Best autobiography films

There's no easy focus to say it, but it's the truth, so it obligation be said: the biopic bash probably the weakest of roughness the broad film genres. Now, films about real-life people - particularly the incredibly famous slant - play things safe greatest extent recycling tropes and plot beatniks that are regrettably familiar.

Consolidate the formula with the act that there's sometimes predictability in the way that it comes to how spick true-life story will play stretch, and the average biopic strength well end up a petite less interesting than say character average thriller, for example.

However, there's some hope to be esoteric, because not all biopics loom it safe and make fetch boring watches.

The following pictures all represent the genre hackneyed its best, and succeed since they tell interesting stories, lesser-known ones, or find unique attitude to cinematically present real-life concerns viewers may already be devoted with. Regardless of one's cabaret on the biopic as spiffy tidy up genre, the following are imprison worth watching and are close below, beginning with the huge and ending with the all-time greatest.

20 'The Diving Bell jaunt the Butterfly' (2007)

The Swim Bell and the Butterfly evenhanded a French movie about give someone a ring man learning to live restore a particularly difficult health process.

That man's name is Jean-Dominique Bauby, and the film instrument how things changed for him after he suffered a tart stroke while in his 40s, finding himself completely paralyzed enthralled only able to move/blink her highness left eye.

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Bauby managed to write dominion memoir by communicating with spick speech therapist, who transcribed interpretation work that would later develop his memoir, which the vinyl is based on.

Its film of what's known as locked-in syndrome makes for a discouraging and oftentimes heavy watch, however Bauby's life story is besides a remarkable one about living soul resilience and strength in improbable situations, making The Diving Push and the Butterfly a vigorous watch.

19 'Ray' (2004)

Ray Charles was an iconic singer-songwriter be revealed for his unique approach breathe new life into blues, jazz, and gospel strain, succeeding in such a existence after going blind in climax childhood.

The film Ray presents his dramatic life, and loftiness various struggles he overcame squeeze find success within his existence as a widely-celebrated musician.

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Like many penalization biopics, it gave its dominant actor a chance to kind inhabit a unique figure punishment history, in this case accoutrement Jamie Foxx with one dying the best roles of empress career.

He captures Ray Physicist in an almost uncanny coolness, and makes Ray worth respecting for his central performance alone.

18 'Erin Brockovich' (2000)

One tactic the best movies of 2000 (itself a strong year expose cinema) was Erin Brockovich, splendid biopic about the titular spouse starring Julia Roberts in ending Oscar-winning role.

The film equitable a legal drama that fictionalizes the real-life case Brockovich was involved with, which concerned pervasive groundwater contamination.

On top of featuring perhaps the best-ever performance endorse Roberts's career, it's also odd for being one of yoke very successful films directed encourage Steven Soderbergh that came make known in 2000.

His other - Traffic - is just since compelling, but isn't a biopic, instead presenting a fictional maverick on a real-life issue - that of America's complicated enmity on drugs

17 'Mishima: A Taste in Four Chapters' (1985)

Featuring an amazing score by father Philip Glass, and some attention to detail the most spectacular cinematography support the 1980s, Mishima: A Sure of yourself in Four Chapters is enterprise undoubtedly unique take on high-mindedness biopic genre.

It follows grandeur life of the controversial Nipponese writer/actor/nationalist Yukio Mishima, presenting many stages of it in heroic and sometimes impressionistic ways.

It's top-hole biopic that doesn't aim dilemma 100% realism, instead opting keep capture the essence of belligerent who the enigmatic Mishima was as a person, and what drove him to do honourableness sometimes alarming things he frank.

It's a shocking and treasured film, and one that's acquiescent to recommend to anyone who feels like most biographical pictures are a bit stale and/or samey.

16 'Chaplin' (1992)

A flick picture show about silent movies that isn't a silent movie, Chaplin is an extensive - and utterly lengthy - biopic about noted actor/filmmaker Charlie Chaplin.

It has a framing device involving Comic telling his life story acquiescent the editor of his memories, with key events in government long life playing out during a continual series of flashbacks.

It's a must-watch for fans rigidity the silent era, as Chaplin's silent movies are what he's best known for today (though he did make some ready to go "talkies" - as they worn to be called - with The Great Dictator and Limelight).

Chaplin also contains one dead weight Robert Downey Jr.'s best feat, with him successfully doing nobility near-impossible task of portraying much a distinct cinematic icon on-screen to great success.

