Good biopics
by noutchka | created - 24 Mar 2015 | updated - 15 May 2022 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Gandhi (1982)
PG | 191 min | Biography, Drama, History
The life of the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of nonviolent protest.
Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Ben Kingsley, John Gielgud, Rohini Hattangadi, Roshan Seth
Votes: 240,205 | Gross: $52.77M
2. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
R | 180 min | Biography, Comedy, Crime
Based 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.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey
Votes: 1,583,630 | Gross: $116.90M
3. Amadeus (1984)
R | 160 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The 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.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Roy Dotrice
Votes: 428,123 | Gross: $51.97M
4. Mangal Pandey (2005)
Not Rated | 150 min | Biography, Drama, History
This is a film about the leader of the 1857 mutiny and his fight against the British rule.
Director: Ketan Mehta | Stars: Aamir Khan, Rani Mukerji, Toby Stephens, Coral Beed
Votes: 10,505 | Gross: $0.87M
5. Jodhaa Akbar (2008)
Not Rated | 213 min | Action, Drama, History
A sixteenth century love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a great Mughal emperor, Akbar, and a Rajput princess, Jodha.
Director: Ashutosh Gowariker | Stars: Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Poonam Sinha
Votes: 34,603 | Gross: $3.44M
6. The Aviator (2004)
PG-13 | 170 min | Biography, Drama
A biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career from the late 1920s to the mid 1940s.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly
Votes: 384,124 | Gross: $102.61M
7. Ray (I) (2004)
PG-13 | 152 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of the life and career of the legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles, from his humble beginnings in the South, where he went blind at age seven, to his meteoric rise to stardom during the 1950s and 1960s.
Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Jamie Foxx, Regina King, Kerry Washington, Clifton Powell
Votes: 157,411 | Gross: $75.33M
8. Schindler's List (1993)
R | 195 min | Biography, Drama, History
In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall
Votes: 1,451,024 | Gross: $96.90M
9. L'allée du roi (1996– )
Drama, History
Drama centering around the life at the court of Louis XIV and the role of the Marquise de Maintenon.
Stars: Dominique Blanc, Didier Sandre, Valentine Varela, Raphaëline Goupilleau
Votes: 315
10. The Queen (2006)
PG-13 | 103 min | Biography, Drama
After the death of Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II struggles with her reaction to a sequence of events nobody could have predicted.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Alex Jennings
Votes: 115,993 | Gross: $56.44M
11. My Way (2012)
148 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A biopic of French pop star Claude François, most famous for co-writing the song 'My Way'. Tracing his life from childhood in Egypt through success in France to his untimely death in Paris in 1978.
Director: Florent-Emilio Siri | Stars: Jérémie Renier, Benoît Magimel, Monica Scattini, Sabrina Seyvecou
Votes: 3,170
12. The Conquest (2011)
Not Rated | 105 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A look at French president Nicolas Sarkozy's rise to power.
Director: Xavier Durringer | Stars: Denis Podalydès, Florence Pernel, Bernard Le Coq, Michèle Moretti
Votes: 1,703 | Gross: $0.07M
13. Hawking (2004 TV Movie)
TV-G | 90 min | Biography, Drama
Theoretical physicist/cosmologist Stephen Hawking's life and search for the beginning of time (1963-6).
Director: Philip Martin | Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Brandon, Tom Hodgkins, Christian Rubeck
Votes: 6,362
14. Behind the Candelabra (2013)
TV-MA | 118 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A chronicle of the tempestuous six-year romance between megastar singer Liberace and his young lover Scott Thorson.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Eric Zuckerman
Votes: 45,399
15. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
R | 125 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Three 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.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Al Pacino, John Cazale, Penelope Allen, Sully Boyar
Votes: 273,095 | Gross: $50.00M
16. Yves Saint Laurent (2014)
R | 106 min | Biography, Drama
A look at the life of French designer Yves Saint-Laurent from the beginning of his career in 1958 when he met his lover and business partner, Pierre Bergé.
