The 50 Best Biography Movies of All Time
My 50 personal favorite biography movies of all time.
Honourable Mentions:
Elvis (2022)
Mank (2020)
Dolemite Is My Name (2019)
First Man (2018)
The Disaster Artist (2017)
The Danish Girl (2015)
Trumbo (2015)
127 Hours (2010)
Hachi (2009)
Hunger (2008)
The Diving Bell & The Butterfly (2007)
The Basketball Diaries (1995)
Quiz Show (1994)
Glory (1989)
My Left Foot (1989)
Escape From Alcatraz (1979)
Midnight Express (1978)
Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid (1973)
Funny Girl (1968)
in Cold Blood (1967)
Related:
The 25 Best Biography Movies of the 21st Century - https://www.imdb.com/list/ls097509937/
The 25 Best Historical Movies of All Time - https://www.imdb.com/list/ls069565244/
The 25 Best Period Piece Movies of All Time - https://www.imdb.com/list/ls046806935/
Honourable Mentions:
Elvis (2022)
Mank (2020)
Dolemite Is My Name (2019)
First Man (2018)
The Disaster Artist (2017)
The Danish Girl (2015)
Trumbo (2015)
127 Hours (2010)
Hachi (2009)
Hunger (2008)
The Diving Bell & The Butterfly (2007)
The Basketball Diaries (1995)
Quiz Show (1994)
Glory (1989)
My Left Foot (1989)
Escape From Alcatraz (1979)
Midnight Express (1978)
Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid (1973)
Funny Girl (1968)
in Cold Blood (1967)
Related:
The 25 Best Biography Movies of the 21st Century - https://www.imdb.com/list/ls097509937/
The 25 Best Historical Movies of All Time - https://www.imdb.com/list/ls069565244/
The 25 Best Period Piece Movies of All Time - https://www.imdb.com/list/ls046806935/
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50 titles
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroRay LiottaJoe PesciThe story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsPeter O'TooleAlec GuinnessAnthony QuinnThe story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsLiam NeesonRalph FiennesBen KingsleyIn German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroCathy MoriartyJoe PesciThe life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsF. Murray AbrahamTom HulceElizabeth BerridgeThe life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was deeply jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioJonah HillMargot RobbieBased on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsAdrien BrodyThomas KretschmannFrank FinlayDuring WWII, acclaimed Polish musician Wladyslaw faces various struggles as he loses contact with his family. As the situation worsens, he hides in the ruins of Warsaw in order to survive.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsRussell CroweEd HarrisJennifer ConnellyA mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.
- DirectorAndrew DominikStarsBrad PittCasey AffleckSam ShepardRobert Ford, who has idolized Jesse James since childhood, tries hard to join the resurgent gang of the Missouri outlaw, but gradually becomes resentful of the bandit leader.
- DirectorGarth DavisStarsDev PatelNicole KidmanRooney MaraA five-year-old Indian boy is adopted by an Australian couple after getting lost hundreds of kilometers from home. 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsGeorge C. ScottKarl MaldenStephen YoungThe World War II phase of the career of controversial American general George S. Patton.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioCate BlanchettKate BeckinsaleA biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career from the late 1920s to the mid 1940s.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsJohnny DeppMartin LandauSarah Jessica ParkerAmbitious but troubled movie director Edward D. Wood Jr. tries his best to fulfill his dreams despite his lack of talent.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsJohn David WashingtonAdam DriverLaura HarrierRon Stallworth, an African American police officer from Colorado Springs, Colorado, successfully infiltrates the local Ku Klux Klan branch aided by a Jewish surrogate who eventually becomes its leader. Based on actual events.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsAnthony HopkinsJohn HurtAnne BancroftA 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.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsAugust DiehlValerie PachnerMaria SimonThe Austrian Franz Jägerstätter, a conscientious objector, refuses to fight for the Nazis in World War II.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsAl PacinoJohn CazalePenelope AllenThree amateur bank robbers plan to hold up a bank. A nice simple robbery: Walk in, take the money, and run. Unfortunately, the supposedly uncomplicated heist suddenly becomes a bizarre nightmare as everything that could go wrong does.
- DirectorArthur PennStarsWarren BeattyFaye DunawayMichael J. PollardBored waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow and together they start a violent crime spree through the country, stealing cars and robbing banks.
- DirectorOliver HirschbiegelStarsBruno GanzAlexandra Maria LaraUlrich MatthesTraudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoKim Sang-kyungKim Roe-haIn a small Korean province in 1986, two detectives struggle with the case of multiple young women being found raped and murdered by an unknown culprit.
