Music Biopics
A list of biographical films about musicians, ranked.
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- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorAnton CorbijnStarsSam RileySamantha MortonCraig ParkinsonA profile of Ian Curtis, the enigmatic singer of Joy Division whose personal, professional, and romantic troubles led him to die by suicide at the age of 23.
- DirectorJames MangoldStarsJoaquin PhoenixReese WitherspoonGinnifer GoodwinA chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins.
- DirectorBill PohladStarsJohn CusackPaul DanoElizabeth BanksIn the 60s, Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson struggles with emerging psychosis as he attempts to craft his avant-garde pop masterpiece. In the 80s, he's a broken, confused man under the 24-hour watch of shady therapist, Dr. Eugene Landy.
- DirectorOlivier DahanStarsMarion CotillardSylvie TestudPascal GreggoryBiopic of the iconic French singer Édith Piaf. Raised by her grandmother in a brothel, she was discovered while singing on a street corner at the age of 19. Despite her success, Piaf's life was filled with tragedy.
- DirectorMichael WinterbottomStarsSteve CooganLennie JamesJohn ThomsonIn 1976, Tony Wilson sets up Factory Records and brings Manchester's music to the world.
- DirectorF. Gary GrayStarsO'Shea Jackson Jr.Corey HawkinsJason MitchellThe rap group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood.
- DirectorFrançois GirardStarsColm FeoreDerek KeurvorstKatya LadanA collection of vignettes highlighting different aspects of the life, work, and character of the acclaimed Canadian classical pianist.
- DirectorTaylor HackfordStarsJamie FoxxRegina KingKerry WashingtonThe 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.
- DirectorKen RussellStarsRichard ChamberlainGlenda JacksonMax AdrianPiano teacher Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky struggles against his homosexuality by marrying, but unfortunately he chooses a nymphomaniac whom he cannot satisfy.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsSissy SpacekTommy Lee JonesLevon HelmThe fictionalized life of singer Loretta Lynn, a girl who rose from humble beginnings to become a country music star in the 1960s/70s.
- DirectorJake KasdanStarsJohn C. ReillyJenna FischerDavid KrumholtzSinger Dewey Cox overcomes adversity to become a musical legend.Satire/Parody
- DirectorDexter FletcherStarsTaron EgertonJamie BellRichard MaddenA musical fantasy about the fantastical human story of Elton John's breakthrough years.
- DirectorScott HicksStarsGeoffrey RushArmin Mueller-StahlJustin BrainePianist David Helfgott, driven by his father and teachers, has a breakdown. Years later he returns to the piano, to popular if not critical acclaim.
- DirectorBrian GibsonStarsAngela BassettLaurence FishburneRaéVen KellyThe story of singer Tina Turner's rise to stardom and how she gained the courage to break free from her abusive husband, Ike Turner.
- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsChristian BaleCate BlanchettHeath LedgerRuminations on the life of Bob Dylan, where six characters embody a different aspect of the musician's life and work.
- DirectorHal AshbyStarsDavid CarradineRonny CoxMelinda DillonThe early life of Woody Guthrie as a vagabond folk singer.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsForest WhitakerDiane VenoraMichael ZelnikerThe troubled life and career of jazz musician Charlie "Bird" Parker.
- DirectorAkiva SchafferJorma TacconeStarsAndy SambergJorma TacconeAkiva SchafferWhen it becomes clear that his solo album is a failure, a former boy band member does everything in his power to maintain his celebrity status.Satire/Parody
- DirectorGregory NavaStarsJennifer LopezEdward James OlmosJon SedaThe true story of Selena, a Texas-born Tejano singer who rose from cult status to performing at the Astrodome, as well as having chart-topping albums on the Latin music charts.
- DirectorCurtis HansonStarsEminemBrittany MurphyKim BasingerFollows a young rapper in the Detroit area, struggling with every aspect of his life; he wants to make it big but his friends and foes make this odyssey of rap harder than it may seem.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsMichael DouglasMatt DamonScott BakulaA chronicle of the tempestuous six-year romance between megastar singer Liberace and his young lover Scott Thorson.
