Home › Movies based on real lifeMovies based on real life on Netflix
The Movies based on real life category on Netflix is identified by the secret code 920 . Below are 100 Movies based on real life titles currently traceable on Netflix, sorted by rating. Top picks include Working Title (2019), Schindler's List (1993), GoodFellas (1990).
How to open this category: on a web browser, sign in to Netflix and visit netflix.com/browse/genre/920. On the mobile app or a TV, use the title search below or open the code in a browser. What you see depends on your country and Netflix plan, so some titles may not appear for you.
Last updated: 28 Sep 2021. Independent reference, not affiliated with Netflix.
Working Title (2019) In the '70s, a graduate student works with three incarcerated women from the Manson Family as they look back at their lives. Based on a true story.
Year: 201981023720 · IMDb
Schindler's List (1993) Oskar Schindler becomes an unlikely humanitarian, spending his entire fortune to help save 1,100 Jews from Auschwitz during World War II.
Year: 199360036359 · IMDb
GoodFellas (1990) This gripping gangster opus follows real-world mobster Henry Hill, who dreamed of making it big but landed in the Witness Protection Program instead.
Year: 199070002022 · IMDb
Ani... Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar (2018) From his singular career to his personal demons, this biopic chronicles the short yet prolific life of the Marathi dentist-turned-superstar.
Year: 201881281469 · IMDb
Mallesham (2019) A self-trained engineer risks debt, love and reputation in his quest to improve the grueling work conditions of his mother and her weaving community.
Year: 201981217739 · IMDb
Vita & Virginia (2019) In the 1920s, Vita Sackville-West was a free-loving pop writer. Virginia Woolf was a brooding intellectual. Their decade-long affair was a prairie fire.
Year: 201981025764 · IMDb
The Pianist (2002) Famed Polish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman struggles to survive the onslaught of Nazi tyranny during World War II in this drama based on his memoirs.
Year: 200260025061 · IMDb
Black Friday (2004) This docudrama based on the same-titled book tracks the aftermath of a 1993 bombing in Bombay through the eyes of a journalist covering the story.
Year: 200470077720 · IMDb
Dangal (2016) A once-promising wrestler pursues the gold medal he never won by training two of his daughters to compete at the Commonwealth Games.
Year: 201680166185 · IMDb
Harishchandrachi Factory (2009) Against a backdrop of burgeoning social unrest, a neophyte filmmaker makes history in 1913 as the director of India's first feature-length film.
Year: 200970127589 · IMDb
A Brighter Summer Day (1991) In 1960s Taiwan, a teenage boy and the girl he loves confront gang violence, cultural upheaval and their own mutable sense of identity.
Year: 199180097378 · IMDb
Mosul (2020) After his life is saved by a rogue Iraqi squadron, a young police officer joins them in their fight against ISIS in a decimated Mosul.
Year: 202081041495 · IMDb
Braveheart (1995) Scottish warrior William Wallace slays a local English lord's soldiers, which leads to an epic revolt.
Year: 199560000540 · IMDb
Lawrence of Arabia: Restored Version (1962) This Oscar-winning epic tells the true story of T.E. Lawrence, who helped unite warring Arab tribes to strike back against the Turks in World War I.
Year: 196270012020 · IMDb
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) Martin Scorcese's high-rolling Wall Street drama is based on the memoirs of stockbroker Jordan Belfort, whose giddy career ended in federal prison.
Year: 201370266676 · IMDb
Downfall (2004) This portrayal of Adolf Hitler's final days is based on the memoirs of Traudl Junge, the young secretary who was with him until his death.
Year: 200470023508 · IMDb
A Beautiful Mind (2001) This Oscar-winning drama charts the life and work of famed economist John Forbes Nash Jr., a brilliant man plagued by the anguish of mental illness.
Year: 200160021793 · IMDb
Guilty (2015) When a teen and her family's hired servant turn up dead, inept police bungle the inquiry and wind up fingering a controversial prime suspect.
Year: 201580080618 · IMDb
Paan Singh Tomar (2010) Paan Singh Tomar goes from celebrated runner to star brigand and rebel when life after sports fails to unfold as planned.
Year: 201070123126 · IMDb
Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009) When his master dies, a loyal pooch named Hachiko keeps a vigil for more than a decade at the train station where he once greeted his owner every day.
Year: 200970118677 · IMDb
Catch Me If You Can (2002) An FBI agent makes it his mission to put cunning con man Frank Abagnale Jr. behind bars. But Frank not only eludes capture, he revels in the pursuit.
Year: 200260024942 · IMDb
Into the Wild (2007) A young man gives up everything -- including his trust fund and ties to a seemingly stable family -- to lead a solitary life in the wild.
Year: 200770075064 · IMDb
12 Years a Slave (2013) A freeborn black man is abducted from New York and sold into slavery in this historical drama based on the autobiography of Solomon Northup.
