The "Best Bio-Pics Ever Made"
by rubyfruit76 | created - 1 month ago | updated - 1 month ago | PublicAccording to Richard Brody, a movie critic for the New Yorker magazine, bio-pics "present very particular artistic challenges" so he wrote an article that explores the ones that "transcend them." Those movies are listed below. Some are very well known and widely seen (three are even on IMDb's Top 250), while others are little known and a few even hard to find. Which is your favorite or which one would you most like to see?
Please feel free to discuss here.
Note: Movies are listed in chronological order, as they are in the New Yorker article, which can be read here.
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1. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
Passed | 114 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1431, Jeanne d'Arc is placed on trial on charges of heresy. The ecclesiastical jurists attempt to force Jeanne to recant her claims of holy visions.
Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer | Stars: Maria Falconetti, Eugene Silvain, André Berley, Maurice Schutz
Votes: 60,645 | Gross: $0.02M
2. Gentleman Jim (1942)
Approved | 104 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
As bare-knuckled boxing enters the modern era, brash extrovert, Jim Corbett, uses new rules and dazzlingly innovative footwork to rise to the top of the top of the boxing world.
Director: Raoul Walsh | Stars: Errol Flynn, Alexis Smith, Jack Carson, Alan Hale
Votes: 4,113
3. The Great Moment (1944)
Passed | 83 min | Biography, Drama
The biography of Dr. W. T. Morgan, a 19th century Boston dentist, during his quest to have anesthesia, in the form of ether, accepted by the public and the medical and dental establishment.
Director: Preston Sturges | Stars: Joel McCrea, Betty Field, Harry Carey, William Demarest
Votes: 1,076
4. Ivan the Terrible, Part I (1944)
Not Rated | 95 min | Biography, Drama, History
During the early part of his reign, Ivan the Terrible faces betrayal from the aristocracy and even his closest friends as he seeks to unite the Russian people.
Director: Sergei Eisenstein | Stars: Nikolay Cherkasov, Lyudmila Tselikovskaya, Serafima Birman, Mikhail Nazvanov
Votes: 10,862
5. Ivan the Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot (1958)
Not Rated | 88 min | Biography, Drama, History
As Ivan the Terrible attempts to consolidate his power by establishing a personal army, his political rivals, the Russian boyars, plot to assassinate their Tsar.
Director: Sergei Eisenstein | Stars: Nikolay Cherkasov, Serafima Birman, Pavel Kadochnikov, Mikhail Zharov
Votes: 8,052
6. A Scandal in Paris (1946)
Passed | 100 min | Adventure, Crime, Romance
Born in a French prison in 1775, François Eugène Vidocq becomes a professional thief and is later appointed chief of Parisian police.
Director: Douglas Sirk | Stars: George Sanders, Signe Hasso, Carole Landis, Akim Tamiroff
Votes: 1,210
7. Utamaro and His Five Women (1946)
106 min | Drama
Utamaro is a great artist who lives to create portraits of beautiful women, using the brothels of Tokyo to provide his models.
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Minosuke Bandô, Kinuyo Tanaka, Kôtarô Bandô, Hiroko Kawasaki
Votes: 1,423
8. The Actress (1953)
Passed | 90 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
This is an account of the real life experience of actress/playwright Ruth Gordon.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Jean Simmons, Teresa Wright, Anthony Perkins
Votes: 1,504
9. The Eternal Breasts (1955)
106 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Fumiko, mother of two children and wife of an unfaithful man who shows a low self esteem, shares her family life with her asleep vocation as a poetess. The beginning of her successful ... See full summary »
Director: Kinuyo Tanaka | Stars: Yumeji Tsukioka, Ryôji Hayama, Junkichi Orimoto, Hiroko Kawasaki
Votes: 634
10. Lola Montès (1955)
Not Rated | 116 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
When she is reduced to appearing in a circus, a notorious beauty thinks back on her past loves.
Director: Max Ophüls | Stars: Martine Carol, Peter Ustinov, Anton Walbrook, Henri Guisol
Votes: 6,048 | Gross: $0.11M
11. The Wrong Man (1956)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, Film-Noir
In 1953, an innocent man named Christopher Emanuel "Manny" Balestrero is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Henry Fonda, Vera Miles, Anthony Quayle, Harold J. Stone
Votes: 31,360
12. The Wings of Eagles (1957)
Approved | 110 min | Biography, Drama, War
A biography of Navy flier-turned-screenwriter Frank W. "Spig" Wead.
Director: John Ford | Stars: John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Dan Dailey, Ward Bond
Votes: 4,607
13. Djamilah (1958)
123 min | Biography, Drama, History
Egyptian historical film about one of the most important figures in the history of Algeria, Djamila Bouhired. This film is regarded as not only highlighting the story of an important female... See full summary »
Director: Youssef Chahine | Stars: Magda, Ahmad Mazhar, Salah Zulfikar, Rushdi Abazah
Votes: 305
14. Enchanted Desna (1964)
81 min | Biography, Drama, Fantasy
An abstract depiction of the childhood of Aleksandr Dovzhenko.
Director: Yuliya Solntseva | Stars: Evgeniy Samoylov, Vladimir Goncharov, Evgeniy Bondarenko, Zinaida Kirienko
Votes: 223
15. The Taking of Power by Louis XIV (1966 TV Movie)
G | 90 min | Biography, History
After the death of Cardinal Mazarin, young king Louis XIV decides to assert his power to control the aristocracy.
Director: Roberto Rossellini | Stars: Jean-Marie Patte, Raymond Jourdan, César Silvagni, Katharina Renn
Votes: 1,701
16. The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach (1968)
94 min | Biography, Drama, History
The life and music of Johann Sebastian Bach as presented by his wife, Anna.
