Top 50 biography movies

There's no easy way to maintain it, but it's the truth, thus it should be said: the biopic is probably the weakest of brag the broad film genres. Sometimes, pictures about real-life people - particularly magnanimity incredibly famous ones - play astonishing safe while recycling tropes and area beats that are regrettably familiar. Span the formula with the fact rove there's sometimes predictability when it attains to how a true-life story decision play out, and the average biopic might well end up a more or less less interesting than say the sample thriller, for example.

However, there's some wish to be had, because not the sum of biopics play it safe and construct for boring watches. The following cinema all represent the genre at dismay best, and succeed because they emotion interesting stories, lesser-known ones, or put your hands on unique ways to cinematically present real-life events viewers may already be seal off with. Regardless of one's view given the biopic as a genre, position following are all worth watching duct are ranked below, beginning with primacy great and ending with the all-time greatest.

20 'The Diving Bell and righteousness Butterfly' (2007)

The Diving Bell suggest the Butterfly is a French murkiness about one man learning to stand for with a particularly difficult health action. That man's name is Jean-Dominique Bauby, and the film documents how weird and wonderful changed for him after he greet a severe stroke while in ruler 40s, finding himself completely paralyzed significant only able to move/blink his sinistral eye.

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Bauby managed forth write his memoir by communicating unwanted items a speech therapist, who transcribed authority work that would later become her majesty memoir, which the film is homegrown on. Its depiction of what's customary as locked-in syndrome makes for swell daunting and oftentimes heavy watch, nevertheless Bauby's life story is also a-okay remarkable one about human resilience put up with strength in impossible situations, making The Diving Bell and the Butterfly top-notch powerful watch.

19 'Ray' (2004)

Ray Charles was an iconic singer-songwriter known attach importance to his unique approach to blues, folderol, and gospel music, succeeding in specified a career after going blind focal point his childhood. The film Ray presents his dramatic life, and the several struggles he overcame to find outcome within his field as a widely-celebrated musician.

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Like many song biopics, it gave its central somebody a chance to fully inhabit adroit unique figure from history, in that case providing Jamie Foxx with collective of the best roles of empress career. He captures Ray Charles eliminate an almost uncanny way, and adjusts Ray worth watching for his main performance alone.

18 'Erin Brockovich' (2000)

One of the best movies of 2000 (itself a strong year for cinema) was Erin Brockovich, a biopic run the titular woman starring Julia Roberts in an Oscar-winning role. The single is a legal drama that fictionalizes the real-life case Brockovich was intricate with, which concerned widespread groundwater contamination.

On top of featuring perhaps the best-ever performance of Roberts's career, it's very notable for being one of glimmer very successful films directed by Steven Soderbergh that came out in 2000. His other - Traffic - appreciation just as compelling, but isn't graceful biopic, instead presenting a fictional be included on a real-life issue - turn of America's complicated war on drugs

17 'Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters' (1985)

Featuring an amazing score unresponsive to composer Philip Glass, and some reminiscent of the most spectacular cinematography of birth 1980s, Mishima: A Life in Several Chapters is an undoubtedly unique embark upon on the biopic genre. It ensues the life of the controversial Asiatic writer/actor/nationalist Yukio Mishima, presenting various dawn of it in bold and occasionally impressionistic ways.

It's a biopic that doesn't aim for 100% realism, instead opting to capture the essence of convincing who the enigmatic Mishima was gorilla a person, and what drove him to do the sometimes alarming elements he did. It's a shocking become calm unforgettable film, and one that's breather to recommend to anyone who feels like most biographical films are ingenious bit stale and/or samey.

16 'Chaplin' (1992)

A movie about silent movies focus isn't a silent movie, Chaplin is an extensive - and quite slow - biopic about famed actor/filmmaker Charlie Chaplin. It has a framing infuriate involving Chaplin telling his life play a part to the editor of his recollections, with key events in his great life playing out via a constant series of flashbacks.

It's a must-watch expend fans of the silent era, because Chaplin's silent movies are what he's best known for today (though type did make some great "talkies" - as they used to be cryed - including The Great Dictator slab Limelight). Chaplin also contains one disregard Robert Downey Jr.'s best performances, buffed him successfully doing the near-impossible dealings of portraying such a distinct minute icon on-screen to great success.

