Biographies
by t-xy | created - 04 Oct 2016 | updated - 04 Feb 2020 | PublicThe list is far from complete and will be updated sporadically. Below are links to lists of biographical films in sections the site doesn't provide filters for.
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1. Wilde (1997)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The turmoil in poet/playwright Oscar Wilde's life after he discovers his homosexuality.
Director: Brian Gilbert | Stars: Stephen Fry, Jude Law, Vanessa Redgrave, Jennifer Ehle
Votes: 18,116 | Gross: $2.16M
Oscar Wilde
2. Capote (2005)
R | 114 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
In 1959, Truman Capote learns of the murder of a Kansas family and decides to write a book about the case. While researching for his novel In Cold Blood, Capote forms a relationship with one of the killers, Perry Smith, who is on death row.
Director: Bennett Miller | Stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Clifton Collins Jr., Catherine Keener, Allie Mickelson
Votes: 140,659 | Gross: $28.75M
Truman Capote
3. Becoming Jane (2007)
PG | 120 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
A biographical portrait of a pre-fame Jane Austen and her romance with a young Irishman.
Director: Julian Jarrold | Stars: Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, Julie Walters, James Cromwell
Votes: 65,041 | Gross: $18.67M
Jane Austen
4. Quills (2000)
R | 124 min | Biography, Drama
In a Napoleonic era insane asylum, an inmate, the irrepressible Marquis De Sade, fights a battle of wills against a tyrannically prudish doctor.
Director: Philip Kaufman | Stars: Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Caine
Votes: 56,701 | Gross: $7.06M
The Marquis de Sade
5. The Last Station (2009)
R | 112 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
A historical drama that illustrates Russian author Leo Tolstoy's (Christopher Plummer's) struggle to balance fame and wealth with his commitment to a life devoid of material things.
Director: Michael Hoffman | Stars: Helen Mirren, James McAvoy, Christopher Plummer, Paul Giamatti
Votes: 19,147 | Gross: $6.62M
Leo Tolstoy
6. Trumbo (2015)
R | 124 min | Biography, Drama
In 1947, Dalton Trumbo was Hollywood's top screenwriter, until he and other artists were jailed and blacklisted for their political beliefs.
Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Louis C.K.
Votes: 84,741 | Gross: $7.86M
Dalton Trumbo
7. Genius (2016)
PG-13 | 104 min | Biography, Drama
A chronicle of Max Perkins's time as the book editor at Scribner, where he oversaw works by Thomas Wolfe, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and others.
Director: Michael Grandage | Stars: Colin Firth, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Laura Linney
Votes: 21,341 | Gross: $1.36M
Max Perkins
8. Out of Africa (1985)
PG | 161 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
In 20th-century colonial Kenya, a Danish baroness/plantation owner has a passionate love affair with a free-spirited big-game hunter.
Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Michael Kitchen
Votes: 86,250 | Gross: $87.10M
Karen Blixen
9. Miss Potter (2006)
PG | 88 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The story of Beatrix Potter, the author of the beloved and best-selling children's book, "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", and her struggle for love, happiness, and success.
Director: Chris Noonan | Stars: Renée Zellweger, Ewan McGregor, Emily Watson, Barbara Flynn
Votes: 31,992 | Gross: $2.98M
Beatrix Potter
10. Shadowlands (1993)
PG | 131 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
C.S. Lewis, a world-renowned Christian theologian, writer and professor, leads a passionless life until he meets spirited poet Joy Gresham from the U.S.
Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Debra Winger, Julian Fellowes, Roddy Maude-Roxby
Votes: 20,428 | Gross: $25.84M
C.S. Lewis
11. Shadowlands (1986 TV Movie)
92 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Noted author and scholar finds love, then must endure its loss...
Director: Norman Stone | Stars: Joss Ackland, Claire Bloom, David Waller, Rupert Baderman
Votes: 608
C.S. Lewis
12. In Love and War (1996)
PG-13 | 113 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
A bitter love story between a talented writer and a gentle nurse.
Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Sandra Bullock, Chris O'Donnell, Mackenzie Astin, Margot Steinberg
Votes: 9,123 | Gross: $14.48M
Ernest Hemingway
13. Nora (2000)
R | 106 min | Biography, Drama
Dublin, 1904, James Joyce chats up Nora Barnacle, a hotel maid recently come from Galway. She enchants him with her frank, uninhibited manner, and before long, he's convinced her to come with him to Trieste.
Director: Pat Murphy | Stars: Ewan McGregor, Susan Lynch, Andrew Scott, Vinnie McCabe
Votes: 1,844 | Gross: $0.01M
James Joyce
14. The Edge of Love (2008)
R | 110 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Two feisty, free-spirited women are connected by the brilliant, charismatic poet who loves them both.
Director: John Maybury | Stars: Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, Matthew Rhys, Simon Armstrong
Votes: 18,928 | Gross: $0.03M
Dylan Thomas
15. Before Night Falls (2000)
R | 133 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The life of Cuban poet and novelist, Reinaldo Arenas.
Director: Julian Schnabel | Stars: Javier Bardem, Johnny Depp, Olatz López Garmendia, Giovani Florido
Votes: 26,361 | Gross: $4.22M
Reinaldo Arenas
16. Violette (2013)
Not Rated | 139 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Violette Leduc, born a bastard at the beginning of last century, meets Simone de Beauvoir in the years after the war in St-Germain-des-Prés. Then begins an intense relationship between the ... See full summary »
Director: Martin Provost | Stars: Emmanuelle Devos, Sandrine Kiberlain, Olivier Gourmet, Catherine Hiegel
Votes: 2,189
Violette Leduc
17. Prick Up Your Ears (1987)
R | 105 min | Biography, Drama
Biographer John Lahr is writing a book about playwright Joe Orton. Joe and Kenneth meet at drama school and live together for ten years as lovers and collaborators. Both want to be writers, but only one of them is successful.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina, Vanessa Redgrave, Wallace Shawn
Votes: 6,532 | Gross: $1.65M
Joe Orten
18. Rebel in the Rye (2017)
PG-13 | 106 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The life of celebrated but reclusive author, J.D. Salinger, who gained worldwide fame with the publication of his novel, "The Catcher in the Rye".
Director: Danny Strong | Stars: Nicholas Hoult, Kevin Spacey, Victor Garber, Hope Davis
Votes: 10,779 | Gross: $0.38M
J.D. Salinger
19. Casanova (2005)
TV-MA | 58 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
After a life spent seeking pleasure and decadence, Casanova seeks his one true love, Henriette.
Stars: Rose Byrne, David Tennant, Peter O'Toole, Rupert Penry-Jones
Votes: 5,435
Casanova
20. Young Cassidy (1965)
Approved | 110 min | Biography, Drama
The misadventures of a young idealist man in Dublin, Ireland in the early twentieth century.
Directors: Jack Cardiff, John Ford | Stars: Rod Taylor, Julie Christie, Maggie Smith, Michael Redgrave
Votes: 1,325
Sean O'Casey
21. The Wings of Eagles (1957)
Approved | 110 min | Biography, Drama, War
A biography of Navy flier-turned-screenwriter Frank W. "Spig" Wead.
Director: John Ford | Stars: John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Dan Dailey, Ward Bond
Votes: 4,605
Frank W. "Spig" Wead
22. The Mystery of Dante (2014)
90 min | Biography, History, Mystery
A journey in the footsteps of the most famous initiate of Italian Trecento, the author of the celebrated "Divine Comedy". A poet who has inspired some of the most outstanding minds in History.
Director: Louis Nero | Stars: F. Murray Abraham, Taylor Hackford, Louis Nero, Franco Zeffirelli
Votes: 84
Dante Alighieri
23. In the Heart of the Sea (2015)
PG-13 | 122 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
A recounting of a New England whaling ship's sinking by a giant whale in 1820, an experience that later inspired the great novel Moby-Dick.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, Ben Whishaw
Votes: 148,646 | Gross: $25.02M
Herman Melville
24. Girl, Interrupted (1999)
R | 127 min | Biography, Drama
A directionless teenager, Susanna, is rushed to Claymoore, a mental institution, after a supposed suicide attempt. There, she befriends a group of troubled women who deeply influence her life.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea DuVall, Brittany Murphy
Votes: 210,995 | Gross: $28.87M
Susanna Kaysen
25. Denial (II) (2016)
PG-13 | 109 min | Biography, Drama
Acclaimed writer and historian Deborah E. Lipstadt must battle for historical truth to prove the Holocaust actually occurred when David Irving, a renowned denier, sues her for libel.
