41 articles
The Golden Era (黄金时代)
The Golden Era (黃金時代, Huangjin shidai) is Ann Hui's 2014 biographical drama on writer Xiao Hong, written by Li Qiang and starring Tang Wei; it won Golden Horse and Hong Kong Film Awards but earned only 36.4 million RMB on a 70 million budget.
The Life of Emile Zola
The Life of Emile Zola is a 1937 Warner Bros. biographical drama directed by William Dieterle, starring Paul Muni as Zola and Joseph Schildkraut as Dreyfus; it won three Oscars including Best Picture and entered the National Film Registry in 2000.
The Lost King
The Lost King is a 2022 British comedy drama directed by Stephen Frears, written by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, starring Sally Hawkins as Philippa Langley, whose search found Richard III's remains under a Leicester car park in 2012; later settled a libel suit.
The Naked Civil Servant
The Naked Civil Servant is Quentin Crisp's 1968 autobiography and the 1975 Thames Television film adapted from it, directed by Jack Gold with John Hurt's BAFTA-winning portrayal of Crisp, broadcast on ITV on 17 December 1975.
The Odyssey (2016 film)
The Odyssey (L'Odyssée) is Jérôme Salle's 2016 French biopic of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, starring Lambert Wilson, Audrey Tautou, and Pierre Niney; released 12 October 2016, budget 20 million euros, César for Best Sound 2017.
The Professor and the Madman (film)
The Professor and the Madman (2019) is a biographical drama directed by Farhad Safinia (credited P.B. Shemran), based on Simon Winchester's 1998 book The Surgeon of Crowthorne, starring Mel Gibson as OED editor James Murray and Sean Penn as asylum contributor William Chester Minor; its production was marked by a Gibson-Voltage Pictures lawsuit over Oxford location shooting and final cut.
Tolkien (film)
Tolkien is a 2019 biographical drama film directed by Dome Karukoski, starring Nicholas Hoult as J.R.R. Tolkien, covering his youth, romance with Edith Bratt, and wartime service.
Tony (2026 film)
Tony (2026) is an A24 biographical coming-of-age drama directed by Matt Johnson, starring Dominic Sessa as a young Anthony Bourdain during a fictionalized 1975 summer working in a Provincetown, Massachusetts restaurant kitchen, based loosely on Kitchen Confidential.
Trumbo (2015 film)
Trumbo (2015) is a biographical drama directed by Jay Roach, written by John McNamara, starring Bryan Cranston as blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo; Oscar-nominated, 74% on Rotten Tomatoes, $7.9M US gross.
Where the Buffalo Roam
Where the Buffalo Roam is a 1980 American comedy directed by Art Linson, loosely based on gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, with Bill Murray as Thompson.
Wittgenstein
Wittgenstein (1993) is Derek Jarman's experimental biopic of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, scripted by Terry Eagleton, staged on a black set with Sandy Powell costumes, starring Karl Johnson and Tilda Swinton, and winner of the Berlin Teddy Award.