The Heartbreaking True Stories Behind Your Favorite Movies

21. Bridge Of Spies

Yet another epic film directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg, “Bridge Of Spies” tells the story of James B. Donovan, a lawyer during the Cold War who was assigned to the negotiations of the release of Francis Gary Powers – an Air Force pilot whose spy plane (U-2) was shot down above the Soviet Union in 1960. Some critics have stated that shortening the timespans throughout the film was misleading, while others state that the film’s slight diversion from the real story was permissible.

22. The Founder

The Founder tells the story of fast food chain McDonald’s founder, Ray Kroc. He opened the first McDonald’s Inc. restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois when the McDonald brothers recruited him in order to help out with franchising. Once Kroc had successfully franchised out the restaurants, he bought the company from the McDonald brothers for $2.7 million. Kroc was the one to ensure that operations would be standardized in order to have consistency from restaurant to restaurant. By the time of his passing away, there were 7500 McDonald’s franchises open around the world.

23. Finding Neverland

Playwright J. M. Barrie decided to commemorate his relationship with a family who inspired him to create Peter Pan. Still, the film openly acknowledges on both the opening and closing credits that it is only inspired by true events and that it has happily condensed or eliminated characters for the sake of the story. Furthermore, with a striking cast list like Johnny Depp playing James Matthew Barrie and Sylvia Llewelyn Davies played by Kate Winslet, it’s safe to say the movie was bound to be a huge success from the start.

24. Girl, Interrupted

Best-selling American author Susanna Kaysen wrote her 1993 memoir and titled it Girl, Interrupted. As a young woman submitted to a psychiatric hospital for a year and a half in the 1960s, Kaysen jotted down her experiences. Some say the movie is a loose adaptation of the book, although both book writer and lead movie character go by the same name, are diagnosed with a borderline personality disorder after a nervous breakdown, and take an overdose of pills with a bottle of vodka.

25. Cinderella Man

Cinderella Man is a film titled after heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock and inspired by his life story. Real life Braddock, the Cinderella Man, has to lead a gripping, brimming life and lived to tell his tale of a rising star with the shattered dream, his fall from greatness and one of the most epically legendary comebacks in history. Since the true tale is unbelievably engaging as it is, little if any Hollywood-esque features were introduced into the silver-screen version.

26. Remember The Titans

This American sports film takes place in Alexandria, Virgina and is based on the true story of African-American coach Herman Boone and his attempt to integrate the T. C. Williams High School football team in 1971. While this movie is fundamentally based on real-life events, many claim it has strayed from the actual facts. For example, Boone was hardly the coach that actor Washington was – many former Titans players said real Boone was harsh to the extent of causing some players to quit. The film also wrongfully portrays Sheryl Yoast as an only child.

27. Unbroken

Unbroken is a film directed by Angelina Jolie that tells the story of Louis “Louie” Zamperini, who was first an Olympic track star and later became a World War II hero. His survival story is incredible, beginning with his surviving a plane crash in the Pacific theater. He then managed to survive for 47 days while drifting on a raft. Afterwards, he was taken as a prisoner of war where he survived three different Japanese prisoners of war camps over two and a half years.

28. Munich

Spielberg’s narrative describes the dark event of the Munich Massacre at the 1972 Olympics when Palestinian terrorists held 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team hostage. There was an attempted rescue, which went horribly wrong and resulted in the death of all 11 athletes. The movie then shows a hastily assembled covert assassination team gathered by Israel’s Prime Minister. The team is provided with a list of 11 targets – supposedly, the men responsible for the attack. Some claim the film is lacking credibility, due to tweaks were done in a Spielberg-y manner to make a blockbuster instead of revealing the truth.

29. Escape From Alcatraz

The film depicts the June 1962 escape from Alcatraz – the only successful escape from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in history. Inmates Clarence Anglin, John Anglin, and Frank Morris made paper-mâché replicas of their heads and put them in their beds before escaping the building via the deserted utility corridor. Critics have often pointed out that even though the film made it seem like the escape was successful, it was never confirmed that the escapees survived; evidence, however, suggests that it’s possible that they did, in fact, make it out alive.

30. Walk The Line

In Walk The Line, Joaquin Phoenix portrays legendary singer Johnny Cash. Cash rose to stardom right at the beginning of the rock n’ roll craze of the late 1940’s and early 50’s. Although he was already married, while on tour he met singer June Carter and fell in love with her. The two would go on to perform together as Cash continued to pursue her. He began to struggle with substance abuse, and eventually, it began to affect his personal and professional life.