Black Sabbath Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 What are some of your favorite Biopics?I remember enjoying Elvis (played by Kurt Russel) and there was a Meat Loaf one as well that I liked a lot. Most of them are typically TV specials, I guess, but they're usually pretty good. In my opinion, at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Powerage5 Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Walk The Line was good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sabbath Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 Yeah, forgot about that one. Just came back to mention it.Also, Amadeus is another favorite as well.Also, these don't exactly have to be about just musicians. Non-music related, Milk is fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasted Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Evita, Great Balls of Fire, Patton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durruti column Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 hoffa (1992)mesrine (2008)carlos (2010)bird (1988)raging bull (1980) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GivenToFly Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Rush Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Len B'stard Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 They are dreadful really, the best ones are the ones that just take like...a skeletal structure for inspiration then use creativity to make the rest up, like Last Days by Gus Van Sant which i thought was fantastic. Can't fault Bird and Raging Bull either, as mentioned by Durruti up there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasted Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 The Doors.I'm Not There.The Karen Carpenter Story. The Aviator.JFK.The Krays.I'm waiting for the Mick Jagger biopic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Len B'stard Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 The Krays was a load of cobblers quite frankly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_axhD-QvAQAThats the only real footage of them chatting in their heyday, now how are the brothers out of Spandau Ballet gonna do that? Rons actually got a very soft voice, the menace in Ron is just in his being who he is, Reg sounds more the geezer out of the two of em, when he was supposed to be the more pragmatic one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgy Zhukov Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 The Last Emperor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEXzilla Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Does Goodfellas count? If so that's my pick for best bio film. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasted Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Donnie Brasco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelica Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Andrei Rublev, American Splendor, 32 Short Films About Glen Gould, Ed Wood, Raging Bull, Carlos, Nixon, Amadeus, Downfall, I'm Not There,The Elephant Man, The Social Network, Malcolm X, The Doors.Guilty pleasure wise, I'd throw in Great Balls of Fire and Walk the Line.I tend to agree with Len, they often suck. Largely because they usually get made with the approval and co-operation of the subject and/or their loved ones, so the less pleasant (and often most interesting) aspects of the story get blurred about the edges (Social Network is a recent and notable exception to the rule). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supercool Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Donnie Brasco.Serpico Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nosaj Thing Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 La mômeThe Last EmperorThat's a beautiful film. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durruti column Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 (edited) young mr. lincoln (one of john ford's best movies)the prisoner of shark island (another masterpiece by john ford) Edited January 7, 2014 by durruti column Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Len B'stard Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 You have some wonderful taste in movies Durrutti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durruti column Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 thanks a lot man! you make great posts, i enjoy reading them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IZZYISGNR Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 (edited) some of my favorite biopics : napoleon (by abel gance), napoleon (by sacha guitry) and le diable boiteux (about talleyrand, one of napoleon's ministers, directed by sacha guitry). three fantastic movies if you are interested in that period of history.i also saw stavisky recently, it's based on the life of the financier and embezzler alexandre stavisky and the circumstances leading to his mysterious death in 1934. Edited January 7, 2014 by IZZYISGNR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixes Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Secret Honor directed by Robert Altman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IZZYISGNR Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 the passion of joan of arc (dreyer, 1928) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselDaisy Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 (edited) I re-watched The Last Emperor a few days coincidentally. Beyond the fact that I felt it took a sympathetic line with the PRC, and a less-than-cynical line on The Emperor Puyi's 'rehabilitation' (but then Bertolucci is a communist), it is excellent. I particularly like the stunning cinematography of the Forbidden Palace. It is fairly historically accurate. It does miss out however on an interesting period in his life, between leaving prison and dying. Puyi actually met Mao and Zao Enlai and married again at Mao's prompting, ''every Emperor needs a consort.'' He was sort of a, revered old celebrity in the PRC before the Cultural Revolution, but then, he did not have long to live when the Cultural Revolution happened. Regarding the question, most biopics are cack. I heard the three remaining Doors had some very unsavoury things to say about Morrison's portrayal in The Doors. Lawrence of Arabia, despite being excellent (it is Spielberg's favourite film), is also largely tosh historically. Gandhi is a beautiful film but I felt it delved into hagiography and whitewashed Gandhi's comments about the Second World War (Gandhi thought, the Jews of Europe should practice ‘passive resistance’ against Hitler, which, considering they were being herded into concentration camps at the time, is a very foolish comment). Becket, with Richard Burton, is also historically inaccurate - and a bit silly and Ali was shit. How could Will Smith do the impossible and make Muhammad Ali dour, negative and thoroughly unlikeable? I mean this was arguably the most charismatic man that ever lived! I also did not like Max Baer's depiction in The Cinderella Man. My favourites… Ip Man 1 and 2, the biopics of Bruce Lee’s sifu starting Donnie Yen. Bit of historical hokum involved (he did not flee from the Japanese, but the Chinese Communists!) but sod it, the kung fu is incredible and the second one has Samo. Shin Heike Monogatari (aka. Tales of the Taira Clan), biopic of Japan’s first military leader, Taira no Kiyomori. A late colour film by Mizoguchi. Ed Wood And I second Last Emperor and Raging Bull Is Shakespeare allowed? If so, Olivier's Richard III and Branagh's Henry V are definite masterpieces. Edited January 7, 2014 by DieselDaisy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appetite4illusions Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Ed Wood, Man on the Moon, The People v. Larry FlyntIncidentally, all three were written by the same team of writers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgy Zhukov Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 A Man for All SeasonsLawrence of ArabiaChaplinI liked a lot of the films mentioned in this thread.If I could pick Shakspear I'd pick Henry V (both Olivier and Brannagh) and Richard III (Olivier of course)Lincoln was really good tooThen again where is the line drawn between biographical or historical? I mean Lincoln and Schindler's List are both about a man at important moments in their lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axlfan88 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 (edited) Eisenstein did two great biopics which are considered as two of the best films ever made: Ivan the Terrible and Alexander Nevski.Another brilliant biopic is Queen Christina starring Greta Garbo. Edited January 8, 2014 by axlfan88 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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