Movies About Real Terrorist Attacks
by leavey-2 | created - 19 Feb 2020 | updated - 21 Feb 2020 | PublicReal life events are often a source of inspiration for movies. This also applies to past terrorist attacks. The movies in this list were not made to glorify acts of terror, but rather to highlight the bravery and solidarity displayed by law enforcement, firefighters, rescue teams, paramedics and ordinary citizens in times of tragedy.
Which movie in this list has made the deepest impression on you?
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1. Richard Jewell (2019)
R | 131 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Security guard Richard Jewell is an instant hero after foiling a bomb attack at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, but his life becomes a nightmare when the FBI leaks to the media that he is a suspect in the case.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Brandon Stanley, Ryan Boz
Votes: 97,812
2. Hotel Mumbai (2018)
R | 123 min | Action, Drama, History
The true story of the Taj Hotel terrorist attack in Mumbai. Hotel staff risk their lives to keep everyone safe as people make unthinkable sacrifices to protect themselves and their families.
Director: Anthony Maras | Stars: Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi, Anupam Kher
Votes: 70,925 | Gross: $9.65M
3. United 93 (2006)
R | 111 min | Action, Drama, History
A real-time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on September 11th, 2001 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot.
Director: Paul Greengrass | Stars: David Alan Basche, Olivia Thirlby, Liza Colón-Zayas, J.J. Johnson
Votes: 110,965 | Gross: $31.57M
4. Patriots Day (2016)
R | 133 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The story of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the aftermath, which includes the city-wide manhunt to find the terrorists responsible.
Director: Peter Berg | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Monaghan, J.K. Simmons, John Goodman
Votes: 112,534 | Gross: $31.89M
5. 22 July (2018)
R | 143 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A three-part story of Norway's worst terrorist attack in which over seventy people were killed. 22 July looks at the disaster itself, the survivors, Norway's political system and the lawyers who worked on this horrific case.
Director: Paul Greengrass | Stars: Anders Danielsen Lie, Jonas Strand Gravli, Jon Øigarden, Maria Bock
Votes: 37,585
6. Munich (2005)
R | 164 min | Action, Drama, History
After the Black September capture and massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics, five men are chosen to eliminate the people responsible for that fateful day.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Marie-Josée Croze, Ciarán Hinds
Votes: 238,381 | Gross: $47.40M
7. In the Name of the Father (1993)
R | 133 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An Irish man's coerced confession to an I.R.A. bombing he did not commit results in the imprisonment of his father as well. Meanwhile, a British lawyer fights to clear their names and free them.
Director: Jim Sheridan | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Pete Postlethwaite, Alison Crosbie, Philip King
Votes: 187,208 | Gross: $25.01M
8. Captain Phillips (2013)
PG-13 | 134 min | Action, Biography, Crime
The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the U.S.-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.
Director: Paul Greengrass | Stars: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Catherine Keener
Votes: 492,928 | Gross: $107.10M
9. World Trade Center (2006)
PG-13 | 129 min | Drama, History, Thriller
Two Port Authority police officers become trapped under the rubble of the World Trade Center.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Michael Peña, Maria Bello, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Votes: 87,886 | Gross: $70.28M
10. 7 Days in Entebbe (2018)
PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Drama, History
Inspired by the true events of the 1976 hijacking of an Air France flight en route from Tel Aviv to Paris, and the most daring rescue mission ever attempted.
Director: José Padilha | Stars: Batsheva Dance Company, Zina Zinchenko, Ben Schnetzer, Daniel Brühl
Votes: 17,306 | Gross: $3.19M
11. The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)
R | 150 min | Action, Biography, Crime
A look at Germany's terrorist group, The Red Army Faction (RAF), which organized bombings, robberies, kidnappings, and assassinations in the late 1960s and '70s.
Director: Uli Edel | Stars: Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek, Bruno Ganz
Votes: 40,140 | Gross: $0.48M
12. Black Friday (2004)
Not Rated | 143 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A film about the investigations following the 1993 serial Bombay bomb blasts, told through the different stories of the people involved --police, conspirators, victims, middlemen.
