Biography Movies
by barbaricavatar | created - 11 Jun 2021 | updated - 2 months ago | PublicSerious, comedic, realistic, creative liberties; all qualify. Only not including any that have supernatural or extraterrestrial elements because... Yeah.
Documentaries have their own list: Here
Ranked Best to Worst.
Not an exhaustive list as I'm not interested in most people's life stories!
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1. All the President's Men (1976)
PG | 138 min | Drama, History, Thriller
"The Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon's resignation.
Director: Alan J. Pakula | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam
Votes: 126,098 | Gross: $70.60M
8/10
2. Erin Brockovich (2000)
R | 131 min | Biography, Drama
An unemployed single mother becomes a legal assistant and almost single-handedly brings down a California power company accused of polluting a city's water supply.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, David Brisbin, Dawn Didawick
Votes: 221,476 | Gross: $125.60M
8/10
3. 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: 298,242 | Gross: $125.07M
8/10
4. Hidden Figures (2016)
PG | 127 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.
Director: Theodore Melfi | Stars: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner
Votes: 255,393 | Gross: $169.61M
8/10
5. Rush (I) (2013)
R | 123 min | Action, Biography, Drama
The merciless 1970s rivalry between Formula One rivals James Hunt and Niki Lauda.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Daniel Brühl, Chris Hemsworth, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara
Votes: 513,912 | Gross: $26.95M
8/10
6. Molly's Game (2017)
R | 140 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game and became an FBI target.
Director: Aaron Sorkin | Stars: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera
Votes: 187,858 | Gross: $28.78M
8/10
7. The Disaster Artist (2017)
R | 104 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
When aspiring actor Greg Sestero meets the weird and mysterious Tommy Wiseau in an acting class, they form a unique friendship and travel to Hollywood to make their dreams come true.
Director: James Franco | Stars: James Franco, Dave Franco, Ari Graynor, Seth Rogen
Votes: 164,310 | Gross: $21.12M
8/10
8. Eddie the Eagle (2015)
PG-13 | 106 min | Adventure, Biography, Comedy
The story of Eddie Edwards, the notoriously tenacious British underdog ski jumper who charmed the world at the 1988 Winter Olympics.
Director: Dexter Fletcher | Stars: Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Tom Costello, Jo Hartley
Votes: 100,270 | Gross: $15.79M
8/10
9. What's Love Got to Do with It (1993)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of singer Tina Turner's rise to stardom and how she gained the courage to break free from her abusive husband, Ike Turner.
Director: Brian Gibson | Stars: Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, RaéVen Kelly, Virginia Capers
Votes: 24,595 | Gross: $39.10M
7/10
10. The Last King of Scotland (2006)
R | 123 min | Biography, Drama, History
Based on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's regime as seen by his personal physician during the 1970s.
Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: James McAvoy, Forest Whitaker, Gillian Anderson, Kerry Washington
Votes: 196,081 | Gross: $17.61M
7/10
11. The Post (2017)
PG-13 | 116 min | Biography, Drama, History
A cover-up spanning four U.S. Presidents pushes the country's first female newspaper publisher and her editor to join an unprecedented battle between press and government.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk
Votes: 162,361 | Gross: $81.90M
7/10
12. Spartacus (1960)
PG-13 | 197 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
The slave Spartacus survives brutal training as a gladiator and leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic, as the ambitious Crassus seeks to gain power by crushing the uprising.
Directors: Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Mann | Stars: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton
Votes: 143,259 | Gross: $30.00M
7/10
13. Saving Mr. Banks (2013)
PG-13 | 125 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Author P.L. Travers reflects on her childhood after reluctantly meeting with Walt Disney, who seeks to adapt her Mary Poppins books for the big screen.
Director: John Lee Hancock | Stars: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Annie Rose Buckley, Colin Farrell
Votes: 170,072 | Gross: $83.30M
7/10
14. Ed Wood (1994)
R | 127 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Ambitious but troubled movie director Edward D. Wood Jr. tries his best to fulfill his dreams despite his lack of talent.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette
Votes: 184,013 | Gross: $5.89M
7/10
15. Woman in Gold (2015)
PG-13 | 109 min | Biography, Drama, History
Maria Altmann, an octogenarian Jewish refugee, takes on the Austrian government to recover artwork she believes rightfully belongs to her family.
