| 1 | ->''"This simple formula rarely fails. Pick a deceased (or soon to be deceased) musician, artist or mathematician, make sure they're the sort of person the New York media could conceivably refer to as brilliant, insert a big name actor ([[MyFriendsAndZoidberg or Gary Busey]]) to play the role; watch movie critics and audiences far and wide go apeshit."'' |
| 2 | -->-- '''Adam Brown''' of Website/{{Cracked}}.com, on the subject of OscarBait. |
| 3 | |
| 4 | [[AC:"Biopic" is one word (pronounced "bio-pic" not "bi-opic"). If you were redirected to here and it says "Bio Pic," please change it on the original page you linked from. Thank you.]] |
| 5 | |
| 6 | BasedOnATrueStory, but longer. The Biopic, short for "biography picture", is... well, a [[ShapedLikeItself picture (or motion picture, rather) that tells a person's biography.]] It takes a real person's life and tries to create drama from the things that the person experienced, to a varying degree of success. |
| 7 | |
| 8 | The difference between a [=Biopic=] and Based On a True Story is that the [=Biopic=] takes place under a much longer time-span, years as opposed to, say, a summer (''Film/FindingNeverland''). The famous person must also be the story's protagonist. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | Due to the unending way we tend to live our life, the [=Biopic=] tends to, much like the 19th century novel, end with either the protagonist's Death, him getting married/ Finding God / Growing Up (after which he gets boring), his Downfall (after which he gets boring unless there's a Comeback) or his Greatest Triumph (which may be or follow the Comeback, but after which there is not much more to say). |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Lately there have been a lot of biopics about famous musicians, mainly due to the fact that the ([[SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll unavoidable]]?) drug/alcohol-abuse is a simple way to create drama and that all the [[ThatRemindsMeOfASong recording sessions/concerts]] are an easy foil to let the soundtrack shine. Another popular SubGenre, based-on-truth movies about athletes, can count as these, and are a good source of ManlyTears. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | The concept of using fiction to tell the story of a real-life figure is relatively recent. The classic works of Ancient Greece and Rome took mythical works as its subjects and avoided depicting contemporary figures, except in satires and for ridicule. The genre's true origins stem from UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance, where writers evinced an equal interest in classical history as in myth, and works depicting scenes from Roman and Greek history became common. In England, history plays from the pre-Tudor era were seen as ideal material for propaganda. In the 20th Century cinema, biopics were common from the silent-era onwards and have changed and adapted with time. While some films might heavily whitewash their subjects and their times if the intent is to show them in a positive light, it's now more common to explore the many facets, good and bad, of a protagonist's personality. This change is probably most noticeable when the subject is a historical figure - a politician and/or a military leader, for example. With performers it's particularly popular to chronicle those whose offscreen/stage behavior sharply contrasted to their work; e.g., comedians who couldn't find laughter in real life. Other films tell of those who didn't necessarily live ''great'' lives, but unique ones - it's not a coincidence that the same screenwriting duo wrote ''Film/EdWood'', ''Film/ThePeopleVsLarryFlynt'', ''Film/ManOnTheMoon'', ''Film/BigEyes'', and ''Film/DolemiteIsMyName''. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | This genre is ''extremely'' subjective with both its makers and its viewers and largely depends on the point of view both parties bring to the table. If the filmmaker is more interested in the sad times, a viewer who loves the subject and knows what's left out might find the film too negative and their hero turned into a JerkAss. A filmmaker who wants to focus on the good times can upset a viewer who feels the protagonist is being unduly glorified. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | A rich source of OscarBait. Essentially the movie form of the {{Biography}}. Compare RomanAClef. Usually SetBehindTheScenes if the subject is an actor or filmmaker. Expect many to exhibit {{Mononymous Biopic Title}}s. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | When one of this is made from the perspective of someone other than the subject, it's called a SidelongGlanceBiopic. There's also the BiographyAClef, a particular sub-genre of the Biopic, usually dealing with the subject of an artist, where they are often shown interacting with their fictional creations or counterparts thereof, and said relationship is shown as an origin for their later work, as "artistic inspiration". MakingTheMasterpiece is another variation, when the film isn't about the subject's entire life but just the creation of their most famous work. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | ---- |
