Movies Based on Musicians
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- DirectorMarc AbrahamStarsTom HiddlestonElizabeth OlsenMaddie HassonThe story of the country-western singer Hank Williams, who in his brief life created one of the greatest bodies of work in American music. The film chronicles his rise to fame and its tragic effect on his health and personal life.
- DirectorBill PohladStarsJohn CusackPaul DanoElizabeth BanksIn the 60s, Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson struggles with emerging psychosis as he attempts to craft his avant-garde pop masterpiece. In the 80s, he's a broken, confused man under the 24-hour watch of shady therapist, Dr. Eugene Landy.
- DirectorJohn RidleyStarsAndré 3000Hayley AtwellImogen PootsA drama based on Jimi Hendrix's life as he left New York City for London, where his career took off.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsJohn Lloyd YoungErich BergenMichael LomendaThe story of four young men from the wrong side of the tracks in New Jersey who came together to form the iconic 1960s rock group The Four Seasons.
- DirectorTate TaylorStarsChadwick BosemanNelsan EllisDan AykroydA chronicle of James Brown's rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history.
- DirectorDarnell MartinStarsAdrien BrodyJeffrey WrightBeyoncéChronicles the rise of Chess Records and its recording artists.
- DirectorJames MangoldStarsJoaquin PhoenixReese WitherspoonGinnifer GoodwinA chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsVal KilmerMeg RyanKyle MacLachlanThe story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band The Doors and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison, from his days as a UCLA film student in Los Angeles, to his untimely death in Paris, France at age 27 in 1971.
- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsChristian BaleCate BlanchettHeath LedgerRuminations on the life of Bob Dylan, where six characters embody a different aspect of the musician's life and work.
- DirectorAnton CorbijnStarsSam RileySamantha MortonCraig ParkinsonA profile of Ian Curtis, the enigmatic singer of Joy Division whose personal, professional, and romantic troubles led him to die by suicide at the age of 23.
- StarsJonathan Rhys MeyersRose McGowanRandy QuaidA chronicle of the life of Elvis Presley, from his humble beginnings to his rise to international stardom.
- DirectorTaylor HackfordStarsJamie FoxxRegina KingKerry WashingtonThe story of the life and career of the legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles, from his humble beginnings in the South, where he went blind at age seven, to his meteoric rise to stardom during the 1950s and 1960s.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsAdrien BrodyThomas KretschmannFrank FinlayDuring WWII, acclaimed Polish musician Wladyslaw faces various struggles as he loses contact with his family. As the situation worsens, he hides in the ruins of Warsaw in order to survive.
- DirectorDaniel AlgrantStarsPenn BadgleyImogen PootsNorbert Leo ButzA chronicle of the days leading up to Jeff Buckley's performance at his father's tribute concert in 1991.
- DirectorOlivier DahanStarsMarion CotillardSylvie TestudPascal GreggoryBiopic of the iconic French singer Édith Piaf. Raised by her grandmother in a brothel, she was discovered while singing on a street corner at the age of 19. Despite her success, Piaf's life was filled with tragedy.
- DirectorBernard RoseStarsDavid GarrettJared HarrisJoely Richardson19th Century violinist and composer Niccolò Paganini incurs the wrath of his diabolical manager while preparing for his debut performance in London, and falling for the daughter of an English impresario.
- DirectorKevin SpaceyStarsKevin SpaceyKate BosworthJohn GoodmanA swooning study of "Mack the Knife" singer Bobby Darin and specifically his relationship with wife Sandra Dee.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsForest WhitakerDiane VenoraMichael ZelnikerThe troubled life and career of jazz musician Charlie "Bird" Parker.
- DirectorSam Taylor-JohnsonStarsAaron Taylor-JohnsonKristin Scott ThomasAnne-Marie DuffA chronicle of John Lennon's first years, focused mainly in his adolescence and his relationship with his stern aunt Mimi, who raised him, and his absentee mother Julia, who re-entered his life at a crucial moment in his young life.
