Hollywood movies based on true incidents

Movies do not necessarily mean action or comedy or song or dance. Sometimes, even the audience likes change. This is when movies based on true incidents come into the picture. Hollywood has always craved out-of-the-box content. So here are some lesser known movies that are based on true-life incidents. Not surprisingly, these movies were welcomed by the audience.

A Mighty Heart

This film is an adaptation of Mariane Pearl’s novel by the same name. While the film bombed at the box-office, it had received a positive feedback from the critics. The film is based on the kidnapping and subsequent killing of the Wall Street journalist, Daniel Pearl. A Mighty Heart documents the detailed search operation for the journalist and the efforts of various Pakistani forces such as Pakistan's Security Forces, Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) to track the kidnappers and bring them to justice. Angelina Jolie played the role of Mariane Pearl, wife of the slain journalist in the film. Daniel Pearl was kidnapped on January 23, 2002, and decapitated nine days later. His body had been cut into 10 pieces.

The Walk

The Walk documents French-high-wire artist, Philippe Petit’s, famous August 7, 1974, walk between the Twin Towers that catapulted him to fame. Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who had no formal training of high-wire walking, trained directly with Philippe Petit and it is said that he is a fast learner. Philippe Petit’s struggle with the preparation of his walk has been documented in the movie.

Everest

The 1996 Mount Everest disaster has been brought to life in Baltasar Kormákur’s 3D Disaster drama, Everest. The movie opened to great reviews from the audience and the performance of all actors was appreciated. The 1996 Mount Everest disaster is said to be one of the worst disasters in the history of mountaineering. It refers to the events of May 10 and 11, 1996, when eight people were caught in a blizzard and died on Mount Everest during summit attempts. It is said that the bodies of both the expedition leaders, Scott Frischer and Rob Hall, still remain on the Everest.

Unstoppable

Have you ever heard of a train slip? The CSX 8888 incident, also known as the Crazy Eights incident is one-of-its-kind in the history of Locomotive Engineering. If you’ve watched the film Unstoppable, then you would understand. The film documented the real-life incident of freight train CSX-8888 slip at the hands of an engineer (whose name was never revealed). Actors Denzel Washington and Chris Pine play Frank Barnes and Will Colson respectively, who help stop the train from derailing. This film was directed by Tony Scott and was his final feature film before his death in 2012.

All The President’s Men

The most famous political scandal - The Watergate Scandal - was recreated in the 1976 movie, All The President’s Men. The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal that was caused due to the June 17, 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. The then president, Richard Nixon’s, reluctance to co-operate with the probe by the US Congress raised many questions, which forced him to resign office. All the President's Men is directed by Alan J. Pakula, the screenplay by William Goldman is based on the 1974 non-fiction book by the same name, written by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, the two journalists investigating the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post. The film starred Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Woodward and Bernstein, respectively.

Monster

Crime drama, Monster, is based on serial killer Aileen Wuornos’ story. Aileen Wuornos was a prostitute who killed six men and claimed to have done so in self-defence, after they tried to rape her. Charlize Theron played the role of Wuornos in the 2003 flick. The portrayal of Aileen Wuornos earned Theron the Academy Award in the Best Actress category, Golden Globe Award in the Best Actress in a Drama category and the SAG Award for her performance.