Manson Girl
Real life stories can sometimes be turned into the most compelling movies and over the years we have been treated to a whole host of films that have brought the lives of real people to the big screen.
To celebrate the release of the chilling horror film Manson Girl, which is out on DVD now, here are our Top 10 films that are also based on real life events.
Catch Me If You Can (2002) Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks and Christopher Walken. DiCaprio stars as Frank Abagnale Jr.
Before his 19th birthday he successfully conned millions of dollars worth of cheques whilst posing as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor.
Schindler’s List (1994) Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes.
A film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of over a thousand Polish Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories.
Goodfellas (1990) Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci. The film details the rise and fall of Henry Hill, who grew up idolising the ‘wise guys’ in his Brooklyn neighbourhood. Henry went on to become a mobster and FBI informant.
The Amityville Horror (1979) Directed by Stuart Rosenberg and starring James Brolin, Margot Kidder and Rod Steiger. George and Kathy Lutz, a newly married couple with three children, move into their dream house in Amityville, New York.
Despite hearing of the houses disturbing history, the couple are not concerned, until they encounter its demonic inhabitants.
Boys Don’t Cry (1999) Directed by Kimberly Peirce and starring Hilary Swank, Chloe Sevigny and Peter Sarsgaard.
Based on the life of Brandon Teena, a transgender man who was raped and murdered by male friends when they discovered he was anatomically female.
The Elephant Man (1980) Directed by David Lynch and starring Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt and Anne Bancroft. Based on the life of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film) a severely deformed man in 19th century London.
A Beautiful Mind (2001) Directed by Ron Howard and starring, Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly and Ed Harris.
A biopic of John Forbes Nash, a mathematical genius that made a revolutionary breakthrough that eventually earned him a Nobel prize.
However, in-between great intellectual success, John was diagnosed with schizophrenia and battled for many years to defy the illness.
The Blind Side (2009) Directed by John Lee Hancock and starring Sandra Bullock, Tim Mcgraw and Quinton Aaron. Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home, who was taken in by a well-to-do white family, the Touhys, who helped him to fulfil his potential.
At the same time, Oher's presence in the Touhys' lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries of their own.
Alpha Dog (2006) Directed by Nick Cassavetes and starring Bruce Willis, Emile Hirsch and Fernando Vargas. The film tells the story of young drug dealer Johnny Truelove and his gang in California.
The film portrays the internal gang dynamics that lead to kidnapping and murder.
The Exorcist (1973) Directed by William Freidkin and starring Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair and Max Von Sydow. Based on the demonic possession and exorcism of a young girl Robbie Mannheim.