- DirectorRyan CooglerStarsMichael B. JordanMelonie DiazOctavia SpencerThe story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008.
- DirectorSean PennStarsEmile HirschVince VaughnCatherine KeenerAfter graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life.
- DirectorTom HooperStarsColin FirthGeoffrey RushHelena Bonham CarterThe story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.
- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsPaul NewmanRobert RedfordKatharine RossIn 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid lead a band of outlaws. When a train robbery goes wrong, they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heels. After considering their options, they escape to South America.
- DirectorOlivier NakacheÉric ToledanoStarsFrançois CluzetOmar SyAnne Le NyAfter he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caregiver.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsKlaus KinskiRuy GuerraHelena RojoIn the 16th century, the ruthless and insane Don Lope de Aguirre leads a Spanish expedition in search of El Dorado.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroAl PacinoJoe PesciAn illustration of Frank Sheeran's life, from W.W.II veteran to hit-man for the Bufalino crime family and his alleged assassination of his close friend Jimmy Hoffa.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsJim CarreyDanny DeVitoGerry BeckerThe life and career of legendary comedian Andy Kaufman.
- DirectorVincent ParonnaudMarjane SatrapiStarsChiara MastroianniCatherine DeneuveGena RowlandsA precocious and outspoken Iranian girl grows up during the Islamic Revolution.
- DirectorPeter FarrellyStarsViggo MortensenMahershala AliLinda CardelliniA working-class Italian-American bouncer becomes the driver for an African-American classical pianist on a tour of venues through the 1960s American South.
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsMargarita TerekhovaFilipp YankovskiyIgnat DaniltsevA dying man in his forties remembers his past. His childhood, his mother, the war, personal moments and things that tell of the recent history of all the Russian nation.
- DirectorMarc ForsterStarsJohnny DeppKate WinsletJulie ChristieThe story of Sir J.M. Barrie's friendship with a family who inspired him to create Peter Pan.
- DirectorGabriele MuccinoStarsWill SmithThandiwe NewtonJaden SmithA struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsMelanie LynskeyKate WinsletSarah PeirseTwo teenage girls share a unique bond; their parents, concerned that the friendship is too intense, separate them, and the girls take revenge.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsBen KingsleyJohn GielgudRohini HattangadiThe life of the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of nonviolent protest.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsDenzel WashingtonRussell CroweChiwetel EjioforAn outcast New York City cop is charged with bringing down Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas, whose real life inspired this partly biographical film.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsJesse EisenbergAndrew GarfieldJustin TimberlakeAs Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, he is sued by the twins who claimed he stole their idea and by the co-founder who was later squeezed out of the business.
- DirectorTom McCarthyStarsMark RuffaloMichael KeatonRachel McAdamsThe true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.
- DirectorTerry GeorgeStarsDon CheadleSophie OkonedoJoaquin PhoenixPaul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, houses over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda, Africa.
- DirectorSteve McQueenStarsChiwetel EjioforMichael Kenneth WilliamsMichael FassbenderIn the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free Black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDenzel WashingtonAngela BassettDelroy LindoBiographical 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.
- DirectorMorten TyldumStarsBenedict CumberbatchKeira KnightleyMatthew GoodeDuring World War II, the English mathematical genius Alan Turing tries to crack the German Enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians while attempting to come to terms with his troubled private life.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsBradley CooperSienna MillerKyle GallnerNavy S.E.A.L. sniper Chris Kyle's pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. Back home with his family after four tours of duty, however, Chris finds that it is the war he can't leave behind.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsAl PacinoJohn RandolphJack KehoeAn honest New York cop named Frank Serpico blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.
- DirectorPenny MarshallStarsRobert De NiroRobin WilliamsJulie KavnerThe victims of an encephalitis epidemic many years ago have been catatonic ever since, but now a new drug offers the prospect of reviving them.
- DirectorAdam McKayStarsChristian BaleSteve CarellRyan GoslingIn 2006-2007 a group of investors bet against the United States mortgage market. In their research, they discover how flawed and corrupt the market is.
- DirectorMel GibsonStarsAndrew GarfieldSam WorthingtonLuke BraceyWorld War II American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, serving during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a shot.
- DirectorJean-Marc ValléeStarsMatthew McConaugheyJennifer GarnerJared LetoIn 1985 Dallas, electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof works around the system to help AIDS patients get the medication they need after he is diagnosed with the disease.
- DirectorJim SheridanStarsDaniel Day-LewisPete PostlethwaiteAlison CrosbieAn 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.
- DirectorCarl Theodor DreyerStarsMaria FalconettiEugene SilvainAndré BerleyIn 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.