes straight out of Belfort's memoir. The hard-party scenes and high-pressure office meetings don't seem too far-fetched to be believable. This is also Leo's second role as a famous con artist. He played forger, Frank Abagnale, in Catch Me If You Can nearly two decades ago.
A Matter of Perspective
The accuracy of the events in the movie is widely debated. Some law enforcement agencies that worked on the Belfort case when it happened argue that some of the events aren't true. Critics argue that the film shows Belfort's life the way he perceived it. The major changes in the film were the names of some characters, for issues of privacy.
Spartacus
That famous "I Am Spartacus" scene didn't actually happen, but nearly the entire rest of the film is based on actual Roman accounts. The gladiator school in Capua and the violence of Spartacus's instructors was likely all completely true. The real Spartacus did lead a revolt and camp at Mount Vesuvius with his army.
Oscar-Winning Battles
Director Stanley Kubrick managed to make this film both brutal and glamorous. The Romans revered Spartacus as an excellent general and strategist, and the epic battles shown in the film are both brutal and glamorous and won four Oscars.
Gangs of New York
Martin Scorsese painted a beautiful portrait of what gang life in 1863 New York City would have looked like. Though the specifics of this film aren't 100% true, the general plot of the film does follow a real gang who lived in the Big Apple in the 1800s. Some of the characters are based on real people, or several real people combined.
A Replica City
Scorsese wanted to make sure the set design was perfect, so he commissioned a huge replica of New York City to be built on location in Italy. The backdrop for the gang of Irish immigrants has been hailed as one of the best set designs ever. Historian Tyler Anbinder has said, "They couldn't have been much better."
All the President's Men
This film recounts the details of the Watergate Scandal. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman play journalists Bob Woodard and Carl Bernstein, the ones who discovered the break-in at the Democratic National Committee and shed light on the political aftermath of the events. The Washington Post writers were the first to cover the scandal for the public.
Visiting the Real Newsroom
Director Alan J. Pakula wanted the actors to feel as authentic in their roles as possible so he had Hoffman and Redford visit the real newsroom where the scandal broke in the 1970s. They sat in the real desks the reporters used. The film tells one of the most important stories in both journalistic and political history and has been added to the National Film Registry due to its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance.
12 Years a Slave
Few films have conquered the difficult task of depicting slavery accurately. 12 Years a Slave, based on Solomon Northup's 1853 novel of the same name, is singlehandedly one of the most thoughtful and accurate adaptations of life in slavery. It follows Northup's entrapment by slave owners even though he was a free man living in New York.
No Holds Barred
Director Steve McQueen didn't hold back when telling Northup's story. He leaves in every gory detail, from the physical abuse to the emotional trauma Northup and the other slaves endured. He also successfully depicts the complex relationships between slaves and owners. Each character in the film is extremely well-developed and the factual journey some slaves who were lucky enough to earn back their freedom underwent is truly gut-wrenching. This movie won several well-deserved awards.
Apollo 13
Director Ron Howard pulled out all the stops to retell the Apollo 13 mission and the death-defying journey the astronauts took. Though the story has been remade into film several times, this version of the events tends to be the one critic's hail as the most successful.
Waiting for Technology to Catch Up
Howard had all of his ideas for the film ready to go but waited until technology advanced further in order to make the spacecraft as realistic as possible. All of the details of the ship are spot on, and the actors were able to portray astronauts so convincingly that viewers felt like they were in zero-gravity with them.
Downfall
Downfall depicts Adolf Hitler's final days as leader of the Nazi party, and despite viewer skepticism, the film successfully makes one of the most hated men in history a relatable character. That alone makes the film difficult to watch, because viewers shouldn't want to sympathize with Hitler, and yet the film's techniques make it difficult not to.
Pulling From Multiple Sources
Though not much information exists on what explicitly happened in Hitler's bunker during the final days of his life, director Oliver Hirschbiegel cited the film Inside Hitler's Bunker by historian Joachim Fest and "Until the Final Hour" by Hitler's former secretary, Traudl Junge when sourcing material in order to keep things as realistic as possible.
Selma
In 2014, Selma graced screens as one of the most historically factual and emotionally gripping Martin Luther King Jr. biopics to date. It follows Dr. King's march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in the pursuit of equal voting rights. The film was actually criticized for its adversarial portrayal of Dr. King's relationship with President Johnson. Former Mayor of Atlanta and SCLC activist Andrew Young stated that's the only question of accuracy he'd raise about the film.
Painstakingly Accurate
Director Ava DuVernay and writer Paull Webb took tedious amounts of time in recreating important moments like the Bloody Sunday massacre with state troopers and peaceful protestors. Statistic tracking sites have praised Selma for how it painstakingly recreates events as they happened, and includes everybody involved. The film was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Picture category.