Director: Mick Jackson | Stars: Rachel Weisz, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Spall, Andrew Scott
Votes: 23,499 | Gross: $4.07M
Deborah E. Lipstadt
26. Enid (2009 TV Movie)
82 min | Biography, Drama
Edwardian child Enid Blyton begins to tell stories to her brothers as an escape from their parents' rows before the father deserts the family. While training as a teacher after the Great ... See full summary »
Director: James Hawes | Stars: Helena Bonham Carter, Matthew Macfadyen, Denis Lawson, Claire Rushbrook
Votes: 1,668
Enid Blyton
27. The End of the Tour (2015)
R | 106 min | Biography, Drama
The story of the five-day interview between Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky and acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace, which took place right after the 1996 publication of Wallace's groundbreaking epic novel, 'Infinite Jest.'
Director: James Ponsoldt | Stars: Jason Segel, Jesse Eisenberg, Anna Chlumsky, Mamie Gummer
Votes: 32,559 | Gross: $2.99M
David Foster Wallace
28. A Walk in the Woods (2015)
R | 104 min | Adventure, Biography, Comedy
After spending two decades in England, Bill Bryson (Robert Redford) returns to the U.S., where he decides the best way to connect with his homeland is to hike the Appalachian Trail with one of his oldest friends, Stephen Katz (Nick Nolte).
Director: Ken Kwapis | Stars: Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, Emma Thompson, Mary Steenburgen
Votes: 29,724 | Gross: $29.47M
Bill Bryson
29. Fleming (2014)
TV-MA | 44 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Look at the 007 creator, Ian Fleming, and his early life set against the permissive society of war-torn WWII London.
Stars: Dominic Cooper, Lara Pulver, Samuel West, Anna Chancellor
Votes: 5,278
Ian Fleming
30. Goldeneye (1989 TV Movie)
105 min | Biography
Fact-based biography of James Bond author, Ian Fleming. The film focuses on his wartime exploits and romantic adventures which ultimately led to his creation of the super-spy.
Director: Don Boyd | Stars: Charles Dance, Phyllis Logan, Patrick Ryecart, Marsha Fitzalan
Votes: 452
Ian Fleming
31. Paulo Coelho's Best Story (2014)
Not Rated | 112 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A chronicle of Paulo Coelho's rise from his troubled life to become one of the most influential writers in Brazilian history.
Director: Daniel Augusto | Stars: Júlio Andrade, Ravel Andrade, Fabiana Gugli, Fabiula Nascimento
Votes: 694
Paulo Coelho
32. The Postman (1994)
PG | 108 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A simple Italian postman learns to love poetry while delivering mail to a famous poet, and then uses this to woo local beauty Beatrice.
Directors: Michael Radford, Massimo Troisi | Stars: Massimo Troisi, Philippe Noiret, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Renato Scarpa
Votes: 38,981 | Gross: $21.85M
Pablo Neruda
33. Cyrano de Bergerac (1990)
PG | 137 min | Comedy, Drama, History
Famed swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac is in love with his cousin Roxane. He has never expressed his love for her as he his large nose undermines his self-confidence. Then he finds a way to express his love to her, indirectly.
Director: Jean-Paul Rappeneau | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Anne Brochet, Vincent Perez, Jacques Weber
Votes: 25,932 | Gross: $15.14M
34. Omar Khayyam (1957)
Not Rated | 101 min | Adventure, Biography, Romance
During the 11th century, Persian poet Omar Khayyam's lover marries the Shah but the Shah, whose life is threatened by a sect of assassins, appoints Omar royal advisor.
Director: William Dieterle | Stars: Cornel Wilde, Michael Rennie, Debra Paget, John Derek
Votes: 375
Omar Khayyam
35. The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam (2005)
PG | 95 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
Kamran is a 12-year-old boy in the present day who discovers that his ancestor is 11th-century mathematician, astronomer, and poet of Persia Omar Khayyam. The story has been passed down in ... See full summary »
Director: Kayvan Mashayekh | Stars: Adam Echahly, Bruno Lastra, Moritz Bleibtreu, Rade Serbedzija
Votes: 805 | Gross: $0.22M
Omar Khayyam
36. Omar Al-Khayyam (2002– )
Biography, Drama, History
Stars: Saba Mubarak, Khaled Taja, Jawad Al Shakarji, Zuhair Ramadan
Votes: 8
Omar Khayyam
37. Byron (2003 TV Movie)
147 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Following the success of his poem "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage", Byron becomes the toast of London.
