BIBLIOGRAPHICAL APPROACH

“A reflection of the author's life and times or the life and times of the

characters in the work”

How real life affects…MOVIESBOOKS

STORIES

Escape from Alcatraz (film)

Plot The film is based on the non-fiction book

Escape from Alcatraz by J. Campbell Bruce. It chronicles the story of Frank Morris (Eastwood) and

brothers John (Ward) and Clarence Anglin (Jack Thibeau), who have the distinction of being possibly the only people to ever escape from the Alcatraz prison.

A cold, atmospheric thriller, the film captures many of the difficulties of prison life and the conditions of Alcatraz prison before it was closed down permanently, shortly after the escape.

There is some hint at the end of the film that the escape was successful, but in fact it remains a mystery as to whether the escapees succeeded or not.

La Bamba (film) La Bamba is a 1987 American

biographical film written and directed by Luis Valdez. The picture features Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales, Rosanna DeSoto, Elizabeth Peña, and others. The drama is based on the real life events that affected the lives of rock star Ritchie Valens, his half-brother Bob Morales, his girlfriend Donna Ludwig and the rest of their families.

Awakenings Awakenings is a 1990 drama film based on

Oliver Sacks' 1973 memoir Awakenings. It tells the true story of Oliver Sacks, fictionalized as American Malcolm Sayer and played by Robin Williams who, in 1969, discovers beneficial effects of the then-new drug L-Dopa. He administered it to catatonic patients who survived the 1917-1928 epidemic of encephalitis lethargica. Leonard Lowe (played by Robert De Niro) and the rest of the patients were awakened after decades of catatonic state and have to deal with a new life in a new time.

Dangerous Minds Dangerous Minds (1995) is an American

drama film based on the autobiography My Posse Don't Do Homework by former U.S. Marine LouAnne Johnson, who took up a teaching position at Carlmont High School in Belmont, California, where most of her students were African-American and Hispanic teenagers from East Palo Alto, a then-unincorporated town at the opposite end of the school district.

Selena (film) Selena (1997) is an American

biographical film and drama film about the life and career of the late Tejano music star Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, a Grammy Award-winning recording artist who was well known in the Mexican-American and Hispanic communities in the United States and Mexico before her death at the age of twenty-three.

Music industry executives believed Selena was ready to cross-over into mainstream popularity on the American pop charts when she was murdered on March 31st, 1995 by Yolanda Saldívar, the president of her fan club and friend and stars Jennifer Lopez as Selena, in the breakthrough role of her career. Her father, Abraham Quintanilla, Jr., is played by Edward James Olmos and Constance Marie plays Marcela Quintanilla.

Catch Me If You Can Catch Me If You Can is a 2002 American

comedy-drama film based on the life of Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor and Louisiana attorney and parish prosecutor. His primary crime was check forgery, becoming so skillful that the FBI eventually turned to him for help in catching other check forgers. Steven Spielberg directed the film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Abagnale and Tom Hanks as Hanratty as well as Christopher Walken, Amy Adams, Martin Sheen, and Nathalie Baye.

RMS Titanic

The RMS Titanic was an Olympic-class passenger liner owned by the White Star Line

Shortly before midnight on 14 April 1912, four days into the ship's maiden voyage, Titanic struck an iceberg and sank two hours and forty minutes later, early on 15 April 1912. The sinking resulted in the deaths of 1,517 of the 2,223 people on board, making it one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.

The high casualty rate was due in part to the fact that, although complying with the regulations of the time, the ship did not carry enough lifeboats for everyone aboard. The ship had a total lifeboat capacity of 1,178 people, although her maximum capacity was 3,547. A disproportionate number of men died due to the women and children first protocol that was followed.

The Blind Side (film) The Blind Side is a 2009 American drama–

sports film. For 17 years, Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) has

been in foster care with different families. Every time he is sent to a new home, he runs away. One of his friend's fathers, whose couch Mike had been sleeping on, enrolls him into a Christian school, after the father convinces the coach that "Big Mike" is a natural athlete, yet he refuses to beat people to the ground. The coach convinces the school principal to enroll him in the school.

Michael needs a 2.5 GPA. His current GPA is too low, so they hire a private tutor

The film ends with the 2009 NFL Draft, showing the real-life Michael Oher being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens.