The Best Biographical Films and TV shows (From Oldest to Newest)
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- DirectorElia KazanStarsMarlon BrandoJean PetersAnthony QuinnThe story of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, who led a rebellion against the corrupt, oppressive dictatorship of President Porfirio Díaz in the early 20th century.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsLouis CalhernMarlon BrandoJames MasonThe growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to participate in his plot to assassinate Caesar but they have both sorely underestimated Mark Antony.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsMarlon BrandoJean SimmonsMerle OberonThe rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France.
- DirectorCurtis BernhardtStarsGlenn FordEleanor ParkerRoger MooreThis movie chronicles Australian-born opera star Marjorie Lawrence's success, her battle with polio, and her eventual career comeback.
- DirectorSacha GuitryStarsJean-Pierre AumontJeanne BoitelPierre BrasseurNapoléon Bonaparte's life, loves and exceptional destiny from 1769 to 1821, but as seen through the eyes of Talleyrand, the cynical and ironic politician who once was the Emperor of France's Minister of Foreign Affairs.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsCharlton HestonYul BrynnerAnne BaxterMoses, raised as a prince of Egypt in the Pharaoh's household, learns of his true heritage as a Hebrew and his divine mission as the deliverer of his people from slavery.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMinoru ChiakiIsuzu YamadaA war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become lord of Spider's Web Castle.
- DirectorStanley KubrickAnthony MannStarsKirk DouglasLaurence OlivierJean SimmonsThe 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.
- DirectorGregory RatoffStarsRobert MorleyPhyllis CalvertRalph RichardsonPlaywright Oscar Wilde's homosexuality is exposed when he brings a libel action against his lover's father, leading to his own prosecution.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsCharlton HestonSophia LorenRaf ValloneThe fabled Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (a.k.a. El Cid) overcomes a family vendetta and court intrigue to defend Christian Spain against the Moors.
- 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.
- DirectorHenry LevinGeorge PalStarsLaurence HarveyClaire BloomKarlheinz BöhmThe story of Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, and three of their stories.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczRouben MamoulianStarsElizabeth TaylorRichard BurtonRex HarrisonQueen Cleopatra VII of Egypt experiences both triumph and tragedy as she attempts to resist the imperial ambitions of Rome.
- DirectorMarcello BaldiStarsNorman WoolandGianni GarkoLuz MárquezDavid of Bethlehem slays the giant and becomes a rival to King Saul.
- DirectorJames HillTom McGowanStarsVirginia McKennaBill TraversGeoffrey KeenThe story of George and Joy Adamson and the orphaned lion cub, Elsa, they adopt.
- 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.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsOmar SharifJack PalanceCesare DanovaAn intentionally noncommittal version of the Cuban revolution told through flashbacks, the film recounts Che's switch from doctor to politico in Castro's campaign.
- DirectorLeonard KastleDonald VolkmanStarsShirley StolerTony Lo BiancoMary Jane HigbyAn obese, embittered nurse doesn't mind if her toupee-wearing boyfriend romances and fleeces other women, as long as he takes her along on his con jobs.
- DirectorStuart BurgeStarsCharlton HestonJason RobardsJohn GielgudThe growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to participate in his plot to assassinate Caesar, but they have both sorely underestimated Mark Antony.
- DirectorMarvin J. ChomskyStarsGeorge HamiltonSue LyonBert FreedBiography of the famed motorcycle daredevil, much of which was filmed in his home town of Butte, Montana. The film depicts Knievel reflecting on major events in his life just before a big jump.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsJon FinchFrancesca AnnisMartin ShawA ruthlessly ambitious Scottish lord seizes the throne with the help of his scheming wife and a trio of witches.
- DirectorLuchino ViscontiStarsHelmut BergerRomy SchneiderTrevor HowardThe reign of the tormented Ludwig, king of Bavaria, from 1864 to 1886.
- DirectorJack CoufferStarsNigel DavenportSusan HampshireGeoffrey KeenWhen Elsa's three mischievous cubs begin wreaking havoc on the nearby villages, Joy and her husband are forced to move them hundreds of miles to a game preserve.
- DirectorJohn MiliusStarsWarren OatesBen JohnsonMichelle PhillipsJohn Dillinger and his gang go on a bank robbing spree across the midwest, but one G-Man is determined to bring him down.
