Top 100 Biography Movies List

#20 Biography Movie

American Gangster (2007) R

In 1970s America, a detective works to bring down the drug empire of Frank Lucas, a heroin kingpin from Manhattan, who is smuggling the drug into the country from the Far East.

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers:

Steven Zaillian, Mark Jacobson

Stars:

Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor

#19 Biography Movie

Amadeus (1984) R

The incredible story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, told by his peer and secret rival Antonio Salieri - now confined to an insane asylum.

Director:

Milos Forman

Writers:

Peter Shaffer

Stars:

F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge

#18 Biography Movie

Argo (2012) R

Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1980.

Director:

Ben Affleck

Writers:

Chris Terrio, Tony Mendez

Stars:

Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman

#17 Biography Movie

Snowden (2016) R

The NSA's illegal surveillance techniques are leaked to the public by one of the agency's employees, Edward Snowden, in the form of thousands of classified documents distributed to the press.

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writers:

Kieran Fitzgerald, Oliver Stone

Stars:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo

#16 Biography Movie

Downfall (2004) R

Traudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.

Director:

Oliver Hirschbiegel

Writers:

Bernd Eichinger, Joachim Fest

Stars:

Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Ulrich Matthes

#15 Biography Movie

Blow (2001) R

The story of George Jung, along with the Medellín Cartel, headed by Pablo Escobar established the American cocaine market in the 1970s in the United States.

Director:

Ted Demme

Writers:

Bruce Porter, David McKenna

Stars:

Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Franka Potente

#14 Biography Movie

The Aviator (2004) PG-13

A biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career from the late 1920s to the mid-1940s.

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

John Logan

Stars:

Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale

#13 Biography Movie

American Sniper (2014) R

Navy S.E.A.L. sniper Chris Kyle's pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. Back home to his wife and kids after four tours of duty, however, Chris finds that it is the war he can't leave behind.

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Jason Hall, Chris Kyle

Stars:

Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner

#12 Biography Movie

The Pianist (2002) R

A Polish Jewish musician struggles to survive the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto of World War II.

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Ronald Harwood, Wladyslaw Szpilman

Stars:

Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay

#11 Biography Movie

A Beautiful Mind (2001) PG-13

After John Nash, a brilliant but asocial mathematician, accepts secret work in cryptography, his life takes a turn for the nightmarish.

Director:

Ron Howard

Writers:

Akiva Goldsman, Sylvia Nasar

Stars:

Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly

#10 Biography Movie

Into the Wild (2007) R

After graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life.

Director:

Sean Penn

Writers:

Sean Penn, Jon Krakauer

Stars:

Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener

#9 Biography Movie

The Wolf of Wallstreet (2013) R

Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

Terence Winter, Jordan Belfort

Stars:

Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie

#8 Biography Movie

The Social Network (2010) PG-13

Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, but is later sued by two brothers who claimed he stole their idea, and the co-founder who was later squeezed out of the business.

Director:

David Fincher

Writers:

Aaron Sorkin, Ben Mezrich

Stars:

Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake

#7 Biography Movie

Braveheart (1995) R

When his secret bride is executed for assaulting an English soldier who tried to rape her, Sir William Wallace begins a revolt against King Edward I of England.

Director:

Mel Gibson

Writers:

Randall Wallace

Stars:

Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan

#6 Biography Movie

Raging Bull (1980) R

An emotionally self-destructive boxer's journey through life, as the violence and temper that leads him to the top in the ring destroys his life outside it.

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

Jake LaMotta, Joseph Carter

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci

#5 Biography Movie

Catch Me If You Can (2002) PG-13

The story of Frank Abagnale Jr., before his 19th birthday, successfully forged millions of dollars' worth of checks while posing as a Pan Am pilot, a doctor, and legal prosecutor as a seasoned and dedicated FBI agent pursues him.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Jeff Nathanson, Frank Abagnale Jr.

Stars:

Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken

#4 Biography Movie

Walk the Line (2005) PG-13

A 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.

Director:

James Mangold

Writers:

Johnny Cash

Stars:

Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin

#3 Biography Movie

Ray (2004) PG-13

The 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.

Director:

Taylor Hackford

Writers:

Ray Taylor Hackford, James L. White

Stars:

Jamie Foxx, Regina King, Kerry Washington

#2 Biography Movie

Goodfellas (1990) R

The story of Henry Hill and his life through the teen years into the years of mafia, covering his relationship with wife Karen Hill and his Mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVitto in the Italian-American crime syndicate.

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

Nicholas Pileggi

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci

#1 Biography Movie

Schindler's List (1993) R

In German-occupied Poland during World War II, Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazi Germans.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Thomas Keneally, Steven Zaillian

Stars:

Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley

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