Year: 201370284282 · IMDb
Rush (2013) This dramatic portrayal of the intense 1970s rivalry between race drivers Niki Lauda and James Hunt captures the contrasts between the two champions.
Year: 201370253165 · IMDb
Hachi-Ko (1987) A devoted dog waits for his master at the train station every day, even after the man falls ill, proving how deep the bond is between humans and pets.
Year: 198780068148 · IMDb
Spotlight (2015) A team of reporters and editors at the Boston Globe relentlessly investigate a shocking child molestation cover-up by the Catholic Church.
Year: 201580061341 · IMDb
Hacksaw Ridge (2016) During World War II, Army medic and conscientious objector Desmond Doss becomes an unlikely hero on an Okinawa battlefield without bearing arms.
Year: 201680108975 · IMDb
The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002) This biopic chronicles the life and times of iconic Indian revolutionary Bhagat Singh, who led an armed resistance against the British in the 1920.
Year: 200260033227 · IMDb
The Elephant Man (1980) With a disfigured face and barely perceptible speech, John Merrick endures ostracizing behavior as a sideshow attraction in mid-19th century England.
Year: 198060011111 · IMDb
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) When Chris and his son are evicted, they face trying times as a desperate Chris accepts an unpaid internship at a stock brokerage firm.
Year: 200670044605 · IMDb
Ip Man (2008) An occupying Japanese general challenges Chinese men to duels to prove the superiority of the Japanese, but Ip Man refuses to fight -- at first.
Year: 200870118799 · IMDb
Gandhi (1982) Ben Kingsley stars as the diminutive attorney who stood up against British rule in India and became a global symbol of nonviolence and understanding.
Year: 198260010384 · IMDb
The King's Speech (2010) In this biographical drama, Britain's King George VI struggles with an embarrassing stutter until he seeks help from speech therapist Lionel Logue.
Year: 201070135893 · IMDb
Dallas Buyers Club (2013) Refusing to accept a death sentence from his doctor after being diagnosed with AIDS in 1986, Ron Woodroof smuggles medications from abroad.
Year: 201370275751 · IMDb
The Imitation Game (2014) During World War II, a brilliant mathematician leads a team of cryptanalysts as they work feverishly to break the Germans' notorious Enigma code.
Year: 201470295172 · IMDb
The Revenant (2015) In the 1820s, a fur trapper struggles for survival to exact retribution against a ruthless mercenary who left him to die along the Missouri River.
Year: 201580064516 · IMDb
Lion (2016) An Indian man who was separated from his mother at age 5 and adopted by an Australian couple returns home, determined to find his birth family.
Year: 201680108447 · IMDb
Manjhi: The Mountain Man (2015) After his wife falls to her death crossing a mountain, a laborer spends decades carving a path through the mountain with nothing but simple tools.
Year: 201580165852 · IMDb
Pad Man (2018) Despite public humiliation and resistance, an entrepreneur markets a hygienic, low-cost sanitary pad that even India's poorest women can afford.
Year: 201881016191 · IMDb
Wonder (2017) After being homeschooled all his life, a boy with facial differences attends a traditional school, where he must find friends among his bullies.
Year: 201780147986 · IMDb
The Tin Mine (2005) A failed engineering student in the late 1940s gets the unexpected education of a lifetime by working for four years in a rainforest tin mine.
Year: 200581131420 · IMDb
The Untouchables (1987) In Brian De Palma's period crime drama, Eliot Ness will stop at nothing to take down legendary Al Capone -- even if it means bending some rules.
Year: 198760004086 · IMDb
Straight Outta Compton (2015) In the mid-1980s, rap group N.W.A. bursts from the mean streets of Compton, revolutionizing hip-hop culture with its raw, provocative authenticity.
Year: 201580041415 · IMDb
Dunkirk (2017) In May 1940, soldiers and civilians struggle by land, sea and air to evacuate the British army and their allies, Europe's last hope, from Dunkirk.
Year: 201780170278 · IMDb
The Billionaire (2011) Inspired by a true story, this uplifting drama focuses on a young Thai entrepreneur's incredible business success, despite obstacles and self-doubt.
Year: 201180158681 · IMDb
Let's Go, JETS! From Small Town Girls to U.S. Champions?! (2017) Led by a demanding coach, an unlikely squad of small town girls vie for victory in a major US cheer dance championship. Based on true events.
Year: 201781162732 · IMDb
A Lucky Man (2013) Based on the life of Ernie “Lustig” Solomon, a gangster from just outside Cape Town in search of his identity and morality in a crime-ridden society.
Year: 201381219392 · IMDb
Destiny (1997) In 12th-century Spain, a philosopher and his profound teachings jeopardize the caliph he serves when political rivals threaten a government upheaval.