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsJeff BridgesValerie PerrineGeraldine FitzgeraldA young hellraiser quits his moonshine business to try to become the best NASCAR racer the south has ever seen.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsTed NeeleyCarl AndersonYvonne EllimanFilm version of the musical stage play, presenting the last few weeks of Christ's life told in an anachronistic manner.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsSteve McQueenDustin HoffmanVictor JoryA French convict in the 1930s befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence in the South American penal colony on Devil's Island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsJames CoburnKris KristoffersonRichard JaeckelPat Garrett is hired as a lawman on behalf of a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid.
- 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.
- DirectorPhil KarlsonStarsJoe Don BakerElizabeth HartmanLeif GarrettBased on the life of Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser, who almost single-handily cleaned up his small town of crime and corruption, but at a personal cost of his family life and nearly his own life.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsBruno S.Walter LadengastBrigitte MiraA young man named Kaspar Hauser suddenly appears in Nuremberg in 1828, barely able to talk or walk, and bearing a strange note.
- DirectorBob FosseStarsDustin HoffmanValerie PerrineJan MinerThe story of acerbic 1960s comic Lenny Bruce, whose groundbreaking, no-holds-barred style and social commentary was often deemed by the Establishment as too obscene for the public.
- DirectorKen RussellStarsRobert PowellGeorgina HaleLee MontagueComposer Gustav Mahler's (Robert Powell) life, told in a series of flashbacks as he and his wife (Georgina Hale) discuss their failing marriage during a train journey.
- DirectorAlain ResnaisStarsJean-Paul BelmondoCharles BoyerFrançois PérierA swindler's activity indirectly caused a political crisis in France in the last years before World War II.
- DirectorMichael CacoyannisStarsKeith MichellTony Lo BiancoColleen DewhurstA movie telling the Biblical stories of the last of the Hebrew Patriarchs in the Book of Genesis.
- DirectorSteve CarverStarsBen GazzaraSusan BlakelyHarry GuardinoThe story of the rise and fall of the infamous Chicago gangster Al Capone and the control he exhibited over the city during the prohibition years.
- 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.
- DirectorJoseph LoseyStarsTopolEdward FoxColin BlakelyThis biopic is about Galileo Galilei, the seventeenth century Italian who laid the foundations of modern science. Galileo made himself one of the world's first telescopes and discovered the moons of Jupiter. He supported Copernicus' theory that the Earth revolved around the Sun. This brought him in conflict with the Catholic Church. By threatening him with torture, the Church forced him to recant his views in front of a tribunal, and sentenced him to house arrest. However, Galileo's trials and theories inspired others like Sir Isaac Newton and Johannes Kepler to prove that the Earth was not the center of the universe. Some years ago, the Pope accepted that Earth does revolve around the Sun and issued a rare apology for what the Church had done to Galileo. The Catholic Church recanted.
- DirectorNicholas SgarroStarsLynn RedgraveJean-Pierre AumontLovelady PowellIn the first of three films on the life of Xaviera Hollander, the famous hooker from Holland traces her career as madam of the biggest and most profitable bordellos in New York.
- DirectorMar LoStarsBetty Ting PeiDanny LeeSha WangThe story of action star Bruce Lee's life in the days leading up to untimely death.
- StarsDavid HuffmanMackenzie PhillipsLilia SkalaThe story of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, from early youth to his election as President of the United States, as told from Eleanor's point of view.
- DirectorSidney J. FurieStarsJames BrolinJill ClayburghAllen GarfieldA biography about the love affair between 1930s Hollywood superstars Clark Gable and Carole Lombard.
- DirectorRobert ButlerStarsMichael BrandonStephen McHattieBrooke AdamsA dramatization of the story of legendary movie actor James Dean. The film's writer, William Bast, had roomed with Dean in the early '50s, when both were trying to break into films as actors.
- StarsJoanne WoodwardSally FieldBrad DavisA young woman whose childhood was so harrowing to her that she developed sixteen different personalities is treated by a doctor.
- DirectorMoustapha AkkadStarsAnthony QuinnIrene PapasMichael AnsaraThis epic historical drama chronicles the life and times of Prophet Muhammad and serves as an introduction to early Islamic history.
- DirectorTom GriesMonte HellmanStarsMuhammad AliErnest BorgnineJohn MarleyMuhammad Ali plays himself in a reconstruction of the events that brought him to fame.
- DirectorRichard MarquandStarsStephen MacKennaRod CulbertsonJohn AltmanAn account of The Beatles during the Hamburg years, their signing with Brian Epstein and their inevitable rise during the early sixties.
