74 articles
A Mighty Heart (film)
A Mighty Heart is Michael Winterbottom's 2007 docudrama, also known as A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl adaptation, starring Angelina Jolie as Mariane Pearl searching for kidnapped journalist Daniel Pearl in Karachi; Paramount Vantage release, $19 million worldwide gross.
A Private War
A Private War (2018) is Matthew Heineman's narrative debut biopic of Sunday Times war correspondent Marie Colvin, starring Rosamund Pike and Jamie Dornan, based on Marie Brenner's Vanity Fair article, released by Aviron Pictures.
All the King's Men (2006 film)
All the King's Men (2006) is Steven Zaillian's drama remake of Robert Penn Warren's 1946 Pulitzer novel, starring Sean Penn as Willie Stark and Jude Law as Jack Burden; critically panned (12% RT, Metascore 37) after a delayed release.
All the President's Men (film)
All the President's Men is Alan J. Pakula's 1976 political thriller starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Woodward and Bernstein, adapted by William Goldman from the 1974 Watergate book; it won four Oscars and joined the National Film Registry in 2010.
Bank of Dave (film)
Bank of Dave is a 2023 British biographical comedy-drama directed by Chris Foggin, starring Rory Kinnear as Burnley businessman Dave Fishwick, who fought to open a community bank; released on Netflix 16 January 2023, with a 2025 sequel.
Beautiful Boy (2018 film)
Beautiful Boy (2018) is Felix van Groeningen's English-language debut drama, adapted from David Sheff's memoir Beautiful Boy and Nic Sheff's Tweak, starring Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet as a father and son facing meth addiction, released by Amazon Studios.
Bombshell (2019 film)
Bombshell (2019) is a Jay Roach drama, written by Charles Randolph, starring Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly, Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson, and John Lithgow as Roger Ailes, dramatizing the Fox News harassment scandal; Metascore 64, Oscar-winning makeup.
Brain on Fire (film)
Brain on Fire is a 2016 biographical drama, also called Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, directed by Gerard Barrett and starring Chloë Grace Moretz as journalist Susannah Cahalan, misdiagnosed with mental illness before Dr. Souhel Najjar identified anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis; premiered at TIFF 2016, released on Netflix June 22, 2018.
Breathe (2017 film)
Breathe (2017) is Andy Serkis's directorial debut, a British biographical drama about Robin Cavendish, paralyzed by polio at 28, produced by his son Jonathan Cavendish, starring Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy, released October 2017.
Concussion (2015 film)
Concussion (2015), Peter Landesman's biographical drama starring Will Smith as neuropathologist Bennet Omalu, based on Jeanne Marie Laskas's GQ article "Game Brain"; released by Sony December 25, 2015.
Conviction (2010 film)
Conviction (2010 film), Tony Goldwyn drama with Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell, dramatizes Betty Anne Waters's 18-year fight that freed her wrongfully convicted brother Kenny via DNA evidence.
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (film)
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (डॉ. बाबासाहेब आंबेडकर) is a 2000 English-Hindi bilingual biographical film directed by Jabbar Patel, starring Mammootty as B. R. Ambedkar; it won three 1999 National Film Awards including Best Actor.
Dumb Money
Dumb Money (2023) is Craig Gillespie's comedy-drama about the GameStop short squeeze, starring Paul Dano as Keith Gill, based on Ben Mezrich's The Antisocial Network; it earned about $18 million worldwide on a $30 million budget.
Erin Brockovich (film)
Erin Brockovich (2000), Steven Soderbergh legal drama starring Julia Roberts and Albert Finney, based on the Hinkley, California PG&E hexavalent chromium water case; five Oscar nominations, Roberts won Best Actress, $125M+ U.S. gross.
Frost/Nixon (film)
Frost/Nixon (2008) is Ron Howard's drama, written by Peter Morgan from his Donmar Warehouse play, about David Frost's 1977 Watergate interviews with Richard Nixon, starring Frank Langella and Michael Sheen, released 5 December 2008 with five Oscar nominations.