| 23 | !!Examples are shown with their endings: |
| 24 | [[index]] |
| 25 | * ''Film/TwentyFourHourPartyPeople'' (Tony Wilson, head of Creator/FactoryRecords / [[spoiler:Downfall]]) |
| 26 | * ''Film/FortyTwo'' (UsefulNotes/JackieRobinson / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 27 | * ''Film/EightMile'' (Music/{{Eminem}} [via CaptainErsatz] / [[spoiler:his first success]]) |
| 28 | * ''Film/AbrahamLincoln1930'' (UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln / [[spoiler:Assassination]]) |
| 29 | * ''Film/Air2023'' (Sonny Vaccaro, salesman behind Nike’s Air Jordan line / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 30 | * ''Film/AK47'' (Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 31 | * ''Film/{{Alexander}}'' (UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 32 | * ''Film/AlexanderNevsky'' (Alexander Nevsky / [[spoiler:Greatest Triumph]]) |
| 33 | * ''Film/AlexanderTheGreat1956'' (UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 34 | * ''Film/{{Ali}}'' (UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli / [[spoiler:Comeback]]) |
| 35 | * ''Film/AllEyezOnMe'' (Music/TupacShakur / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 36 | * ''Film/AmazingGrace'' (William Wilberforce / [[spoiler:Greatest Triumph]]) |
| 37 | * ''Film/{{Amen}}'' (Kurt Gerstein / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 38 | * ''Film/AmericanGangster'' (Frank Lucas / [[spoiler:Downfall]]) |
| 39 | * ''Film/AmericanUnderdog'' ([[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeagueQuarterbacks Kurt Warner]] / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 40 | * ''Film/AnAngelAtMyTable'' (Janet Frame / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 41 | * ''Film/TheAssassinationOfJesseJamesByTheCowardRobertFord'' (UsefulNotes/JesseJames and Robert Ford / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 42 | * ''Film/{{Austerlitz}}'' (UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte / Victory) |
| 43 | * ''Film/AutoFocus'' (Creator/BobCrane / [[spoiler: Downfall and death]]) |
| 44 | * ''Film/TheAviator'' (Creator/HowardHughes / [[spoiler:Greatest Triumph ''and'' Downfall]]) |
| 45 | * ''Film/TheBabe'' (Creator/BabeRuth / [[spoiler:Success, retirement, death]]) |
| 46 | * ''Film/TheBabeRuthStory'' (Creator/BabeRuth / [[spoiler:Success, retirement, disease]]) |
| 47 | * ''Film/LaBamba'' (Music/RitchieValens / [[spoiler:Success and death]]) |
| 48 | * ''Film/TheBanker'' (Bernard Garrett, American banker and entrepreneur) |
| 49 | * ''Film/{{Basquiat}}'' (Jean-Michel Basquiat / [[spoiler:Success, downfall]]) |
| 50 | * ''Film/BattleForSevastopol'' (Lyudmila Pavlichenko) |
| 51 | * ''Series/TheBeachBoysAnAmericanFamily'' (Music/TheBeachBoys / [[spoiler:Coming of age, success, temporary downfall]]) |
| 52 | * ''Film/TheBeanieBubble'' (Ty Warner / [[spoiler:Success, downfall]]) |
| 53 | * ''Film/{{Beaumarchais}}'' (Pierre Caron de Beaumarchais / [[spoiler:The opening of ''Theatre/TheMarriageOfFigaro'']]) |
| 54 | * ''Film/ABeautifulDayInTheNeighborhood'' (Creator/FredRogers / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 55 | * ''Beginners'' (Mike Mills / [[spoiler:Growing up / father's death]]) |
| 56 | * ''Film/BehindTheCandelabra'' (Music/{{Liberace}} / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 57 | * ''Film/BeingTheRicardos'' (Creator/LucilleBall and Creator/DesiArnaz) |
| 58 | * ''Film/{{Bernie}}'' (Bernie Tiede / [[spoiler:Downfall]]) |
| 59 | * ''Film/BeyondTheSea'' (Music/BobbyDarin / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 60 | * ''Film/BigEyes'' (Margaret Keane, painter / [[spoiler:Success]]; Walter Keane, her husband / [[spoiler:Downfall]]) |
| 61 | * ''Film/BlackBerry'' (Mike Lazaridis, Jim Balsillie and Douglas Fregin / [[spoiler:Success and Downfall]]) |
| 62 | * ''Film/BlackMass'' (Whitey Bulger / [[spoiler:Downfall]]) |
| 63 | * ''Film/TheBlackPanther'' (Donald Neilson / [[spoiler:Downfall]]) |
| 64 | * ''Film/TheBlindSide'' ([[UsefulNotes/NFLOffensivePlayers Michael Oher]] / [[spoiler:Growing up and Success]]) |
| 65 | * ''Film/{{Blonde}}'' (Creator/MarilynMonroe / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 66 | * ''Film/{{Blow}}'' (George Jung / [[spoiler: Downfall]]) |
| 67 | * ''Film/BobMarleyOneLove'' (Music/BobMarley / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 68 | * ''Film/BohemianRhapsody'' (Music/FreddieMercury and Music/{{Queen|Band}} / [[spoiler:Success, Comeback ''and'' Greatest Triumph]]) |
