Top 10 Surprisingly Historically Accurate Movies

It’s the Cold War, and the American military is desperate for a leg up. They turn, genuinely, to the potential of paranormal warfare. Specifically, the idea of psychic powers. Although this movie’s bizarre story is largely fictional, it still draws inspiration from the real-life Stargate Project and the First Earth Battalion. The Stargate Project was a secret military operation that hoped to uncover psychic abilities that could be utilized by the U.S. Army. It turned out to be a huge disaster and was terminated in 1995 for yielding no useful information. On the other hand, the First Earth Battalion, proposed by Jim Channon, envisioned creating supersoldiers with night vision and powers of divination. These ideas were, however, not adopted.

The idea of people predicting the 2008 financial crisis and betting against the housing market to become rich may seem ludicrous. But in reality, it actually happened. “The Big Short” is ostensibly a comedy, but it contains many disturbing details regarding the devastating financial crisis of the late aughts. It also explains how certain individuals manipulated the disaster for their own capital gain. While it makes for a scary story, “The Big Short” is remarkably accurate. The dense financial information is flawlessly conveyed, and while many character names were changed for the movie, their stories are nevertheless based in fact. Uncomfortable as it might be, “The Big Short” manages to veer closer to documentary than fictional storytelling.

The story of Hugh Glass seems mythical. And maybe it is, to a certain extent. As “The Revenant” correctly portrays, Glass was attacked by a grizzly bear in present day Lemmon, South Dakota and left with horrific injuries. Abandoned by his partners who deemed his survival improbable, Glass defied the odds, traveling over 200 miles to the safety of Fort Kiowa. Much of this story is disputed, and it is believed to have been largely embellished over the years. This is exemplified by the finale of “The Revenant,” which shows Glass battling Fitzgerald, despite this never happening in real life. However, even with some mythical and exaggerated elements, “The Revenant” remains true to the basic survival story of the tenacious Hugh Glass.

Todd Phillips’ “War Dogs” is a hilarious black comedy about two young arms dealers who work with the Pentagon to supply weapons to the Afghan Army. The plot is based on the true story of Efraim Diveroli and David Packouz, who ran an independent arms company called AEY, Inc. Diveroli started the company as a teenager out of his Miami apartment, bidding on military contracts on websites like FedBizOpps. The two won a $298 million contract with the Pentagon in 2007, when they were both in their 20s. Despite their early success, they violated the American arms embargo against China, eventually pleading guilty to conspiracy. Their controversial contract garnered widespread publicity, notably documented in the Rolling Stone article that inspired the movie.

Survival stories are incredibly popular, often taking place in exotic locations and proving the tenacity of the human spirit. Frank Marshall’s “Alive” is no exception. It recounts the harrowing ordeal of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed into the Andes in 1972. 33 people survived the crash and endured over two months in the freezing mountain, fighting starvation and cold exposure. They eventually resorted to cannibalism in order to stay alive. Most unbelievable of all is the story of Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa. Already starving and exhausted, they climbed a 15,000 foot mountain and hiked 38 miles into Chile, desperately looking for help. All of these events are dramatically conveyed in “Alive,” despite how unreal they may seem.

David O. Russell’s acclaimed crime comedy opens with a tongue-in-cheek disclaimer, informing viewers that “some of this actually happened.” It’s a pretty accurate assessment of the movie - not entirely truthful, often elaborated, but nevertheless rooted in history. It dramatizes an old FBI sting operation called Abscam, which targeted corrupt politicians in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. “American Hustle” altered some names, changing Mel and Marie Weinberg into Irving and Rosalyn Rosenfeld, and Camden mayor Angelo Errichetti into Carmine Polito. Regardless, the essence of their stories remained mostly true. Weinberg was indeed an FBI informant who helped operate the sting, and Errichetti was actually convicted of bribery and sent to prison.

The story of Aron Ralston sounds like something out of a great adventure novel. Without informing anyone, he ventures into Utah’s Bluejohn Canyon and becomes trapped when a boulder squishes his arm. Over the next five days, Ralston attempts various methods of escape and contemplates his situation before resorting to some horribly drastic measures. What he does to ensure his survival is extraordinarily graphic, not to mention slightly unbelievable. But believe it, because it actually happened. Director Danny Boyle adapted Ralston’s book with scary accuracy - janky surgical procedure and all. Ralston himself praised the film, calling it “so factually accurate it is as close to a documentary as you can get and still be a drama.”

In this Spike Lee classic, John David Washington plays Ron Stallworth, a Colorado detective who infiltrates the Ku Klux Klan through the help of Adam Driver’s Philip Zimmerman. A Black man infiltrating a white supremacist organization via a surrogate sounds like pure fiction. But in this case, it’s not, and that’s what makes the story so endlessly fascinating. The actual events occurred in 1978, with the real Ron Stallworth collaborating with a still-unidentified white officer to infiltrate the Klan. Not only is the general story true, but so are some of the more outlandish details, like Stallworth posing for a photo with Grand Wizard David Duke.

Tommy Wiseau’s “The Room” has long enjoyed a cult following on the internet, known for being one of the worst movies ever made. Its misguided creation was chronicled in the 2013 memoir “The Disaster Artist,” co-written by the movie’s star Greg Sestero. In 2017, Sestero’s book was skillfully adapted into James Franco’s film of the same name. It manages to poke fun at and also showcase a tender fondness for Wiseau, depicting how his ambitions clashed with reality, resulting in a cinematic monstrosity. The film takes a few creative liberties, like having “The Room” be met with an ovation rather than complete disdain. But for the most part, this is an accurate depiction of a near-mythical Hollywood story.

We return to the finance industry for “The Wolf of Wall Street,” a late career masterpiece from Martin Scorsese. It tells the story of Jordan Belfort, a con man who committed rampant fraud through his brokerage house, Stratton Oakmont. By running various financial scams, Belfort was able to defraud investors of up to $200 million. Belfort’s larger-than-life story and hedonistic lifestyle makes for a great movie, and its basis in reality makes it all the greater. Belfort has praised the movie’s accuracy, saying that it nailed the “overall feeling” of his time in finance, including “the camaraderie, the insanity” and the rampant drug use.