Curated by SceneIt · United States
This SceneIt list helps you quickly choose acclaimed dramas and true-story favorites with an uplifting arc. Results are selected for the United States and balance audience response with practical watchability.
Updated 2026-08-03 · Ratings from TMDB
We rank eligible titles using TMDB audience ratings, vote confidence, relevance to the theme, and current popularity. Ratings can change as new votes are added.
2002 · TMDB 7.3/10 · 7,335 votes
In early 1860s New York, Irish immigrant Amsterdam Vallon is released from prison and returns to the Five Points, seeking revenge against his father's killer, William Cutting, a powerful anti-immigrant gang leader. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
2017 · TMDB 7.5/10 · 1,913 votes
Members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots battle deadly wildfires to save an Arizona town. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
2005 · TMDB 7.6/10 · 3,343 votes
Based on a true story, in which Richmond High School head basketball coach Ken Carter made headlines in 1999 for benching his undefeated team due to poor academic results. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
2013 · TMDB 7.9/10 · 9,167 votes
Loosely based on the true-life tale of Ron Woodroof, a drug-taking, women-loving, homophobic man who in 1986 was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and given thirty days to live. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
2021 · TMDB 7.4/10 · 3,921 votes
King Charles VI declares that Knight Jean de Carrouges settle his dispute with his squire, Jacques Le Gris, by challenging him to a duel. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
2023 · TMDB 7.8/10 · 971 votes
British stockbroker Nicholas Winton visits Czechoslovakia in the 1930s and forms plans to assist in the rescue of Jewish children before the onset of World War II, in an operation that came to be known as the Kindertransport. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
2005 · TMDB 7.6/10 · 3,423 votes
In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
1998 · TMDB 7.4/10 · 3,361 votes
The story of a group of men, an Army Rifle company called C-for-Charlie, who change, suffer, and ultimately make essential discoveries about themselves during the fierce World War II battle of Guadalcanal. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
1975 · TMDB 8.0/10 · 3,230 votes
An Irish rogue uses his cunning and wit to work his way up the social classes of 18th century England, transforming himself from the humble Redmond Barry into the noble Barry Lyndon. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
1989 · TMDB 7.5/10 · 1,836 votes
Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
2019 · TMDB 7.8/10 · 2,522 votes
The powerful true story of Harvard-educated lawyer Bryan Stevenson, who goes to Alabama to defend the disenfranchised and wrongly condemned — including Walter McMillian, a man sentenced to death despite evidence proving his innocence. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
2016 · TMDB 7.1/10 · 2,885 votes
In the aftermath of an unspeakable act of terror, Police Sergeant Tommy Saunders joins courageous survivors, first responders and investigators in a race against the clock to hunt down the Boston Marathon bombers before they strike again. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
2006 · TMDB 7.1/10 · 1,651 votes
A real-time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on 9/11 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
2016 · TMDB 7.1/10 · 3,359 votes
In the 17th century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor, who is rumored to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
2005 · TMDB 7.1/10 · 3,041 votes
During the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, eleven Israeli athletes are taken hostage and murdered by a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
2013 · TMDB 7.8/10 · 3,423 votes
A lifelong love of flight inspires Japanese aviation engineer Jiro Horikoshi, whose storied career includes the creation of the A-6M World War II fighter plane. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
2005 · TMDB 7.6/10 · 2,453 votes
The true story of boxer Jim Braddock who, following his retirement in the 1930s, makes a surprise comeback in order to lift his family out of poverty. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
2004 · TMDB 7.7/10 · 3,217 votes
Inspired by true events, this film takes place in Rwanda in the 1990s when more than a million Tutsis were killed in a genocide that went mostly unnoticed by the rest of the world. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
2020 · TMDB 7.0/10 · 345 votes
In 1937, eight hundred Chinese soldiers fight under siege from a warehouse in the middle of the Shanghai battlefield, completely surrounded by the Japanese army. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
1970 · TMDB 7.5/10 · 1,232 votes
"Patton" tells the tale of General George S. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.