| 69 | * ''Series/{{Bolivar}}'' (UsefulNotes/SimonBolivar) |
| 70 | * ''Film/BoundForGlory'' (Music/WoodyGuthrie / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 71 | * ''Film/{{Braveheart}}'' (William Wallace / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 72 | * ''Film/BriansSong'' ([[UsefulNotes/NFLRunningBacks Brian Piccolo]] / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 73 | * ''Film/TheBuddyHollyStory'' (Music/BuddyHolly / [[spoiler:Success, Death described in closing epilogue]])) |
| 74 | * ''Film/{{Caligula}}'' (Caligula / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 75 | * ''Film/{{Cantinflas}}'' (Mario Moreno "Cantinflas" / [[spoiler:Greatest Success]]) |
| 76 | * ''Film/{{Capone}}'' (UsefulNotes/AlCapone / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 77 | * ''Film/{{Capote}}'' (Creator/TrumanCapote / [[spoiler:Greatest Triumph]]) |
| 78 | * ''Film/CarlotaJoaquinaPrincesaDoBrasil'' (Carlota Joquina) / [[spoiler:Suicide]]) |
| 79 | * ''Film/{{Carrington}}'' (Dora Carrington / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 80 | * ''Film/CatchMeIfYouCan'' (conman Frank Abagnale Jr. / [[spoiler: Downfall]]) |
| 81 | * ''Film/CesarChavez'' (UsefulNotes/CesarChavez / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 82 | * ''Theatre/{{Champion}}'' (Emile Griffith / [[spoiler:Downfall and old age]]) |
| 83 | * ''Film/{{Chaplin}}'' (Creator/CharlieChaplin / [[spoiler: Comeback]]) |
| 84 | * ''WesternAnimation/Charlotte2021'' (Charlotte Salomon) |
| 85 | * ''Film/{{Che}}'' (UsefulNotes/CheGuevara / [[spoiler: Part 1: Success; Part 2: Death]]) |
| 86 | * ''Film/Chevalier2022'' (Chevalier de Saint-Georges) |
| 87 | * ''Film/{{Chopper}}'' (Mark "Chopper" Read / [[spoiler:Prison]]) |
| 88 | * ''Film/{{Christine|2016}}'' (Christine Chubbuck / [[spoiler:Suicide]]) |
| 89 | * ''Film/CoalMinersDaughter'' (Loretta Lynn / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 90 | * ''Film/{{Cobb}}'' (Ty Cobb / [[spoiler:Success, downfall]]) |
| 91 | * ''Film/{{Colette}}'' (Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette / [[spoiler:Independence, to be followed by success]]) |
| 92 | * ''Film/ComeSunday'' (Bishop Carlton Pearson / [[spoiler:Rebounds from crisis]]) |
| 93 | * ''Film/{{Control}}'' (Ian Curtis of Music/JoyDivision / [[spoiler: Death]]) |
| 94 | * ''Film/{{Creation}}'' (UsefulNotes/CharlesDarwin / [[spoiler:Greatest Triumph]]) |
| 95 | * ''Film/DarkPrinceTheTrueStoryOfDracula'' (UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler / [[spoiler:Death and Resurrection]]) |
| 96 | * ''Film/TheDirt'' (Music/MotleyCrue / [[spoiler:Success, downfall, comeback]]) |
| 97 | * ''Film/IlDivo'' (Giulio Andreotti / [[spoiler:Downfall]]) |
| 98 | * ''Film/{{The Doors|1991}}'' (Jim Morrison of Music/TheDoors / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 99 | * ''Film/{{Downfall|2004}}'' (UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler / [[spoiler:Death, despite the title]]) |
| 100 | * ''Film/DragonTheBruceLeeStory'' (Creator/BruceLee / [[spoiler:Success, Death described in closing epilogue]]) |
| 101 | * ''Film/Dumas2010'' (Creator/AlexandreDumas) |
| 102 | * ''Film/EdWood'' (Creator/EdWood / [[spoiler:"Success"]]) |
| 103 | * ''Film/TheElectricalLifeOfLouisWain'': (Louis Wain) |
| 104 | * ''Film/Elvis2022'': (Music/ElvisPresley / [[spoiler:Success and Death]]) |
| 105 | * ''Film/{{Elizabeth}}'' (Queen UsefulNotes/ElizabethI /[[spoiler: AwesomeMomentOfCrowning]]) |
| 106 | * ''Elizabeth: The Golden Age'' (ditto/[[spoiler:um... awesome moment of crown retention? or maybe death?]]) |
| 107 | * ''Film/{{Emily}}'' (Creator/EmilyBronte) |
| 108 | * ''Film/EscapeFromPretoria'' |
| 109 | * ''Music/{{Evita}}'' (UsefulNotes/EvaPeron / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 110 | * ''Film/{{Enid}}'' (Creator/EnidBlyton / [[spoiler:Growing up, Greatest Triumph, downfall, comeback]]) |
| 111 | * ''Film/TheExpress'': ([[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootballNamesToKnow Ernie Davis]] / [[spoiler:Growing up, success, greatest triumph, illness; death described in closing epilogue]]) |
| 112 | * ''Film/ExtremelyWickedShockinglyEvilAndVile'': (UsefulNotes/TedBundy / [[spoiler:Imprisonment]]) |
| 113 | * ''Film/TheEyesOfTammyFaye'' (Tammy Faye Bakker / [[spoiler:Rise and fall]]) |
| 114 | * ''Film/FightingWithMyFamily'' (Wrestling/{{Paige}} / [[spoiler:Success and Greatest Triumph]]) |
| 115 | * ''Film/FirstMan'' (UsefulNotes/NeilArmstrong / [[spoiler:Greatest Triumph]]) |
| 116 | * ''Film/FlorenceFosterJenkins'' (Florence Foster Jenkins / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 117 | * ''Series/FosseVerdon'' (Creator/BobFosse and Gwen Verdon) |