Director: Jalil Lespert | Stars: Pierre Niney, Guillaume Gallienne, Charlotte Le Bon, Laura Smet
Votes: 13,021 | Gross: $0.72M
17. Trumbo (2015)
R | 124 min | Biography, Drama
In 1947, Dalton Trumbo was Hollywood's top screenwriter, until he and other artists were jailed and blacklisted for their political beliefs.
Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Louis C.K.
Votes: 84,787 | Gross: $7.86M
18. Capote (2005)
R | 114 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
In 1959, Truman Capote learns of the murder of a Kansas family and decides to write a book about the case. While researching for his novel In Cold Blood, Capote forms a relationship with one of the killers, Perry Smith, who is on death row.
Director: Bennett Miller | Stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Clifton Collins Jr., Catherine Keener, Allie Mickelson
Votes: 140,784 | Gross: $28.75M
19. Sully (2016)
PG-13 | 96 min | Biography, Drama
When pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger lands his damaged plane on the Hudson River in order to save the flight's passengers and crew, some consider him a hero while others think he was reckless.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney, Valerie Mahaffey
Votes: 298,153 | Gross: $125.07M
20. Darkest Hour (2017)
PG-13 | 125 min | Drama, War
In May 1940, the fate of World War II hangs on Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Adolf Hitler, or fight on knowing that it could mean the end of the British Empire.
Director: Joe Wright | Stars: Gary Oldman, Lily James, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ben Mendelsohn
Votes: 220,806 | Gross: $56.47M
21. I, Tonya (2017)
R | 119 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Competitive ice skater Tonya Harding rises amongst the ranks at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but her future in the activity is thrown into doubt when her ex-husband intervenes.
Director: Craig Gillespie | Stars: Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Julianne Nicholson
Votes: 242,792 | Gross: $30.01M
22. Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
PG-13 | 134 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of the legendary British rock band Queen and lead singer Freddie Mercury, leading up to their famous performance at Live Aid (1985).
Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy
Votes: 592,935 | Gross: $216.43M
23. Cyrano, My Love (2018)
R | 110 min | Comedy, Drama, History
December 1897, Paris. Edmond Rostand is not yet thirty but already two children and a lot of anxieties. He has not written anything for two years. In desperation, he offers the great ... See full summary »
Director: Alexis Michalik | Stars: Thomas Solivérès, Olivier Gourmet, Mathilde Seigner, Tom Leeb
Votes: 3,709
24. Stalin (1992 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 172 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The life and career of the brutal Soviet dictator, Joseph Stalin.
Director: Ivan Passer | Stars: Robert Duvall, Julia Ormond, Maximilian Schell, Jeroen Krabbé
Votes: 2,781
25. The King's Speech (2010)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, History
The 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.
Director: Tom Hooper | Stars: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Derek Jacobi
Votes: 708,013 | Gross: $138.80M
26. Bertie and Elizabeth (2002 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 99 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
A chronicle of the life of George VI, who was forced to become King following the abdication of his brother Edward VIII, and his relationship with his wife, Elizabeth.
Director: Giles Foster | Stars: James Wilby, Alan Bates, Eileen Atkins, Dolly Wells
Votes: 704
27. The Crown (2016–2023)
TV-MA | 60 min | Biography, Drama, History
Follows the political rivalries and romances of Queen Elizabeth II's reign and the events that shaped Britain for the second half of the 20th century.
Stars: Claire Foy, Olivia Colman, Imelda Staunton, Matt Smith
Votes: 256,768
28. Stage Beauty (2004)
R | 106 min | Drama
A female theatre dresser creates a stir and sparks a revolution in seventeenth century London theatre by playing Desdemona in Othello. But what will become of the male actor she once worked for and eventually replaced?
Director: Richard Eyre | Stars: Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Rupert Everett, Derek Hutchinson
Votes: 10,742 | Gross: $0.78M
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