Director: Simon Curtis | Stars: Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Daniel Brühl, Katie Holmes
Votes: 63,240 | Gross: $33.31M
7/10
16. Reach for the Sky (1956)
Approved | 123 min | Biography, Drama, War
Biopic of RAF Group Captain Douglas Bader who, after having lost both legs, flew a British fighter plane during WWII.
Director: Lewis Gilbert | Stars: Kenneth More, Muriel Pavlow, Lyndon Brook, Lee Patterson
Votes: 2,993
7/10
17. Argo (2012)
R | 120 min | Biography, Drama, History
Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.
Director: Ben Affleck | Stars: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin
Votes: 639,287 | Gross: $136.03M
7/10
18. Silkwood (1983)
R | 131 min | Biography, Drama, History
A worker at a plutonium processing plant is purposefully contaminated, psychologically tortured and possibly murdered to prevent her from exposing worker safety violations at the plant.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, Cher, Craig T. Nelson
Votes: 22,211 | Gross: $35.62M
7/10
19. MacArthur (1977)
PG | 130 min | Biography, Drama, History
Biopic of General Douglas MacArthur covering his war exploits during WW2 and the Korean War.
Director: Joseph Sargent | Stars: Gregory Peck, Dan O'Herlihy, Ed Flanders, Ivan Bonar
Votes: 5,123
7/10
20. A Man for All Seasons (1966)
G | 120 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of Sir Thomas More, who stood up to King Henry VIII when the King rejected the Roman Catholic Church to obtain a divorce and remarry.
Director: Fred Zinnemann | Stars: Paul Scofield, Wendy Hiller, Robert Shaw, Leo McKern
Votes: 37,170 | Gross: $28.35M
7/10
21. Legend (I) (2015)
R | 132 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Identical twin gangsters Ronald and Reginald Kray terrorize London during the 1960s.
Director: Brian Helgeland | Stars: Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, Taron Egerton, Paul Anderson
Votes: 202,568 | Gross: $1.87M
7/10
22. In the Heart of the Sea (2015)
PG-13 | 122 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
A recounting of a New England whaling ship's sinking by a giant whale in 1820, an experience that later inspired the great novel Moby-Dick.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, Ben Whishaw
Votes: 148,806 | Gross: $25.02M
7/10
23. 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: 1,584,206 | Gross: $116.90M
7/10
24. Mr. Turner (2014)
R | 150 min | Biography, Drama, History
An exploration of the last quarter century of the great, if eccentric, British painter J.M.W. Turner's life.
Director: Mike Leigh | Stars: Timothy Spall, Paul Jesson, Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey
Votes: 27,183 | Gross: $3.96M
7/10
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: 708,111 | Gross: $138.80M
7/10
26. Senna (2010)
PG-13 | 106 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
A documentary on Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, who won the F1 world championship three times before his death at age 34.
Director: Asif Kapadia | Stars: Ayrton Senna, Reginaldo Leme, John Bisignano, Neyde Senna
Votes: 75,850 | Gross: $1.61M
7/10
27. Quo Vadis (1951)
Not Rated | 171 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
After fierce Roman commander Marcus Vinicius becomes infatuated with beautiful Christian hostage Lygia, he begins to question the tyrannical leadership of the despotic emperor Nero.
Directors: Mervyn LeRoy, Anthony Mann | Stars: Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Leo Genn, Peter Ustinov
Votes: 16,752 | Gross: $24.29M
7/10
28. Tombstone (1993)
R | 130 min | Biography, Drama, History
A successful lawman's plans to retire anonymously in Tombstone, Arizona are disrupted by the kind of outlaws he was famous for eliminating.