| 118 | * ''Film/TheFounder'' (Raymond Albert "Ray" Kroc / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 119 | * ''Film/{{Frida}}'' (Creator/FridaKahlo / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 120 | * ''Film/{{Gandhi}}'' (UsefulNotes/MahatmaGandhi / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 121 | * ''Film/GauguinVoyageToTahiti'' (Paul Gauguin) |
| 122 | * ''Film/GetOnUp'' (Music/JamesBrown / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 123 | * ''Film/{{Gia}}'': (Supermodel Gia Carangi / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 124 | * ''Film/TheGlennMillerStory'' (Music/GlennMiller / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 125 | * ''Film/GloryRoad'' (1965–66 Texas Western Miners men's basketball team / [[spoiler:Success and Greatest Triumph]]) |
| 126 | * ''Film/{{Golda}}'' (Golda Meir / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 127 | * ''Film/GoodbyeChristopherRobin'' (Creator/AAMilne / [[spoiler:Greatest Triumph]]) |
| 128 | * ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'' (Henry Hill / [[spoiler:Downfall]]) |
| 129 | * ''Film/GorillasInTheMist'' (Dian Fossey /[[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 130 | * ''Film/{{Gotti}}'' (John Gotti / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 131 | * ''Film/GoyoAngBatangHeneral'' (General Gregorio "Goyo" Del Pilar / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 132 | * ''Film/TheGrayMan2007'' (Albert Fish / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 133 | * ''Film/GreatBallsOfFire'' (Music/JerryLeeLewis / [[spoiler:Downfall ''or'' getting on with his life]]) |
| 134 | * ''Film/TheGreatHoudinis'' (Creator/HarryHoudini / [[spoiler:Death and arguably finding God]]) |
| 135 | * ''Film/TheGreatWarriorSkanderbeg'' (UsefulNotes/{{Skanderbeg}} / [[spoiler:Triumph]]) |
| 136 | * ''The Great Ziegfeld'' (Florenz Ziegfeld /[[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 137 | * ''Film/GreenBook'' (Creator/TonyLip and Music/DonShirley) |
| 138 | * ''ComicBook/{{Guemes}}'' (Martín Miguel de Güemes / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 139 | * ''Film/HacksawRidge'' (Desmond T. Doss) |
| 140 | * ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'' (UsefulNotes/AlexanderHamilton / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 141 | * ''Film/{{Harriet}}'' (UsefulNotes/HarrietTubman / [[spoiler:Greatest Triumph]]) |
| 142 | * ''Film/HeneralLuna'' (General Antonio Luna / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 143 | * ''Film/HiddenFigures'' (Katherine Goble Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 144 | * ''Film/{{Hitchcock}}'' (Creator/AlfredHitchcock / [[spoiler:Greatest Triumph]]) |
| 145 | * ''Film/HouseOfGucci'' (Patrizia Reggiani, Maurizio Gucci / [[spoiler:Downfall, death of Maurizio, Imprisonment of Patrizia]]) |
| 146 | * ''Film/{{Hugo}}'' (Creator/GeorgesMelies / [[spoiler:Comeback[[labelnote:*]]In the sense that he lived to see his work rediscovered and recognized; he never made another movie after 1912, about 20 years before the movie's setting.[[/labelnote]]]]) |
| 147 | * ''Film/TheIceman'' (Richard Kuklinski/[[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 148 | * ''Film/TheImitationGame'' (UsefulNotes/AlanTuring / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 149 | * ''Film/ImNotThere'' (Music/BobDylan /[[spoiler: Growing Up ''or'' Downfall]]) |
| 150 | * ''Film/InSearchOfDrSeuss'' (Creator/DrSeuss / [[spoiler:Success]] |
| 151 | * ''Film/InTheNameOfTheFather'' (Gerry Conlon / [[spoiler:Greatest Triumph]]) |
| 152 | * ''Film/InTheRealmOfTheSenses'' (Sada Abe / [[spoiler: Claim to infamy]]) |
| 153 | * ''Film/IntoTheStorm2009'' (UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill / [[spoiler:Downfall]]) |
| 154 | * ''Film/TheIronClaw'' (Wrestling/VonErichFamily / [[spoiler:Deaths and Downfall, though with a RayOfHopeEnding]]) |
| 155 | * ''Film/TheIronLady'' (UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher / [[spoiler:Downfall and dementia]]) |
| 156 | * ''Film/ISawTheLight'' (Music/HankWilliams / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 157 | * ''Film/ITonya'' (UsefulNotes/TonyaHarding / [[spoiler:Downfall]]) |
| 158 | * ''Film/IWannaDanceWithSomebody'' (Music/WhitneyHouston / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 159 | * ''Film/JEdgar'' (UsefulNotes/JEdgarHoover / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 160 | * ''Film/{{Jackie}}'' (UsefulNotes/JacquelineKennedy / [[spoiler:Getting on with her life]] |
| 161 | * ''Series/TheJacksonsAnAmericanDream'': (Music/MichaelJackson and his brothers during their time as The Jacksons / [[spoiler: Early life and success]]) |
| 162 | * ''Film/JeremiahJohnson'' (Liver-Eating Johnson / [[spoiler:Peace with the Crow]]) |
| 163 | * ''Theatre/JerseyBoys'' (Music/FrankieValliAndTheFourSeasons / [[spoiler:Comeback]]) |
