MRQE Ranks: Cinema's 50 Best Bio-Pics

1

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Cast: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins

Director: David Lean

Synopsis: This sweeping, highly literate historical epic covers the Allies' mideastern campaign during World War I as seen through the eyes of the enigmatic ... [MORE]

2

Raging Bull (1980)

Cast: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci, Frank Vincent, Nicholas Colasanto

Director: Martin Scorsese

Synopsis: Martin Scorsese's brutal character study incisively portrays the true rise and fall and redemption of middleweight boxer Jake La Motta, a violent m... [MORE]

3

Goodfellas (1990)

Cast: Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino

Director: Martin Scorsese

Synopsis: Martin Scorsese explores the life of organized crime with his gritty, kinetic adaptation of Nicolas Pileggi's best-selling Wiseguy, the true-life a... [MORE]

4

Amadeus (1984)

Cast: Tom Hulce, F. Murray Abraham, Elizabeth Berridge, Simon Callow, Roy Dotrice

Director: Milos Forman

Synopsis: For this film adaptation of Peter Shaffer's Broadway hit, director Milos Forman returned to the city of Prague that he'd left behind during the Cze... [MORE]

5

Schindler's List (1993)

Cast: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Jonathan Sagalle

Director: Steven Spielberg

Synopsis: Based on a true story, Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List stars Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler, a German businessman in Poland who sees an opportu... [MORE]

6

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

Cast: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Max von Sydow, Marie-Josee Croze

Director: Julian Schnabel

Synopsis: The astonishing true-life story of Jean-Dominic Bauby -- a man who held the world in his palm, lost everything to sudden paralysis at 43 years old,... [MORE]

7

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Cast: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons

Director: Arthur Penn

Synopsis: Producer/star Warren Beatty had to convince Warner Bros. to finance this film, which went on to become the studio's second-highest grosser. It also... [MORE]

8

Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth, Ben Affleck

Director: John Madden

Synopsis: William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) is on a cold streak. Not only is he writing for Philip Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush), owner of "The Rose," a theatr... [MORE]

9

The Straight Story (1999)

Cast: Richard Farnsworth, Harry Dean Stanton, Sissy Spacek, Everett McGill, John Farley

Director: David Lynch

Synopsis: David Lynch offers an uncharacteristically straightforward and warmly sentimental approach to his material in this film, based on a true story, abo... [MORE]

10

Patton (1970)

Cast: George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Michael Bates, Edward Binns, Karl Michael Vogler

Director: Franklin J. Schaffner

Synopsis: In 1943 North Africa, George Patton (George C. Scott) assumes command of (and instills some much-needed discipline in) the American forces. Engaged... [MORE]

11

The Social Network (2010)

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer, Max Minghella

Director: David Fincher

Synopsis: Director David Fincher (Fight Club, Seven) teams with screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing) to explore the meaning of success in the early 21st... [MORE]

12

Malcolm X (1992)

Cast: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Al Freeman Jr., Delroy Lindo, Albert Hall

Director: Spike Lee

Synopsis: Writer-director Spike Lee's epic portrayal of the life and times of the slain civil rights leader Malcolm X begins with the cross-cut imagery of th... [MORE]

13

Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)

Cast: Max Pomeranc, Joe Mantegna, Joan Allen, Ben Kingsley, Laurence Fishburne

Director: Steven Zaillian

Synopsis: Searching for Bobby Fischer was inspired by the life of chess prodigy Josh Waitzkin, as written by his father Fred Waitzkin. Josh (Max Pomeranc) is... [MORE]

14

The King's Speech (2010)

Cast: Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Derek Jacobi, Geoffrey Rush, Guy Pearce

Director: Tom Hooper

Synopsis: Emmy Award-winning director Tom Hooper (John Adams) teams with screenwriter David Seidler (Tucker: A Man and His Dreams) to tell the story of King ... [MORE]

15

Dead Man Walking (1995)

Cast: Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Robert Prosky, Raymond J. Barry, R. Lee Ermey

Director: Tim Robbins

Synopsis: Tim Robbins' second directorial effort (after the political satire Bob Roberts) was this drama based on a true story, which explores the issue of c... [MORE]

16

The Pianist (2002)

Cast: Adrien Brody, Emilia Fox, Thomas Kretschmann, Michal Zebrowski, Ed Stoppard

Director: Roman Polanski

Synopsis: Filmmaker Roman Polanski, who as a boy growing up in Poland watched while the Nazis devastated his country during World War II, directed this downb... [MORE]

17

The Queen (2006)

Cast: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Sylvia Syms, Alex Jennings

Director: Stephen Frears

Synopsis: The British prime minister and the Royal Family find themselves quietly at odds in the wake of a national tragedy in this drama from director Steph... [MORE]

18

Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)

Cast: David Strathairn, Patricia Clarkson, George Clooney, Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey Jr.