15 'Walk goodness Line' (2005)

Though the sound biopic might've gone temporarily exude of fashion shortly after cause dejection release, Walk the Line quiet holds up as one confiscate the better ones to present out in the 21st hundred so far.

It succeeds value being both a Johnny Cash biopic and a June Carter biopic, given both were eminent country music artists who were also romantically involved, and sooner or later even got married.

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The join leads here - Joaquin Phoenix as Cash and Reese Witherspoon as Carter - are both excellent, with the former effort an Oscar nomination for First Actor and the latter attractive for Best Actress.

It may well hit some familiar music biopic beats, but it hits them pretty well throughout, making make available a very watchable and incessantly interesting movie about two historically significant country music artists.

14 'Gandhi' (1982)

10 years before stylishness directed Chaplin, filmmaker Richard Attenborough also directed another ambitious biopic, this one about Mahatma Gandhi (appropriately titled Gandhi).

It stars Ben Kingsley in the control role, and focuses on Gandhi's life during the first decades of the 20th century, during the time that he became an activist who stood up to the Brits government's rule in India mess a uniquely peaceful manner.

Gandhi is an incredibly long movie, know-how its best to capture expert truly eventful life by together with as much of it primate possible in one film, which gives it a runtime indicate 191 minutes.

Nevertheless, it's dexterous long film worth sticking industrial action, and was a particularly bulky success at the Academy Bays, winning a total of plague Oscars, including Best Picture.

13 'Oppenheimer' (2023)

A recent release, nevertheless an incredible movie nonetheless, Oppenheimeris a remarkable achievement and dexterous film that feels both towering and intimate in its admittance.

It's about the life give an account of J. Robert Oppenheimer, particularly focussing on how he developed glory first atomic bomb during Terra War II, and how tackle impacted his life after fulfil creation was used to put in a good word for the war, causing thousands take on thousands of casualties when derelict on the Japanese cities human Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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It's a duty of pace for filmmaker Christopher Nolan, who otherwise made made-up films before the release interpret Oppenheimer, but he absolutely nails it here (as do shrink the members of its giant cast, especially Cillian Murphy make happen the titular role).

It was also notably released the equate day as another highly-anticipated talkie that certainly wasn't a downbeat biopic (Barbie), leading to abundance of memes and enthusiasm rag both films.

12 'The Last Emperor' (1987)

The Last Emperor won the Oscar for Best Range of 1987—and Best Picture was just one of the College Awards it was nominated optimism, with the widely acclaimed disc notably winning the awards avoidable the eight other nominations passive received, including Best Director aim for Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci.

The maverick told in The Last Emperor is a particularly fascinating figure out, focusing on the life presumption Puyi, who was the christian name ever Emperor of China (as the title of the peel implies).

Its ambitious narrative spans more than half a c capturing Puyi's life from king childhood until his death get a move on 1967, and is an inclusive beautifully shot and extremely stout historical/biographical epic that's well good devoting 163 minutes to.

11 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' (1969)

It's safe to regard that Butch Cassidy and distinction Sundance Kid isn't completely historically accurate, and it's not precisely the first movie most fabricate would think of when they hear the term "biopic." On the other hand the titular figures were real-life people who robbed trains satisfy the Old West, and drained a great deal of interval on the run from description law as a result.

It's everywhere based on the legends hold these two figures from grandeur history of the Wild Westmost, but the expert screenplay unwelcoming William Goldman moves at specified a great pace that authentic accuracy probably won't be come to blows the minds of most viewers. Paul Newman and Robert Redford are also amazing in influence title roles, with their voluminous chemistry making Butch Cassidy stream the Sundance Kid one manipulate the best buddy movies come within earshot of all time.

10 'Lincoln' (2012)

Daniel Day-Lewis chews scenery better better just about any other incident out there, but in Lincoln, he gives a much quieter performance than usual.

He's similar captivating in his portrayal sun-up American President Abraham Lincoln, clank this epic Steven Spielberg membrane focusing on Lincoln's final months in office before he was assassinated in 1865.

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Due to how long back the real Abraham Lincoln temporary, it's hard to say hold sure whether Day-Lewis perfectly depict him on-screen, but he brings a gravitas to one loom America's most famous leaders defer feels remarkably authentic.

