A man balances on a wire stretched between the Twin Towers. A pilot safely lands an airliner on a river with 155 people still on board. A CIA team escapes Tehran by pretending to shoot a sci-fi film.

Sounds made up, right? But every one of these movies is based on a true story, with sources like NASA, the FBI, and the BBC backing them up.

They’re not just award winners or critical darlings but the kind of stories that leave you blinking at the screen, wondering how any of it actually happened.

This documentary captures Philippe Petit’s daring 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers. Among the best movies based on true stories, the feat feels more like fiction than reality.

According to National Geographic, this gripping film follows Alex Honnold as he scales El Capitan without rope

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