The 20 greatest biopics about musicians

Composers and conductors are, in essence, musicians. Leonard Bernstein is one of the most acclaimed Americans on both fronts. Bradley Cooper, in his follow-up to the non-biopic “A Star Is Born” as director, plays Bernstein. He was justifiably nominated for Best Actor, with Carey Mulligan joining him in Best Actor (also deservedly). We will note that, of course, Lydia Tar is not a real person.

Todd Haynes is not a stranger to atypical biopics. He famously found a new level of acclaim with his (unauthorized, technically-not-legal) biopic of Karen Carpenter, wherein a Barbie doll plays Karen (hence the legal issues). In “I’m Not There,” Haynes crafts a biopic of Bob Dylan through several different actors taking on different forms of him, including Ricard Gere as an aged Billy the Kid who didn’t actually die. It’s an odd biopic, but a great one.

James Cagney was a song-and-dance man until he rose to fame as one of the foremost stars of gangster pictures. In the 1940s, though, he went back to his roots to acclaim. Cagney plays George M. Cohan, himself a bit of a song-and-dance man. That paid off, as Cagney won his Best Actor award for “Yankee Doodle Dandy.”

Speaking of Oscar winners, “Walk the Line” provided an Oscar to a member of the cast as well. It wasn’t Joaquin Phoenix for his turn as Johnny Cash, though he was nominated. No, Reese Witherspoon won Best Actress for playing Johnny’s wife and collaborator June Carter Cash. A good enough movie to overcome the incredible musician biopic parody “Walk Hard.”

Chadwick Boseman is best known for playing Black Panther in the MCU, but he was also a practiced hand at biopics before his tragic death. Perhaps his best work in such a film was in “Get On Up,” an overlooked movie wherein Boseman plays James Brown.

It feels like Hal Ashby may be in for a revisiting by burgeoning cinephiles (if you enjoyed “The Holdovers,” it has something of an Ashby vibe to it), and his film “Bound for Glory” was nominated for Best Picture. Now, there is a lot of fiction in this biopic of Woody Guthrie, but that feels fitting. Like many folk singers of a certain era, Guthrie’s life story was often exaggerated and fictionalized.

“Love & Mercy” is a bifurcated biopic, with one side of things carrying the load, if we’re being honest. When Paul Dano plays the young Brian Wilson, he shines, and the story is compelling. On the other hand, John Cusack as the older, overmedicated version of Wilson is a little inert. Still, all in all a good watch.

After directing his iconic cult classic debut “Repo Man,” Alex Cox had a chance to take a step up in his career, in terms of prestige. Of course, what he ended up doing is directing a biopic of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen, the drug-soaked punk couple who both met untimely ends, and possibly criminal ends in terms of Spungen. Critically acclaimed, “Sid and Nancy” was not a hit at the box office, but also is probably Cox’s biggest hit? He’s had a weird career, but “Repo Man” rules.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the most famous classical musicians, one well worthy of a biopic. “Amadeus” is that biopic, and it won Best Picture. However, Mozart is arguably overshadowed in the film by Antonio Salieri. In fact, F. Murray Abraham won Best Actor for playing Salieri. Finally, he got one over on Mozart.

Gary Busey is an Oscar nominee. It’s true. That may be hard to believe now, but back in the day he wasn’t so eccentric (or erratic, depending on how charitable) you want to be. Busey was nominated by the Academy for playing Holly in this biopic. It hasn’t entered the canon, but it is solid, and Busey is genuinely good.

To the best of our knowledge, the Big Bopper never got a biopic, but the other two men who perished “The Day the Music Died” did. Holly is one of those, of course, and the other is Ritchie Valens. It feels implausible, but Valens died famous even though he was only 17 when the plane went down. Lou Diamond Phillips, in what is likely his most acclaimed role, plays Valens.

The story of the rags-to-riches life of Loretta Lynn was a huge commercial success, finishing seventh in the year-end box office. Also, it was critically acclaimed for good measure. Sissy Spacek, who plays Lynn, won Best Actress for her turn.

In America, “Behind the Candelabra” ended up a TV movie, specifically HBO. However, it debuted at the Cannes Film Festival and got a theatrical release in other countries. More to the point, it’s a Steven Soderbergh film starring Michael Douglas as Liberace, and that’s notable for sure.

One year earlier, a biopic about a flamboyant British musician won Best Actor. The next year, a better movie, with a better lead performance, came out. “Rocketman” is a proper musical, with songs integrated into the action, about Elton John. Taron Egerton plays John though much of his adult life. Fittingly, Egerton had already sung an Elton John song in the animated movie “Sing.”

After premiering in Toronto, “Weird” ended up on The Roku Channel, and Roku submitted it as a made-for-TV movie for Emmy purposes. Well, it picked up a few nominations, and won a Creative Arts Emmy, so we suppose that paid off. Now, if you want to learn much about Yankovic’s real life, this absurd parody film is not ideal. If you want to laugh and enjoy a fun turn by Daniel Radcliffe as Weird Al, then it’s perfect.

Tina Turner had a productive creative partnership with Ike Turner, and a terrible personal relationship with him. Eventually, she would move past him and thrive. This biopic of Tina does focus much of its attention on the tumult that Ike brought to her life, but there’s more to the movie as well. Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne both got Oscar nominations for playing Tina and Ike.

In truth, most people likely only know about Florence Foster Jenkins because of this movie. Back in her day, though, the wealthy socialite-turned-singer was quite popular, but in the way a movie like “The Room” is popular. Seemingly being tone deaf and largely unable to sing on key didn’t deter Jenkins, who earned an unexpected biopic starring Meryl Streep for good measure.

With a steady hand in Anthony Mann directing and with Jimmy Stewart in the lead role, “The Glenn Miller Story” was a biopic with a fairly quick turnaround. Miller, a famed big band leader, is presumed to have died in 1944 when his plane disappeared over the English Channel. A decade later, Stewart played him in his biographical film. Miller, and Stewart fans, abounded, as “The Glenn Miller Story” finished fourth in the domestic box office.

Ken Russell’s films tend to be utterly bizarre, and his psychedelic biopic of Franz Liszt is no exception. In fact, “Lisztomania” is one of his wildest works, which is saying something. It’s not for everybody as a result. At points, it may not be for anybody. And yet, the vision of Russell makes for a movie that has to be seen to be believed.

Jamie Foxx rose from sitcom star to comedy film star to Oscar winner. His turn as Ray Charles in “Ray” really changed his career. Eventually, he would end up back in comedy, and nowadays is as much a game show host as anything. Careers can be strange. Foxx will always be an Oscar winner, though.