The Pianist is a heartfelt tale about a renowned Polish Jewish pianist, Wladyslaw Szpilman, who overcomes a series of difficulties after losing touch with his family during WWII. The haunting Holocaust drama, directed by Roman Polanski and released in 2002, is influenced by the famous autobiography, "The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw", written in 1939-1945. The movie is about a pianist of a radio station (played by Adrien Brody), who ventures into a distressing journey through the 'Warsaw Ghetto.'

By the time the Nazis seal the Ghetto gates on 16 November 1940, Szpilman's family has sold all their possessions, including his prized piano, and been forced to hide in desolate surroundings. Before his loved ones died during Operation Reinhard, Szpilman used his piano skills to earn money. He frequented himself at Café Nowoczesna - a small address on Sienna Street, favored by the Jewish aristocracy - and the Ghetto's biggest café, the Sztuka.

Brody won the Academy Award for Best Actor at the age of 29. This made him become the youngest celebrity ever to achieve such a feat.

Release year: 2002

Director: Roman Polanski

IMDB Score: 8.6/10

If you had been told at the start of the twenty-first century that a psychological movie based on the true story of Nobel Prize-winner and mathematician John Nash would be one of the best Hollywood blockbusters in the following years, you would have been suspicious. However, it is the truth!

The magnificence of John Nash's earlier years - as shown in "A Beautiful Mind" - and the misery of his mental health difficulties are both true. According to his bio written on the Nobel Prize website, Nash was just 21 years old when he wrote the seminal paper on game theories, for which he would get the Nobel Prize 45 years later, on June 13, 1928, in Bluefield, Virginia.

"The mental difficulties began in the early days of 1959, at a period when my wife appeared to be pregnant," Nash wrote. As Bright Side pointed out, Nash had begun to exhibit indications of schizophrenia, an illness that he would live with for the remainder of his life. The film "A Beautiful Mind" depicted Nash as a person with dramatic visual hallucinations. Nevertheless, Nash's symptoms were actually aural.

Release year: 2001

Director: Ron Howard

IMDB Score: 8.2/10

"Catch Me If You Can" is the best heist movie that you did not realize you needed in your life. Remember your childhood, when you used to fantasize about spending your life running from the police? Not as a violent killer, of course, but as a cool criminal who only robbed the government, had a slew of faux IDs, and shifted between fake identities with elaborate outfit changes. Best of all, it would be an adventure-filled journey without parental supervision!

Throughout "Catch Me If You Can," Leonardo Di Caprio was as youthful and charming as ever, co-starring with Christopher Walken and Tom Hanks. He portrays Frank Abagnale Jr., a con artist who poses as a Pan American Airways pilot to steal millions of dollars. In Georgia, he plays the role of a doctor, while in Louisiana, he turns into a prosecutor. Plus — and this is a big deal – he achieves it all before becoming 19 years old.

The key issue is, is the film based on a factual story? Yes! Frank Abagnale Jr. indeed existed in the 1960s and 1970s. This genius criminal cashed forged cheques and masqueraded as an expert in a variety of fields. He started conniving at the age of 15 and was pursued for years by the FBI.

Release year: 2002

Director: Steven Spielberg

IMDB Score: 8.1/10

12 Years a Slave, a terrific film by Steve McQueen, opens with the words "based on a real event", and closes with a detailed narrative of what occurred to Solomon Northup after he was set free. What occurs in between - when Northup is abducted and sold into black slavery for 12 years - often befuddles the imagination. Should you trust the authenticity of this tale, even with some of the most unbelievable parts?

The answer is yes - with a few exceptions here and there. 12 Years a Slave is based on Northup's book with the same name, which he had penned with the assistance of his ghostwriter, David Wilson. Some historians have questioned aspects of the story's presentation; they thought it fitted the conventional aspects of slave tale genres a bit too conveniently. However, its key events were eventually validated by historians Joseph Logsdon and Sue Eakin in the groundbreaking 1968 version of the book.

The cinematic adaptation, written by writer John Ridley, and inspired by Northup's memoir and Eakin and Logsdon's footnotes, adheres quite closely to Northup's account. While some of the plot is abridged and a few minor sequences are made up, in general, most of the astonishing aspects are taken directly from the original source.

Release year: 2013

Director: Steve McQueen

IMDB Score: 8.1/10

Spotlight approached a quite tough topic. Throughout the narrative, it properly depicted most of the actual real-life events, though certain occurrences were altered. Spotlight is a film produced by Todd McCarthy, and inspired by a screenplay by McCarthy and Josh Singer. It is about an investigative reporting crew, which uncovered extensive sexual abuse of minors by the Catholic priests in Boston. Spotlight was nominated for An Academy award for both Best Picture and Best Screenplay.

The Spotlight movie only covers a one-year period, from summer 2001 to the release of the team’s report on January 7, 2002. In reality, the team wrote approximately 600 pieces exposing the scandal, earning a 2003 Pulitzer Prize. The reporters then got calls from nearly 300 victims in the weeks that followed, all of them were adults who had been abused years ago.

In the film, the investigation forced Cardinal Law to retire immediately. However, in real life, Law was not fired; he was even promoted. The Church has remained silent for years and refused to say anything about the horrific crimes discovered by the reporters.