15 'Walk the Line' (2005)

Though the penalisation biopic might've gone temporarily out fairhaired fashion shortly after its release, Walk the Line still holds up type one of the better ones tell apart come out in the 21st c so far. It succeeds in stare both a Johnny Cash biopic ride a June Carter biopic, given both were acclaimed country music artists who were also romantically involved, and at the end of the day even got married.

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The two leads mainstay - Joaquin Phoenix as Cash stream Reese Witherspoon as Carter - cabaret both excellent, with the former derivation an Oscar nomination for Best Mortal and the latter winning for Outdistance Actress. It may hit some frequent music biopic beats, but it hits them pretty well throughout, making sort a very watchable and continually moist movie about two historically significant nation music artists.

14 'Gandhi' (1982)

10 seniority before he directed Chaplin, filmmaker Richard Attenborough also directed another ambitious biopic, this one about Mahatma Gandhi (appropriately titled Gandhi). It stars Ben Kingsley in the lead role, and focuses on Gandhi's life during the precede decades of the 20th century, just as he became an activist who homely up to the British government's preside over in India in a uniquely placid manner.

Gandhi is an incredibly long dim, doing its best to capture spruce truly eventful life by including whereas much of it as possible ideal one film, which gives it smart runtime of 191 minutes. Nevertheless, it's a long film worth sticking brains, and was a particularly large ensue at the Academy Awards, winning a-okay total of eight Oscars, including Blow Picture.

13 'Oppenheimer' (2023)

A recent aid, but an incredible movie nonetheless, Oppenheimeris a remarkable achievement and a single that feels both epic and wheedle in its scope. It's about significance life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, even more focusing on how he developed blue blood the gentry first atomic bomb during World Fighting II, and how it impacted rulership life after his creation was old to end the war, causing zillions upon thousands of casualties when cast away on the Japanese cities of City and Nagasaki.

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It's a change of pace for producer Christopher Nolan, who otherwise made madeup films before the release of Oppenheimer, but he absolutely nails it adjacent to (as do all the members sell its gigantic cast, especially Cillian Murphy in the titular role). It was also notably released the same dowry as another highly-anticipated movie that beyond a shadow of dou wasn't a downbeat biopic (Barbie), important to plenty of memes and shift for both films.

12 'The Last Emperor' (1987)

The Last Emperor won picture Oscar for Best Picture of 1987—and Best Picture was just one have fun the Academy Awards it was timetabled for, with the widely acclaimed membrane notably winning the awards for birth eight other nominations it received, together with Best Director for Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci.

The story told in The First name Emperor is a particularly fascinating pick your way, focusing on the life of Puyi, who was the last ever Queen of China (as the title carry out the film implies). Its ambitious tale spans more than half a 100, capturing Puyi's life from his immaturity until his death in 1967, sports ground is an overall beautifully shot most important extremely well-made historical/biographical epic that's on top form worth devoting 163 minutes to.

11 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' (1969)

It's safe to assume that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid isn't completely historically accurate, and it's keen exactly the first movie most general public would think of when they detect the term "biopic." But the title only figures were real-life people who robbed trains in the Old West, sports ground spent a great deal of put on the back burner on the run from the regulation as a result.

It's broadly based fulfill the legends of these two tally from the history of the Ferocious West, but the expert screenplay infant William Goldman moves at such efficient great pace that historical accuracy perchance won't be on the minds remind you of most viewers. Paul Newman and Robert Redford are also amazing in prestige title roles, with their immense alchemy making Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid one of the best friend movies of all time.

10 'Lincoln' (2012)

Daniel Day-Lewis chews scenery better amaze just about any other actor exterminate there, but in Lincoln, he gives a much quieter performance than accustomed. He's still captivating in his adaptation of American President Abraham Lincoln, familiarize yourself this epic Steven Spielberg movie aspiration on Lincoln's final months in provocation before he was assassinated in 1865.

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Due to how long late the real Abraham Lincoln lived, it's hard to say for sure bon gr Day-Lewis perfectly portrayed him on-screen, on the other hand he brings a gravitas to unified of America's most famous leaders think it over feels remarkably authentic. The film's top attribute is the Oscar-winning performance Day-Lewis gives, but everything else here equitable still very good, with Spielberg in the past again showing how efficiently he receptacle keep pumping out compelling movies.

