Top 13 Greatest Biographical Movies Ever Made

The stories of biographical movies are considered a great inspiration for many people around the world. It shows the actor playing the role of a known personality and conveys how they dealt with the problems and became an inspiration for the coming generation. Viewers love to watch these kind of movies as they provide them with inspirational messages and a break from fictional movies.

  1. SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993)

Schindler’s List(1993), directed by Steven Spielberg, is an American biographical film. The film is about the life a German businessman, Oskar Schindler, known for saving a lot of refugees’ life by employing them in his factory. The whole film was shot in black and white instead of a particular scene where there is a girl in a red coat. This scene was shot to emphasize that particular scene and give a message out of it.

Schindler's List

2. THE SOCIAL NETWORK (2010)

The Social Network (2010), directed by David Fincher, is an American biographical film. The story of the film is about the founders of Facebook. The film not only gives light on Mark Zuckerberg’s professional life (the making of Facebook) but also on his personal ones (his break up with his Girlfriend and the end of his friendship with the co-founder).

And here is something said by Zuckerberg about the movie, “They went out of their way in the movie to try to get some interesting details correct like the design of the office, but on the overarching plot… they just kind of made up a bunch of stuff that I found kind of hurtful.”

3. RAGING BULL (1980)

Raging Bull (1980), directed by Martin Scorsese, is an American biographical film. The film is about a self-destructive boxer, Jake LaMotta, who because of his anger, jealously and violence becomes successful in the ring but fails miserably in his personal life.

4. RAY (2004)

Ray (2004), directed by Taylor Hackford, is an American biographical film. The film is about Ray Charles Robinson (an American Singer, Musician, Songwriter, and composer). The film shows his journey right from how he went blind at the age of seven to his rise to stardom as the rhythm and blues musician.

5. THE WORLD’S FASTEST INDIAN (2005)

The World’s Fastest Indian (2005), directed by Roger Donaldson, is a Japanese-American-Swiss-New Zealand biographical film. The film is about motorcycle racer, Herbert James “Burt” Munro, who made his 1920 Indian Scout Motorcycle (which made helped him set land-speed records).

6. THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980)

The Elephant Man (1980), directed by David Lynch, is an American-British biographical film. The film is about Joseph Merrick who was severely deformed but still managed to become well known in London. He was an emotional person who faced hatred from many people because of his deformities.

You may not be an emotional person when it comes to watching movies, but I bet you will be moved when you hear Merrick’s outburst in the film, “I am not an elephant. I am not an animal. I am a human being. I am a man!”

7. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)

Lawrence Of Arabia (1962), directed by David Lean, is a British biographical film. The film is about the life of Thomas Edward Lawrence (British archaeologist, military officer, and diplomat). The film starts with the death of Lawrence and then shows flashbacks to recount his incredible adventures.

8. BRAVEHEART (1995)

Braveheart (1995), directed by Mel Gibson, is about a Scottish warrior William Wallace. The film shows everything you want to know about the life of Wallace, right from how he got his education to how he fell in love and got married.

9. DOWNFALL (2004)

Downfall (2004), directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, is a German biographical film. The film is about the fall of Berlin, Adolf Hitler’s last 10 days and then his suicide just 10 days after his 56th birthday.

10. ELIZABETH (1998)

Elizabeth (1998), directed by Shekhar Kapur, is about early years of England’s Queen Elizabeth’s reign and how she learned the difficult task of being a monarch. And I loved her dialogue,“I am my father’s daughter. I am not afraid of anything.”

11. GANDHI (1982)

Gandhi (1982), directed by Richard Attenborough, is about the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. The film shows everything from how he helped Indians in getting freedom from the Britishers to how he was shot in the chest by Nathuram Godse.

12. BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG (2013)

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013), directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, is an Indian biographical film. The film is about an Indian athlete Milkha Singh.

13. LINCOLN (2012)

Lincoln (2012), directed by Steven Spielberg, is an American biographical film. The role of US President Abraham Lincoln was played by Daniel Day-Lewis. His performance and method-acting was so awesome that he was praised by a lot of critics all over the world and the producer Kathleen Kennedy even said,“Everyday you get chills thinking that Lincoln is sitting there right in front of you.” Day-Lewis also earned his Third Academy Award for Best actor.


 

About the Author

Sneha Lodha is a media student who loves to write and interact with people.

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Sneha Lodha