| 164 | * ''Jenni Rivera: Mariposa de Barrio'' (telenovela about Jenni Rivera / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 165 | * ''Film/JewSussRiseAndFall'' (Ferdinand Marian / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 166 | * ''Jinnah'' (Muhammad Ali Jinnah[[note]]The founder of Pakistan[[/note]] / [[spoiler:Greatest Triumph (Death in the opening minutes of the film)]] |
| 167 | * ''Film/JoanOfArc'' (UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc / [[spoiler:Execution]]) — 1900 film, possibly the oldest example |
| 168 | * ''Film/{{Jobs}}'' (UsefulNotes/SteveJobs / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 169 | * ''Film/Joy2015'' (Joy Mangano / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 170 | * ''Film/JudasAndTheBlackMessiah'' (Fred Hampton / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 171 | * ''Film/{{Jungle}}'' (Yossi Ghinsberg / [[spoiler:Rescue]]) |
| 172 | * ''Film/{{Juarez}}'' (Benito Juárez / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 173 | * ''Film/TheKingsSpeech'' (King George VI / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 174 | * ''Film/{{Kinsey}}'' (Alfred Kinsey / [[spoiler:Success; one of the first people to do real scientific research on human sexuality.]]) |
| 175 | * ''Film/{{Kundun}}'' (Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong - the 14th Dalai Lama / [[spoiler:Exile from Tibet.]]) |
| 176 | * ''The Lady'' (Aung San Suu Kyi / [[spoiler:Rise to power/romance with husband]]) |
| 177 | * ''Film/TheLastEmperor'' (Pu Yi / [[spoiler:Downfall]]) |
| 178 | * ''Film/{{Lenny}}'' (Creator/LennyBruce / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 179 | * ''Film/TheLifeOfEmileZola'' (Creator/EmileZola / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 180 | * ''Film/TheLifeAndDeathOfPeterSellers'' (Creator/PeterSellers / ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, [[spoiler:although the Death is not depicted on screen.]]) |
| 181 | * ''Film/LifeWithJudyGarlandMeAndMyShadows'' (Creator/JudyGarland / [[spoiler:Early Life/Success/Downfall/Death]] |
| 182 | * ''Film/{{Lion}}'' (Saroo Brierly / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 183 | * ''Film/{{Lisztomania}}'' (Music/FranzLiszt / [[spoiler:Death and return from the afterlife to kill Hitler]]) |
| 184 | * ''Film/LizAndDick'' (Creator/ElizabethTaylor and Creator/RichardBurton / [[spoiler:Their relationship, Divorce, Death [Burton's]]]) |
| 185 | * ''Film/TheLookOfLove'' (Paul Raymond / [[spoiler:Greatest Success and Downfall]]) |
| 186 | * ''Film/LoveAndMercy'' (Music/BrianWilson / [[spoiler:Success, downfall, comeback]]) |
| 187 | * ''Film/LordsOfChaos'' (Music/{{Mayhem}} and an extent, the [[BlackMetal Norwegian Black Metal scene]] / [[spoiler: Rise and fall]]) |
| 188 | * ''Film/{{Ludwig}}'' (UsefulNotes/LudwigIIOfBavaria / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 189 | * ''Film/MaRaineysBlackBottom'' (Ma Rainey) |
| 190 | * ''Film/MadameCurie'' (UsefulNotes/MarieCurie) |
| 191 | * ''Film/MadDogMorgan'' (Dan Morgan / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 192 | * ''Film/MademoiselleDesiree'' (Désirée Clary) |
| 193 | * ''Film/{{Maestro}}'' (Music/LeonardBernstein) |
| 194 | * ''Film/MagicBeyondWordsTheJKRowlingStory'' (Creator/JKRowling / [[spoiler:Greatest Triumph]]) |
| 195 | * ''Film/MalcolmX'' (UsefulNotes/MalcolmX / [[spoiler:Death and martyrdom]]) |
| 196 | * ''Film/ManInTheMirrorTheMichaelJacksonStory'' (Music/MichaelJackson / [[spoiler:Greatest Success and downfall]]) |
| 197 | * ''Film/ManOfAThousandFaces1957'' (Creator/LonChaney / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 198 | * ''Film/ManOnTheMoon'' (Creator/AndyKaufman / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 199 | * ''Film/TheManWithTheIronHeart'' (UsefulNotes/ReinhardHeydrich /[[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 200 | * ''Film/{{Mank}}'' (Herman J. Mankiewicz) |
| 201 | * ''Film/TheMansonFamily'' (UsefulNotes/CharlesManson / [[spoiler:Downfall]]) |
| 202 | * ''Film/MarieAntoinette1989'' (UsefulNotes/MarieAntoinette / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 203 | * ''Film/MarieAntoinette2006'' (UsefulNotes/MarieAntoinette / [[spoiler:Downfall]]) |
| 204 | * ''Film/{{Marina}}'' (Rocco Granata / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 205 | * ''Film/{{Marshall}}'' (Thurgood Marshall / [[spoiler:Greatest Triumph/Success]]) |
| 206 | * ''Film/MaryQueenOfScots2018'' (UsefulNotes/MaryQueenOfScots / [[spoiler: Downfall and Execution]]) |
| 207 | * ''Film/MataHari1985'' (UsefulNotes/MataHari / [[spoiler:Affairs and Execution]] |
| 208 | * ''Film/MenOfHonor'' (Carl Brashear / [[spoiler:His military career]]) |
| 209 | * ''Film/{{Mesrine}}'' (Two-Part Story depicting Mesrine's [[spoiler: rise to infamy as French Public Enemy No. 1 and death]]) |