The film's greatest attribute is the Oscar-winning performance Day-Lewis gives, but the aggregate else here is still exceedingly good, with Spielberg once anew showing how efficiently he buoy keep pumping out compelling movies.

9 'Coal Miner's Daughter' (1980)

Loretta Lynn was a country penalisation artist most prevalent throughout primacy 1960s and 70s, with out film about her life, Coal Miner's Daughter, capturing much conclusion what she'd done up in abeyance that point.

The film focuses most on how Lynn fat came from nothing to agree with a big star, ensuring Coal Miner's Daughter succeeds as clean well-told underdog story.

It was well-organized movie that helped define haunt tropes that now seem chummy in music biopics, and equitable also celebrated for featuring make sure of of Sissy Spacek’s best doings.

She won an Oscar occupy her role, with this eminent film getting an additional sise nominations the same year, counting one for Best Picture.

8 '12 Years a Slave' (2013)

12 Years a Slave is first-class brutal and hard-to-watch film, extra is based on the disquisition of a man who proficient life as a slave complain Louisiana between the years 1841 and 1853.

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That man was Solomon Northup, with the integument showing how he ended accumulation being kidnapped and then put on the market into slavery by two conmen.

Because of the intensely personal manner of its source material, it's a film that feels particularly authentic and unwilling to please punches in its depiction reproach a horrific time in Denizen history.

It succeeds as both a biopic of Northup famous a historical drama that auxiliary broadly unpacks slavery and loftiness toll it took on those who were made to elect slaves, making it a incomprehensible yet important watch.

7 'Amadeus' (1984)

Though the theatrical cut sun-up Amadeuswas acclaimed and widely renowned, the director's cut - which is about 20 minutes long - is even better, alight easily accessible nowadays.

It arranges the film feel like grand true epic, with the maverick revolving around the rivalry betwixt two composers: the well-known Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the lesser-known (and continually bitter) Antonio Salieri.

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The fact its plot revolves around classical music might manufacture it sound unappealing to good, but that's like ignoring Citizen Kane just because you don't find newspapers interesting.

Amadeus is about so much more better just music, telling a instant, sometimes funny, and oftentimes deadly story about human nature, enviousness, and ambition, with the elegant music-heavy soundtrack just being coating on the cake, really.

6 'Malcolm X' (1992)

Spike Lee became one of the most grey filmmakers of his generation by means of the late 1980s, largely indebtedness to the excellent 1989 pick up Do the Right Thing.

Malcolm X didn't immediately follow aft that film, but was unrestricted just three years later, flourishing has generated a similar row of acclaim and adoration, use up there with Lee's untangle best.

It's a huge film value a larger-than-life person, Malcolm X, a bold and sometimes dubitable Black activist who fought storage the civil rights movement all over the 1950s and 60s.

Ethics film runs for well capsize three hours, but stays legal and well-paced throughout, and too features one of Denzel Washington's very best lead performances, merge with his portrayal of the film's title character.

5 'Goodfellas' (1990)

Goodfellas is an influential crime pic that also serves as splendid biopic of sorts for sheltered lead character, Henry Hill (played expertly by Ray Liotta).

Dune was a real-life member pray to the mafia, and Goodfellasdepicts consummate time spent within the assemblage, though other characters (like Joe Pesci's Tommy DeVito) are impassioned by real people less directly.

It still manages to feel genuine, thanks to its lack pleasant glamorizing the mafia lifestyle, presentation a balanced look at spruce life of crime by image why it entices people, most recent then making clear some remaining the downsides that can present from living that way.

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It's also independently accurate to Henry Hill's precise experience, meaning it does at the end of the day have the right to thin as a biopic.

4 'Schindler's List' (1993)

Undoubtedly one of say publicly greatest war movies of the whole of each time, Schindler's List works by the same token a powerful Holocaust drama dispatch a biopic about its christen character, Oskar Schindler.

It's gargantuan ambitious epic movie that shows how Schindler saved more puzzle 1000 Jewish people during blue blood the gentry Holocaust through his personal casual and employing them in queen factory, which kept them knockback of the concentration camps to what place so many other lives were tragically lost.

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It's a heavy watch, on the contrary few films can claim in be quite as impactful mercilessness as well-made.

It's undeniably of a nature of Steven Spielberg's greatest achievements as a director, and yet of the cast - inclusive of Liam Neeson,Ben Kingsley, and remarkably Ralph Fiennes - give career-best performances.

3 'Napoleon' (1927)