- DirectorAndré TéchinéStarsIsabelle AdjaniMarie-France PisierIsabelle HuppertIn a small presbytery in Yorkshire, living under the watchful eyes of their aunt and father, a strict Anglican pastor, the Bronte sisters write their first works and quickly become literary sensations.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellShelley WintersBing RussellBiographical movie about the famous rock singer Elvis Presley.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsClint EastwoodPatrick McGoohanRoberts BlossomAlcatraz is the most secure prison of its time. It is believed that no one can ever escape from it, until three daring men make a possibly successful attempt at escaping from one of the most infamous prisons in the world.
- 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.
- DirectorJohn ByrumStarsNick NolteSissy SpacekJohn HeardThe life and friendship among the icons of the Beat Generation: Neal Cassady, Carolyn Cassady, and Jack Kerouac.
- DirectorBuzz KulikStarsSteve McQueenEli WallachKathryn HarroldBounty hunter Ralph "Papa" Thorson is receiving death threats from a criminal he helped put away. This while his girlfriend is about to give birth, an event he isn't looking forward to.
- 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.
- DirectorArt LinsonStarsPeter BoyleBill MurrayBruno KirbySemi-biographical film based on the experiences of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.
- DirectorHugh HudsonStarsBen CrossIan CharlesonNicholas FarrellTwo British track athletes, one a determined Jew and the other a devout Christian, are driven to win in the 1924 Olympics as they wrestle with issues of pride and conscience.
- 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.
- DirectorDaniel VigneStarsGérard DepardieuNathalie BayeMaurice BarrierIn medieval France, some villagers challenge a man's claim of identity when he (as he says) returns home from some time in the army.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsMeryl StreepKurt RussellCherA 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.
- StarsJohn SheaE.G. MarshallGeraldine FitzgeraldBiography of the 1961-1963 Presidency of John F. Kennedy with Martin Sheen and Blair Brown. Covers the momentous presidential years and the lives, loves, and triumphs of one of the most controversial families of the twentieth-century.
- DirectorAnthony PageStarsCheryl LaddLloyd BridgesDiane LaddThe fairy tale story of the actress who became a princess is told in this biography that traces her rise from Philadelphia socialite to Hollywood movie star.
- DirectorRoger DonaldsonStarsMel GibsonAnthony HopkinsLaurence OlivierFed up with their Captain's harsh discipline, a sailing ship's crew decides to take action.
- DirectorRoland JofféStarsSam WaterstonHaing S. NgorJohn MalkovichA journalist is trapped in Cambodia during tyrant Pol Pot's bloody 'Year Zero' cleansing campaign, which claimed the lives of two million 'undesirable' civilians.
- DirectorLee PhilipsStarsMax von SydowBelinda BauerStephen MachtThe long haired biblical strongman Samson falls in love with beautiful temptress Delilah in Philistine.
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsCherEric StoltzSam ElliottA teenager with a massive facial skull deformity and biker gang mother attempt to live as normal a life as possible under the circumstances.
- DirectorNicolas RoegStarsOliver ReedAmanda DonohoeGeorgina HaleMiddle-aged Gerald Kingsland advertises in a London paper for a female companion to spend a year with him on a desert island.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsKevin CostnerSean ConneryRobert De NiroDuring Prohibition, Treasury agent Eliot Ness sets out to stop ruthless Chicago gangster Al Capone, and assembles a small, incorruptible team to help him.
- DirectorLarry PeerceStarsSusan WaltersDale MidkiffLinda MillerThe story of Priscilla Presley's life with rock and roll star Elvis Presley.
- StarsSam WaterstonMary Tyler MooreRichard MulliganAfter arriving in Washington in 1861 after his election, Abraham Lincoln struggles with personal and political problems during his Presidency.
- DirectorChristopher CainStarsEmilio EstevezKiefer SutherlandLou Diamond PhillipsA group of young gunmen, led by Billy the Kid, become deputies to avenge the murder of the rancher who became their benefactor. But when Billy takes their authority too far, they become the hunted.
- DirectorRon SheltonStarsPaul NewmanLolita DavidovichJerry HardinA middle-aged Louisiana governor falls in love with a young stripper, which jeopardizes his political career and the radical policies which have made him a controversial figure.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsTom CruiseBryan LarkinRaymond J. BarryThe biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country for which he fought.