The Last Emperor
Though it's unlikely that the entirety of The Last Emperor is completely factual, director Bernard Bertolucci and writer Mark Peploe went to extreme lengths to bring to life all known information about China's last emperor. Scholars still debate the film's accuracy today, nearly three decades after it was released.
An Opulent Lifestyle
Though actual details of the emperor's life are vague, the depiction of the royal family's lavish life and the shocking politics of the era are considered by many critics to be spot-on. The film spent exorbitant amounts of money on the production and won nine Academy Awards, one in each category it was nominated for.
Suffragette
Suffragette depicts British women's struggles to earn the right to vote in the 1910s. Though a film with this theme isn't unique, it stands out from others because it focuses primarily on women in the working class. The main characters in the film are fictional, but the events aren't. The experiences and places gave a voice to women of that era in a way that women of this era can sympathize with.
Authentic Locations
Suffragette is the first film to actually shoot on-location in the Parliament building in London because director Sarah Gavron wanted everything to be as authentic as possible. She also shot in the historic Dockyard Chatham for the factory and prison scenes.
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Tora! Tora! Tora! is much more accurate in retelling the bombing of Pearl Harbor than Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor is. Directors Richard Fleisher, Toshio Masuda, and Kinji Fukasaku take away the award for the most historically accurate reenactment of the attack.
Two Sides of the Story
Tora! Tora! Tora! stands out among other Pearl Harbor biopics because it tells the Japanese and American sides of the story rather than just one. They also gave the attack a comprehensive backstory that highlighted American mistakes as well as humanizing the Japanese. For the sake of authenticity, parts of the film were shot on the Yorktown, an aircraft carrier.
Stalingrad
WWII's largest and deadliest battle took place at Stalingrad and has been a hot topic for scholars for decades. While other films have tried to use the battle as a scene to propel further drama, Stalingrad tells the battle as it was, and uses it as the primary focus. Director Joseph Vilsmaier shows the battle from the German perspective, using a small battalion of soldiers as the main characters. He shows the specific atrocities they endured while humanizing the soldiers.
The King's Speech
Director Tom Hooper's heartwarming take on King George VI's struggle in overcoming a speech impediment won four Oscars. Though some of the film's events were exaggerated, they were, for the most part, still historically accurate. The film follows the unique relationship between the King and his specialist, and the trials they underwent in doing away with his stutter in order to successfully give a radio broadcast.
The Iron Lady
Meryl Streep pulls off a flawless performance as British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. Though the film wasn't necessarily exciting, Streep was praised for her historically accurate portrayal of Thatcher. Political biographer John Campbell said he felt the film did get things right, and that's "a remarkable achievement, both of the writer, Abi Morgan, as much as of the star, Meryl Streep. I think it rings very true as a portrayal of her."
Schindler's List
German businessman-turned-war hero, Oskar Schindler's story was brought to life by Steven Spielberg and Ralph Fiennes. Once Schindler realizes the atrocities being committed against Jewish people during WWII, he does everything in his power to save as many of them as he can. Though a lot of creative liberties were taken, the overall narrative of Schindler's life is factual. Real Holocaust survivors have praised the film.
Green Book
The story of famous pianist Don Shirley and his chauffer-turned-friend Tony Vallelonga pains a triumphant picture of two unlikely comrades overcoming the boundaries of the racist Deep South in the 1960s. Vallelonga's son, Nick, is one of the screenwriters and has been widely praised for its accuracy. Of the film, he said, "It happened to my father the way it happened."
Black Robe
Black Robe follows the journey of a Jesuit priest in the 1600s attempting to convert a tribe of Native Americans in the Huron settlements. The film is praised for its respectful representation of indigenous people and features dialogue from the Cree, Mohawk, and Algonquin languages. Director Bruce Beresford made it his goal to represent the people and events as accurately as possible after he read the book by the same name by Brian Moore.
Gettysburg
This film sits at 4.5 hours, at it chronicles exactly what happened at the Battle of Gettysburg. While some critics have complained that the film drags, the director has argued for the deliberate pacing. It gave director Ronald F. Maxwell the chance to show both front lines and what happened behind the scenes within each army.
The Lion in Winter
Medieval films can be difficult to portray accurately because nobody truly knows what everyday life was like nearly 500 years ago. Most directors miss the mark and go overboard on the glamor aspect in order to make the film palatable to a modern audience. However, The Lion in Winter looks glamorous only because it focuses on royalty. It follows the manipulation of King Henry II by his wife and children and won three Oscars for its efforts.