Director: Julian Farino | Stars: Stephen Campbell Moore, Oliver Milburn, Michael Elwyn, Jonny Lee Miller
Votes: 1,154
Lord Byron
38. Mary Shelley (2017)
PG-13 | 120 min | Biography, Drama, History
Life and facts of Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, who at 16 met 21 year old poet Percy Shelley, resulting in the writing of Frankenstein.
Director: Haifaa Al-Mansour | Stars: Elle Fanning, Bel Powley, Owen Richards, Joanne Froggatt
Votes: 17,739 | Gross: $0.11M
Percy and Mary Shelley
39. Miss Austen Regrets (2007 TV Movie)
TV-G | 90 min | Biography, Drama, History
In the later years of her life, as she's approaching the age of forty, the novelist Jane Austen helps her niece find a husband.
Director: Jeremy Lovering | Stars: Samuel Roukin, Olivia Williams, Greta Scacchi, Imogen Poots
Votes: 3,599
Jane Austen
40. Magic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story (2011 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 90 min | Biography, Drama
An inspiring look at JK Rowling's rise to become one of the most influential writers-from her humble beginnings as an imaginative young girl and awkward teenager to the loss of her mother and the genesis of the Harry Potter phenomenon.
Director: Paul A. Kaufman | Stars: Poppy Montgomery, Emily Holmes, Antonio Cupo, Janet Kidder
Votes: 2,761
J.K. Rowling
41. Byron: Ballad for a Daemon (1992)
138 min | Biography, Drama
Poet Lord Byron decides to fight with the Greek revolutionaries in Missolonghi against the Turks but instead the glorious battle wrestles with fever and his own demons.
Director: Nikos Koundouros | Stars: Manos Vakousis, Vera Sotnikova, Vasilis Laggos, Igor Yasulovich
Votes: 136
Lord Byron
42. Haunted Summer (1988)
R | 106 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
In 1816, authors Lord Byron, Mary Shelley and Percy Shelley get together for some philosophical discussions, but the situation soon deteriorates into mind games, drugs and sex.
Director: Ivan Passer | Stars: Philip Anglim, Laura Dern, Alice Krige, Eric Stoltz
Votes: 586 | Gross: $0.01M
Lord Byron, Mary and Percy Shelley
43. Lady Caroline Lamb (1972)
PG | 123 min | Drama, History, Romance
A noblewoman doomed to a loveless marriage falls into a scandalous affair with the dashing Lord Byron.
Director: Robert Bolt | Stars: Sarah Miles, Jon Finch, Richard Chamberlain, John Mills
Votes: 554
Lord Byron
44. Shelley (1972 TV Movie)
75 min | Biography, Drama, History
Director: Alan Bridges | Stars: Jenny Agutter, Peter Bowles, Nicolas Chagrin, David Dundas
Votes: 18
Mary Shelley
45.
Biography (1970– )
Episode:
Byron
(1970)
Biography
The life of the infamous - but great - poet.
Director: John Glenister | Stars: Keith Barron, Julian Burbery, Gigi Gatti, Margaret Ford
Lord Byron
46. The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944)
Approved | 130 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
The dramatized life of immortal humorist Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, from his days as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River until his death in 1910 shortly after Halley's Comet returned.
Director: Irving Rapper | Stars: Fredric March, Alexis Smith, Donald Crisp, Alan Hale
Votes: 1,360
Mark Twain
47. Wodehouse in Exile (2013 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 82 min | Drama
An all-star cast heads up this intimate film about how author, P.G.Wodehouse, came to face a charge of treason during the Second World War and how this quintessential Englishman, creator of... See full summary »
Director: Tim Fywell | Stars: Tim Pigott-Smith, Zoë Wanamaker, Curran McKay, Simon Coury
Votes: 353
P.G. Wodehouse
48. Saint-Ex (1996)
PG | 82 min | Biography, Drama, Fantasy
Poetic biography of author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
Director: Anand Tucker | Stars: Bruno Ganz, Miranda Richardson, Janet McTeer, Ken Stott
Votes: 226
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
49. Das Ende ist mein Anfang (2010)
Not Rated | 98 min | Biography, Drama
In his last days, journalist and writer Tiziano Terzani talks to his son about his life.