Director: George Clooney

Synopsis: George Clooney pays homage to one of the icons of American broadcast journalism, Edward R. Murrow, in this fact-based drama, which was Clooney's se... [MORE]

19

The Insider (1999)

Cast: Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer, Diane Venora, Philip Baker Hall

Director: Michael Mann

Writer: Michael Mann, Eric Roth

Synopsis: The Insider tells the true story of a man who decided to tell the world what the seven major tobacco companies knew (and concealed) about the dange... [MORE]

20

Persepolis (2007)

Cast: Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Gena Rowlands, Sean Penn, Iggy Pop

Director: Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud

Synopsis: Filmmakers Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi collaborated to co-write and co-direct this adaptation of Satrapi's bestselling autobiographical g... [MORE]

21

The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)

Cast: Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, Edward Norton, James Cromwell, Crispin Glover

Director: Milos Forman

Synopsis: "If the First Amendment will protect a scumbag like me, then it'll protect all of you -- 'cause I'm the worst," declares Hustler Magazine publisher... [MORE]

22

Quiz Show (1994)

Cast: John Turturro, Ralph Fiennes, Rob Morrow, Paul Scofield, David Paymer

Director: Robert Redford

Synopsis: It's 1958, and the producers of the quiz show 21 have a problem. Their current champ, Herbert Stempel (John Turturro), has a phenomenal memo... [MORE]

23

Frost/Nixon (2008)

Cast: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon, Rebecca Hall, Toby Jones

Director: Ron Howard

Synopsis: Hollywood heavyweight Ron Howard adapts playwright Peter Morgan's West End hit for the silver screen with this feature focusing on the 1977 televis... [MORE]

24

The Aviator (2004)

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin

Director: Martin Scorsese

Synopsis: Martin Scorsese directed this fast-moving, epic-scale biopic documenting the life and loves one of the most colorful Americans of the 20th century,... [MORE]

25

Capote (2005)

Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Clifton Collins Jr., Chris Cooper, Bruce Greenwood

Director: Bennett Miller

Synopsis: The creation of one of the most memorable books of the 1960s -- and the impact the writing and research would have on its author -- is explored in ... [MORE]

26

Reds (1981)

Cast: Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Maureen Stapleton, Jack Nicholson, Edward Herrmann

Director: Warren Beatty

Synopsis: Few filmmakers other than Warren Beatty would have had the courage and vision to fashion an epic film from the life of famed American Communist Joh... [MORE]

27

Milk (2008/I)

Cast: Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, James Franco, Diego Luna

Director: Gus Van Sant

Synopsis: Academy Award winner Sean Penn takes the title role in Gus Van Sant's biopic tracing the last eight years in the life of Harvey Milk, the ill-fated... [MORE]

28

American Splendor (2003)

Cast: Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis, Judah Friedlander, James Urbaniak, Earl Billings

Director: Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman

Writer: Harvey Pekar

Synopsis: The documentary directing team of Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman makes their narrative feature debut with the biographical comedy drama A... [MORE]

29

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Cast: Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix, Desmond Dube

Director: Terry George

Synopsis: Hotel Rwanda tackles one of the most horrifically ugly events in recent history, when the Hutu extremists of Rwanda initiated a terrifying campaign... [MORE]

30

Ed Wood (1994)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Jeffrey Jones

Director: Tim Burton

Synopsis: Hollywood visionary Tim Burton pays homage to another Hollywood visionary, albeit a less successful one, in this unusual fictionalized biography. T... [MORE]

31

Braveheart (1995)

Cast: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Catherine McCormack, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Mel Gibson

Synopsis: Mel Gibson, long-time heartthrob of the silver screen, came into his own as a director with Braveheart, an account of the life and times of medieva... [MORE]

32

Gandhi (1982)

Cast: Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen, Trevor Howard, John Mills, Edward Fox

Director: Richard Attenborough

Synopsis: It was Richard Attenborough's lifelong dream to bring the life story of Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi to the screen. When it... [MORE]

