Biography
Kill the Messenger
(2014)
Peter Landesman, Gary Webb (book), Nick Schou (book)
2 wins & 4 nominations.
Based on the true story of journalist Gary Webb. The film takes place in the mid-1990s, when Webb uncovered the CIA's past role in importing huge amounts of cocaine into the U.S. that was aggressively sold in ghettos across the country to raise money for the Nicaraguan Contras' rebel army. Despite enormous pressure not to, Webb chose to pursue the story and went public with his evidence, publishing the series "Dark Alliance". As a result he experienced a vicious smear campaign fueled by the CIA. At that point Webb found himself defending his integrity, his family, and his life.
Legend
(2015)
Brian Helgeland, John Pearson (book)
5 wins & 10 nominations.
The true story of London's most notorious gangsters, twins Reggie and Ronnie Kray. As the brothers rise through the criminal underworld, Ronnie advances the family business with violence and intimidation while Reggie struggles to go legitimate for local girl Frances Shea. In and out of prison, Ronnie's unpredictable tendencies and the slow disintegration of Reggie's marriage threaten to bring the brothers' empire tumbling to the ground.
Man On Wire
(2008)
Philippe Petit (based on the book "To Reach the Clouds" by)
Won 1 Oscar. Another 45 wins & 11 nominations.
On August 7, 1974, Philippe Petit, a French wire walker, juggler, and street performer days shy of his 25th birthday, spent 45 minutes walking, dancing, kneeling, and lying on a wire he and friends strung between the rooftops of the Twin Towers. Uses contemporary interviews, archival footage, and recreations to tell the story of his previous walks between towers of Notre Dame and of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, his passions and friendships, and the details of the night before the walk: getting cable into the towers, hiding from guards, and mounting the wire. It ends with observations of the profound changes the walk's success brought to Philippe and those closest to him.
Mesrine Part 1: Killer Instinct
(2008)
Jacques Mesrine (book), Abdel Raouf Dafri (scenario), Abdel Raouf Dafri (adaptation), Jean-François Richet (adaptation)
8 wins & 12 nominations.
The story of french gangster Jacques Mesrine, before he was called Public Enemy N°1.
Mesrine Part 2: Public Enemy #1
(2008)
Abdel Raouf Dafri (scenario), Abdel Raouf Dafri (adaptation), Jean-François Richet (adaptation)
7 wins & 13 nominations.
The story of Jacques Mesrine, France's public enemy No. 1 during the 1970s. After nearly two decades of legendary criminal feats - from multiple bank robberies and to prison breaks.
Midnight Express
(1978)
Oliver Stone (screenplay) , Billy Hayes (book) and William Hoffer (book)
Won 2 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 14 nominations.
On October 6, 1970 while boarding an international flight out of Istanbul Airport, American Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle 2 kilos of hashish out of the country, the drugs strapped to his body. He is told that he will be released if he cooperates with the authorities in identifying the person who actually sold him the hash. Billy's troubles really begin when after that assistance, he makes a run for it and is recaptured. He is initially sentenced to just over four years for possession, with no time for the more harsh crime of smuggling. The prison environment is inhospitable in every sense, with a sadistic prison guard named Hamidou ruling the prison, he who relishes the mental and physical torture he inflicts on the prisoners for whatever reason. Told to trust no one, Billy does befriend a few of the other inmates, namely fellow American Jimmy Booth (in for stealing two candlesticks from a mosque), a Swede named Erich, and one of the senior prisoners having already served seven years, an Englishman named Max, the latter two also in for hash related charges. One prisoner not befriended is Rifki, who wields power in the prison as the unofficial eyes and ears for the guards. As Billy, his family and his girlfriend Susan attempt through legal and diplomatic channels for Billy's release, Max tells him that the only way out is to "catch the midnight express" aka escape, which is what Jimmy is continually trying to do. When Billy's situation changes, he becomes more desperate in every sense of the word. It seems as if Billy has only two options: to let the prison ultimately figuratively then literally kill him, or to somehow regain control of his life through whatever means available.
Monster
(2003)
Patty Jenkins
Won 1 Oscar. Another 26 wins & 22 nominations.
Based on the life of Aileen Wuornos, a Daytona Beach prostitute who became a serial killer.
Philomena
(2013)
Steve Coogan (screenplay), Jeff Pope (screenplay) , Martin Sixsmith (book)
Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 32 wins & 76 nominations.
When former journalist Martin Sixsmith is dismissed from the Labour Party in disgrace, he is at a loss as to what do. That changes when a young Irish woman approaches him about a story of her mother, Philomena, who had her son taken away when she was a teenage inmate of a Catholic convent. Martin arranges a magazine assignment about her search for him that eventually leads to America. Along the way, Martin and Philomena discover as much about each other as about her son's fate. Furthermore, both find their basic beliefs challenged.
Public Enemies
(2009)
Ronan Bennett (screenplay), Michael Mann (screenplay), Ann Biderman (screenplay), Bryan Burrough (book)
1 win & 13 nominations.
This is the story of the last few years of the notorious bank robber John Dillinger. He loved what he did and could imagine little else that would make him happier. Living openly in 1930s Chicago, he had the run of the city with little fear of reprisals from the authorities. It's there that he meets Billie Frechette with whom he falls deeply in love. In parallel we meet Melvin Purvis, the FBI agent who would eventually track Dillinger down. The FBI was is in its early days and Director J. Edgar Hoover was keen to promote the clean cut image that so dominated the organization through his lifetime. Purvis realizes that if he is going to get Dillinger, he will have to use street tactics and imports appropriate men with police training. Dillinger is eventually betrayed by an acquaintance who tells the authorities just where to find him on a given night.