- DirectorLuis ValdezStarsLou Diamond PhillipsEsai MoralesRosanna DeSotoBiographical story of the rise from nowhere of early rock and roll singer Ritchie Valens who died at age 17 in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.
- DirectorBernard RoseStarsGary OldmanJeroen KrabbéIsabella RosselliniThe life and death of the legendary Ludwig van Beethoven. Besides all the work he is known for, the composer once wrote a famous love letter to a nameless beloved, and the movie tries to find out who this beloved was--not easy, as Beethoven has had many women in his life.
- DirectorEric AppelStarsDiedrich BaderDaniel RadcliffeLin-Manuel MirandaExplores every facet of Yankovic's life, from his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like 'Eat It' and 'Like a Surgeon' to his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle.
- DirectorSteve RashStarsGary BuseyDon StroudCharles Martin SmithThe story of the life and career of the early rock and roll singer, from his meteoric rise to stardom, to his marriage and untimely death.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsJames StewartJune AllysonHarry MorganBiography of bandleader Glenn Miller from his beginnings to his death over the English Channel in December 1944.
- DirectorAlex CoxStarsGary OldmanChloe WebbDavid HaymanThe relationship between Sid Vicious, bassist for British punk group Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen is portrayed.
- DirectorBryan SingerStarsRami MalekLucy BoyntonGwilym LeeThe story of the legendary British rock band Queen and lead singer Freddie Mercury, leading up to their famous performance at Live Aid (1985).
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsVal KilmerMeg RyanKyle MacLachlanThe story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band The Doors and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison, from his days as a UCLA film student in Los Angeles, to his untimely death in Paris, France at age 27 in 1971.
- DirectorMat WhitecrossStarsAndy SerkisTom HughesClifford SamuelA biography of Ian Dury, who was stricken with polio at a young age and defied expectations by becoming one of the founders of the punk-rock scene in Britain in the 1970s.
- DirectorSam Taylor-JohnsonStarsAaron Taylor-JohnsonKristin Scott ThomasAnne-Marie DuffA chronicle of John Lennon's first years, focused mainly in his adolescence and his relationship with his stern aunt Mimi, who raised him, and his absentee mother Julia, who re-entered his life at a crucial moment in his young life.
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsTom HanksAustin ButlerOlivia DeJongeThe life of American music icon Elvis Presley, from his childhood to becoming a rock and movie star in the 1950s while maintaining a complex relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
- DirectorDarnell MartinStarsAdrien BrodyJeffrey WrightBeyoncéChronicles the rise of Chess Records and its recording artists.
- DirectorFloria SigismondiStarsKristen StewartDakota FanningMichael ShannonA coming-of-age biographical film about the 1970s teenage all-girl rock band The Runaways. The relationship between band members Cherie Currie and Joan Jett is also explored.
- DirectorSidney J. FurieStarsDiana RossBilly Dee WilliamsRichard PryorThe story of the troubled life and career of the legendary Jazz singer, Billie Holiday.
- DirectorTate TaylorStarsChadwick BosemanNelsan EllisDan AykroydA chronicle of James Brown's rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history.
- DirectorKarel ReiszStarsJessica LangeEd HarrisAnn WedgeworthThe story of Patsy Cline, the velvet-voiced country music singer who died in a tragic plane crash at the height of her fame.
- DirectorLisa AzuelosStarsSveva AlvitiRiccardo ScamarcioJean-Paul RouveThe story of the Egyptian-Italian singer Dalida and her story against life and how she dealt with her problems while she was the most successful artist in the history of France.
- DirectorIain SoftleyStarsStephen DorffSheryl LeeIan HartA dramatization of the Hamburg, Germany phase of The Beatles' early history.
- DirectorGregory NavaStarsHalle BerryVivica A. FoxLela RochonThree women each claim to be the widow of 1950s doo-wop singer Frankie Lymon, claiming legal rights to his estate.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsJohn Lloyd YoungErich BergenMichael LomendaThe story of four young men from the wrong side of the tracks in New Jersey who came together to form the iconic 1960s rock group The Four Seasons.