Director: Jo Baier | Stars: Bruno Ganz, Elio Germano, Erika Pluhar, Andrea Osvárt
Votes: 657
Tiziano Terzani
50. Nella vita di Sylvia Plath (1979 TV Movie)
90 min | Biography
The last months of life of the American writer Sylvia Plath, who committed suicide at the age of 31.
Director: Alessandro Cane | Stars: Carla Gravina, Alfredo Piano, Olivia Bignardi, Valeria Sabel
Sylvia Plath
51. Eroica (2003 TV Movie)
129 min | Drama, History, Music
On June 9, 1804, Ludwig van Beethoven and his pupil Ries assemble a group of musicians to give the first performance of his Third Symphony, 'Bonaparte', to his patron Prince Lobkowitz and ... See full summary »
Director: Simon Cellan Jones | Stars: Peter Hanson, Jack Davenport, Leo Bill, Ian Hart
Votes: 664
Ludwig van Beethoven
52. Amadeus (1984)
R | 160 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The 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.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Roy Dotrice
Votes: 427,465 | Gross: $51.97M
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
53. Mahler (1974)
PG | 115 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Composer Gustav Mahler's (Robert Powell) life, told in a series of flashbacks as he and his wife (Georgina Hale) discuss their failing marriage during a train journey.
Director: Ken Russell | Stars: Robert Powell, Georgina Hale, Lee Montague, Miriam Karlin
Votes: 3,053
Gustav Mahler
54. Impromptu (1991)
PG-13 | 107 min | Biography, Comedy, Music
In 1830s France, pianist/composer Frédéric Chopin is pursued romantically by the determined, individualistic woman who uses the name George Sand.
Director: James Lapine | Stars: Judy Davis, Hugh Grant, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters
Votes: 5,505 | Gross: $4.08M
Frederic Chopin, George Sand
55.
Tchaikovsky (2007)
Episode:
Fortune and Tragedy
(2007)
Documentary, Drama
Director: Matthew Whiteman | Stars: Charles Hazlewood, Ed Stoppard, William Mannering, Alice Glover
Votes: 54
Peter I. Tchaikovsky
56. Vivaldi, the Red Priest (2009)
120 min | Biography, Musical
The life of Antonio Vivaldi, called "the red priest", his relationship with the world and the Church, his spiritual battles, his love for a woman.
Director: Liana Marabini | Stars: Steven Cree, Clemency Burton-Hill, James Jagger, Tiffany Mulheron
Votes: 51
Antonio Vivaldi
57. Lisztomania (1975)
R | 103 min | Biography, Comedy, Music
Composer and pianist Franz Liszt (Roger Daltrey) attempts to overcome his hedonistic life-style while repeatedly being drawn back into it by the many women in his life and fellow composer Richard Wagner (Paul Nicholas).
Director: Ken Russell | Stars: Roger Daltrey, Sara Kestelman, Paul Nicholas, Ringo Starr
Votes: 3,113
Franz Liszt
58. The Music Lovers (1971)
R | 123 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Piano teacher Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky struggles against his homosexuality by marrying, but unfortunately he chooses a nymphomaniac whom he cannot satisfy.
Director: Ken Russell | Stars: Richard Chamberlain, Glenda Jackson, Max Adrian, Christopher Gable
Votes: 3,017 | Gross: $0.20M
Peter I. Tchaikovsky
59. Tous les matins du monde (1991)
Not Rated | 115 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of Monsieur de Sainte Colombe, fierce and somber man, grand master of the viola da gamba and professor of Marin Marais, prestigious musician in the court of Louis XIV.
Director: Alain Corneau | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Anne Brochet, Guillaume Depardieu
Votes: 7,935 | Gross: $3.09M
60. Mozart's Sister (2010)
Not Rated | 120 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A reimagined account of the early life of Maria Anna 'Nannerl' Mozart, five years older than Wolfgang, and a musical prodigy in her own right.
Director: René Féret | Stars: Marie Féret, Marc Barbé, Delphine Chuillot, David Moreau
Votes: 1,614 | Gross: $0.71M
61. Vision - Aus dem Leben der Hildegard von Bingen (2009)
Unrated | 110 min | Biography, Drama, History
The life story of the multi-talented German nun Hildegard von Bingen. The film portrays an original woman - best known as a composer and religious visionary - whose grand claims often run ... See full summary »
Director: Margarethe von Trotta | Stars: Barbara Sukowa, Heino Ferch, Hannah Herzsprung, Lena Stolze
Votes: 1,303 | Gross: $0.43M
HIldegard von Bingen
62. My Name Is Bach (2003)
97 min | Biography, Drama
Composer Johann Sebastian Bach is introduced to King Frederick II of Prussia in 1747. The aging composer and the young monarch clash and a battle of egos ensues.
