Top 100 Biography Movies List

#60 Biography Movie

Girl, Interrupted (1999) R

Based on writer Susanna Kaysen's account of her 18-month stay at a mental hospital in the 1960s.

Director:

James Mangold

Writers:

Susanna Kaysen, James Mangold

Stars:

Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea DuVall

#59 Biography Movie

Invictus (2009) PG-13

Nelson Mandela, in his first term as the South African President, initiates a unique venture to unite the apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Anthony Peckham, John Carlin

Stars:

Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge

#58 Biography Movie

October Sky (1999) PG

The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.

Director:

Joe Johnston

Writers:

Homer H. Hickam Jr., Lewis Colick

Stars:

Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern

#57 Biography Movie

Capote (2005) R

In 1959, Truman Capote learns of the murder of a Kansas family and decides to write a book about the case. While researching for his novel In Cold Blood, Capote forms a relationship with one of the killers, Perry Smith, who is on death row.

Director:

Bennett Miller

Writers:

Dan Futterman, Gerald Clarke

Stars:

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Clifton Collins Jr., Catherine Keener

#56 Biography Movie

The Elephant Man (1980) PG

A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous facade, there is revealed a person of intelligence and sensitivity.

Director:

David Lynch

Writers:

Christopher De Vore, Eric Bergren

Stars:

Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft

#55 Biography Movie

Remember the Titans (2000) PG

The true story of a newly appointed African-American coach and his high school team on their first season as a racially integrated unit.

Director:

Boaz Yakin

Writers:

Gregory Allen Howard

Stars:

Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris

#54 Biography Movie

Captain Phillips (2013) PG-13

The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the U.S.-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.

Director:

Paul Greengrass

Writers:

Billy Ray, Richard Phillips

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman

#53 Biography Movie

Public Enemies (2009) R

The Feds try to take down notorious American gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd during a booming crime wave in the 1930s.

Director:

Michael Mann

Writers:

Ronan Bennett, Michael Mann

Stars:

Christian Bale, Johnny Depp, Christian Stolte

#52 Biography Movie

Ed Wood (1994) R

An ambitious but troubled movie director tries his best to fulfill his dream, despite his lack of support.

Director:

Tim Burton

Writers:

Rudolph Grey, Scott Alexander

Stars:

Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker

#51 Biography Movie

The King's Speech (2010) R

The story of King George VI of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it.

Director:

Tom Hooper

Writers:

David Seidler

Stars:

Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter

#50 Biography Movie

Donnie Brasco (1997) R

An FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob and finds himself identifying more with the mafia life, at the expense of his regular one.

Director:

Mark Osborne, John Stevenson

Writers:

Joseph D. Pistone, Richard Woodley

Stars:

Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen

#49 Biography Movie

Sully (2016) PG-13

The story of Chesley Sullenberger, an American pilot who became a hero after landing his damaged plane on the Hudson River in order to save the flight's passengers and crew.

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Todd Komarnicki, Chesley Sullenberger

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney

#48 Biography Movie

Straight Outta Compton (2015) R

The 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.

Director:

F. Gary Gray

Writers:

Jonathan Herman, Andrea Berloff

Stars:

O'Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell

#47 Biography Movie

Patton (1970) GP

The World War II phase of the career of the controversial American general, George S. Patton.

Director:

Franklin J. Schaffner

Writers:

Francis Ford Coppola, Edmund H. North

Stars:

George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Stephen Young

#46 Biography Movie

Man on the Moon (1999) R

The life and career of a legendary comedian, Andy Kaufman.

Director:

Milos Forman

Writers:

Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski

Stars:

Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, Gerry Becker

#45 Biography Movie

Rescue Dawn (2006) PG-13

A U.S. fighter pilot's epic struggle of survival after being shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam War.

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writers:

Werner Herzog

Stars:

Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies

#44 Biography Movie

Gandhi (1982) PG

Gandhi's character is fully explained as a man of nonviolence. Through his patience, he is able to drive the British out of the subcontinent. And the stubborn nature of Jinnah and his commitment towards Pakistan is portrayed.

Director:

Richard Attenborough

Writers:

John Briley

Stars:

Ben Kingsley, John Gielgud, Candice Bergen

#43 Biography Movie

Hacksaw Ridge (2016) R

WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people, and becomes the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a shot.

Director:

Mel Gibson

Writers:

Robert Schenkkan, Andrew Knight

Stars:

Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey

#42 Biography Movie

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) PG

The 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.

Director:

David Lean

Writers:

T.E. Lawrence, Robert Bolt

Stars:

Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn

#41 Biography Movie

Moneyball (2011) PG-13

Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players.

Director:

Bennett Miller

Writers:

Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin

Stars:

Brad Pitt, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill

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