Top 5 All-Time Greatest Biopics
Published:They say that truth is stranger than fiction, and perhaps more entertaining as well, because our Top 5 All-Time Greatest Biopics all tell the (mostly) true tales of real life individuals in what have become some of the most important and critically acclaimed films of all-time!
1) Lawrence of Arabia
- Depicts T.E. Lawrence's experiences in the Arabian Peninsula during World War I, in particular his attacks on Aqaba and Damascus and his involvement in the Arab National Council
- Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential films in the history of cinema
- Nominated for ten Academy Awards and won seven, including Best Director, Best Sound Editing, Best Film Editing, and Best Picture
- The American Film Institute ranked the film 5th in its original list of the Top 100 Films of All-Time
- One of the highest-rated films on Metacritic, currently holding a perfect 100/100 rating
2) Schindler’s List
- Based on the life of Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories
- Often listed among the greatest films ever made, it was also a box office success, earning $321.2 million worldwide on a $22 million budget
- Recipient of seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score
- American Film Institute ranked the film 8th on its list of the 100 best American films of all-time
- The Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2004
3) Raging Bull
- Tells the story of Jake LaMotta, a boxer whose self-destructive and obsessive rage, sexual jealousy, and animalistic appetite destroyed his relationship with his wife and family
- Voted by many critics including Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel as the best film of the 1980s
- Nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor, Cinematography, Sound, and Editing
- selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1990
- Ranked #4 in the American Film Institute’s updated 100 Years 100 Movies list
4) Amadeus
- Tells the story of the life and death of Wolfgang Mozart and the jealous man who may have killed him, Antonio Salieri, a fellow composer
- Nominated for 53 awards and received 40, including eight Academy Awards (including Best Picture), four BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globes
- Both lead actors (Tom Hulce and F. Murray Abraham) were nominated for the Best Actor Oscar (Abraham won)
- Grossed over $52 million in North America on an $18 million budget
- American Film Institute ranked it #53 on its 100 Years 100 Movies list
5) The Elephant Man
- Biographical film about Joseph Merrick, a severely deformed man in 19th century London
- Earned eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor
- Grossed over $26 million dollars at the box office on a $5 million budget
- Has been met with critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 90% rating
- Although it won no Oscars, it did win the BAFTA Award for Best Picture