| 210 | * ''Film/TheMessengerTheStoryOfJoanOfArc'' (UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 211 | * ''Film/MichielDeRuyter'' (Michiel de Ruyter / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 212 | * ''Film/{{Milk}}'' (UsefulNotes/HarveyMilk / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 213 | * ''Film/{{Miracle}}'' (1980 Team USA Olympic [[UsefulNotes/IceHockey hockey]] team / [[spoiler:Greatest Triumph]]) |
| 214 | * ''Theatre/TheMiracleWorker'': (UsefulNotes/HelenKeller / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 215 | * ''Film/MissPotter'' (Creator/BeatrixPotter / [[spoiler: Success as an author, Early life, romance with Norman Warne]]) |
| 216 | * ''Film/MollysGame'': (Molly Bloom / [[spoiler:Downfall & redemption]]) |
| 217 | * ''Molokai: The Father Damien Story'' ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_Damien Father Damien]] / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 218 | * ''Film/{{Mongol}}'' (UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan / [[spoiler:Rise to power]]) |
| 219 | * ''Film/TheMotorcycleDiaries'' (UsefulNotes/CheGuevara / [[spoiler:Early Life]] |
| 220 | * ''Film/MrSaturdayNight'' (fictional stand-up comic Buddy Young Jr. / [[spoiler:Early life and rise and fall of his career]]) |
| 221 | * ''Film/MrTurner'' (Painter J.M.W. Turner / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 222 | * ''Film/MusicOfTheHeart'' (music educator Roberta Guaspari / [[spoiler:Harlem Violin Program]]) |
| 223 | * ''ComicBook/MyFriendDahmer'' ([[SerialKiller Jeffrey Dahmer]] / [[spoiler:Teen years, StartOfDarkness]]) |
| 224 | * ''Film/TheMysteryOfNatalieWood'' (Creator/NatalieWood / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 225 | * ''Film/Napoleon1927'' (UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte / [[spoiler:Rise to power]]) |
| 226 | * ''Film/Napoleon1955'' (UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 227 | * ''Film/Napoleon2023'' (UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 228 | * ''Film/{{Ned Kelly|1970}}'' (1970) (UsefulNotes/NedKelly) |
| 229 | * ''Film/{{Ned Kelly|2003}}'' (2003) (UsefulNotes/NedKelly / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 230 | * ''Series/TheNewEditionStory'': (Music/NewEdition members Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Music/BobbyBrown, Ronnie [=DeVoe=], Johnny Gill and Ralph Tresvant / [[spoiler:Success, downfall, comeback]]) |
| 231 | * ''Film/NicholasAndAlexandra'' (UsefulNotes/NicholasII / [[spoiler:Downfall and death]]) |
| 232 | * ''Film/{{Night and Day|1946}}'' (Music/ColePorter) |
| 233 | * ''Film/{{Nixon}}'' (President UsefulNotes/RichardNixon / [[spoiler:Downfall]]) |
| 234 | * ''Film/Notorious2009'' (Music/TheNotoriousBIG) |
| 235 | * ''Film/NowhereBoy'' (Music/JohnLennon / [[spoiler:Early life]]) |
| 236 | * ''Film/OctoberSky'' (The Rocket Boys / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 237 | * ''Film/AnOfficerAndASpy'' (Marie-Georges Picquart / [[spoiler:Victory]]) |
| 238 | * ''Film/OnTheBasisOfSex'' (Ruth Bader Ginsburg / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 239 | * ''Film/{{Oppenheimer}}'' (UsefulNotes/RobertOppenheimer / [[spoiler:[[GoneHorriblyRight Success]]]]) |
| 240 | * ''Film/TheOutlawMichaelHowe'' (Michael Howe / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 241 | * ''Series/PamAndTommy'' (Creator/PamelaAnderson and [[Music/MotleyCrue Tommy Lee]]) |
| 242 | * ''Film/ThePassionOfTheChrist'' (UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} Christ /[[spoiler:Death and Comeback. In that order.]]) |
| 243 | * ''Film/{{Patton}}'' (General UsefulNotes/GeorgeSPatton / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 244 | * ''Film/ThePeopleVsLarryFlynt'' (''Hustler'' publisher Larry Flynt / [[spoiler:Comeback]]) |
| 245 | * ''Pistols'' (Music/SexPistols/[[spoiler: Rise, downfall, Death of Sid Vicious]]) |
| 246 | * ''Film/PopeJohnPaulII'' ([[UsefulNotes/NotablePopes Pope John Paul II]] / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 247 | * ''Film/PrickUpYourEars'' (Joe Orton / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 248 | * ''Film/ThePrideOfTheYankees'' (Creator/LouGehrig / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 249 | * ''Film/ProfessorMarstonAndTheWonderWomen'' (William Moulton Marston / [[spoiler:Success; death is only mentioned as a DeadlyDistantFinale -- his legacy is more prominent.]]) |
| 250 | * ''Film/ThePursuitOfHappyness'' (Christopher Gardner / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 251 | * ''Film/TheQueen'' (UsefulNotes/ElizabethII, or Queen Elizabeth II / [[spoiler:Getting on with her life]]) |
| 252 | * ''Film/{{Radio}}'' (James Robert "Radio" Kennedy) |
| 253 | * ''Film/{{Radioactive}}'' (UsefulNotes/MarieCurie / [[spoiler:Death from prolonged radiation exposure]]) |
| 254 | * ''Film/RagingBull'' (Jake La Motta / [[spoiler:Downfall]]) |
| 255 | * ''Film/{{Ray}}'' (Music/RayCharles / [[spoiler:Growing up]]) |