- DirectorJoann SfarStarsEric ElmosninoLucy GordonLaetitia CastaA glimpse at the life of French singer Serge Gainsbourg, from growing up in 1940s Nazi-occupied Paris through his successful song-writing years in the 1960s to his death in 1991 at the age of 62.
- DirectorAlex CoxStarsGary OldmanChloe WebbDavid HaymanThe relationship between Sid Vicious, bassist for British punk group Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen is portrayed.
- DirectorFloria SigismondiStarsKristen StewartDakota FanningMichael ShannonA coming-of-age biographical film about the 1970s teenage all-girl rock band The Runaways. The relationship between band members Cherie Currie and Joan Jett is also explored.
- DirectorIain SoftleyStarsStephen DorffSheryl LeeIan HartA dramatization of the Hamburg, Germany phase of The Beatles' early history.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsF. Murray AbrahamTom HulceElizabeth BerridgeThe life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was deeply jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him.
- DirectorLuis ValdezStarsLou Diamond PhillipsEsai MoralesRosanna DeSotoBiographical story of the rise from nowhere of early rock and roll singer Ritchie Valens who died at age 17 in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.
- DirectorKarel ReiszStarsJessica LangeEd HarrisAnn WedgeworthThe story of Patsy Cline, the velvet-voiced country music singer who died in a tragic plane crash at the height of her fame.
- DirectorJim McBrideStarsDennis QuaidWinona RyderJohn DoeThe life and career of wildly controversial rock 'n' roll star Jerry Lee Lewis.
- DirectorSteve RashStarsGary BuseyDon StroudCharles Martin SmithThe story of the life and career of the early rock and roll singer, from his meteoric rise to stardom, to his marriage and untimely death.
- DirectorBrian GibsonStarsAngela BassettLaurence FishburneRaéVen KellyThe story of singer Tina Turner's rise to stardom and how she gained the courage to break free from her abusive husband, Ike Turner.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsSissy SpacekTommy Lee JonesLevon HelmThe fictionalized life of singer Loretta Lynn, a girl who rose from humble beginnings to become a country music star in the 1960s/70s.
- DirectorMark RydellStarsBette MidlerAlan BatesFrederic ForrestThe tragic life of a self-destructive female rock star who struggles to deal with the constant pressures of her career and the demands of her ruthless business manager.
- DirectorAlbert MagnoliStarsPrinceApollonia KoteroMorris DayA young musician, tormented by an abusive situation at home, must contend with a rival singer, a burgeoning romance, and his own dissatisfied band, as his star begins to rise.
- DirectorSidney J. FurieStarsDiana RossBilly Dee WilliamsRichard PryorThe story of the troubled life and career of the legendary Jazz singer, Billie Holiday.
- DirectorDon WeisStarsSal MineoSusan KohnerJames DarrenBiopic of famous jazz drummer, Gene Krupa, who becomes a sensation but cannot handle success and life in the fast lane and ends-up broke, struggling with drugs and alcohol.
- DirectorBill D'EliaStarsMichele LeeChet AtkinsDavid James ElliottThe story of the life of country-music legend Dottie West.
- DirectorBernard RoseStarsGary OldmanJeroen KrabbéIsabella RosselliniThe life and death of the legendary Ludwig van Beethoven. Besides all the work he is known for, the composer once wrote a famous love letter to a nameless beloved, and the movie tries to find out who this beloved was--not easy, as Beethoven has had many women in his life.
- DirectorStephen WoolleyStarsLeo GregoryPaddy ConsidineDavid MorrisseyA chronicle of the sordid life and suspicious death of Rolling Stones co-founder Brian Jones, who was found in the bottom of his swimming pool weeks after being let go from the band.
- DirectorGregory NavaStarsJennifer LopezEdward James OlmosJon SedaThe true story of Selena, a Texas-born Tejano singer who rose from cult status to performing at the Astrodome, as well as having chart-topping albums on the Latin music charts.
- DirectorCharles Stone IIIStarsKeke PalmerRochelle AytesEvan RossThe story of Legendary hip hop/r&b/pop trio TLC.