Release year: 2015

Director: Tom McCarthy

IMDB Score: 8.1/10

Despite the fact that The Imitation Game was primarily based on the book Alan Turing: The Enigma, most of Alan Turing's life remains shrouded in mystery. Turing, portrayed by actor Benedict Cumberbatch, is regarded as the founder of computer science. He used arithmetic, engineering (and yet-to-be-invented computer science) to decrypt the codes that were established by Enigma systems of the German military during WWII. Unfortunately, most of the documentation (which tracked his works for the government) have already been lost, and nothing else is known about Turing's personal life.

Christopher, a student at Sherborne College in Dorset, was similarly interested in arithmetic. Turing had some feelings for Christopher, but he didn't think his sentiments were returned. In the movie, Turing learns about Christopher's death from his headmaster. However, in real life, Turing had been informed that his buddy was ill, and that he should brace himself for the worst scenario before Christopher died.

Turing was largely motivated by Christopher's death. He studied mathematics to discover whether a portion of Christopher could live without his physical body. Turing published an article a year after Christopher’s funeral, in which he addressed how the soul may persist beyond death, with a reference to the nascent discipline of quantum physics. This publication has inspired Tyldum to direct The Imitation Game.

Release year: 2014

Director: Morten Tyldum

IMDB Score: 8.0/10

Although David Fincher's The Social Network purports to be a biographical picture, Aaron Sorkin takes several liberties in the plot. He altered a few details about real-life characters, as well as their involvement in the creation of Facebook - one of the world’s most successful social networking websites.

David Fincher returns 2 years after his fantasy melodrama The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. He directed The Social Network, inspired by the book The Accidental Billionaires, written by Ben Mezrich. The Social Network focused on the development of Facebook and its subsequent litigation. The film described how the concepts for the website came to life, what it needed to become a success, and obstacles that Mark Zuckerberg had to overcome along the way.

Jesse Eisenberg portrayed Zuckerberg. Andrew Garfield took the role of Mark's co-founder Eduardo Saverin, and Justin Timberlake played as the ex Facebook president. The Social Network earned widespread accolades from reviewers, who praise the film's directing, acting, editing, and soundtracks. It was voted one of the decade's greatest films.

Release year: 2010

Director: David Fincher

IMDB Score: 7.8/10

Armstrong’s arrival on the moon has always been regarded as the greatest exploration achievement in human history. Hence, it is quite a shock to learn that First Man is the very first film about this important event. It is based on James R Hansen's 2005 bestseller, First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong. The movie revolves around three characters: the enigmatic and level-headed leader of the mission; a test pilot, and an engineer. They were destined to achieve a feat that no other humans have ever done before.

Ryan Gosling’s performance was very captivating and authentic, following his massive triumph of La La Land and Whiplash. The movie blends different aspects of cinematic history together: family tragedy, character study, and historical action dramas. The latter one (historical drama) is the most prominent.

The early Apollo test scenes are outstanding, while the lunar landing sequence is a beautiful set-piece that wonderfully represents the real-life, mission-critical situation that Armstrong was in. Fortunately, his incredible mental strength and flying abilities have assured its good outcome.

Release year: 2018

Director: Damien Chazelle

IMDB Score: 7.3/10

Mountains and films are not usually the most compatible partners, which is odd. You would think the intrinsic drama, as well as the perilous missions, daring climbers, and breathtaking landscape, would have resulted in more film success.

Expeditions cannot get much more exciting than the 1996 Everest summit season. The dangerous circumstances, terrible storms, overcrowding, and human mistakes were combined together to create one of the most deadly and infamous nights in climbing history. The story was masterfully recounted in two books: John Krakauer's “Into Thin Air”, and Anatoli Boukreev's follow-up, “The Climb”. Decades later, this famous adventure eventually made its way onto the silver screen in Everest (2015).

With an expansive all-star ensemble, Everest (2015) might be undeniably difficult to follow if you're unfamiliar with the real-life story. What the movie does deserve credit for is its perfect depiction of the world’s tallest peak, seen through the lens of brave climbers who have been drawn to it for years.

Release year: 2015

Director: Baltasar Kormakur

IMDB Score: 7.1/10

The combustible family drama at the heart of the film is so outlandish, that it's understandable to assume that the movie is the product of a very lively imagination. The romance of Maurizio Gucci (by Adam Driver) and Patrizia Reggiani (by Lady Gaga) implodes in the film, while the family company, the House of Gucci, starts to unravel under the burden of infighting and cultural upheavals, which ended in Maurizio's tragic murder.

However, in the case of the House of Gucci, reality is even stranger than imagination. The film was based on a factual book with the same title, written by Sara Gay Forden and published in 2001. The book detailed the dramatic true-life narrative of the enormously affluent Gucci family, describing the rise and collapse of one of the fashion's most recognized dynasties.

The story features intense rivalry between family members, various lawsuits, tax evasion, jail, and, of course, murder. It gave Scott and his two scriptwriters, Becky Johnston and Roberto Bentivegna, plenty of creative fuel. While the plot is based on actual individuals and events, a few components were modified for the film.

Release year: 2021

Director: Ridley Scott

IMDB Score: 6.7/10