If you like your movies with a touch of realism, there are plenty of excellent choices to pick from. While some films are more true to the real-life story than others, there’s no doubt you can find something to make movie night more interesting. Whether you like horror, history, or romance, many of our top-rated movies are inspired by actual events, some that defy belief. Even Netflix even has a specific category for people who want movies based on true stories, so you’re in good hands. Here are 11 classic movies you may not know were based on real events.
RELATED: The 25 Best Movies of the 2010s.
1. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Wikimedia Commons
Starring Al Pacino, Dog Day Afternoon is based on an actual 1972 bank robbery committed by John Wojtowicz, who needed funds for his partner’s gender reassignment surgery. “This guy struck me as being an intelligent guy who screwed up, in a layman sense. He was a smart guy and above average intelligence, but he certainly had his issues,” attorney Gary Woodfield told Inside Edition Digital.
2. The Exorcist (1973)
Warner Bros.
The Exorcist is based on a real story—minus the projectile vomiting. “The original supposed possessee was a boy in Cottage City, Maryland,” says journalist and author Nat Segaloff. “His name was never given in the original coverage of the story, which was a Washington Post article about a boy ‘Reported Held in Devil’s Grip.’ The events happened over a few months in 1949, and they weren’t anything like the movie.”
3. The Great Escape (1963)
United Artists
One of the most beloved WWII movies ever made, The Great Escape was based on the mass breakout of 76 Allied airmen from a Nazi POW camp in March 1944 (Stalag Luft III). It remains one of the most famous prison breaks and one of Steve McQueen’s most lauded roles.
4. The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
Arrow VideoHorror classic The Hills Have Eyes was inspired by the true story of 16th century Scottish cannibal Sawney Bean. “According to legend, the Bean clan killed and ate 1,000 people in a 25-year reign of terror, while hiding out in a sea cave on Scotland's south-west coast, between Girvan and Ballantrae,” says the BBC.
5. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Horizon Pictures
Another beloved WWII movie, The Bridge on the River Kwai is based on the true story of the construction of the Burma railway in 1942/43. The plot is fictional but the real events about the construction of the bridge are unfortunately all too real.
6. Cool Runnings (1993)
Buena Vista Pictures DistributionComedy classic Cool Runnings is based on the real story of the Jamaican bobsled team’s efforts to compete in the 1988 Winter Olympics. They didn’t win, as the movie accurately depicts, but the team is immortalized in the Disney classic.
7. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Bryanston Distributing CompanyTexas Chainsaw Massacre was inspired by real-life serial killer Ed Gein. Known as the “Butcher of Plainfield”, Gein is one of the most infamous murderers in history.
8. The Untold Story (1993)
Untold Story
The Untold Story is based on real events about the "Eight Immortals Restaurant murders" that took place on 4 August 1985 in Portuguese Macau. Cannibalism was suspected but never proved.
RELATED: 10 Coziest Movies to Watch This Fall.
9. 50 First Dates (2004)
Sony Pictures Releasing
50 First Dates, starring Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler, is based on the real-life story of Michelle Philpots from Lincolnshire, England, who experienced two horrifying car crashes that caused severe head trauma. Philpots’ memory is wiped every day, so she is permanently stuck in 1994.
10. The Straight Story (1999)
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
The Straight Story is based on real events—Alvin Straight rode 260 miles on a lawn mower from Laurens, Iowa, to Mt. Zion, Wisconsin, in 1994 to see his brother. “Everyone who is in the arts longs to do something that will live after they are gone,” co-writer John Roach told TPR. “I feel pretty good that long after I’m dead and gone, my grandchildren and great grandchildren will get a monthly check for a dollar and 25 cents for royalties for the movie, and someone will finally say, ‘What are these checks for?’ And someone else will say, ‘Well, Great-grandpa Roach wrote a movie,’ and they'll say, 'He did?!?’”
11. The Blob (1958)
Paramount Pictures
Even The Blob was inspired by some very gross real-life events in 1950. Two Philadelphia police officers claim to have seen an object fall from the sky which looked like “purple jelly”. The object was oozing and moving by itself, and disappeared thirty minutes later. Creepy!
