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Best Biography Movies

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1,441 results

1,441 results

385. Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story

Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story chronicles the romantic and creative partnership of storyboard artist Harold Michelson and his wife, film researcher Lillian Michelson—a talented couple once considered “the heart of Hollywood.” Harold and Lillian worked on hundreds of iconic films during Hollywood’s golden age including The Ten Commandments, The Apartment, The Birds, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, The Graduate, Rosemary’s Baby, Fiddler On The Roof, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Scarface, Full Metal Jacket and more. Although the couple was responsible for some of Hollywood’s most iconic examples of visual storytelling, their contributions remain largely uncredited. Through an engaging mix of love letters, film clips and candid conversations with Harold and Lillian, Danny DeVito, Mel Brooks, Francis Coppola and others, this heartfelt documentary chronicles their remarkable relationship and two extraordinary careers spanning six decades of movie-making history.

386. Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst

Nov 26, 2004 • Rated Unrated

An unprecedented account of the Symbionese Liberation Army, arguably the most notorious and flamboyant domestic terrorist group in American history. (Magnolia Pictures)

387. Emily

Feb 17, 2023 • Rated R

Emily imagines the transformative, exhilarating, and uplifting journey to womanhood of a rebel and a misfit, one of the world's most famous, enigmatic, and provocative writers who died too soon at the age of 30.

388. Orlando

Jun 9, 1993 • Rated PG-13

Orlando is the story of a journey through time, of someone who lives for four hundred years, first as a man, then as a woman. As a young nobleman, Orlando is granted favors and property by Queen Elizabeth I. After her death, he falls passionately in love with a visiting Russian princess on the glittering ice of the frozen river Thames. The princess leaves Orlando, however, and, after a disastrous brush with poetry, he takes up his "manly" destiny as an Ambassador in the deserts of central Asia. There, in the midst of war, unwilling to kill or be killed, he changes sex. As a woman, Orlando returns to the formal salons of 18th century London, where she faces a choice: marry and have heirs or lose everything. In this age of wildness and repression, she meets the man of her dreams, but chooses to forsake both love and her inheritance. Finally, Orlando emerges into a twentieth century filled with speed and noise as an ordinary individual, who, in losing everything, has found herself. [Sony Pictures Classics]

389. Ingrid Bergman in Her Own Words

Nov 13, 2015 • Rated Not Rated

A captivating look behind the scenes of the remarkable life of a young Swedish girl who became one of the most celebrated actresses of American and World cinema.

390. Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami

This electrifying journey through the public and private worlds of pop culture mega-icon Grace Jones contrasts musical sequences with intimate personal footage, all the while brimming with Jones’s bold aesthetic. A larger-than-life entertainer, an androgynous glam-pop diva, an unpredictable media presence – Grace Jones is all these things and more. Sophie Fiennes’s documentary goes beyond the traditional music biography, offering a portrait as stylish and unconventional as its subject. Taking us home with her to Jamaica, into the studio with long-time collaborators Sly & Robbie, and backstage at gigs around the world, the film reveals Jones as lover, daughter, mother, and businesswoman. But the stage is the fixed point to which the film returns, with eye-popping performances of "Slave to the Rhythm," “Pull Up to the Bumper,” "Love is the Drug," and more. Jones herself has said watching the film “will be like seeing me almost naked” and, indeed, Fiennes’s treatment is every bit as definition-defying as its subject, untamed by either age or life itself.

391. True History of the Kelly Gang

Apr 24, 2020 • Rated R

Set amidst the grueling badlands of 19th-century Australia, legendary outlaw Ned Kelly (George MacKay) grows up under the bloody and uncompromising rule of the English. Food is scarce, survival is filled with daily strife, and every opportunity the colonizers take to make their victims feel powerless is inflicted with searing brutality. In a desperate attempt to prime him for rebellion, Ned Kelly’s mother (Essie Davis), sells him off into the hands of the notorious bushranger Harry Power (Russel Crowe), where the young bandit discovers he comes from a line of warriors called the Sons of Sieve. Fueled by his roots and a voracious appetite for revenge, Ned Kelly leads an anarchist army to wreak havoc on their oppressors in one of the most audacious attacks the country has ever seen. [IFC Films]

392. Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present

Jun 13, 2012 • Rated Not Rated

Seductive, fearless, and outrageous, Marina Abramovic has been redefining what art is for nearly forty years. Using her own body as a vehicle, pushing herself beyond her physical and mental limits––and at times risking her life in the process––she creates performances that challenge, shock, and move us. Through her and with her, boundaries are crossed, consciousness expanded, and art as we know it is reborn. She is, quite simply, one of the most compelling artists of our time. (Music Box Films)

393. The Woodmans

Jan 19, 2011 • Rated Unrated

A fascinating, unflinching portrait of the late photographer Francesca Woodman, told through the young artist’s work (including experimental videos and journal entries) and remarkably candid interviews with her artist parents Betty and Charles (a ceramic sculptor and painter/photographer), who have continued their own artistic practices while watching Francesca’s professional reputation eclipse their own. (Lorber Films)

394. Monster

Dec 24, 2003 • Rated R

In a revelatory performance, Charlize Theron stars in the shocking and moving true-life story of Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute executed last year in Florida after being convicted of murdering six men. While Wuornos confessed to the six murders, including a policeman, she claimed to have killed only in self-defense, resisting violent assaults while working as a prostitute. (Newmarket Films)

395. Citizen Ashe

Citizen Ashe is the story of sports legend and social activist Arthur Ashe. Known to most by his stellar sports career - Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open winner and the first black player to be selected for the US Davis Cup Team - this film uncovers Ashe’s personal evolution; how his activism grew and embraced not only the Civil Right movement and African-Americans but all oppressed peoples throughout the world. Ashe died of AIDS-related complications in 1993 and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom the same year. [Dogwolf/CNN/HBO Max]

396. Augustine

May 17, 2013 • Rated Not Rated

19-year-old kitchen maid Augustine suffers an inexplicable seizure that leaves her partially paralyzed and is shipped off to an all-female psychiatric hospital specializing in the then-fashionable ailment of 'hysteria'. Augustine captures the attention of renowned neurologist Dr. Charcot after she has another attack that appears to give her intense physical pleasure. Intrigued, he begins using her as his principal subject, hypnotizing her in front of his fellow doctors. As Augustine displays her spectacular fits in lecture halls, the lines between doctor and patient become blurred, radically changing the course of both of their lives. [Music Box Films]

397. Janis: Little Girl Blue

Nov 27, 2015 • Rated TV-MA

Janis Joplin was one of the world’s most influential rock icons and a goddess of sound, but there was actually far more to her than that. She inspired a generation, breaking new ground for the female rock singers who followed. Through turbulent love affairs and addiction, one constant remained: she was committed to her music above all until her heartbreaking death at the age of 27. Janis serves as the narrator for her own life story through letters she wrote to her family, friends and lovers. Chan Marshall (Cat Power) lends her raspy southern voice to the film reading Janis’ achingly intimate letters. Amy Berg strips away Janis’ rock and roll persona to reveal the gentle, trusting, sensitive, but powerful woman behind the legend. [Venice]

398. Southside with You

Aug 26, 2016 • Rated PG-13

One summer afternoon in 1989, a young law firm associate named Barack Obama (Parker Sawyers) tried to woo lawyer Michelle Robinson (Tika Sumpter) during a daylong date that took them from the Art Institute of Chicago to a screening of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing to the site of their first kiss outside of an ice cream parlor.

399. Wild

Dec 3, 2014 • Rated R

After years of reckless behavior, a heroin addiction and the destruction of her marriage, Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon) makes a rash decision. Haunted by memories of her mother Bobbi (Laura Dern) and with absolutely no experience, she sets out to hike more than a thousand miles on the Pacific Crest Trail all on her own. [Fox Searchlight Pictures]

400. Beastie Boys Story

Apr 24, 2020 • Rated TV-MA

Surviving Beastie Boys members Mike Diamond and Adam Horovitz share details on the history of their band and their friendship with director and longtime collaborator Spike Jonze.