- DirectorPhilippe MoraStarsChristopher WalkenLindsay CrouseFrances SternhagenOn December 26th Whitley Strieber has a strange nightmare. In the following days, plagued by painful headaches, his behavior becomes increasingly erratic. Later, under hypnosis, he realizes that his dream was not a dream at all.
- DirectorLiliana CavaniStarsMickey RourkeHelena Bonham CarterAndréa FerréolDocudrama about the life of St-Francis of Assisi.
- DirectorJim McBrideStarsDennis QuaidWinona RyderJohn DoeThe life and career of wildly controversial rock 'n' roll star Jerry Lee Lewis.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsKenneth BranaghDerek JacobiSimon ShepherdIn the midst of the Hundred Years War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.
- 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.
- DirectorGeoff MurphyStarsEmilio EstevezKiefer SutherlandLou Diamond PhillipsBilly the Kid and his band of outlaws are pursued across New Mexico territory by Sheriff Pat Garrett, whom the young gunslingers must face-off with if they are to reach the safety of the border.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsWarren BeattyAnnette BeningHarvey KeitelThe story of how Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel started Las Vegas.
- 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.
- DirectorJames LapineStarsJudy DavisHugh GrantMandy PatinkinIn 1830s France, pianist/composer Frédéric Chopin is pursued romantically by the determined, individualistic woman who uses the name George Sand.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsKevin CostnerGary OldmanJack LemmonNew Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.
- DirectorAntoni RibasStarsLorenzo QuinnSarah DouglasMichael CatlinBiography of famed artist Salvador Dali, focusing mainly on his relationship with girlfriend Gala and the time they spent in New York City in 1940 and his early days in Spain collaborating with filmmaker Luis Bunuel.
- DirectorHark TsuiStarsJet LiRosamund KwanBiao YuenLegendary martial arts hero Wong Fei-Hung fights against foreign forces' plundering of China. When Aunt Yee arrives back from America, Wong Fei-Hung assumes the role of her protector.
- DirectorAlain CorneauStarsGérard DepardieuJean-Pierre MarielleAnne BrochetThe story of Monsieur de Sainte Colombe, fierce and somber man, grand master of the viola da gamba and professor of Marin Marais, prestigious musician in the court of Louis XIV.
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsJohn GoodmanKelly McGillisTrini AlvaradoBabe Ruth becomes a baseball legend but is unheroic to those who know him.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsRobert Downey Jr.Geraldine ChaplinPaul RhysAn elderly Charlie Chaplin discusses his autobiography with his editor, recounting his amazing journey from his poverty-stricken childhood to world-wide success after the ingenious invention of the Little Tramp.
- DirectorDanny DeVitoStarsJack NicholsonDanny DeVitoArmand AssanteThe story of the notorious American labor union figure Jimmy Hoffa, who organizes a bitter strike, makes deals with members of the organized crime syndicate and mysteriously disappears in 1975.
- 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.
- DirectorRob CohenStarsJason Scott LeeLauren HollyRobert WagnerA fictionalized account of the life of the martial arts superstar.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorRobert BorisStarsRob LoweBill PaxtonRandy TravisWestern starring Rob Lowe and Bill Paxton, based on the lives of Frank and Jesse James. After the Civil War Frank and Jesse return to their family's farm. When their younger brother is murdered they embark on a mission for revenge.
- DirectorMel GibsonStarsMel GibsonSophie MarceauPatrick McGoohanScottish warrior William Wallace leads his countrymen in a rebellion to free his homeland from the tyranny of King Edward I of England.
- DirectorScott KalvertStarsLeonardo DiCaprioLorraine BraccoMarilyn SokolA teenager finds his dreams of becoming a basketball star threatened after he free falls into the harrowing world of drug addiction.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroSharon StoneJoe PesciIn Las Vegas, two best friends - a casino executive and a mafia enforcer - compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.
- DirectorJames IvoryStarsNick NolteGreta ScacchiGwyneth PaltrowWidower Thomas Jefferson (3rd US president 1801-09) lives in Paris 1785-90 with his daughter. He has a pretty slave girl accompany his other daughter to France. He has an alleged affair with her resulting in children.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsAnthony HopkinsJoan AllenPowers BootheA biographical story of former U.S. President Richard Nixon, from his days as a young boy, to his eventual Presidency, which ended in shame.
- 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.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsWoody HarrelsonCourtney LoveEdward NortonThe story of controversial pornography publisher Larry Flynt, and how he became a defender of free speech.