Directors: George P. Cosmatos, Kevin Jarre | Stars: Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton
Votes: 166,400 | Gross: $56.51M
6/10
29. Serpico (1973)
R | 130 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An honest New York cop named Frank Serpico blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, Biff McGuire
Votes: 134,869 | Gross: $29.80M
6/10
30. The Lady in the Van (2015)
PG-13 | 104 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A man forms an unexpected bond with a transient woman living in her van that's parked in his driveway.
Director: Nicholas Hytner | Stars: Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings, Jim Broadbent, Clare Hammond
Votes: 31,997 | Gross: $10.02M
6/10
31. Fighting with My Family (2019)
PG-13 | 108 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A former wrestler and his family make a living performing at small venues around the country while his kids dream of joining World Wrestling Entertainment.
Director: Stephen Merchant | Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Lena Headey, Vince Vaughn, Florence Pugh
Votes: 87,608 | Gross: $22.96M
6/10 Fun fact: The title match in the movie looks more believable than the actual fight from 2014.
32. Anna Nicole (2013 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 85 min | Biography, Drama
The life of Anna Nicole Smith, from small-town dancer to Playboy centerfold, to her marriage to a billionaire, to her eventual self-destruction.
Director: Mary Harron | Stars: Agnes Bruckner, Martin Landau, Adam Goldberg, Graham Patrick Martin
Votes: 2,316
6/10
33. The Big Short (2015)
R | 130 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
In 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.
Director: Adam McKay | Stars: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt
Votes: 484,894 | Gross: $70.26M
6/10
34. A Walk in the Woods (2015)
R | 104 min | Adventure, Biography, Comedy
After spending two decades in England, Bill Bryson (Robert Redford) returns to the U.S., where he decides the best way to connect with his homeland is to hike the Appalachian Trail with one of his oldest friends, Stephen Katz (Nick Nolte).
Director: Ken Kwapis | Stars: Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, Emma Thompson, Mary Steenburgen
Votes: 29,774 | Gross: $29.47M
5/10
35. The Karen Carpenter Story (1989 TV Movie)
120 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Story of the meteoric rise and sudden fall of Karen Carpenter, who became a famous singer before battling anorexia and bulimia.
Directors: Joseph Sargent, Richard Carpenter | Stars: Cynthia Gibb, Mitchell Anderson, Peter Michael Goetz, Michael McGuire
Votes: 1,442
4/10 A stark demonstration of how not to make a Biography. Ignores almost the entire reality of KC's life and wraps it up in a fluffy "Yeah but hasn't she got a lovely voice?". And it has a happy ending! WTH?!
36. Frankie & Alice (2010)
R | 101 min | Biography, Drama
A drama centered on a go-go dancer with multiple personality disorder who struggles to remain her true self and begins working with a psychotherapist to uncover the mystery of the inner ghosts that haunt her.
Director: Geoffrey Sax | Stars: Halle Berry, Stellan Skarsgård, Phylicia Rashad, Chandra Wilson
Votes: 5,847 | Gross: $0.69M
TBD
37. Wilde (1997)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The turmoil in poet/playwright Oscar Wilde's life after he discovers his homosexuality.
Director: Brian Gilbert | Stars: Stephen Fry, Jude Law, Vanessa Redgrave, Jennifer Ehle
Votes: 18,128 | Gross: $2.16M
TBD
38. Her Master's Voice (2012)
Not Rated | 64 min | Documentary, Biography, Comedy
Internationally acclaimed ventriloquist Nina Conti, takes the bereaved puppets of her mentor and erstwhile lover Ken Campbell on a pilgrimage to 'Venthaven' the resting place for puppets of... See full summary »
Director: Nina Conti | Stars: Nina Conti, Jim Broadbent, Daisy Campbell, Ken Campbell
Votes: 432
TBD
39. Beloved Infidel (1959)
Not Rated | 123 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Toward the end of his life, F. Scott Fitzgerald is writing for Hollywood studios to be able to afford the cost of an asylum for his wife. He is also struggling against alcoholism. Into his life comes the famous gossip columnist.
Director: Henry King | Stars: Gregory Peck, Deborah Kerr, Eddie Albert, Philip Ober
Votes: 1,184
40. 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: 384,186 | Gross: $102.61M
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