Directors: Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub | Stars: Gustav Leonhardt, Christiane Lang, Paolo Carlini, Ernst Castelli
Votes: 1,585 | Gross: $0.02M
17. The Color of Pomegranates (1969)
Not Rated | 79 min | Biography, Drama, History
The life of the Armenian poet Sayat-Nova, from childhood to death: his spiritual journey, artistic endeavors, and inner conflicts within the cultural and historical context of Armenia. Hailed as revolutionary by Mikhail Vartanov.
Director: Sergei Parajanov | Stars: Sofiko Chiaureli, Melkon Alekyan, Vilen Galstyan, Gogi Gegechkori
Votes: 13,538
18. American Hot Wax (1978)
PG | 91 min | Drama, History, Music
The story of Alan Freed, the pioneering disc jockey who was instrumental in introducing and popularizing rock 'n' roll in the 1950s.
Director: Floyd Mutrux | Stars: Tim McIntire, Fran Drescher, Jay Leno, Laraine Newman
Votes: 1,354
19. The Elephant Man (1980)
PG | 124 min | Biography, Drama
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud
Votes: 258,395
20. Raging Bull (1980)
R | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci, Frank Vincent
Votes: 380,136 | Gross: $23.38M
21. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
R | 120 min | Biography, Drama
A fictionalized account in four chapters of the life of celebrated Japanese writer Yukio Mishima.
Director: Paul Schrader | Stars: Ken Ogata, Masayuki Shionoya, Hiroshi Mikami, Junya Fukuda
Votes: 13,757 | Gross: $0.44M
22. Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988)
PG | 110 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
The story of Preston Tucker, the maverick car designer and his ill-fated challenge to the auto industry with his revolutionary car concept.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Joan Allen, Martin Landau, Frederic Forrest
Votes: 21,839 | Gross: $19.65M
23. Bird (1988)
R | 161 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The troubled life and career of jazz musician Charlie "Bird" Parker.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Forest Whitaker, Diane Venora, Michael Zelniker, Samuel E. Wright
Votes: 13,482 | Gross: $2.18M
24. Close-Up (1990)
Not Rated | 98 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The true story of Hossain Sabzian, a cinephile who impersonated the director Mohsen Makhmalbaf to convince a family they would star in his so-called new film.
Director: Abbas Kiarostami | Stars: Hossain Sabzian, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Abolfazl Ahankhah, Mehrdad Ahankhah
Votes: 23,005 | Gross: $0.00M
25. Jacquot of Nantes (1991)
PG | 118 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A boy growing up in Nantes during World War II around his father's auto shop has a love for puppet shows and cinema and develops it into his own art. Jacques Demy, the artist at the end of his life, reflects on his childhood influences.
Director: Agnès Varda | Stars: Philippe Maron, Edouard Joubeaud, Laurent Monnier, Brigitte De Villepoix
Votes: 1,997 | Gross: $0.15M
26. Malcolm X (1992)
PG-13 | 202 min | Biography, Drama, History
Biographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam and his eventual assassination.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Delroy Lindo, Spike Lee
Votes: 102,005 | Gross: $48.17M
27. The Last Days of Immanuel Kant (1993)
70 min | Biography, Drama
A brief, fictionalized time period in the life of Professor Kant. The story is set in Kant's hometown, Konigsberg; it chronicles his last few years prior to his death in 1804 at the age of 80.
Director: Philippe Collin | Stars: Christian Rist, André Wilms, David Warrilow, Roland Amstutz
Votes: 111
28. Shulie (1998)
37 min | Short, Biography, Drama
A shot-by-shot reenactment of an unreleased 1967 documentary portrait of SAIC student Shulamith Firestone, who, a few years later, would become a central figure in the rise of radical feminism.
Director: Elisabeth Subrin | Stars: Kim Soss, Elisabeth Subrin
Votes: 52
29. Marie Antoinette (2006)
PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, History
The retelling of France's iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 14 to her reign as queen at 19 and to the end of her reign as queen, and ultimately the fall of Versailles.
Director: Sofia Coppola | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Rip Torn, Steve Coogan
Votes: 121,857 | Gross: $15.96M
30. Talk to Me (2007)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of Washington D.C. radio personality Ralph "Petey" Greene, an ex-con who became a popular talk show host and community activist in the 1960s.
Director: Kasi Lemmons | Stars: Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Bruce McFee, Mike Epps
Votes: 10,272 | Gross: $4.47M
31. Nainsukh (2010)
Not Rated | 90 min | Biography, Drama, History
A depiction of royalty in former hill state of Guler in form of paintings by a lineage of period artists. These depictions are recreated for visual understanding of the circumstances behind... See full summary »
Director: Amit Dutta | Stars: Manish Soni, Nitin Goel, Rajesh. K.
Votes: 276
32. Cinema Verite (2011 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 86 min | Drama
A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the first American family to be the subjects of a reality TV show.
Directors: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini | Stars: Diane Lane, Tim Robbins, James Gandolfini, Thomas Dekker
Votes: 4,004
33. A Quiet Passion (2016)
PG-13 | 125 min | Biography, Drama
The story of American poet Emily Dickinson from her early days as a young schoolgirl to her later years as a reclusive, unrecognized artist.
Director: Terence Davies | Stars: Emma Bell, Sara Vertongen, Rose Williams, Benjamin Wainwright
Votes: 6,306 | Gross: $1.86M
34. Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc (2017)
TV-PG | 105 min | Drama, History, Musical
France, 1425. In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, the young Jeannette, at the still tender age of 8, looks after her sheep in the small village of Domremy. One day, she tells her friend... See full summary »
Director: Bruno Dumont | Stars: Lise Leplat Prudhomme, Jeanne Voisin, Lucile Gauthier, Victoria Lefebvre
Votes: 1,172
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