A biopic, is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character’s real name is used. They differ from films "based on a true story" or “historical films" in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their lives. Music bio-pics shows either the artist or group come togehter, their rise to prominence and their fall from glory. With that being said I'm going to bring you my top 10 favorite bio-pics of all-time. These movies are ranked 11-20 so when you see number 5 it is actually number 15.You can see my other list here. So without further ado...
10. Chaplin
This is an amazing look at the life of one of the greatest comedic actors of all-time. With the use of flashback, an elderly Chaplin (played by Robert Downey Jr.) discusses his autobiography with his editor (played by Anthony Hopkins), who urges him to be more vulnerable and emotionally honest with his memoirs while journeying through his poverty-stricken childhood, closest friendships, many marriages, merciless pursuit by J. Edgar Hoover (played by Kevin Dunn), and ingenious invention of "The Little Tramp." Highlighted works such as The Gold Rush (1925) and The Great Dictator (1940) illustrate significant turning points in Chaplin's prolific filmography. Chaplin was nominated for 3 Academy Awards including Best Actor, Best Original Score and Best Art Direction and it has a rating of 57% on rottentomatoes.com.
9. Erin Brockovich
This is an magnificent film and it shows never to give up in something you believe in no matter how bad life can get. Erin Brockovich (played by Julia Roberts) is a single mother of three who, after losing a personal injury lawsuit, asks her lawyer, Ed Masry (played by Albert Finney), if he can help her find a job. Ed gives her work as a file clerk in his office, and she runs across some information on a little-known case filed against Pacific Gas and Electric. Erin begins digging into the particulars of the case, convinced that the facts simply don't add up, and persuades Ed to allow her to do further research; in time, she discovers a systematic cover-up of the industrial poisoning of a city's water supply, which threatens the health of the entire community. Erin Brockovich was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Screenplay while winning the award for Best Actress and it has a rating of 84% on rottentomatoes.com.
8. 8 Mile
This is a fantastic film and it one of best in-depth looks at one of the controversial muscians of all-time. No matter whom we are, no matter where we live, we're all bound by borders. Many of us are content to live within these borders--others are simply forced to exist within them. But some of us need to break out, burst through, even if what is on the other side is both frightening and unknown. From this comes the tale of one young man's dilemma as he navigates his way through his colliding worlds. Set against Detroit's hip-hop scene in 1995, the story centers on Jimmy Smith Jr (played by Eminem)., a young white rapper, who struggles to find his voice. The people of Detroit know '8 Mile' as the city limit or a border. It is also a psychological dividing line that separates Jimmy from where and who he wants to be, as he struggles to find the strength and courage to transcend his boundaries. 8 Mile won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and it has a rating of 76% on rottentomatoes.com.
7. My Left Foot
This film is one of the best stories to root for the underdog. Christy Brown (played by Daniel Day-Lewis) is born with crippling cerebral palsy into a poor, working-class Irish family. Able only to control movement in his left foot and to speak in guttural sounds, he is mistakenly believed to be retarded for the first 10 years of his life. Later, through the help of his strong-willed mother (played by Brenda Fricker), a dedicated teacher, and his own courage and determination, Christy not only learns to grapple with life's simple physical tasks and complex psychological pains, but he also develops into a brilliant painter, poet and author. My Left Foot was nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Actor, Picture, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay and Director, while winning 2 (Best Actor and Supporting Actress) and it has a rating of 100% on rottentomatoes.com.
6. The Social Network
This a true story that lets you see the invention of the top social media site in the world. Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg (played by Jesse Eisenberg) creates the social networking site that would be come known as Facebook, but later is sued by twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who claimed that he stole their idea and the cofounder of the site Eduardo Saverin (played by Andrew Garfield) who was later squeezed out of the business. The Social Network was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including best Picture, Actor, Cinematography,Director, Film Editing, Original Score, Sound and Adapted Screenplay, while winning 3 (Best Adapted Screenplay, Original Score and Film Editing) and it has a rating of 96% on rottentomatoes.com.