| 256 | * ''Film/TheRedBaron'' (The Red Baron / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 257 | * ''Film/Reds1981'' (Jack Reed / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 258 | * ''Film/LaRevolucionEsUnSuenoEterno'' (Juan José Castelli) |
| 259 | * ''Film/TheRiseAndFallOfIdiAmin'' (UsefulNotes/IdiAmin / [[spoiler:Downfall]]) |
| 260 | * ''Film/Respect2021'' (Music/ArethaFranklin) |
| 261 | * ''Film/Rocketman2019'' (Music/EltonJohn / [[spoiler:Success and recovery]]) |
| 262 | * ''Series/{{Rome}}'' (UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar & UsefulNotes/{{Augustus}} / [[spoiler:Death for Caesar, Success for Augustus]]) |
| 263 | * ''Film/{{Rommel}}'' (UsefulNotes/ErwinRommel / [[spoiler:Suicide]]) |
| 264 | * ''ComicBook/{{Rosas}}'' (Juan Manuel de Rosas / Exile) |
| 265 | * ''Film/TheRunaways'' (Joan Jett and Cherie Currie / [[spoiler:Coming of age, success, downfall of Cherie]]) |
| 266 | * ''Film/RunningBrave'' (Billy Mills / [[spoiler:Greatest Triumph]]) |
| 267 | * ''Film/SamuraiIMusashiMiyamoto''/''Film/SamuraiIIDuelAtIchijojiTemple''/''Film/SamuraiIIIDuelAtGanryuIsland'' (UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi) |
| 268 | * ''Film/SaintLaurent'' (UsefulNotes/YvesSaintLaurent / [[spoiler:Wild partying and Comeback]]) |
| 269 | * ''Film/SavageMessiah1972'' (Henri Gaudier-Brzeska/[[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 270 | * ''Film/SavingMrBanks'' (P.L. Travers and Creator/WaltDisney / [[spoiler:Early life for Travers, whose book ''Literature/MaryPoppins'' is turned by Walt into one of his greatest triumphs]]) |
| 271 | * ''Film/{{Selena}}'' (Music/{{Selena}} / [[spoiler:Life, Success, Death]]) |
| 272 | * ''Film/{{Selma}}'' (UsefulNotes/MartinLutherKingJr) |
| 273 | * ''Film/{{Shine}}'' (Australian Pianist David Helfgott / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 274 | * ''Film/{{Shirley}}'' (Creator/ShirleyJackson) |
| 275 | * ''Sick: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist'' (Bob Flanagan / [[spoiler:Life and death (obviously)]]) |
| 276 | * ''Film/SidAndNancy'' (Music/SidVicious of the Music/SexPistols / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 277 | * ''Film/{{Sin|2019}}'' (Creator/MichelangeloBuonarroti / [[spoiler:Moving on to other projects]]) |
| 278 | * ''Film/TheSingingNun'' (Jeanine Deckers, albeit [[BasedOnAGreatBigLie very loosely]] / [[spoiler:Goes to Africa to provide medical care for native children]]) |
| 279 | * ''Film/TheSocialNetwork'' ([[Website/{{Facebook}} Mark Zuckerberg]] / [[spoiler:Material triumph [[LonelyAtTheTop at a great personal cost]]]]) |
| 280 | * ''Film/SomebodyUpThereLikesMe'' (Rocky Graziano / [[spoiler:Triumph]]) |
| 281 | * ''Film/TheSongOfBernadette'' (St. Bernadette Soubirous / [[spoiler:Struggle and Triumph]]) |
| 282 | * ''Film/{{Spartacus}}'' (Spartacus / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 283 | * ''Film/{{Spencer}}'' (UsefulNotes/DianaPrincessOfWales, née Spencer / [[spoiler:Getting on with her life (the film takes place entirely in 1991]]) |
| 284 | * ''Film/{{Spielberg}}'' (Creator/StevenSpielberg / [[spoiler:Makes another Oscar-nominated movie]]) |
| 285 | * ''The Spirit of St. Louis'' (Charles Lindbergh / [[spoiler:Greatest Triumph]]) |
| 286 | * ''Film/{{Stalin}}'' (UsefulNotes/JosefStalin / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 287 | * ''Film/StanAndOllie'' (Creator/LaurelAndHardy / [[spoiler:Comeback]]) |
| 288 | * ''Film/Star80'' (Creator/DorothyStratten / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 289 | * ''Film/{{Starkweather}}'' (Charles Starkweather / [[spoiler:Arrest]]) |
| 290 | * ''Film/SteveJobs '' (UsefulNotes/SteveJobs / [[spoiler:Success]]) |
| 291 | * ''Film/{{Stoned}}'' (Music/BrianJones / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 292 | * ''The Story of Louis Pasteur'' (Louis Pasteur /[[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 293 | * ''Film/StraightOuttaCompton'' (Music/{{NWA}} / [[spoiler:Breakup, Cube & Dre's solo successes, and Eazy E's death]]) |
| 294 | * ''Film/SunriseAtCampobello'' (UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt / [[spoiler:Triumph]]) |
| 295 | * ''Film/SweetDreams'' (Patsy Cline / [[spoiler:Success and Death]]) |
| 296 | * ''Film/TedBundy'' (SerialKiller UsefulNotes/TedBundy / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 297 | * ''Film/TedForKarlekensSkull'' (Swedish musician Ted Gärdestad / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 298 | * ''Film/TelstarTheJoeMeekStory'' (British producer Joe Meek / [[spoiler:Murder-suicide where Meek shoots his landlady, then himself.]]) |
| 299 | * ''Film/TempleGrandin'' (Temple Grandin / [[spoiler:Triumph and Success — ''LA Times'' review: "It's rare that triumph includes the word 'slaughterhouse'."]]) |
| 300 | * ''Film/TheTerryFoxStory'' (Terry Fox / [[spoiler:Triumph and Death]]) |
