The Pianist was based on an autobiographical book of the same name, written by Polish-Jewish pianist Władysław Szpilman. The book was lauded for its incredibly touching tale of how Szpilman had survived the horrors of the Holocaust.
The film was directed by the controversial figure, Roman Polanski, who was deeply passionate about the project due to his own escape from the Krakow Ghetto in the Second World War. Polanski managed to find shelter in a farmer’s barn and stayed there until the end of the war.
Goodfellas
Acclaimed director Martin Scorsese picked up the book Wiseguy, a non-fiction novel on the life of mafia mobster-turned-informant Henry Hill, by crime reporter Nicholas Pileggi and immediately knew he wanted to make a movie out of it.
Scorsese co-wrote the screenplay with Pileggi and they based everything that took place on Pileggi’s news reports and the famous Lufthansa airline heist in 1978. They tried to change the book as little as possible, but only make the adjustments necessary so that it would work on the big screen.
Joyeux Noel
French film Joyeux Noel tells the story of the World War I Christmas truce from the point of view of French, British, and German soldiers. It is a touching film about an informal truce that took place on the Western Front on Christmas Day in 1914.
The story may be hard to believe, but it is completely true. The characters in the film may be fictional, but everything else is based on fact. The film was even shot in three languages, French, English, and German.
127 Hours
Mountain climber Aron Ralston was canyoneering alone in the Utah desert when he became trapped by a boulder and was forced to cut off his arm in order to survive. He told his story in a book that he wrote, and that book inspired the film "127 Hours."
Ralston gave the film high praise for its accuracy. The only scene that he felt differed from what happened was when he showed two hikers a hidden pool when in reality he gave them climbing tips. Of the rest of the film, Ralson said it was “so factually accurate it is as close to a documentary as you can get and still be a drama.”
City of God
The Brazilian film "City of God" from 2003 was applauded around the world following its release. It is based on a semi-autobiographical book written by Paulo Lins by the same name. The book describes the rise of organized crime in the “Cidade de Deus” (City of God) suburb of Rio de Janeiro.
The story is told from the point of view of two boys, one grows up to be a photographer, while the other becomes a kingpin. Lins, who wrote the book, actually grew up in the Cidade de Dues, which allows him to tell the story from his unique point of view.