401. The Sea Inside

Dec 17, 2004 • Rated PG-13

Based on the profoundly moving true story that captured the world's attention, The Sea Inside is about Spaniard Ramon Sampedro (Bardem), who fought a 30-year campaign to win the right to end his life with dignity. The film is the story of Ramon's relationships with two women: Julia (Rueda), a lawyer who supports his cause, and Rosa (Duenas), a local woman who wants to convince him that life is worth living. (Fine Line Features)

402. Awakenings

Dec 20, 1990 • Rated PG-13

By opening one man's eyes to the world... he opened his own. A true story of a maverick doctor and the patients whose lives he changes. Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a shy research physician who uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of a rare disease beginning with Leonard, the first patient to receive the controversial treatment. His awakening, filled with awe and enthusiasm, proves a rebirth for Sayer too, as the exuberant patient reveals life's simple but unutterably sweet pleasures to the introverted doctor. Encouraged by Leonard's stunning recovery, Sayer administers the drug to the other patients. The story of their friendship during this emotional journey is a testament to both the tenderness of the human heart and the strength of the human soul. (Sony Pictures)

403. The Last King of Scotland

Sep 27, 2006 • Rated R

In an incredible twist of fate, a Scottish doctor (McAvoy) on a Ugandan medical mission becomes irreversibly entangled with one of the world's most barbaric figures: Idi Amin (Whitaker). Impressed by Dr. Garrigan's brazen attitude in a moment of crisis, the newly self-appointed Ugandan President Amin hand picks him as his personal physician and closest confidante. Though Garrigan is at first flattered and fascinated by his new position, he soon awakens to Amin's savagery - and his own complicity in it. Horror and betrayal ensue as Garrigan tries to right his wrongs and escape Uganda alive. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

404. Roxanne Roxanne

Mar 23, 2018 • Rated TV-MA

In the early 1980s, the most feared battle MC in Queens, New York, was a fierce teenage girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders. At the age of 14, Lolita "Roxanne Shanté" Gooden was well on her way to becoming a hip-hop legend as she hustled to provide for her family while defending herself from the dangers of the streets of the Queensbridge Projects in NYC.

405. End of the Century

Aug 20, 2004 • Rated TV-14

This documentary look at the Ramones traces the history of the band, from its unlikely origins, through its star-crossed career, bitter demise and the sad fates of Joey and Dee Dee. End of the Century is a vibrant, candid document of one of the most influential groups in the history of rock. (Magnolia Pictures)

406. Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles

Aug 16, 2019 • Rated TV-14

Paris, 1930. The infamous surrealist filmmaker Luis Buñuel is left penniless after the scandalous release of L'Age d'Or leads to a falling out with collaborator Salvador Dalí. On a whim, Buñuel's good friend, sculptor Ramón Acín, buys a lottery ticket and promises to devote his winnings to fund Buñuel's next film. Incredibly, Ramón wins the jackpot, sending the two friends to the remote mountains of their native Spain to film the documentary Las Hurdes: Land Without Bread. Driven by mad artistic impulse and haunted by childhood memories, Buñuel must confront the specter of mortality looming over the lives of his subjects—and his own.

407. Rush

Sep 20, 2013 • Rated R

Set against the glamorous golden age of Formula 1 racing in the 1970s, Rush tells the true story of the great rivalry between handsome English playboy James Hunt and his methodical, brilliant opponent, Austrian driver Niki Lauda. The story chronicles their distinctly different personal styles on and off the track, their loves and the astonishing 1976 season in which both drivers were willing to risk everything to become world champion in a sport with no margin for error.

408. Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan

Jun 6, 2008 • Rated R

Mongol illuminates the life and legend of Genghis Khan. Based on leading scholarly accounts and Mongol delves into the dramatic and harrowing early years of the ruler who was born as Temudgin in 1162. As it follows Temudgin from his perilous childhood to the battle that sealed his destiny, the film paints a multidimensional portrait of the future conqueror, revealing him not as the evil brute of hoary stereotype, but as an inspiring, fearless and visionary leader. Mongol shows us the making of an extraordinary man, and the foundation on which so much of his greatness rested: his relationship with his wife, Borte, his lifelong love and most trusted advisor. (Picturehouse)

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