5. In the Name of the Father
This film shows just how corrupt a justice system can be. It is based on the true life story of the Guildford Four, four people named Gerry Conlon (played by Daniel Day-Lewis), Paul Hill (played by John Lynch), Paddy Armstrong (played by Mark Sheppard) and Carole Richardson (played by Beatie Edney) are falsely convicted of the IRA's Guildford Pub bombings which killed four off-duty British soldiers and a civilian. In The Name of the Father was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Actor, Picture, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Director, Film Editing and Writing and it has a rating of 84% on rottentomatoes.com.
4. Argo
This film is just brilliant and is one of the only films that I agree should have won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, CIA agent Tony Mendez (played by Ben Affleck) launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1980. Argo was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Original Score, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Film Editing, Picture, Adapted Screenplay and Supporting Actor, while winning 3 (Best Picture,Adapted Screenplay and Film Editing) and it has a rating of 96% on rottentomatoes.com.
3. Lawless
This film is action-packed with some great storytelling and amazing performances. Lawless is the true story of the infamous Bondurant Brothers: bootlegging siblings who made a run for the American Dream in Prohibition-era Virginia. In this epic gangster tale, inspired by true-life tales of author Matt Bondurant's family in his novel "The Wettest County in the World", the loyalty of three brothers is put to the test against the backdrop of the nation's most notorious crime wave. Lawless has a rating of 67% on rottentomatoes.com.
2. Zodiac
This is a fantastic film and a great insight into one of the biggest manhunts/unsolved mysteries of all-time. As a serial killer terrifies the San Francisco Bay Area and taunts police with his ciphers and letters, investigators in four jurisdictions search for the murderer. The case will become an obsession for four men as their lives and careers are built and destroyed by the endless trail of clues. Zodiac has a rating of 89% on rottentomatoes.com.
1. The Wolf of Wall Street
This an outrageous and and fun film to watch over and over again. From the American dream to corporate greed, Joradn Belfort (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) goes from penny stocks and righteousness to IPOs and a life of corruption in the late 80s. Excess success and affluence in his early twenties as founder of the brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont warranted Belfort the title "The Wolf of Wall Street." The Wolf of Wall Street was nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay and it has a rating of 77% on rottentomatoes.com.
10. Chaplin
This is an amazing look at the life of one of the greatest comedic actors of all-time. With the use of flashback, an elderly Chaplin (played by Robert Downey Jr.) discusses his autobiography with his editor (played by Anthony Hopkins), who urges him to be more vulnerable and emotionally honest with his memoirs while journeying through his poverty-stricken childhood, closest friendships, many marriages, merciless pursuit by J. Edgar Hoover (played by Kevin Dunn), and ingenious invention of "The Little Tramp." Highlighted works such as The Gold Rush (1925) and The Great Dictator (1940) illustrate significant turning points in Chaplin's prolific filmography. Chaplin was nominated for 3 Academy Awards including Best Actor, Best Original Score and Best Art Direction and it has a rating of 57% on rottentomatoes.com.
9. Erin Brockovich
This is an magnificent film and it shows never to give up in something you believe in no matter how bad life can get. Erin Brockovich (played by Julia Roberts) is a single mother of three who, after losing a personal injury lawsuit, asks her lawyer, Ed Masry (played by Albert Finney), if he can help her find a job. Ed gives her work as a file clerk in his office, and she runs across some information on a little-known case filed against Pacific Gas and Electric. Erin begins digging into the particulars of the case, convinced that the facts simply don't add up, and persuades Ed to allow her to do further research; in time, she discovers a systematic cover-up of the industrial poisoning of a city's water supply, which threatens the health of the entire community. Erin Brockovich was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Screenplay while winning the award for Best Actress and it has a rating of 84% on rottentomatoes.com.