Year: 199781252543 · IMDb
The Fighter (2010) After a string of defeats, a boxer rediscovers his fighting will with help from his trainer and half-brother, a once-talented pugilist.
Year: 201070113534 · IMDb
Walk the Line (2005) This acclaimed biopic follows country singer Johnny Cash from his hardscrabble days on an Arkansas farm to his time inside Memphis's Sun Studios.
Year: 200570023968 · IMDb
American Gangster (2007) Denzel Washington stars as true-life Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas and Russell Crowe plays the outcast NYPD cop charged with bringing him down.
Year: 200770060009 · IMDb
The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) A 23-year-old Che Guevara motorcycles across South America with friend Alberto, a trek that crystallizes the future revolutionary's political beliefs.
Year: 200460034802 · IMDb
Glory (1989) This stirring drama follows the first African-Americans to serve in combat during the Civil War -- and shows how they helped turn the tide of the war.
Year: 1989547335 · IMDb
Captain Phillips (2013) In this exciting adventure based on true events, Tom Hanks portrays a captain who is taken hostage by Somali pirates after they hijack his cargo ship.
Year: 201370243460 · IMDb
Vengeance Is Mine (1979) Legendary Japanese director Shohei Imamura (The Eel) helms this chilling tale of horror and revenge based on actual events about a seemingly harmless young man who blossomed into a cold-blooded, remorseless murderer.
Year: 197970067850 · IMDb
The Big Short (2015) A group of wily opportunists make a fortune off of the U.S. economic crash by sniffing out the situation in advance and betting against the banks.
Year: 201580075560 · IMDb
Hidden Figures (2016) Three brilliant African-American women overcome bigotry and sexism to become the brains behind the launch of the first American astronaut into space.
Year: 201680123775 · IMDb
Sanju (2018) From the depths of addiction to the heights of stardom to underworld entanglements, this biopic traces the checkered past of Indian actor Sanjay Dutt.
Year: 201881020508 · IMDb
Die Beste aller Welten (2017) Seven-year-old Adrian enjoys an idyllic childhood with his single mother in Salzburg, until her heroin habit threatens their joyful existence.
Year: 201780177694 · IMDb
October Sky (1999) Inspired by Soviet satellite Sputnik streaking across the heavens in 1957, a teenager builds a rocket to compete for a science fair scholarship.
Year: 199918957852 · IMDb
1987: When the Day Comes (2018) The truth behind a cover-up of a student activist's death while in government custody sparks a movement for change. Inspired by true events.
Year: 201880231471 · IMDb
Vico C (2017) The true story of Vico C, the first Spanish-language rapper and hip-hop and reggaeton pioneer, from his modest beginnings to his international success.
Year: 201781405550 · IMDb
1987 (2014) Craving the high life but short on cash, a recent high school grad turns to petty crime to fund his partying. Based on the life of director Ricardo Trogi.
Year: 201481370434 · IMDb
Black Hawk Down (2001) When U.S. forces attempt to capture two underlings of a Somali warlord, their helicopters are shot down and the Americans suffer heavy casualties.
Year: 200160022056 · IMDb
Donnie Brasco (1997) When FBI agent Joe Pistone goes undercover to infiltrate the mob, he starts to identify with the made men he's charged with taking down.
Year: 19971151721 · IMDb
The Social Network (2010) Director David Fincher's biographical drama chronicles the meteoric rise of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg from Harvard sophomore to Internet superstar.
Year: 201070132721 · IMDb
Ray (2004) In this biopic, Jamie Foxx portrays rhythm and blues legend Ray Charles, who rose from obscurity and overcame his struggles to become world famous.
Year: 200470001994 · IMDb
Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story (1988) When high school football coach Charlie Wedemeyer is diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, he perseveres in leading his team despite becoming disabled.
Year: 198870206819 · IMDb
Argo (2012) In 1979, six Americans take shelter from Iranian militants in the Canadian embassy, prompting the CIA to concoct an elaborate plot to rescue them.
Year: 201270231922 · IMDb
Zodiac (2007) Based on real events, this chilling drama recounts the actions of a killer who stalked the streets of San Francisco and left clues in the newspaper.
Year: 200770044686 · IMDb
Changeling (2008) When her kidnapped son is brought home, a mother suspects that the boy isn't her child, so the police captain has her committed to an asylum.
Year: 200870100378 · IMDb
The Theory of Everything (2014) As his esteem grows in the world of physics, Stephen Hawking's body is ravaged by ALS, forcing his increasing dependence on his devoted wife, Jane.
Year: 201480000644 · IMDb
A Man for All Seasons (1966) When Henry VIII seeks approval from the aristocracy to divorce, Sir Thomas More finds himself caught between the king and the Roman Catholic Church.
Year: 1966732905 · IMDb
Only the Brave (2017) While others flee fires, the Granite Mountain Hotshots run toward them. A fateful blaze forges an elite firefighting team of heroes in this true tale.