Ghosts of Mississippi
Ghosts of Mississippi is Rob Reiner's 1996 courtroom drama, also known as Fantasmas do Passado, starring Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, and James Woods, dramatizing Bobby DeLaughter's prosecution of Byron De La Beckwith for Medgar Evers's 1963 murder, convicted in 1994.
Hillbilly Elegy (film)
Hillbilly Elegy (2020) is Ron Howard's Netflix drama adapted from J.D. Vance's memoir, starring Amy Adams, Glenn Close, and Gabriel Basso; panned by critics (24% on Rotten Tomatoes) yet Oscar-nominated and a 2024 streaming hit.
Hotel Rwanda
Hotel Rwanda is Terry George's 2004 drama starring Don Cheadle as Paul Rusesabagina, the Hôtel des Mille Collines manager who sheltered 1,268 refugees during the 1994 Rwandan genocide; Oscar-nominated, critically acclaimed, and historically disputed.
J. Edgar
J. Edgar is a 2011 American biographical drama directed by Clint Eastwood, with Leonardo DiCaprio as FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, who led the bureau for 48 years.
Jinnah (film)
Jinnah (1998) is a Pakistan-UK biographical drama directed by Jamil Dehlavi, produced by Akbar S. Ahmed, starring Christopher Lee as Mohammed Ali Jinnah; a troubled $3-5 million production rescued by Pakistani-American investors, released to limited audiences and later reissued on Blu-ray.
Jobs (film)
Jobs is a 2013 American biographical drama film about Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, starring Ashton Kutcher in the title role with Josh Gad as Steve Wozniak.
Joy (2015 film)
Joy is a 2015 American biographical comedy-drama written and directed by David O. Russell, starring Jennifer Lawrence as Long Island inventor Joy Mangano, creator of the Miracle Mop.
Kill the Messenger (2014 film)
Kill the Messenger is a 2014 Michael Cuesta political drama starring Jeremy Renner as journalist Gary Webb, whose 1996 Dark Alliance series linked the CIA, Contras, and crack cocaine; adapted from Webb's and Nick Schou's books.
Lean on Me (film)
Lean on Me is a 1989 Warner Bros. biographical drama directed by John G. Avildsen, starring Morgan Freeman as real Paterson, New Jersey principal Joe Clark of Eastside High; released March 3, 1989, grossed $28.9M.
Melvin and Howard
Melvin and Howard: 1980 Jonathan Demme comedy-drama (Bo Goldman screenplay) starring Paul Le Mat, Jason Robards, and Mary Steenburgen, based on Melvin Dummar's $156 million Howard Hughes 'Mormon Will' claim; two Oscars.
Milk (2008 American film)
Milk (2008) is Gus Van Sant's biographical drama starring Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to major public office in California, assassinated by Dan White in 1978; it won Oscars for Best Actor and Original Screenplay.
Missing (1982 film)
Missing (1982) is Costa-Gavras's political drama starring Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek as Ed and Beth Horman searching for journalist Charles Horman in post-coup Chile; it won the Palme d'Or and Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar.
On the Basis of Sex
On the Basis of Sex (2018) is a Mimi Leder biographical drama, written by Ginsburg's nephew Daniel Stiepleman, starring Felicity Jones as Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Armie Hammer as Marty, dramatizing the 1972 Moritz v. Commissioner tax case; released by Focus Features, grossing $24.7 million.
Our Friend
Our Friend (2021) is a drama directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, adapted from Matthew Teague's Esquire essay "The Friend". Casey Affleck, Dakota Johnson, and Jason Segel star in the true story of a friend who moves in to help a family facing terminal cancer.
Oxhide (牛皮)
Oxhide (牛皮, Niu pi) is Liu Jiayin's 2005 Chinese independent debut: 23 static shots, 110 minutes, filmed with her parents in their Beijing apartment about a failing leather shop; it won FIPRESCI and Caligari awards at the 2005 Berlinale.