Top 7 Movies Based on Impossible True Stories

"Based on a true story." It is a phrase Hollywood uses constantly, often to exaggerate slightly spooky events or dramatize a boring biography. But every so often, a true story comes along that is so wild, so completely implausible, that if a screenwriter had invented it, the studio would have rejected it for being "unrealistic."

Here are 7 phenomenal movies based on actual events that defy all logic and reason. Grab a high-speed streaming link from our database and prepare to have your mind blown by reality.

1. Catch Me If You Can (2002)

The Impossible Story: Before his 19th birthday, Frank Abagnale Jr. successfully performed cons worth millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor, and a Louisiana parish prosecutor. The Movie: Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, this cat-and-mouse chase is charming, stylish, and unbelievably true.

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2. Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

The Impossible Story: During the bloodiest battle of WWII in Okinawa, American Army Medic Desmond Doss refused to carry a weapon due to his religious beliefs. Yet, completely unarmed and under heavy enemy fire, he single-handedly saved the lives of 75 wounded infantrymen, lowering them down a sheer cliff one by one. The Movie: Mel Gibson actually had to tone down some of Doss's real-life heroic acts because he feared the audience wouldn't believe them.

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3. Society of the Snow (2023)

The Impossible Story: In 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed deep in the remote, freezing Andes mountains. The survivors endured 72 days in the harshest conditions on Earth, eventually being forced to make unimaginable choices to survive before two of them hiked across the treacherous peaks to find rescue. The Movie: J.A. Bayona's haunting, visceral Spanish-language film is a masterpiece of survival cinema that stays incredibly loyal to the actual accounts.

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4. Argo (2012)

The Impossible Story: During the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, six American diplomats managed to escape the embassy and hide in the home of the Canadian ambassador. To smuggle them out of the country, a CIA exfiltration specialist concocted a fake Hollywood sci-fi movie production called "Argo" and disguised the diplomats as his location scouting crew. The Movie: Ben Affleck directs and stars in this tense, Oscar-winning thriller that proves sometimes the best cover story is the most ridiculous one.

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5. 127 Hours (2010)

The Impossible Story: Mountain climber Aron Ralston was exploring a remote canyon in Utah when a boulder dislodged, crushing his right hand and pinning him to the canyon wall. After five days without rescue or water, he deliberately amputated his own arm with a dull multi-tool to survive. The Movie: James Franco delivers an incredible, claustrophobic performance in this Danny Boyle-directed survival thriller.

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6. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

The Impossible Story: Jordan Belfort, a charismatic stockbroker, built an empire of penny-stock fraud, leading a life of unprecedented debauchery, drug use, and corporate greed in the 1990s before the FBI finally brought him down. The Movie: Martin Scorsese directed this chaotic, hilarious, and exhausting 3-hour epic. Believe it or not, the real Jordan Belfort claims the movie actually left out some of the craziest events because they were too wild for theaters.

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7. Apollo 13 (1995)

The Impossible Story: "Houston, we have a problem." Roughly 200,000 miles from Earth, an oxygen tank exploded on the Apollo 13 spacecraft. The NASA crew on the ground and the astronauts in space had to use slide rules, duct tape, and sheer genius to navigate a frozen, dying ship safely back to Earth. The Movie: A masterclass in tension, highlighting the incredible ingenuity of the human spirit.

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