- DirectorDon CheadleStarsDon CheadleEmayatzy CorinealdiEwan McGregorAn exploration of the life and music of Miles Davis.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsMichael PittLukas HaasAsia ArgentoA Seattle musician's life and career are reminiscent of those of Kurt Cobain.
- DirectorAgnieszka HollandStarsEd HarrisDiane KrugerMatthew GoodeA fictionalized account of the last year of Beethoven's life.
- DirectorLiesl TommyStarsJennifer HudsonForest WhitakerMarlon WayansFollowing the rise of Aretha Franklin's career from a child singing in her father's church's choir to her international superstardom, RESPECT is the remarkable true story of the music icon's journey to find her voice.
- DirectorGeorge Tillman Jr.StarsJamal WoolardAnthony MackieDerek LukeThe life and death story of The Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Christopher Wallace), who came straight out of Brooklyn to take the world of rap music by storm.
- DirectorJeff TremaineStarsDouglas BoothIwan RheonColson BakerBased on the bestselling autobiography from Mötley Crüe, the film is an unflinching tale of success and excess as four misfits rise from the streets of Hollywood to the heights of international fame.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsMadonnaJonathan PryceAntonio BanderasThe hit musical based on the life of Eva Perón (Evita Duarte), a B-picture Argentinian actress who eventually became the wife of Argentinian president Juan Domingo Perón, and the most beloved and hated woman in Argentina.
- DirectorKevin SpaceyStarsKevin SpaceyKate BosworthJohn GoodmanA swooning study of "Mack the Knife" singer Bobby Darin and specifically his relationship with wife Sandra Dee.
- DirectorRodger GrossmanStarsShane WestRick GonzalezBijou PhillipsThe true-life story of Darby Crash, who became an L.A. punk icon after getting kicked out of high school and forming The Germs with a collection of friends who have little experience with their instruments or playing music.
- DirectorLeon IchasoStarsMarc AnthonyJennifer LopezJohn OrtizThe life story of Hector Lavoe who started the salsa movement in 1975 and brought it to the United States.
- DirectorJim McBrideStarsDennis QuaidWinona RyderJohn DoeThe life and career of wildly controversial rock 'n' roll star Jerry Lee Lewis.
- DirectorJim SheridanStars50 CentJoy BryantAdewale Akinnuoye-AgbajeA tale of an inner city drug dealer who turns away from a life of crime to pursue his passion of rap music.
- DirectorReinaldo Marcus GreenStarsKingsley Ben-AdirLashana LynchJames NortonThe story of how reggae icon Bob Marley overcame adversity, and the journey behind his revolutionary music.
- DirectorStephen WoolleyStarsLeo GregoryPaddy ConsidineDavid MorrisseyA chronicle of the sordid life and suspicious death of Rolling Stones co-founder Brian Jones, who was found in the bottom of his swimming pool weeks after being let go from the band.
- DirectorKasi LemmonsStarsNaomi AckieStanley TucciAshton SandersA joyous, emotional, heartbreaking celebration of the life and music of Whitney Houston, one of the greatest female R&B pop vocalists of all time, tracking her journey from obscurity to musical super stardom.
- DirectorLee DanielsStarsAndra DayTrevante RhodesGarrett HedlundFollows Holiday during her career as she is targeted by the Federal Department of Narcotics with an undercover sting operation led by black Federal Agent Jimmy Fletcher, with whom she has a tumultuous affair.
- DirectorMarc AbrahamStarsTom HiddlestonElizabeth OlsenMaddie HassonThe story of the country-western singer Hank Williams, who in his brief life created one of the greatest bodies of work in American music. The film chronicles his rise to fame and its tragic effect on his health and personal life.
- DirectorBenny BoomStarsDemetrius Shipp Jr.Danai GuriraKat GrahamTells the true and untold story of prolific rapper, actor, poet and activist Tupac Shakur.
- DirectorGabriel RangeStarsJohnny FlynnMarc MaronJena MaloneChronicles the young David Bowie's first visit to the US in 1971 - a trip that inspired the invention of his iconic alter ego Ziggy Stardust.
- DirectorSam Taylor-JohnsonStarsMarisa AbelaEddie MarsanJack O'ConnellThe life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time.