Moneyball
Based on the novel by the same name, Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill bring to life the Oakland baseball team's coaching staff from the 2002 season. General manager Billy Beane uses a small budget and a new coaching strategy to choose players for a rebranded winning team. Critics agree that the film is factual, but some of the events were reordered. The Aaron Sorkin film was nominated for six Oscars.
Fruitvale Station
Fruitvale Station recounts the events of Oscar Grant III's final days in this story of wrongful death. The film is both a thoughtful and heart-shattering biopic that details the ups and downs of Oscar's life before his final moments. For the sake of authenticity, the final scenes were shot on the same platform in Oakland, California where the real Oscar was killed.
Captain Phillips
The dramatic biographical thriller directed by Paul Greengrass tells the real-life story of an American ship hijacked by Somali pirates. It's based on the book by Richard Phillips that documents his own account as a hostage on his own ship. His biography, titled, "A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea," is nearly word for word to the movie's script.
Lincoln
Daniel Day-Lewis's shocking transformation into the 16th president of the United States made for an award-winning performance. The film follows the last months of Lincoln's life and his final political efforts regarding the abolishment of slavery. The biopic humanizes Lincoln rather than showing him as only a political figure, and Lewis's performance has been praised as one of the most accurate to date.
Born on the Fourth of July
Oliver Stone's biopic about Vietnam War veteran and activist Ron Kovic has become the blanket film for veterans everywhere. Stone's first-hand knowledge of war helped him make the film both look and feel right. The portrayal of emotional turmoil that veterans face during and after the war is palpable to viewers through Tom Cruise's incredible performance. The film won two Oscars.
Das Boot
Das Boot chronicles a German U boat during WWII, and it effectively evokes the terror and frustration of fighting a war while in such a confined space. It highlights the duality of protection and exposure, and director Wolfgang Peterson conveys powerful emotions from the crew that really resonate with the viewer. The intense battle scenes give audiences a new perspective on previously unknown submarine warfare tactics.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Fans of Westerns will love this take on the outlaw Jesse James. Directed by Andrew Dominik, this film starring Brad Pitt focuses on the relationship between outlaws Jesse James and Robert Ford rather than the stereotypical western tropes that most other films use. James is at the height of his notoriety, and Ford's growing obsession and disdain for the gunslinger drives the plot into two Oscar nominations.
Cold Mountain
Cold Mountain recounts the true story of a wounded Confederate army soldier at the end of the Civil War and his journey home to his wife. Though the characters are fictional, the time and events aren't. The Anthony Minghella film was checked by historical scholars and has been deemed an "honorable" take on life in the 1800s United States. Performances by Jude Law and Nicole Kidman also shine, both for their star quality and honest take on life as separated lovers through a war.
Zodiac
Based on the Zodiac killings that occurred in 1960 California, Zodiac follows a team of detectives who try to crack the - still cold - case. It tells the story as it happened and doesn't offer the viewer any clean or wrapped up ending. Directed by David Fincher, he spent 18 months researching for the film and wanted to purposely leave the end unresolved. That's probably why it wasn't a huge box office hit but was still hailed as some of Fincher's best work.
A Night to Remember
The most famous ocean liner sinking, the RMS Titanic, is one of the most notable tragedies in history. Aside from James Cameron's romantic retelling of the events in Titanic, A Night to Remember is a more historical look at what really happened on board. It focuses on the different classes of people and their struggle through the night of April 14th, 1912, and their means of survival. It's a gritty, realistic retelling through the eyes of the ship's second officer.
Goodfellas
Goodfellas has been hailed as one of Martin Scorsese's best works, ever. Based on the novel "Wiseguy," a biographical story about a mafia mobster who later becomes an informant, Scorsese knew he immediately had to turn the book into a film. He admired the book's ability to showcase the day-to-day life of a mobster, the tedium, the ownership of specific places and for what reasons. He changed the book as little as possible, only tweaking it when it was absolutely necessary in order to make for an easy page-to-screen translation. It was nominated for five Academy Awards.
Joyeux Noel
Joyeux Noel tells the story of the WWI Christmas truce, as seen from the French, British, and German soldier's perspectives. The film manages to evoke a touching message despite the hardships of the Western Front. On that day, soldiers laid down their weapons, spent time together, and connected as people rather than enemies. Though it might seem unbelievable, it's a completely true story.
The Pianist
Based on the autobiography of the same name, The Pianist was written by a Polish-Jewish concert pianist during the time of WWII. Władysław Szpilman survived the horrors of the Holocaust, and actor Adrien Brody managed to portray this deeply emotional character in a way that won him the Academy Award for Best Actor. Directed by the controversial Roman Polanski, he was deeply passionate about the film due to his own escape from the Krakow Ghetto.