Raging Bull
(1980)
Jake LaMotta (based on the book by), Joseph Carter (with), Peter Savage (with), Paul Schrader (screenplay), Mardik Martin (screenplay)
Won 2 Oscars. Another 23 wins & 24 nominations.
An emotionally self-destructive boxer's journey through life, as the violence and temper that leads him to the top in the ring, destroys his life outside it.
Rush
(2013)
Peter Morgan
Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 5 wins & 53 nominations.
Set against the sexy, glamorous golden age of Formula 1 racing in the 1970s, the film is based on the true story of a great sporting rivalry between handsome English playboy James Hunt (Hemsworth), and his methodical, brilliant opponent, Austrian driver Niki Lauda (Bruhl). The story follows their distinctly different personal styles on and off the track, their loves and the astonishing 1976 season in which both drivers were willing to risk everything to become world champion in a sport with no margin for error: if you make a mistake, you die.
Schindler's List
(1993)
Thomas Keneally (book), Steven Zaillian (screenplay)
Won 7 Oscars. Another 82 wins & 49 nominations.
Oskar Schindler is a vainglorious and greedy German businessman who becomes an unlikely humanitarian amid the barbaric German Nazi reign when he feels compelled to turn his factory into a refuge for Jews. Based on the true story of Oskar Schindler who managed to save about 1100 Jews from being gassed at the Auschwitz concentration camp, it is a testament to the good in all of us.
Searching for Sugar Man
(2012)
Malik Bendjelloul, Stephen Segerman, Craig Bartholomew Strydom
Won 1 Oscar. 44 wins & 33 nominations total
In the early 1970s, Sixto Rodriguez was a Detroit folksinger who had a short-lived recording career with only two well received but non-selling albums. Unknown to Rodriguez, his musical story continued in South Africa where he became a pop music icon and inspiration for generations. Long rumored there to be dead by suicide, a few fans in the 1990s decided to seek out the truth of their hero's fate. What follows is a bizarrely heartening story in which they found far more in their quest than they ever hoped, while a Detroit construction laborer discovered that his lost artistic dreams came true after all.
Senna
(2010)
Manish Pandey
Won 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 14 wins & 17 nominations.
The story of the monumental life and tragic death of legendary Brazilian motor-racing Champion, Ayrton Senna. Spanning the decade from his arrival in Formula One in the mid 80's, the film follows Senna's struggles both on track against his nemesis, French World Champion Alain Prost, and off it, against the politics which infest the sport. Sublime, spiritual yet, on occasion, ruthless - Senna conquers and transcends Formula One to become a global superstar. Privately, he is humble, almost shy, and fiercely patriotic, donating millions to his native Brasil and contemplating a life beyond motor-racing. Yet he is struck down in his prime on the blackest weekend in the history of the sport, watched live on television by 300 million people. Years on he is revered in Formula One as the greatest motor racing driver of all time - and in Brasil as a Saint.
Serpico
(1973)
Peter Maas (book), Waldo Salt (screenplay), Norman Wexler (screenplay)
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 9 nominations.
The true story about an honest New York cop who blew the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.
Sid and Nancy
(1986)
Alex Cox (screenplay), Abbe Wool (screenplay)
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination.
Morbid biographical story of Sid Vicious, bassist with British punk group the Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen. When the Sex Pistols break up after their fateful US tour, ...
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
(2007)
Andrew Dominik (screenplay), Ron Hansen (novel)
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 25 wins & 64 nominations.
The last months of Jesse James's life, from meeting Robert Ford, a 19-year-old who idolizes Jesse, to the day Ford shoots him. Jesse's a wanted man, living under a pseudonym, carrying out a train robbery, disappearing to Kentucky, and reappearing to plan a bank holdup with Robert and Robert's brother as his team. The rest of the gang is dead, arrested, or gone from Missouri. Whenever Jesse's around, there's tension: he's murderous, quixotic, depressed, and cautious. Ford wants to be somebody and wants the reward. On April 3, 1882, things come to a head: Jesse is 34, Robert 20. Ford becomes famous, reenacting the shooting on stage, facing down the label "coward," shot dead in 1892.
The Birth Of A Nation
(2016)
Nate Parker (screenplay by), Nate Parker (story by), Jean McGianni Celestin (story by)
4 wins & 26 nominations.
Set against the antebellum South, THE BIRTH OF A NATION follows Nat Turner (Nate Parker), a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), accepts an offer to use Nat's preaching to subdue unruly slaves. As he witnesses countless atrocities - against himself and his fellow slaves - Nat orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom.
The Fighter
(2010)
Scott Silver (screenplay), Paul Tamasy (screenplay), Eric Johnson (screenplay), Paul Tamasy (story), Eric Johnson (story), Keith Dorrington (story)
Won 2 Oscars. Another 65 wins & 110 nominations.
The Fighter is a drama about boxer "Irish" Micky Ward's unlikely road to the world light welterweight title. His Rocky-like rise was shepherded by half-brother Dicky, a boxer-turned-trainer on the verge of being KO'd by drugs and crime.
The Hurricane
(1999)
Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter (book), Sam Chaiton (book), Terry Swinton (book), Armyan Bernstein (screenplay), Dan Gordon (screenplay)
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 17 nominations.
This film tells the story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, an African-American man who rose above his troubled youth to become a top contender for the middle-weight boxing title. However, his dreams are shattered when he is accused of a triple murder, and is convicted to three natural-life terms. Despite becoming a cause celebre and his dogged efforts to prove his innocence through his autobiography, the years of fruitless efforts have left him discouraged. This changes when an African-American boy and his Canadian mentors read his book and are convinced of his innocence enough to work for his exoneration. However, what Hurricane and his friends learn is that this fight puts them against a racist establishment that profited from this travesty and have no intention of seeing it reversed.