The Best Movies About Real Bands & Musicians
List Rules Vote up the best biographical films about singers and musicians
There are tons of music biopics, but which are the best? This list includes popular movies about real musicians and singers, like What’s Love Got To Do With It, Why Do Fools Fall In Love?, Walk the Line, and La Bamba. Films have the ability to make us feel. They make us want to believe, be inspired, and live vicariously through the stories we see on screen. Music and musicians has have a similar ability, and we often feel connected to our favorite rock stars, making movies about their lives all the more enchanting. Films that tell the story of Tina Turner, Kurt Cobain, Sid Vicious, and Ray Charles all tell tales that are fascinating, tumultuous, and likely more violent than our own. It is with a peek into the lives of these individuals that we can understand their motives, and thus their art, that much better. These movies vary in their genre but are all equally fascinating.
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Released: 2005
Directed by: James Mangold
Johnny Cash and June Carter
Walk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold and based on the early life and career of country music artist Johnny Cash. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix, ...more
Released: 2004
Directed by: Taylor Hackford
Ray Charles
Ray is a biographical film focusing on 30 years in the life of rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles. The independently produced film was written, produced and directed by Taylor Hackford, and ...more
Released: 1993
Directed by: Brian Gibson
Tina Turner
What's Love Got to Do with It is a 1993 American biographical film directed by Brian Gibson, loosely based on the life of Tina Turner. It stars Angela Bassett as Tina Turner and Laurence ...more
Released: 1991
Directed by: Oliver Stone
Released: 2015
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
NWA
Straight Outta Compton is a 2015 American biographical film directed by F. Gary Gray. The group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s and ...more
Released: 1987
Directed by: Luis Valdez
Ritchie Valens
La Bamba is a 1987 American biographical film written and directed by Luis Valdez that follows the life and career of Chicano rock 'n' roll star Ritchie Valens. The film stars Lou Diamond ...more
Released: 1984
Directed by: Miloš Forman
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Amadeus - Directors Cut is a 1984 biography drama film written by Peter Shaffer and directed by Milos Forman.
Released: 1980
Directed by: Michael Apted
Loretta Lynn
Coal Miner's Daughter is a 1980 biographical film which tells the story of country music legendary singer Loretta Lynn. It stars Sissy Spacek as Loretta, a role that earned her the Academy Award ...more
Released: 1978
Directed by: Steve Rash
Released: 2018
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Freddie Mercury and Queen
Bohemian Rhapsody is a 2018 American-British biographical drama film directed by Bryan Singer. A chronicle of the years from the formation of Queen and lead singer Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek) ...more
Released: 2019
Directed by: Dexter Fletcher
Elton John
Rocketman is a 2019 British-American biographical musical film directed by Dexter Fletcher. The life of Elton John (Taron Egerton) is tracked from his years as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of ...more
Released: 1998
Directed by: Allan Arkush
Released: 1989
Directed by: Jim McBride
Jerry Lee Lewis
Great Balls of Fire! is a 1989 American biographical film directed by Jim McBride and starring Dennis Quaid as pioneer rock 'n' roll star Jerry Lee Lewis. Based on a biography by Myra Lewis and ...more
Released: 2008
Directed by: Darnell Martin
Leonard Chess
Cadillac Records is a 2008 musical biopic written and directed by Darnell Martin. The film explores the musical era from the early 1940s to the late 1960s, chronicling the life of the ...more
Released: 1986
Directed by: Alex Cox
Released: 2014
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons
Jersey Boys is a 2014 American biographical musical drama film directed by Clint Eastwood based on the Tony Award-winning musical of the same name. The film tells the story of the musical group ...more
Released: 2014
Directed by: Bill Pohlad
Brian Wilson
A 2013 biopic about the life of Beach Boys' frontman Brian Wilson
Released: 2014
Directed by: Tate Taylor
James Brown
Get on Up is a 2014 American biographical drama film about the life of singer James Brown directed by Tate Taylor and written by Jez and John-Henry Butterworth. The film stars an ensemble cast ...more
Released: 2009
Directed by: George Tillman, Jr.
Biggie Smalls
Notorious is a 2009 American biographical film about the life of Christopher Wallace, an American rapper better known by the stage name The Notorious B.I.G. The film stars Jamal Woolard as ...more
Released: 1965
Directed by: Robert Wise
The Von Trapp Family Singers
The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical drama film produced and directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is an adaptation of the 1959 Broadway ...more
Released: 2018
Directed by: Peter Farrelly
Don Shirley
Green Book is a 2018 comedy-drama film directed by Peter Farrelly. A bouncer (Viggo Mortensen) at a New York nightclub takes a job as a pianist's (Mahershala Ali) chauffeur during a tour in the ...more
Released: 2010
Directed by: Floria Sigismondi
Joan Jett
The Runaways is a 2010 American drama film about the 1970s all-girl rock band of the same name written and directed by Floria Sigismondi. It is based on the book Neon Angel: A Memoir of a ...more
Released: 2002
Directed by: Roman Polanski
Wladyslaw Szpilman
The Pianist is a 2002 historical drama film co-produced and directed by Roman Polanski, scripted by Ronald Harwood, and starring Adrien Brody. It is based on the autobiographical book The ...more
