12 True Stories That Inspired Classic 1970s Movies
The 1970’s were a great time for Hollywood.
Published 6 months ago in Wow
The 1970’s were a great time for Hollywood. Tons of classic movies were made as New Hollywood was in full swing with bold and innovative directors. Many movies from the 70s feel gritty and realistic, more than any decade before. And on top of that, some of the stories actually were real–Ish.
This list takes a look at some of the movies from Hollywood’s greatest decade that were based on real events. Some of them might be obvious, but a few might surprise you. Check them out!
1
Dog Day Afternoon
Sidney Lumet’s darkly funny crime movie was actually based on a real life bank robbery that went awry. Al Pacino’s character Sonny was inspired by John Wojtowicz, who held up a bank along with two accomplices in 1972. One of the trio immediately lost his nerve and fled the bank, then the remaining two discovered that the vault was half empty when they gained access. One of the employees held hostage was able to sound an alarm, and an hours-long standoff ensued. The event was sensational and widely broadcast, and it’s no surprise somebody thought it would make a good movie.
2
The Amityville Horror
One of the classic haunted house movies, The Amityville Horror started as a book that was supposedly based on the true experiences of the Lutz family. In 1975, the Lutzes moved into a house in Long Island where gruesome murders had taken place just a year earlier. After 28 days, the Lutzes left the house, claiming they had been terrorized by paranormal phenomena. Many of the events of the movie were based on things the Lutzes reported seeing, even oozing black slime.
3
Serpico
Another Al Pacino movie, Serpico was based on a real cop who blew the whistle on corruption in the NYPD. Frank Serpico himself has said in interviews that the movie was very accurate to the story of his life. He even has fragments of a bullet lodged in his brain from being shot in the face during a raid. In the movie this shooting is portrayed as an assassination attempt by other cops, which there is some controversy about.
4
The Exorcist
It might be surprising to learn that one of the most famous supernatural horror movies of all time was actually inspired by true events. Well, it would be more accurate to say the book it was based on was inspired by true events. William Peter Blatty based his terrifying novel on an actual incident in 1949 where a priest named William Bowdern performed a series of exorcisms on a 14-year-old boy, who was experiencing phenomena like hearing scratching behind his bedroom walls and being violently thrown out of chairs and beds. Allegedly, profane words would even appear scratched into his flesh. After the exorcism, he returned to a quiet life.
5
Escape from Alcatraz
Clint Eastwood plays Frank Morris in the true story of his escape from Alcatraz. The events in the movie are fairly faithful to reality, as far as can be known. Even the sequence where the character Doc chops off fingers with a hatchet is based on a real incident. One point of contention is that the movie implies the escape was successful, while in real life it still remains a mystery whether Frank Morris and his fellow escapees survived.
6
The French Connection
Another William Friedkin movie, The French Connection was a dramatization of real events in which NYPD detectives Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso worked to take down a French smuggling operation in the 1960s. Roy Scheider and Gene Hackman even spent time on patrol with Eddie Egan to get into the headspace of their characters. After their big drug bust, both Eddie and Sonny retired from the NYPD in favor of Hollywood.
7
A Bridge Too Far
A Bridge Too Far was based on Operation Market Garden, a disastrous military operation during World War II. The Allies were attempting to gain control of key bridges in the Netherlands in 1944, but Germany was able to repel their attacks and defeat their paratroopers. The movie had a strong focus on accuracy, and largely tells the true story of one of the biggest military blunders of World War II.
8
Badlands
The plot of Terrence Malick’s directorial debut may be fictional, but it was loosely based on the real-life killing spree of Charles Starkweather and his 14-year-old girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate. Charles Starkweather’s chilling murders and sensationalization by the media are both used as the basis for Martin Sheen’s character in Badlands.
9
The Duellists
Ridley Scott’s The Duellists is based on a short story by Joseph Conrad, which is in turn based on the true story of a duel between two French officers in the Napoleonic Era. Pierre Dupont, a young officer, was tasked with delivering an unpleasant message to a fellow officer, François Louis Fournier-Sarlovèze. Fournier hated the message so much he challenged Dupont to a duel. The pair fought over 30 duels against each other over the course of 19 years.
10
The Day of the Jackal
The Day of the Jackal has seen many adaptations over the years, all based on a 1971 novel that weaves together historical fact and thrilling fiction. The movie’s plot unfolds from a real-life assassination attempt on French president Charles de Gaulle in 1963. The French paramilitary organization OAS really did exist, but most of the events following the opening assassination attempt are fiction.
11
Aguirre, the Wrath of God
Werner Herzog’s masterpiece is based on a real Spanish soldier named Lope de Aguirre who obsessively led a group of conquistadors through the Amazon Basin in search of the mythical city of El Dorado in the 16th century. Many creative liberties were taken with the story, though, with an outsized focus on Klaus Kinski’s character’s descent into obsession and madness.
12
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The opening text crawl of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre will tell you that it is the true story of "one of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American history." In reality, this was a marketing ploy, but there are bits of truth and inspiration taken from real events throughout the movie. Leatherface and the murderous Sawyer family were based on real-life serial killers Ed Gein and Elmer Wayne Henley.
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