Did true crime movies really portray real life?

Did true crime movies really portray real life?

Have you ever wondered what it really means when a movie claims to be “based on true events”? In Hollywood, filmmakers often use poetic license, even when adapting a true story. Directors can decide whether they want to stick to the events or spice up the story with additional dramatic effects. This makes it difficult to separate fact from fiction when watching a dramatization of a real criminal case. But to what extent can we believe in films that purport to portray true episodes of the criminal underworld?

In this gallery, discover how accurate true crime movies are.

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NL Beeld

‘Bonnie and Clyde: One Shot’ (1967)

The film portrays the adventures of Bonnie (Faye Dunaway) and Clyde (Warren Beatty), a pair of bank robbers in Texas during the Great Depression.

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‘Bonnie and Clyde: One Shot’ (1967)

Some critics said the film deifies the bad guys by including some historically accurate events but omitting anything that might diminish their ‘Robin Hood’ image.

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‘Public Enemies’ (2009)

Director Michael Mann isn’t exactly a public enemy, he simply went overboard. In the film, many people are killed by bank robber John Dillinger between 1933 and 1934. A cinematic bloodbath!

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‘Public Enemies’ (2009)

However, according to Elliott Gorn, a history professor at Boston College and author of a book about Dillinger’s life, the real John Dillinger probably killed only one person in the period covered by the film. Additionally, his accomplices Baby Face Nelson and Homer Van Meter die before Dillinger in the film, but survive him in real life.

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‘The Untouchables’ (1987)

‘The Untouchables’ is a team of police officers led by Elliot Ness (Kevin Costner). Their mission is to hunt down Al Capone (Robert De Niro) during the Prohibition era.

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‘The Untouchables’ (1987)

In 2009, The Guardian described the film as “drunk on inaccuracies”. The portrayal of Elliot Ness as a puritanical character is not true as he was actually a wandering alcoholic. Additionally, most of the members of the Untouchables in the film were fictional, including Jim Malone (played by Sean Connery).

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‘The Gangster’ (2007)

Denzel Washington plays Frank Lucas, a drug dealer who is captured by Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), a New Jersey detective trying to root out corruption in the police force.

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‘The Gangster’ (2007)

The film was accused of being inspired more by fiction than by real events. In particular, the character Richie Roberts is a combination of several detectives who were involved in the real case, although he was a real person and became Frank Lucas’ lawyer.

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‘Operation France’ (1971)

Detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle (played by Gene Hackman) and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo (played by Roy Scheider) attempt to capture a heroin smuggler.

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‘Operation France’ (1971)

The film is based on a nonfiction book about a real 1961 drug bust and is fairly accurate, but (like many Hollywood stories) exaggerates for the sake of entertainment. The real investigators who worked on the case were present as consultants for most of the filming days. They even had cameos!

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‘Catch Me If You Can’ (2002)

The film follows the criminal life of Frank Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio), a highly successful forger and con artist who is ‘on the run’ from imminent arrest by FBI agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks).

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‘Catch Me If You Can’ (2002)

Based on Abagnale’s own memories, he claims that although the story is exaggerated here and there, the film is about 80% true.

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‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ (2013)

The film depicts the dramatic rise and fall of Jordan Belfort (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), a man who made his fortune by scamming investors and using the money for an outrageously extravagant lifestyle.

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‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ (2013)

The film is based on the book that Jordan Belfort himself wrote, which means the source material may have exaggerated it to begin with… However, the FBI agent who investigated the con man confirmed that everything he wrote about his own “adventures” was true.

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‘The Big Short’ (2015)

‘The Big Short’ depicts the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and follows the stories of several men who profited from the economic chaos that followed.

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‘The Big Short’ (2015)

The film, based on the book of the same name by Michael Lewis, deviates in its depiction of the characters and their actions, but supposedly remains faithful to the broader historical context. Here and there, the characters themselves directly address the audience to admit inaccuracies.

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‘Dog Day Afternoon’ (1975)

Al Pacino plays the main character in a film about a poorly planned bank robbery in 1972. His goal is to get enough money to pay for his partner’s gender change operation.

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‘Dog Day Afternoon’ (1975)

The film is very close to the real events. John Wojtowicz, the real thief, even screened the film while serving a prison sentence and used part of the profits to pay for his partner’s intimate surgery.

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‘American Hustle’ (2013)

The film features A-list actors such as Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. The story revolves around Irving Rosenfeld (played by Bale), a con artist who teams up with FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Cooper) to expose political corruption.

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‘American Hustle’ (2013)

The film is inspired by the Abscam operation in which Melvin Weinberg (Irving Rosenfeld in the film) was involved. It begins with the very precise phrase “some of this actually happened.” However, certain events, such as Sydney Prosser’s (Adams) involvement in the scams and the love triangle between Sydney, Irving and Richie, never actually happened.

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‘The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford’ (2007)

Jesse James (Brad Pitt) was a famous bandit and thief of the mid-19th century. He was eventually killed by Robert Ford (Casey Affleck), who was a member of his own gang. The film follows the relationship between the two and the events that led to their murder.

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‘The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford’ (2007)

This film is one of many that tell the story of Jesse James and is considered one of the most accurate. However, some critics found this version too conventional and did not focus on the essence of the subject.

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‘King of Thieves’ (2018)

The Hatton Garden robbery is a great idea for a film! A group of retired criminals attempt to commit the “biggest robbery in English legal history” – without getting caught.

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‘King of Thieves’ (2018)

The film was remarkably accurate. Screenwriter Joe Penhall included multiple sources such as press releases and a “100-page Scotland Yard transcript” to get an authentic depiction of the original robbers (pictured).

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‘Bling Ring: The Hollywood Gang’ (2013)

Directed by Sofia Coppola and starring Emma Watson, the film tells the story of a group of teenagers who used the internet to find and rob celebrities’ homes.

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‘Bling Ring: The Hollywood Gang’ (2013)

Most of the events depicted in the film were true, including some quotes. However, Emma Watson clarified in an interview with Rookie magazine that her character was “three steps behind who she could be in real life.”

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‘Black Dahlia’ (2006)

In 1947, Elizabeth Short, a 20-year-old aspiring actress, was found murdered in Los Angeles, California. The case became one of the most notorious unsolved crimes. Posthumously, the press nicknamed the young woman “Black Dahlia”.

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‘Black Dahlia’ (2006)

In 2006, the case resurfaced as the subject of this film, which was criticized for altering the details of the investigation and being full of clichés, monotonous performances and a confusing plot.

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‘Goodfellas’ (1990)

Scorsese’s acclaimed film is based on the true story of Henry Hill, a real-life gangster played by Ray Liotta (center). Lead actors include Joe Pesci (left) and Robert De Niro (right).

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‘Goodfellas’ (1990)

The film was based on Nicholas Pileggi’s book ‘Wiseguy’ and, according to Henry Hill, the film was “95% accurate”. But the famous bandit also said that some crimes and criminals have been softened a bit, believe it or not!

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‘The General’ (1998)

The biopic portrays the life of Irish gangster boss Martin Cahill (Brendan Gleeson, in the photo), also known as “The General”, in the format of a flashback, starting with his death.

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‘The General’ (1998)

The film was criticized for its allegedly inaccurate depiction of the killer and motive for Martin Cahill’s murder.

Sources: (Screen Rant) (Insider)

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