Director: Dominique de Rivaz | Stars: Vadim Glowna, Jürgen Vogel, Karoline Herfurth, Anatole Taubman
Votes: 358
63. Immortal Beloved (1994)
R | 121 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The 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 ... See full summary »
Director: Bernard Rose | Stars: Gary Oldman, Jeroen Krabbé, Isabella Rossellini, Johanna ter Steege
Votes: 26,196 | Gross: $9.91M
Ludwig van Beethoven
64. Beethoven (2005)
60 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
A dramatized documentary on the life and music of Ludwig van Beethoven.
Stars: Paul Rhys, Charles Hazlewood, David Bamber, Casper Harvey
Votes: 254
65. Copying Beethoven (2006)
PG-13 | 104 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A fictionalized account of the last year of Beethoven's life.
Director: Agnieszka Holland | Stars: Ed Harris, Diane Kruger, Matthew Goode, Ralph Riach
Votes: 14,113 | Gross: $0.35M
66. Vivaldi (II)
Biography, Drama, History | Announced
A biography of Antonio Vivaldi's early life, when the young priest became the music teacher at a school for the illegitimate daughters of Venice's courtesans.
Director: Boris Damast
67. Sibelius (2003)
120 min | Biography, Drama, History
The life story of Jean Sibelius, a Finnish composer.
Director: Timo Koivusalo | Stars: Martti Suosalo, Heikki Nousiainen, Miina Turunen, Seela Sella
Votes: 736
68. Johann Sebastian Bach (1985– )
Biography, Drama, Music
Sophisticated German miniseries on the life and work of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), one of the greatest musicians and composers of all time.
Stars: Ulrich Thein, Franziska Troegner, Rosemarie Bärhold, András Kozák
Votes: 104
69. Bach (I)
History | Announced
J.S. Bach, orphaned at 10, widowed at 35, 20 children, regarded as the world's greatest composer, challenged the conventions of church, state and society by expressing personal tragedy and hardship with passion, joy and conviction.
Director: Carlos Saura
70. Magic Fire (1956)
Approved | 95 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The life and career of German composer Richard Wagner.
Director: William Dieterle | Stars: Yvonne De Carlo, Carlos Thompson, Rita Gam, Valentina Cortese
Votes: 182
71. The Life of Richard Wagner (1913)
110 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of the great German composer, from his childhood through his great triumphs in orchestral and operatic music.
Directors: Carl Froelich, William Wauer | Stars: Giuseppe Becce, Olga Engl, Manny Ziener, Ernst Reicher
Votes: 124
72. New Wine (1941)
Passed | 87 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The romantic story of Franz Schubert 's fight for recognition of his music. Fleeing Austria, he arouses passion strongly akin to mother love in a beautiful bucolic girl, who loves him to much to sacrifice genius on the altar of marriage.
Director: Reinhold Schünzel | Stars: Alan Curtis, Ilona Massey, Billy Gilbert, Binnie Barnes
Votes: 42
Franz Schubert
73. The Life and Loves of Beethoven (1936)
116 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Lyrical biography of the classical composer, depicted as a romantical hero, an accursed artist.
Director: Abel Gance | Stars: Harry Baur, Annie Ducaux, Jany Holt, Jean-Louis Barrault
Votes: 316
Beethoven
74. Strauss' Great Waltz (1934)
Approved | 80 min | Biography, Music, Romance
The story of Johann Strauss the elder and younger.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Edmund Gwenn, Esmond Knight, Jessie Matthews, Fay Compton
Votes: 1,711
Johann Strauss the elder and younger
75. The Great Waltz (1938)
Passed | 104 min | Biography, Drama, Music
In 1845 Vienna, Johann Strauss II (Fernand Gravey) - 'Jonahi' to his friends - would rather write and perform waltzes than anything else, this at a time when a waltz is not considered ... See full summary »
Directors: Julien Duvivier, Victor Fleming, Josef von Sternberg | Stars: Luise Rainer, Fernand Gravey, Miliza Korjus, Hugh Herbert
Votes: 1,305
Johann Strauß II
76. La symphonie fantastique (1942)
90 min | Biography, Drama
Biographical romance about the great composer Hector Berlioz, someone whom the French, during their WWII occupation by the Nazis, could look back proudly on.
