Film and TV Now’s Top 10 Musical Biopics

1)  Ray (2004) – Ray Charles

It may be no surprise to see this film at the top of the list. It was a movie that took director Taylor Hackford 15 years to make and it was well worth the wait.  Jamie Foxx gave a stunning performance as Ray Charles, which won him an Oscar and kick-started his acting career.

The film was not only a success for Foxx, but it proved to be a box office hit, grossing over $120m. Unfortunately, Charles never had the opportunity to see the film, as he died months before the premiere.

2) Get On Up (2014) – James Brown

James Brown is the Godfather of Soul and with such classic hits like Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine’, ‘I Got You’, ‘The Payback’ and ‘Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag’ it was only a matter of time until his life story was given a biopic treatment.

In the new film, Chadwick Boseman delivers a stunning performance filling the boots of a very infamous and renowned singer who oozed with captivating stage presence and legendary status. After a poor, troubled youth (including a stint in prison), Brown became a gospel singer and was part of various groups including The Famous Flames before evolving into a solo artist whose live shows are still spoken about today. The films focuses on his rise from poverty to superstardom, and his turbulent early family life. Directed by The Help’s Tate Taylor, it also features Nelsan Ellis, Octavia Spencer, Viola Davis, Dan Aykroyd and Lennie James.

The film is due for release on November 21st.

 

3) What’s Love Got To Do With It (1993) – Tina Turner

As biopics go, this one proved to be a huge hit, but also a controversial one. It was a gripping and emotional film, which captured the essence of Tina Turner‘s fighting spirit and inner strength, as well as her incredible talent and pure star-quality after her battles in her marriage and personal survival. The most memorable aspect of the film by far was Angela Bassett’s powerhouse performance, who was superbly supported by Laurence Fishburne as the domineering Ike.

 

4) The Buddy Holly Story (1978) – Buddy Holly

Gary Busey may be largely known with current audiences for his reality TV role in BIG BROTHER, but prior to that he was a widely-respected actor. His most acclaimed role was Buddy Holly in this 1978 movie, where he actually sang his own songs and shed a lot of weight to look right for the part.  All in all, this film was deemed as largely accurate in portraying the singers life and Busey deserved his Oscar nomination, even though he lost out to Jon Voight.

 

5) Walk The Line (2005) – Johnny Cash

Telling the full, legendary story of the man in black was always going to be a difficult task to fit into one film and as a result, WALK THE LINE focused purely on the early years of Johnny Cash. Despite many names being put forward to take on the icon, Joaquin Phoenix turned in a towering performance as the country legend, with Reese Witherspoon matching him as the great June Carter. It came as a big surprise to some to see both actors produce such unexpected fantastic vocal performances.  The film also portrayed Johnny’s many issues with drug addiction and was, at times, quite difficult to watch. 

 

6) The Pianist (2002) – Wladyslaw Szpilman

THE PIANIST is a 2002 historical drama/biopic film co-produced and directed by Roman Polanski starring Adrien Brody. It is based on the autobiographical book The Pianist, a World War II memoir by the Polish-Jewish pianist and composer Władysław Szpilman. 

THE PIANIST met with significant critical praise and received multiple awards and nominations. At the 75th Academy Awards, the film won Oscars for Best Director (Polanski), Best Adapted Screenplay (Ronald Harwood) and Best Actor (Brody), and was also nominated for four other awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture. It also won the BAFTA Award for Best Film and BAFTA Award for Best Direction in 2003.

This powerful, triumphant film follows Szpilman’s heroic and inspirational journey of survival with the unlikely help of a sympathetic German officer. It is an emotional roller coaster of a film that will sweep you away, along with the captivating music.

 

7) I’m Not There (2007) – Bob Dylan

Trying to tell the life story of Bob Dylan was never going to be easy and I’M NOT THERE took a cleverly alternative approach instead. The film used six different actors to depict different elements of the ever-changing Dylan’s life. It was a successful way to tackle a compelling and chameleonic life, and also features the late Heath Ledger.  Starring the likes of Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Ben Whishaw, and Marcus Carl Franklin as various iterations of Bob Dylan, this genius catalog of aliases not only encapsulates the singer’s notorious deconstruction of identity but also the era we know as “the 1960s.”

 

8) Nowhere Boy (2009) – John Lennon

Nowhere Boy is ever faithful to John Lennon‘s teenage years. The legendary singer is played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson who isn’t doing well at his school – Quarry Bank High. “You’re going nowhere,” snarls his headmaster. “Is nowhere for geniuses, sir?” replies Lennon. The movie told the story of John Lennon’s life as a youngster between 1955-1960, eschewing the more famous era of his life and thus becoming arguably more intriguing. 

The soon-to-be Beatle had an unconventional upbringing, being raised by his Aunt Mimi when his mother Julia proved unable to cope with looking after him as her relationship with Lennon’s father fell apart. The film picks up the story when the teenage Lennon renews his relationship with his mother, and begins to develop his musical leanings, forming the Quarrymen and setting out on the path to being part of one of the icons of the 20th century.

 

9) The Karen Carpenter Story (1989) – Karen Carpenter

THE KAREN CARPENTER STORY is an American TV movie that aired on the CBS television network in 1989, depicting the life of singer Karen Carpenter, and of the brother-and-sister pop music duo of which she was a part, The Carpenters. The film starred Cynthia Gibb as Karen Carpenter, and Mitchell Anderson as her brother, Richard Carpenter, which told the story of Karen’s battle with anorexia and how it affected her life during her illustrious music career. It was directed by Joseph Sargent and the real Richard Carpenter served as a producer for the film as well as of the musical score.

 

10) Notorious (2009) – Biggie Smalls

With so many rap stars and people in the world of hip-hop speaking of their rags-to-riches tales in their songs, it’s no surprise to see a biopic based on a very notorious rapper, Biggie Smalls.

The story of this well known artist followed his journey from drug dealing hustler to world famous rap star, but sadly there was no happy ending, as gang rivalry span out of control, taking the lives of both Smalls and fellow rap star Tupac Shakur. The film provided a fascinating insight into the life of the hip hop icon – and of course it contains his most popular tracks.

Not seen your favourite musical biopic on here? Who would you add to the list?