8. 8 Mile
This is a fantastic film and it one of best in-depth looks at one of the controversial muscians of all-time. No matter whom we are, no matter where we live, we're all bound by borders. Many of us are content to live within these borders--others are simply forced to exist within them. But some of us need to break out, burst through, even if what is on the other side is both frightening and unknown. From this comes the tale of one young man's dilemma as he navigates his way through his colliding worlds. Set against Detroit's hip-hop scene in 1995, the story centers on Jimmy Smith Jr (played by Eminem)., a young white rapper, who struggles to find his voice. The people of Detroit know '8 Mile' as the city limit or a border. It is also a psychological dividing line that separates Jimmy from where and who he wants to be, as he struggles to find the strength and courage to transcend his boundaries. 8 Mile won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and it has a rating of 76% on rottentomatoes.com.
7. My Left Foot
This film is one of the best stories to root for the underdog. Christy Brown (played by Daniel Day-Lewis) is born with crippling cerebral palsy into a poor, working-class Irish family. Able only to control movement in his left foot and to speak in guttural sounds, he is mistakenly believed to be retarded for the first 10 years of his life. Later, through the help of his strong-willed mother (played by Brenda Fricker), a dedicated teacher, and his own courage and determination, Christy not only learns to grapple with life's simple physical tasks and complex psychological pains, but he also develops into a brilliant painter, poet and author. My Left Foot was nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Actor, Picture, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay and Director, while winning 2 (Best Actor and Supporting Actress) and it has a rating of 100% on rottentomatoes.com.
6. The Social Network
This a true story that lets you see the invention of the top social media site in the world. Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg (played by Jesse Eisenberg) creates the social networking site that would be come known as Facebook, but later is sued by twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who claimed that he stole their idea and the cofounder of the site Eduardo Saverin (played by Andrew Garfield) who was later squeezed out of the business. The Social Network was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including best Picture, Actor, Cinematography,Director, Film Editing, Original Score, Sound and Adapted Screenplay, while winning 3 (Best Adapted Screenplay, Original Score and Film Editing) and it has a rating of 96% on rottentomatoes.com.
5. In the Name of the Father
This film shows just how corrupt a justice system can be. It is based on the true life story of the Guildford Four, four people named Gerry Conlon (played by Daniel Day-Lewis), Paul Hill (played by John Lynch), Paddy Armstrong (played by Mark Sheppard) and Carole Richardson (played by Beatie Edney) are falsely convicted of the IRA's Guildford Pub bombings which killed four off-duty British soldiers and a civilian. In The Name of the Father was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Actor, Picture, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Director, Film Editing and Writing and it has a rating of 84% on rottentomatoes.com.
4. Argo
This film is just brilliant and is one of the only films that I agree should have won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, CIA agent Tony Mendez (played by Ben Affleck) launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1980. Argo was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Original Score, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Film Editing, Picture, Adapted Screenplay and Supporting Actor, while winning 3 (Best Picture,Adapted Screenplay and Film Editing) and it has a rating of 96% on rottentomatoes.com.
3. Lawless
This film is action-packed with some great storytelling and amazing performances. Lawless is the true story of the infamous Bondurant Brothers: bootlegging siblings who made a run for the American Dream in Prohibition-era Virginia. In this epic gangster tale, inspired by true-life tales of author Matt Bondurant's family in his novel "The Wettest County in the World", the loyalty of three brothers is put to the test against the backdrop of the nation's most notorious crime wave. Lawless has a rating of 67% on rottentomatoes.com.
2. Zodiac
This is a fantastic film and a great insight into one of the biggest manhunts/unsolved mysteries of all-time. As a serial killer terrifies the San Francisco Bay Area and taunts police with his ciphers and letters, investigators in four jurisdictions search for the murderer. The case will become an obsession for four men as their lives and careers are built and destroyed by the endless trail of clues. Zodiac has a rating of 89% on rottentomatoes.com.
1. The Wolf of Wall Street
This an outrageous and and fun film to watch over and over again. From the American dream to corporate greed, Joradn Belfort (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) goes from penny stocks and righteousness to IPOs and a life of corruption in the late 80s. Excess success and affluence in his early twenties as founder of the brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont warranted Belfort the title "The Wolf of Wall Street." The Wolf of Wall Street was nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay and it has a rating of 77% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what are some of your favorite bio-pics and what do you think of my list? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
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