Maniacs, murderers, gangsters: 10 best investigative films based on real events (11 photos)

We are accustomed to the fact that movies are fictional worlds and events that are unlikely to be repeated in reality, so we are ready to get adrenaline from watching exciting stories again and again. However, in practice, chilling stories do not always turn out to be fiction.





This selection includes 10 fascinating films about criminals, which are based on real crime events.

"Fake" (1973)



Orson Welles's latest work is a postmodern mockumentary drama inspired by the work of French New Wave directors. The plot centers on the story of Elmyr de Hory, a talented artist who skillfully forges famous paintings. In this work, Wells raises the question: can a fraudster be more talented than the original author?

"Bonnie and Clyde" (1967)





The film that changed the American film industry forever. Based on real events, the film tells the story of perhaps the most famous pair of robbers in history, who terrorized Central America during the Great Depression. Bonnie and Clyde broke every rule of 1960s cinema and ushered in a new era of Hollywood.

"Monster" (2003)



It's hard to recognize Charlize Theron as roadside prostitute-turned-serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Writer-director Patty Jenkins's debut drama sees Wuornos, who suffers from borderline personality disorder, deteriorate as she commits increasingly brutal murders. Legendary film critic Roger Ebert called Charlize Theron's performance in this film "one of the greatest in the history of cinema."

"The Untouchables" (1987)



This masterpiece by Brian De Palma tells the story of the confrontation between agent Eliot Ness and gangster Al Capone, whose underground production of alcohol brings fabulous profits to the mafia. At first, the director invited actor Bob Hoskins to play the role of Capone, but he refused, but Robert De Niro agreed to play the role of the mafia leader. Pleased by this turn of events, De Palma sent Hoskins a check for $20,000 thanking him for his refusal. Hoskins called back: “Do you have any other films in the pipeline that I don’t want to do?”

"Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" (2019)



In the foreground of Quentin Tarantino's film is the story of an actor who has lost popularity, self-esteem and suffers from alcoholism: he is trying to return to big cinema, enlisting the support of his friend and permanent understudy. In the background are the terrible events committed in California by Charles Manson's gang in 1969.

"Spotlight" (2015)



The 2016 Oscars' Best Picture recounts the chilling events of the Boston Globe's attempt to expose a network of child molesters operating with impunity under the guise of the Roman Catholic Church. The actual journalism on which the film is based won the Pulitzer Prize in 2003.

"Wasteland" (1973)



Terrence Malick's debut film is based on the true story of Charles Starkweather and his girlfriend Caryl Fugate, who committed a series of murders in Nebraska in 1958. Today, The Waste Land is a neo-noir classic and one of the most influential films of the last 50 years: in 1993, the film was included in the National Registry of Great Films and deposited in the Library of Congress.

"In Cold Blood" (1967)



In 1967, Richard Brooks's film, based on Truman Capote's novel of the same name, blurred the boundaries between fiction and documentary cinema, and has since been considered a classic of the “new realism.” Capote's book was based on a real crime: two drifters murder a family of four after hearing that they were keeping a large sum of money in the house and flee.

"M" (1931)



Fritz Lang's acclaimed masterpiece tells the story of a serial child killer while shedding light on perennial social problems: poor parenting, the abuse of power by politicians and the irresponsibility of the police apparatus.

"Empire of Feelings" (1976)



From its release to the present day, Empire of the Senses has been subject to censorship and the subject of debate about what is allowed in cinema. The Japanese erotic drama tells the true story of geisha Sada Abe, who inadvertently strangled her elderly lover, went mad and cut off his genitals. A leisurely, taboo-defying story is true cinematic art, which, however, will not appeal to every viewer.