78 articles
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile is a 2019 Netflix true crime drama about Ted Bundy, directed by Joe Berlinger, starring Zac Efron and Lily Collins, based on Elizabeth Kendall's memoir The Phantom Prince.
F for Fake
F for Fake (1973) is Orson Welles's essay film on art forger Elmyr de Hory and hoax biographer Clifford Irving, built from François Reichenbach's footage; his last completed feature, ending with a Chartres Cathedral meditation.
Georgetown (film)
Georgetown (2021) is Christoph Waltz's directorial debut crime drama, also starring Vanessa Redgrave and Annette Bening, adapted from Franklin Foer's 2012 article on the Albrecht Muth murder of Viola Drath.
Gotti (2018 film)
Gotti (2018) is an American biographical crime film about mob boss John Gotti, directed by Kevin Connolly, starring John Travolta, Kelly Preston, and Spencer Lofranco; a critical and commercial failure with a 0% Rotten Tomatoes score and six Razzie nominations.
Hoffa (film)
Hoffa (1992) is a Danny DeVito-directed, David Mamet-written biopic starring Jack Nicholson as Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa, told through fictional aide Bobby Ciaro; released by Fox on December 25, 1992, it cost about $50 million, earned Oscar nominations for cinematography and makeup, and flopped at the box office.
I Want to Live!
I Want to Live! is Robert Wise's 1958 American biographical crime drama starring Susan Hayward as Barbara Graham, executed in California's gas chamber in 1955; six Oscar nominations, Hayward won Best Actress.
I'm Not Ashamed
I'm Not Ashamed is a 2016 Pure Flix biographical drama directed by Brian Baugh, starring Masey McLain as Rachel Joy Scott, the first student killed at Columbine; based on her journals, it earned $2.1 million and mixed-to-negative reviews.
Jamesy Boy
Jamesy Boy is a 2014 American prison drama, Trevor White's directorial debut, based on the real James Burns, starring Spencer Lofranco, Ving Rhames, Mary-Louise Parker, and James Woods; released January 2014, poorly reviewed by critics.
Kid Cannabis
Kid Cannabis is a 2014 John Stockwell comedy-crime film starring Jonathan Daniel Brown as Nate Norman, the Idaho teen whose crew smuggled Canadian B.C. Bud across the border before a 2003 FBI raid.
Kill the Irishman
Kill the Irishman (2011) is Jonathan Hensleigh's crime drama about Cleveland racketeer Danny Greene, starring Ray Stevenson, based on Rick Porrello's book, released by Anchor Bay Films in March 2011.
Killers of the Flower Moon (film)
Killers of the Flower Moon is Martin Scorsese's 2023 epic Western crime drama adapted from David Grann's book, starring DiCaprio, De Niro, and Lily Gladstone as Mollie Burkhart, depicting the 1920s Osage murders in Oklahoma; ten Oscar nominations, no wins.
Killing Veerappan
Killing Veerappan (ಕಿಲ್ಲಿಂಗ್ ವೀರಪ್ಪನ್) is Ram Gopal Varma's 2016 Kannada crime thriller on Operation Cocoon, the STF operation that killed bandit Veerappan in 2004, starring Shivarajkumar and Sandeep Bhardwaj, remade in Hindi as Veerappan.
Legend (2015 film)
Legend (2015) is Brian Helgeland's biographical crime thriller about Kray twins Reggie and Ronnie, both played by Tom Hardy, based on John Pearson's The Profession of Violence; Metascore 55, mixed reviews.
Lizzie (2018 film)
Lizzie (2018) is an American psychological thriller directed by Craig William Macneill, starring Chloë Sevigny as Lizzie Borden and Kristen Stewart as maid Bridget Sullivan, imagining the 1892 Fall River axe murders as a joint act by the two lovers.
Molly's Game
Molly's Game (2017) is Aaron Sorkin's directorial debut biographical drama, adapted from Molly Bloom's 2014 memoir about running underground high-stakes poker games for celebrities, starring Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba, Oscar-nominated for adapted screenplay.