Year: 201780182216 · IMDb
Stars (2017) Based on the life of Jan Banas, a famous footballer’s megawatt success begets a game of rivalry, passion and love.
Year: 201781116046 · IMDb
Blow (2001) Cocaine smuggler George rises from poverty to become one of the biggest drug dealers in America before his eventual downfall.
Year: 200160020891 · IMDb
The Impossible (2012) Tracking one family's harrowing experiences, this gripping drama depicts the chaos generated by the massive 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia.
Year: 201270251895 · IMDb
Escape from Alcatraz (1979) Lifer Frank Morris plans his unauthorized departure from Alcatraz in this thriller based on the penitentiary's only successful jailbreak.
Year: 1979480144 · IMDb
The Blind Side (2009) In this sports drama based on a true story, an affluent couple takes in a homeless teenager and nurtures his growth into a football powerhouse.
Year: 200970119811 · IMDb
Carandiru (2003) A doctor connects with the inmates at the severely overcrowded São Paulo House of Detention. But hostilities boil over, resulting in a fatal riot.
Year: 200360033309 · IMDb
Moneyball (2011) This drama follows the true story of a former jock turned general manager who uses unusual methods to bring the best players to the Oakland A's.
Year: 201170201437 · IMDb
Apollo 13 (1995) Technical troubles scuttle the Apollo 13 mission in 1971, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew in this chronicle of a true story.
Year: 1995262866 · IMDb
Philomena (2013) An aging Irishwoman teams with a floundering journalist to find the son she was forced to give up for adoption 50 years ago.
Year: 201370293789 · IMDb
Bridge of Spies (2015) A Brooklyn attorney enters into intense negotiations for the release of American pilot Gary Powers after his spy plane is downed by the Soviets.
Year: 201580050060 · IMDb
Midnight Express (1978) Arrested in 1970 after trying to smuggle two kilos of hash out of Turkey, American student Billy Hayes faces a nightmare 30-year jail sentence.
Year: 1978759396 · IMDb
127 Hours (2010) From director Danny Boyle comes this harrowing tale of a real-life mountain climber who literally cuts himself loose from danger.
Year: 201070141813 · IMDb
A Twelve Year Night (2018) Future Uruguayan president José Mujica and his fellow Tupamaro political prisoners fight to survive 12 years of solitary confinement and torture.
Year: 201880185375 · IMDb
Habibie and Ainun (2012) This companion to 2016's 'Rudy Habibie' traces the relationship between Indonesia’s third president and his wife behind the scenes of their public lives.
Year: 201281047898 · IMDb
Maudie (2016) Despite severe arthritis and a challenging marriage, an amateur painter defies the odds to become a beloved folk artist in this unconventional biopic.
Year: 201680156208 · IMDb
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019) Inspired by a science book, 13-year-old William Kamkwamba builds a wind turbine to save his Malawian village from famine. Based on a true story.
Year: 201980200047 · IMDb
The Two Popes (2019) At a key turning point for the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI forms a surprising friendship with the future Pope Francis. Inspired by true events.
Year: 201980174451 · IMDb
Hotel Mumbai (2019) Based on the 2008 Mumbai attacks, this harrowing story follows the people and events inside the grand Taj Mahal Palace Hotel over four days of terror.
Year: 201981039222 · IMDb
Saladin (1963) The Sultan of Egypt and Syria launches a campaign to retake Jerusalem amid the Crusades.
Year: 196381252549 · IMDb
Just Mercy (2019) An idealistic, talented young lawyer heads to Alabama to defend death row inmates in need of proper legal representation. Based on a true story.
Year: 201980207506 · IMDb
Bukit Kepong (1981) Officers and locals fight a fierce battle against Communist gunmen at the Bukit Kepong police station in this digitally remastered film.
Year: 198181425200 · IMDb
Dark Waters (2019) An attorney whose firm defends chemical companies jeopardizes his career to expose a toxic waste-dumping scheme in this drama based on a true story.
Year: 201981192027 · IMDb
Ip Man 2 (2010) New in Hong Kong, martial arts instructor Ip Man perseveres and retaliates against his rivals' opposition to the Wing Chun fighting style he teaches.
Year: 201070137753 · IMDb
Lone Survivor (2013) Mark Wahlberg stars as Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrel in this action-drama based on an ill-fated real-life mission to bring down a Taliban boss.
Year: 201370259795 · IMDb
The Aviator (2004) Leonardo DiCaprio portrays eccentric tycoon Howard Hughes, who turned a small fortune into a massive one by building Hollywood and aviation empires.
Year: 200470011213 · IMDb
A Royal Affair (2012) In 18th-century Denmark, the unstable King Christian VII neglects his young queen, Mathilde, who falls in love with his German physician.
Year: 201270232004 · IMDb
