The Real Story: Season 3 logo

Braveheart, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, True Grit, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Master and Commander. These films achieved enormous success, but in bringing them to the big screen, the truth was often left behind. Now, separate fact from fiction and real life from reel life.

Games and Quizzes

  • Movie Run

    Make an arcade-style movie run for box office gold.

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  • Behind the Scenes Photos

    Visit the set of The Real Story: Saving Private Ryan

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  • Unlucky Apollo 13

    Hollywood couldn't imagine a more ominous launch date and time.

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Explore Episodes

  • True Grit

    The Coen Brothers' "True Grit" may be fiction, but its portrayal of a violent, unforgiving west is as true as its title.

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  • Apollo 13

    Apollo 13 was the most successful failure in the NASA's history. But did the film succeed or fail in telling its story?

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  • Braveheart

    "Braveheart" wasn't based on facts but on a poem written 165 years after William Wallace's death. Discover the real story.

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  • Saving Private Ryan

    A true story inspired Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan," and features a dramatic twist not even Hollywood could imagine.

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  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind

    This science fiction classic was in fact inspired by real people, real science, and real-life witness testimonies.

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  • Master and Commander

    See how a risk-taking sea captain and the USS Constitution played pivotal roles in bringing "Master and Commander" to life.

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  • Jurassic Park

    Extracting the science and the fiction from Hollywood's biggest monster movie.

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  • Titanic

    "Titanic" is on a collision course with the truth. Can the movie survive the impact?

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  • Gladiator

    Meet the real gladiators - the live fast, die young rock stars of Rome.

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  • Pirates of the Caribbean

    The colorful truth about Blackbeard, blue seas, and the Golden Age of pirates.

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  • Jaws

    More than 60 years before sharks captivated movie audiences, they terrorized a Jersey town.

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  • The Silence of the Lambs

    Discover the shocking realities behind one of Hollywood's most disturbing thrillers.

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  • James Bond

    Take a look at author Ian Fleming and the real-life story behind James Bond.

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  • The Amityville Horror

    The haunting begins: The Lutz family purchases their dream home at a bargain price ... but there is a catch.

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  • Indiana Jones

    Indiana Jones is a kaleidoscopic hero inspired by real-life explorer Roy Chapman Andrews.

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  • Casino

    Go inside the epic Vegas scam that spawned Martin Scorsese's classic mob movie.

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  • The Exorcist

    Long before the film terrified a nation, real exorcists fought to save a child from a mysterious force.

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  • The Untouchables

    Did Eliot Ness and his small group of law enforcers bring down Al Capone, the invincible Mafia boss?

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  • Escape from Alcatraz

    In June 1962, three inmates successfully broke out of Alcatraz prison, never to be seen again.

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  • The Bourne Identity

    Jason Bourne's world is not quite fiction and not entirely legal.

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  • The Hunt for Red October

    In 1975, The Sentry, a state-of-the-art Russian warship, was taken over by a rogue Soviet officer.

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Season 5

Season 4

Season 3

Season 2

Season 1

The Real Story: Silence of the Lambs (Full Episode)

Explore the chilling world of real-life serial killers and determined FBI agents who inspired one of Hollywood's most terrifying thrillers.

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