Monster (2003 film)
Monster (2003) is Patty Jenkins's debut biographical crime drama about serial killer Aileen Wuornos, starring Charlize Theron (Oscar for Best Actress) and Christina Ricci as Selby Wall; made for about $5 million, it grossed $34.5 million in the US and won major actress awards.
My Friend Dahmer (film)
My Friend Dahmer (2017) is a biographical drama directed by Marc Meyers, adapted from Derf Backderf's graphic novel about his high school classmate Jeffrey Dahmer, starring Ross Lynch, Alex Wolff, Anne Heche, and Dallas Roberts.
Ned Kelly (2003 film)
Ned Kelly (2003) is an Australian-British biographical drama directed by Gregor Jordan, starring Heath Ledger as the bushranger, adapted from Robert Drewe's novel Our Sunshine, released March 2003, with Orlando Bloom, Naomi Watts and Geoffrey Rush.
Nitram
Nitram is a 2021 Australian drama by Justin Kurzel, written by Shaun Grant, about the years before the 1996 Port Arthur massacre; Caleb Landry Jones won Cannes Best Actor.
November 1963 (film)
November 1963 is a 2026 Roland Joffé crime thriller, written by Nicholas Celozzi, grand-nephew of mobster Sam Giancana, dramatizing the JFK assassination from the Chicago Outfit's view over 48 hours, starring John Travolta as Johnny Roselli, released November 20, 2026 by Ketchup Entertainment.
Papillon (2017 film)
Papillon (2017) is Michael Noer's remake of the 1973 prison drama, starring Charlie Hunnam as Henri Charrière and Rami Malek as Louis Dega, based on Charrière's memoirs; released by Bleecker Street in 2018, it grossed $2.3 million in the US.
Party Monster (film)
Party Monster (2003) is a biographical drama by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, starring Macaulay Culkin as club promoter Michael Alig, based on Disco Bloodbath and their 1998 documentary about Alig's murder of Angel Melendez.
Public Enemies (2009 film)
Public Enemies is a 2009 American crime drama directed by Michael Mann, starring Johnny Depp as bank robber John Dillinger and Christian Bale as FBI agent Melvin Purvis.
Reversal of Fortune
Reversal of Fortune is a 1990 Barbet Schroeder drama, from Alan Dershowitz's book, about Claus von Bulow's appeal; Jeremy Irons won the 1991 Best Actor Oscar. The phrase also names academic reversal-of-fortune theses.
Richard Jewell (film)
Richard Jewell (2019) is Clint Eastwood's biographical drama, written by Billy Ray, about the security guard falsely suspected in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing, starring Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Olivia Wilde, and Jon Hamm; it drew controversy over its portrayal of reporter Kathy Scruggs.
Rogue Agent (film)
Rogue Agent, also released as Freegard, is a 2022 British thriller by Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn starring James Norton and Gemma Arterton, dramatizing conman Robert Hendy-Freegard, who posed as an MI5 agent to defraud victims.
Skin (2018 feature film)
Skin is Guy Nattiv's 2018 biographical drama about neo-Nazi Bryon Widner, starring Jamie Bell and Danielle Macdonald; premiered at TIFF 2018, released in US theaters July 26, 2019, distinct from Nattiv's Oscar-winning 2018 short of the same name.
Stavisky
Stavisky... (1974) is Alain Resnais's French-Italian biographical drama, written by Jorge Semprún, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo as the swindler Serge Alexandre Stavisky, with Charles Boyer and a Stephen Sondheim score.
Ted Bundy (film)
Ted Bundy is a 2002 American biographical horror film written and directed by Matthew Bright, starring Michael Reilly Burke, that follows the serial killer through the 1970s.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
2007 Western drama by Andrew Dominik, adapted from Ron Hansen's 1983 novel, starring Brad Pitt as Jesse James and Casey Affleck as Robert Ford; Deakins shot it, Cave and Ellis scored it, $3.9M US gross.