127 Hours
James Franco portrays climber Aron Ralston during his death-defying fall into a canyon that forced him to sever his own arm. After he got trapped between a boulder, Ralson stayed caught between the rock and the canyon wall for 127 hours before bravely cutting off his own limb at the forearm. Franco's touching performance and director David Boyle's ability to tell such a gripping story while shooting from nearly the same angle the whole time won the film six Academy Award nominations.
84C MoPIc
Though 84C MoPic isn't based on a real mission from the Vietnam War, it still tells the story of various collections of accounts from the war. Many veterans who watched the film claim it's the most accurate retelling of what Vietnam was like. Shot in mostly found-footage style, it didn't receive lots of audience attention. The LLRP mission that ends up going wrong turns into a fight for survival. Critics have stated, "I've never seen a combat movie that seemed this close to actual experience."
City of God
Brazillian film City of God tells the semi-autobiographical story of the rise of organized crime in the "Cidade de Deus" suburb of Rio de Janeiro. Based between 1960 and 1980, the film follows two rival gangs, and is told from the perspective of two boys. One grows up to be a photographer, and the other grows up to become a kingpin. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards.
Rush
Ron Howard's take on the rivalry between Formula One racers James Hunt and Niki Lauda in the 1970s is a nearly spot-on perfect representation of the two drivers' lives. Though Howard took some creative liberties and made the pair rivals rather than the real-life friends they were, Lauda was happy with the film. The emotional feel between the characters and the high-energy racing scenes earned it an 82% accuracy rating from critics.
Jackie
Natalie Portman's stunning performance as Jackie Kennedy during her life following JFK's assassination has been deemed "iconic." Writer Noah Oppenheim told Vulture magazine, "In terms of what that interaction would look like throughout the film, it's based on what we know of how she controlled her image and interacted with the press." The most accurate part of the film is when Jackie gives a televised White House tour. Portman was nominated for Best Actress because of this role.
The Martian
Though the events of this film haven't happened in real life (yet), they certainly could. The film is based on a novel by Andy Weir that tells the story of an astronaut who is left behind on Mars following a failed mission. Though the film is completely fictional, "science is not." NASA experts had a hand in the film since day one, and everything about the scenario is factual and up to NASA standards. The film was nominated for seven Oscars.
Milk
Milk is a biopic about California's first openly gay elected official in history, Harvey Milk. The film uses Harvey's own recorded voiceovers in the film to maintain a level of accuracy and authenticity, and director Gus Van Sant worked closely with LGBT activist Cleve Jones, who knew the real Milk. The film uses lots of archived footage and was shot on location in San Francisco. The film won two Oscars.
Come and See
This Russian WWII biopic was extremely important to director Elem Klimov in showing the true story behind Russia's involvement in the war. It tells the story of a Belarusian child whose village is massacred. The film has been highly praised for its honest portrayal of the Nazi death camps, resistance fighters, and the tumultuous emotions the survivors felt.
Munich
Steven Spielberg's historical drama tells the story of the Israeli government's secret siege against the PLO in response to the 1972 massacre at the Summer Olympics in Munich. Though the historical accuracy has been debated, and Spielberg took the liberty of omitting some things, the events shown in the film did actually occur. Real political and military leaders are portrayed, including Prime Minister Golda Meir.
Miracle
Fans of sports movies love this biopic about the 1980 Winter Olympics when the United States hockey team took on the Soviet team. The true underdog match has been tokened the "Miracle on Ice." Though the relationships in the film may have been exaggerated for the sake of drama, the most accurate parts of the film are doing the matches. Director Gavin O'Connor used a mix of actual footage from the Olympic match and filmed skating scenes with the actors in order to authentically portray the semifinal faceoff.
Flags of Our Fathers
The Clint Eastwood classic Flags of Our Fathers tells the story of the five Marines and one Navy corpsman who raised the American flag on Iwo Jima. The iconic moment, captured by war photographer Joe Rosenthal, has gone down in infamy. Though the film didn't do particularly well, critics were impressed by Eastwood's attention to detail and determination to keep the plot and events authentic.
Bridge of Spies
This story of a lawyer who's charged with negotiating a hostage exchange during the Cold War might not be spot-on with accuracy, but it still maintains the "spirit" of the events. The drama between an Air Force pilot and a convicted Soviet KGB spy is enough to drive the plot and keep the viewer engaged, but not enough to impress historians.
Glory
Edward Zwick's film Glory discusses the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, the first all-black volunteer company in the Civil War. The film won three Academy Awards, and critics call it "a strong and valuable film no matter whose eyes it is seen through." Civil War historians stated that the film "accomplished a remarkable feat in sensitizing a lot of today's black students to the role that their ancestors played in the Civil War in winning their own freedom."