Director: Christian-Jaque | Stars: Renée Saint-Cyr, Lise Delamare, Jean-Louis Barrault, Jules Berry
Votes: 153
Berlioz
77. The Great Mr. Handel (1942)
Not Rated | 89 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A lavish period drama produced in 1942 by Lord Rank's G.H.W. Productions Ltd.
Director: Norman Walker | Stars: Wilfrid Lawson, Elizabeth Allan, Malcolm Keen, Michael Shepley
Votes: 94
Handel
78. Beethoven Lives Upstairs (1992 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 51 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A young boy learns to appreciate the music of his upstairs boarder, Ludwig Van Beethoven.
Director: David Devine | Stars: Neil Munro, Illya Woloshyn, Fiona Reid, Paul Soles
Votes: 483
Beethoven
79. A Song to Remember (1945)
Approved | 113 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Biography of Frederic Chopin.
Director: Charles Vidor | Stars: Paul Muni, Merle Oberon, Cornel Wilde, Nina Foch
Votes: 1,617
Frederic Chopin
80. The Magic Bow (1946)
Approved | 106 min | Biography, Musical, Romance
Biography of the famous--and notorious--Italian violinist Nicolo Paganini.
Director: Bernard Knowles | Stars: Stewart Granger, Phyllis Calvert, Jean Kent, Dennis Price
Votes: 238
Paganini
81. Song of Love (1947)
Approved | 119 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Composer Robert Schumann struggles to compose his symphonies while his loving wife Clara offers her support. Also helping the Schumanns is their lifelong friend, composer Johannes Brahms.
Director: Clarence Brown | Stars: Katharine Hepburn, Paul Henreid, Robert Walker, Henry Daniell
Votes: 1,151
Robert Schumann
82. Young Chopin (1952)
Approved | 98 min | Biography, Drama, History
A story of the formative years in Chopin's life between 1825 and 1831, a time of social unrest throughout Europe, of rising nationalism, and of cries for reform. Chopin, an outstanding ... See full summary »
Director: Aleksander Ford | Stars: Czeslaw Wollejko, Zbigniew Lobodzinski, Józef Nieweglowski, Jerzy Duszynski
Votes: 82
83. Puccini (1953)
119 min | Biography, Drama, Music
This biographical story of Puccini (Gabriele Ferzetti) spans his creative life from early student days to the height of success, including his early flop Madame Butterfly and his incomplete... See full summary »
Director: Carmine Gallone | Stars: Gabriele Ferzetti, Märta Torén, Nadia Gray, Myriam Bru
Votes: 76
84. Das Dreimäderlhaus (1958)
102 min | Romance, Drama
The young composer Franz Schubert tries to gain a foothold in Vienna.
Director: Ernst Marischka | Stars: Karlheinz Böhm, Rudolf Schock, Magda Schneider, Gustav Knuth
Votes: 122
Franz Schubert
85. Song Without End (1960)
Not Rated | 141 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The romantic story of Hungarian pianist Franz Liszt (Sir Dirk Bogarde), whose scandalous love affair forced him to abandon his adoring audiences.
Directors: Charles Vidor, George Cukor | Stars: Dirk Bogarde, Capucine, Geneviève Page, Patricia Morison
Votes: 948
Franz Liszt
86.
Omnibus (1967–2003)
Episode:
Song of Summer
(1968)
Not Rated | 74 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
Traces last 5 years of the life of Frederick Delius through the eyes of the young composer Eric Fenby
Director: Ken Russell | Stars: Max Adrian, Maureen Pryor, Christopher Gable, David Collings
Votes: 400
87.
Monitor (1958–1965)
Episode:
Elgar: Portrait of a Composer
(1962)
55 min | Documentary, Talk-Show
A partly dramatised account of the life of Sir Edward Elgar classical composer. Huw Wheldon narrates the life story over backdrops of beautiful mountain scenery, especially memorable is the... See full summary »
Director: Ken Russell | Stars: Huw Wheldon, Peter Brett, Rowena Gregory, George McGrath
Votes: 278
88. The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach (1968)
94 min | Biography, Drama, History
The life and music of Johann Sebastian Bach as presented by his wife, Anna.