33

Donnie Brasco (1997)

Cast: Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby, James Russo

Director: Mike Newell

Synopsis: This drama about an undercover cop who learns the hidden dangers of working his way inside the mob was based on a true story. Joe Pistone (Johnny D... [MORE]

34

Shine (1996)

Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Noah Taylor, Lynn Redgrave, John Gielgud

Director: Scott Hicks

Synopsis: The true story of a gifted Australian piano prodigy, this biographical drama was nominated for seven Oscars, with actor Geoffrey Rush winning for B... [MORE]

35

Shattered Glass (2003)

Cast: Hayden Christensen, Peter Sarsgaard, Chloe Sevigny, Rosario Dawson, Melanie Lynskey

Director: Billy Ray

Synopsis: Before Jayson Blair made headlines for his plagiarized New York Times reporting, Stephen Glass defamed the weekly current events magazine The New R... [MORE]

36

Rudy (1993)

Cast: Sean Astin, Ned Beatty, Jon Favreau, Charles S. Dutton

Director: David Anspaugh

37

Serpico (1973)

Cast: Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, Tony Roberts, Biff McGuire

Director: Sidney Lumet

Synopsis: Adapted by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler from Peter Maas's book, Sidney Lumet's drama portrays the real-life struggle of an honest New York City cop... [MORE]

38

Finding Neverland (2004)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Nick Roud, Radha Mitchell

Director: Marc Forster

Synopsis: Following up his critically acclaimed Monster's Ball, director Marc Forster took on this biography of playwright James Matthew Barrie, the scribe w... [MORE]

39

The Last Emperor (1987)

Cast: John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ying Ruocheng, Victor Wong

Director: Bernardo Bertolucci

Synopsis: The Last Emperor is the true story of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi, the last ruler of the Chinese Ching Dynasty. Told in flashback, the film covers the years ... [MORE]

40

Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

Cast: Tom Cruise, Kyra Sedgwick, Raymond J. Barry, Caroline Kava, Willem Dafoe

Director: Oliver Stone

Synopsis: The second of three films by co-writer/director Oliver Stone to explore the effects of the Vietnam War (Platoon and Heaven and Earth are the others... [MORE]

41

The Elephant Man (1980)

Cast: John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller

Director: David Lynch

Synopsis: John Hurt stars as John Merrick, the hideously deformed 19th century Londoner known as "The Elephant Man". Treated as a sideshow freak, Merrick is ... [MORE]

42

Monster (2003)

Cast: Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern, Scott Wilson, Pruitt Taylor Vince

Director: Patty Jenkins

Synopsis: Model-turned-actress Charlize Theron leaves her glamorous image behind for this gritty drama, in which she plays a disturbed prostitute who becomes... [MORE]

43

Nixon (1995)

Cast: Ron Silver, Beau Bridges, Matt Frewer, Ron White, George Takei

Director: Dan Petrie

Writer: Lionel Chetwynd

44

Sid and Nancy (1986)

Cast: Gary Oldman, Chloe Webb, Drew Schofield, David Hayman, Debbie Bishop

Director: Alex Cox

Synopsis: Punk rock's first great embodiment of the motto "live fast and die young," Sid Vicious joined The Sex Pistols when they were already established as... [MORE]

45

Walk the Line (2005)

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick, Dallas Roberts

Director: James Mangold

Synopsis: James Mangold's Walk the Line tells the life story of country music legend Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix), focusing primarily on the long courtship ... [MORE]

47

Erin Brockovich (2000)

Cast: Julia Roberts, Aaron Eckhart, Albert Finney, Marg Helgenberger, Cherry Jones

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Synopsis: Julia Roberts stars in this legal drama based on the true story of a woman who helped win the largest settlement ever paid in a direct-action lawsu... [MORE]

48

Ray (2004/I)

Cast: Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Regina King, Clifton Powell, Harry Lennix

Director: Taylor Hackford

Synopsis: Directed by Taylor Hackford, this biopic profiles the life of legendary musician Ray Charles. Despite humble beginnings and the loss of his eyesigh... [MORE]

49

Kundun (1997)

Cast: Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong, Gyurme Tethong, Tulku Jamyang Kunga Tenzin, Tenzin Yeshi Paichang, Tencho Gyalpo

Director: Martin Scorsese

Synopsis: This Martin Scorsese film drama detailing the Dalai Lama's life story was in development for seven years, with the Dalai Lama having input into the... [MORE]