Okay, there are a lot of movies based on a true story. Many of them are somewhere between total and barely above crap. A few are actually very good, but most of them are very inaccurate. I'm not going to rank them 10 to1, with 1 being the best, I'm just going to number them.

10. Braveheart - Mel Gibson's movie about the Scottish hero William Wallace. There are obviously inaccuracies, but some actual accuracies. First of all, Wallace was probably a foot taller than Gibson. Sources indicate that he was a very large man, tall, broad, and muscular, and easily capable of wielding the two handed broadsword that Gibson uses in the film. The most accurate information in the movie is that he existed, he sacked York, and that he was tortured to death by the English, and that the primary opponent of his was King Edward "Longshanks", however that's about where it ends. He did not have an affair with a French Princess, the Battle of Stirling took place on a bridge, not a field, and he wasn't actually captured that closely to the battle of Falkirk. A few years later, instead of the mere days we're meant to think. His career as an outlaw and revolutionary was longer than the movie gives the impression it was. All that being said, Good Stuff!

9. Saving Private Ryan Ok, hold the phone, anyone who is going to jump on this one. I mean it as being based on the events of the landing on Normandy beach, or the first 30 minutes or so of the film. Everything afterward, yeah, didn't happen. Here's what I mean: The Allied landing on Normandy landed many troops in front of fortified German positions where people were getting mowed down by machine gun fire, and the Airborne drops scattered troops all over France. The first 30 minutes of the film gives us an inkling of what it would have been like to have been there, and I mean an INKLING. No one could know exactly except people who have been there. And it has to be said, that the 1998 Oscars should have gone to this film instead of that piece of crap, Titanic.

7. Gladiator - Awesome. Once again, the accuracy is far off. Way off. Firstly, Marcus Aurelius intended fully for Commodus to succeed him, which was a big mistake, even in real life. However, Commodus didn't kill him. Disease did, believed to be tuberculosis. Next, none of the Roman generals who disposed of the ruler ever tried to, in any way shape, or form, ever restore the Republic. Most, in fact, were enemies of the Senate, who were notoriously corrupt and sycophantic. I'm just including it because its an awesome flick. The only things that remain true to life: Commodus succeeding Marcus Aurelius, Aurelius' dying close to the German front (but from disease), and Commodus death being encouraged by the Praetoriate. Except they had him strangled by his wrestling coach. He DID, however fight in gladitorial contests in the Arena, and he WAS apparently a raving egomaniac.

6. 300 - Last swords and sandals movie, I promise. It's just cool, regardless of how blatantly homoerotic it is. And I mean, blatant, flagrant, I think I should say good game after watching it, I mean almost flamboyantly so. Bloody, good pace, awesome and action packed. Frank Miller rocks, period. Accuracies? Time period, the place of the battle. That's about where that ends, though. The 300 Spartans were actually accompanied by about a few thousand other Greeks, and as a consequence would not have been able to hold the Persian Army, regardless. Also, it seems that there is evidence that it all ended with an arrow volley. Leonidas wasn't the last man standing, having been killed about two days prior, and his body captured by the Persian army, and not returned for a long time afterwards. The biggest victory in that campaign against the Persians was actually the Athenian naval victory, but who cares when some dude's head is flying across the screen?

5. Munich - It's like James Bond stuff that's at least close to reality. The Israeli backlash wasn't like how its depicted in the film. However, that being said, its another great film. One of Spielberg's most action packed films in some time.

4. The Aviator -If we're going to go with Scorcese films on any best of list, then this one should be amongst the first. This guy was nothing short of amazing, and the amount of amazing things he did with his life is staggering. He produced innovations in aviation and military technology unsurpassed by hardly anyone. The timing in the movie about his time as a public figure and his lapse into nut jobbery is off kilter, and he didn't start sequestering himself until later in his life, after he got the Spruce Goose to fly. (Yes, I'm aware nut jobbery isn't really a word or phrase, but I'm running with it.)

3. Rescue Dawn - Not only Scorcese do excellent real event films, but so does Werner Herzog. A film about a German immigrant American who becomes a Navy pilot and gets shot down in the early days of the Vietnamese war, and then escapes. Visually intense, and terrifying in parts. Herzog is one the best directors of the last 30 or 40 years, and most people haven't heard of him, which is really too bad, because he really is that good.

2. Tombstone - Another film a bit short on accuracy. However, what is lacking there is more than made up for by perfomance power. In those terms, this is a heavyweight. Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliot, and Michael Biehn all turn in stellar work. And the filim is fairly accurate in some areas, such as Wyatt Earps' acquaintance and running off with Josephine Marcus. And it was narrated by Robert Mitchum, and had a cameo from Charlton Heston. More acting firepower than Costner's take on it by far. Awesome.

1. Apollo 13 - I don't have a huge Tom Hanks thing, but this was great. It's not a war movie, and nobody even really got hurt. However, the things that led to those three guys getting home were gigantic. Great film, and it's supposed to be fairly accurate. Why shouldn't this one get on a list somewhere? Maybe it's a bit heavier on science than other real life films than people like, but the best documentary I've ever seen on the Titanic was all about the science behind why and how it sank, and there was no love stories, no class conflict, just pure science. And far better, and shorter, than the Cameron film that everyone loves. (Except me.) Once again, these are just numerated 1 - 10, not ranked. But these are 10 films about real events that get ignored.