Directors: Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub | Stars: Gustav Leonhardt, Christiane Lang, Paolo Carlini, Ernst Castelli
Votes: 1,584 | Gross: $0.02M
89. Tchaikovsky (1970)
Not Rated | 157 min | Biography, Drama
The life and work of Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tschaikovsky is shown through his relationship with aristocratic art connoisseur Nadezhda Filaretovna von Meck.
Director: Igor Talankin | Stars: Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Antonina Shuranova, Kirill Lavrov, Vladislav Strzhelchik
Votes: 487
90. Song of Norway (1970)
G | 138 min | Biography, Drama, Musical
Based on the life of Norway's greatest composer Edvard Grieg, and filmed in Norway where he lived. The soundtrack is all Edvard Grieg's music with added lyrics.
Director: Andrew L. Stone | Stars: Florence Henderson, Toralv Maurstad, Christina Schollin, Frank Porretta
Votes: 509 | Gross: $3.72M
Grieg
91. The Strauss Family (1972)
60 min | Drama, Romance
A seven-part mini-series produced in England about Vienna's Strauss family in the 19th-century. Members of the London Symphony Orchestra provided the music.
Stars: Stuart Wilson, Anne Stallybrass, Barbara Ferris, Christopher Benjamin
Votes: 122
92. Spring Symphony (1983)
PG-13 | 103 min | Biography, Music
Chronicles the illustrious 19th-century love affair between composer Robert Schumann and pianist Clara Wieck.
Director: Peter Schamoni | Stars: Nastassja Kinski, Herbert Grönemeyer, Rolf Hoppe, Anja-Christine Preussler
Votes: 368
Schumann
93. Puccini (1984 TV Movie)
113 min | Biography, Drama
When Italian composer Giacomo Puccini is accused of sleeping with his maid, the scandal threatens to destroy his life and career. This biopic intercuts with director Tony Palmer's efforts to stage Puccini's last opera.
Director: Tony Palmer | Stars: Robert Stephens, Virginia McKenna, Judith Howarth, Robert Urquhart
Votes: 51
94. Vergeßt Mozart (1985)
92 min | Music, Mystery, Thriller
In the dead of night, a few hours after Mozart's death, the usual suspects (Konstanze, Salieri, van Swieten, etc.) are summoned to Mozart's room by Count Pergen, head of the secret police, ... See full summary »
Director: Miloslav Luther | Stars: Armin Mueller-Stahl, Max Tidof, Wolfgang Preiss, Catarina Raacke
Votes: 98
95. God Rot Tunbridge Wells! (1985 TV Movie)
119 min | Biography, Drama, Music
At death's door, George Frederic Handel reflects, rages, and narrates his life. From his womanizing youthful days, to his rise in fame as a composer, God Rot Tunbridge Wells! pulls no punches in this wild romp of a biopic.
Director: Tony Palmer | Stars: Trevor Howard, Dave Griffiths, Christopher Bramwell, Ranald Neilson
Votes: 50
Handel
96. Wahnfried (1986)
112 min | Drama, Musical
Richard's Wagner and his wife Cosima.
Director: Peter Patzak | Stars: Otto Sander, Tatja Seibt, Fabienne Babe, Peter Matic
Votes: 63
Wagner
97. Blue Note (1991)
135 min | Drama, Music, Romance
the film covers the last few days of fragile Chopin's professional life.
Director: Andrzej Zulawski | Stars: Marie-France Pisier, Janusz Olejniczak, Sophie Marceau, Noëmi Nadelmann
Votes: 728
Frédéric Chopin
98. Bizet's Dream (1994 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 53 min | Music, Drama, Family
A 12 year old Parisian girl takes piano lessons from composer Georges Bizet and becomes captivated by his story of the gypsy Carmen.
Director: David Devine | Stars: Maurice Godin, Brittany Madgett, Catherine Barroll, Yseult Lendvai
Votes: 51
99. England, My England (1995)
153 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1960s, a British playwright attempts to reconstruct the life of real life 17th century English composer Henry Purcell even though little is known about him. Purcell's life is reenacted and his music performed.
Director: Tony Palmer | Stars: Simon Callow, Michael Ball, Rebecca Front, Lucy Speed
Votes: 193
Purcell
100. Bruckners Entscheidung (1995)
80 min | Biography, Music
Director: Jan Schmidt-Garre | Stars: Joachim Bauer, Markus Ertelthalner, Joachim Kaiser, Michael Ponti
Votes: 14
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