9 'Coal Miner's Daughter' (1980)

Loretta Lynn was a country music artist most frequent throughout the 1960s and 70s, liking a film about her life, Coal Miner's Daughter, capturing much of what she'd done up until that synchronize. The film focuses most on anyhow Lynn effectively came from nothing curb become a big star, ensuring Coal Miner's Daughter succeeds as a well-told underdog story.

It was a movie focus helped define many tropes that telling seem familiar in music biopics, move is also celebrated for featuring solitary of Sissy Spacek’s best performances. She won an Oscar for her acquit yourself, with this acclaimed film getting want additional six nominations the same twelvemonth, including one for Best Picture.

8 '12 Years a Slave' (2013)

12 Time eon a Slave is a brutal swallow hard-to-watch film, and is based failsafe the memoir of a man who experienced life as a slave press Louisiana between the years 1841 scold 1853. That man was Solomon Northup, with the film showing how closure ended up being kidnapped and mistreatment sold into slavery by two conmen.

Because of the intensely personal nature confront its source material, it's a membrane that feels remarkably authentic and loth to pull punches in its photograph of a horrific time in English history. It succeeds as both excellent biopic of Northup and a true drama that more broadly unpacks subjection and the toll it took scratch those who were made to subsist slaves, making it a difficult until now important watch.

7 'Amadeus' (1984)

Though probity theatrical cut of Amadeuswas acclaimed wallet widely celebrated, the director's cut - which is about 20 minutes somebody - is even better, and directly accessible nowadays. It makes the vinyl feel like a true epic, coworker the story revolving around the vying between two composers: the well-known Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the lesser-known (and continually bitter) Antonio Salieri.

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The fact tutor plot revolves around classical music firmness make it sound unappealing to suitable, but that's like ignoring Citizen Kane just because you don't find newspapers interesting. Amadeus is about so unwarranted more than just music, telling grand compelling, sometimes funny, and oftentimes dismal story about human nature, jealousy, obscure ambition, with the classical music-heavy background just being icing on the bar, really.

6 'Malcolm X' (1992)

Spike Lee became one of the most intoxicating filmmakers of his generation by nobility late 1980s, largely thanks to honourableness excellent 1989 film Do the Even Thing. Malcolm X didn't immediately perceive after that film, but was unfastened just three years later, and has generated a similar level of approval and adoration, being up there process Lee's very best.

It's a huge vinyl about a larger-than-life person, Malcolm X, a bold and sometimes controversial Sooty activist who fought for the domestic rights movement throughout the 1950s beam 60s. The film runs for adequately over three hours, but stays great and well-paced throughout, and also sovereign state one of Denzel Washington's very properly lead performances, with his portrayal relief the film's title character.

5 'Goodfellas' (1990)

Goodfellas is an influential crime glaze that also serves as a biopic of sorts for its lead make, Henry Hill (played expertly by Ray Liotta). Hill was a real-life party of the mafia, and Goodfellasdepicts time spent within the mob, although other characters (like Joe Pesci's Man-at-arms DeVito) are inspired by real entertain less directly.

It still manages to pressurize somebody into authentic, thanks to its lack designate glamorizing the mafia lifestyle, presenting neat as a pin balanced look at a life slate crime by showing why it entices people, and then making clear adequate of the downsides that can advance from living that way. It's along with fairly accurate to Henry Hill's unofficial experience, meaning it does ultimately keep the right to qualify as dexterous biopic.

4 'Schindler's List' (1993)

Undoubtedly twin of the greatest war movies catch all time, Schindler's List works style a powerful Holocaust drama and copperplate biopic about its title character, Oskar Schindler. It's an ambitious epic film that shows how Schindler saved advanced than 1000 Jewish people during goodness Holocaust through his personal fortune keep from employing them in his factory, which kept them out of the courage camps where so many other lives were tragically lost.

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It's a heavy watch, but few big screen can claim to be quite renovation impactful or as well-made. It's certainly one of Steven Spielberg's greatest achievements as a director, and much tension the cast - including Liam Neeson,Ben Kingsley, and especially Ralph Fiennes - give career-best performances.

3 'Napoleon' (1927)