Director: Anurag Kashyap | Stars: Kay Kay Menon, Pawan Malhotra, Aditya Srivastav, Dibyendu Bhattacharya
Votes: 22,006 | Gross: $0.03M
13. The 15:17 to Paris (2018)
PG-13 | 94 min | Biography, Drama, Thriller
Three courageous young Americans prevent a terrorist attack on a train bound for Paris.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Alek Skarlatos, Anthony Sadler, Spencer Stone, Ray Corasani
Votes: 35,548 | Gross: $36.25M
14. In the Fade (2017)
R | 106 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Katja's life collapses after the deaths of her husband and son in a bomb attack. After a time of mourning and injustice, Katja seeks revenge.
Director: Fatih Akin | Stars: Numan Acar, Adam Bousdoukos, Diane Kruger, Denis Moschitto
Votes: 35,649 | Gross: $0.32M
15. 6 Days (I) (2017)
R | 94 min | Action, Drama, History
Based on the Iranian Embassy siege of 1980, this action-thriller dramatizes a six-day standoff between armed Iranian Arabs and SAS soldiers ready for a counterattack.
Director: Toa Fraser | Stars: Jamie Bell, Mark Strong, Abbie Cornish, Martin Shaw
Votes: 24,676
16. Neerja (2016)
Not Rated | 122 min | Biography, Drama, Thriller
The story of courageous Neerja Bhanot, who sacrificed her life while protecting the lives of 359 passengers on Pan Am Flight 73 in 1986 when it was hijacked by a terrorist organization.
Director: Ram Madhvani | Stars: Sonam Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, Yogendra Tikku, Abrar Zahoor
Votes: 23,770 | Gross: $1.54M
17. Utoya: July 22 (2018)
Not Rated | 93 min | Drama, Thriller
A teenage girl struggles to survive and to find her younger sister during the July 2011 terrorist mass murder at a political summer camp on the Norwegian island of Utøya.
Director: Erik Poppe | Stars: Andrea Berntzen, Aleksander Holmen, Solveig Koløen Birkeland, Brede Fristad
Votes: 15,827
18. One Day in September (1999)
R | 94 min | Documentary, History, Sport
The Palestinian terrorist group Black September holds Israeli athletes hostage at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich.
Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: Michael Douglas, Ankie Spitzer, Jamal Al Gashey, Gerald Seymour
Votes: 6,245 | Gross: $0.16M
19. Mumbai Meri Jaan (2008)
Not Rated | 134 min | Drama
A moving portrayal of the 2006 train bombings in Mumbai, this Indian drama follows the interconnected stories of several strangers.
Director: Nishikant Kamat | Stars: Paresh Rawal, Kay Kay Menon, Irrfan Khan, Madhavan
Votes: 6,601 | Gross: $0.01M
20. Black Sunday (1977)
R | 143 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama
When a Black September terrorist group begins a plot to carry out a massive terrorist attack in the United States, an Israeli commando works with the FBI to identify the target and conspirators, and prevent the plan from succeeding.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Robert Shaw, Bruce Dern, Marthe Keller, Fritz Weaver
Votes: 9,085 | Gross: $15.77M
21. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016)
R | 144 min | Action, Drama, History
During an attack on a U.S. compound in Libya, a security team struggles to make sense out of the chaos.
Director: Michael Bay | Stars: John Krasinski, Pablo Schreiber, James Badge Dale, David Denman
Votes: 160,948 | Gross: $52.85M
22. Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019)
Not Rated | 138 min | Action, Drama, History
Indian army special forces execute a covert operation, avenging the killing of fellow army men at their base by a terrorist group.
Director: Aditya Dhar | Stars: Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Mohit Raina, Yami Gautam
Votes: 72,281 | Gross: $4.19M
23. London River (2009)
Not Rated | 84 min | Drama, Mystery
Two strangers come to discover the fate of their respective children in the 2005 terrorist attacks on London.
Director: Rachid Bouchareb | Stars: Brenda Blethyn, Sotigui Kouyaté, Sami Bouajila, Roschdy Zem
Votes: 3,881 | Gross: $0.00M
24. The Attacks of 26/11 (2013)
Not Rated | 116 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The real story of ten terrorists, who sail to Mumbai and wage war on the populace for the next 72 hours.
Director: Ram Gopal Varma | Stars: Nana Patekar, Atul Kulkarni, Sanjeev Jaiswal, Rahaao
Votes: 5,512 | Gross: $0.25M
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