| 301 | * ''Film/Tetris2023'' (Henk Rogers, Video Game producer who worked to get ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'' exported out of the Soviet Union / [[spoiler:Triumph/Success]]) |
| 302 | * ''Film/{{Till}}'' (Mamie Till-Mobley) |
| 303 | * ''Film/ToWalkInvisible'' (The Brontë sisters / [[spoiler:Struggle, triumph, success; death described in closing epilogue for Emily and Anne.]]) |
| 304 | * ''Film/TheTheoryOfEverything'' (Creator/StephenHawking / [[spoiler:Triumph/Success]]) |
| 305 | * ''Film/{{Tolkien}}'' (Creator/JRRTolkien / [[spoiler:Triumph/Success]]) |
| 306 | * ''Film/TooMuchTooSoon'' (Diana Barrymore / [[spoiler:Downfall and recovery]]) |
| 307 | * ''Film/TrueHistoryOfTheKellyGang''({{downplayed|Trope}} AlternateHistory biopic of UsefulNotes/NedKelly) |
| 308 | * ''Film/{{Trumbo}}'' (Dalton Trumbo / [[spoiler:Downfall and Comeback]]) |
| 309 | * ''Film/TuckerTheManAndHisDream'' (Preston Tucker / [[spoiler:Failure[=/=]VindicatedByHistory]]) |
| 310 | * ''Film/TheTwoPopes'' (Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis / Downfall/Triumph) |
| 311 | * ''Film/VaincreOuMourir'' (François Athanase Charette de La Contrie / Defeat and [[spoiler:death]]) |
| 312 | * ''Film/{{Vice|2018}}'' (UsefulNotes/DickCheney / [[spoiler:Triumph/Downfall of UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror]] |
| 313 | * ''Film/VictoriaAndAbdul'' (Abdul Karim / Dismissal and return to India) |
| 314 | * ''Film/LaVieEnRose'' (Music/EdithPiaf / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 315 | * ''Film/VladTepes'' (UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 316 | * ''Un-Break My Heart'' (Music/ToniBraxton / [[spoiler:Family struggles/Triumph]]) |
| 317 | * ''Film/{{W}}'' (President UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush / [[spoiler:Triumph and Downfall of the Iraq invasion.]]) |
| 318 | * ''Film/WalkHard: The Dewey Cox Story'' (A parody of musician biopics / ''[[spoiler:Pretty much all of them.]]'') |
| 319 | * ''Film/WalkTheLine'' (Music/JohnnyCash / [[spoiler:Growing Up]]) |
| 320 | * ''Film/{{Waterloo}}'' (UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte / Downfall) |
| 321 | * ''Series/WelcomeToChippendales'' (Somen "Steve" Banerjee) |
| 322 | * ''Film/WhatWeDoIsSecret'' (Music/TheGerms, and their frontman Darby Crash / [[spoiler:Cult Following, Downfall, Death]]) |
| 323 | * ''Film/WhatsLoveGotToDoWithIt1993'' (Music/TinaTurner / [[spoiler:Growing up, success, Downfall, Comeback]]) |
| 324 | * ''Film/WeirdTheAlYankovicStory'' (A parody of musician biopics, based on a heavily fictionalized version of Music/WeirdAlYankovic / [[spoiler:Downfall, success, death. [[BlatantLies All 100% true to life]].]]) |
| 325 | * ''Film/{{Wired}}'' (Creator/JohnBelushi / [[spoiler:Death]]) |
| 326 | * ''Film/{{Wilson}}'' (UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson / [[spoiler:Greatest Triumph and Downfall]]) |
| 327 | * ''Film/{{Wittgenstein}}'' (Creator/LudwigWittgenstein) |
| 328 | * ''Film/WyattEarp'' (Wyatt Earp / move to Alaska) |
| 329 | * ''Film/TheWolfOfWallStreet'' (Jordan Belfort / [[spoiler:Downfall]]) |
| 330 | * ''Film/TheYoungMrPitt'' (UsefulNotes/WilliamPittTheYounger / [[spoiler:Triumph]]) |
| 331 | * ''Film/YoungWinston'' (UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill / [[spoiler:Growing Up]]) |
| 332 | * ''Film/YvesSaintLaurent'' (UsefulNotes/YvesSaintLaurent / [[spoiler:Triumph]]) |
| 333 | * ''Series/ZTheBeginningOfEverything'' (Zelda Fitzgerald, wife of Creator/FScottFitzgerald) |
| 334 | [[/index]] |
| 335 | |
| 336 | !!Tropes that are frequently used in this genre include: |
| 337 | * AbilityOverAppearance: While a number of biopics try to cast actors who closely resemble the real-life people they play, others simply go for those that best evoke the presence of the subject regardless of their looks (which is especially common when a subject hardly resembles the typical leading man in Hollywood, e.g. UsefulNotes/RichardNixon). |
| 338 | * AbusiveParents: A staple of the genre, if they had a {{Jerkass}} parent it will probably get a mention. |
| 339 | * AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: Most figures in life who were successful [[RequiredSecondaryPowers had to have been functional and committed]] to some extent, even if they were self-destructive in others. In fiction, expect the flaws and neuroses to be dialled up, and expect to be surprised at wondering how that messed-up classical composer ever managed the concentration to write his major opus. |
| 340 | * AdaptedOut: Not every people in the subject's life are gonna get featured. If they're not lucky enough to at least be {{Composite Character}}s, they will be outright omitted from the story. |
| 341 | * AllStarCast: Features a lot of actors in very different roles. |
| 342 | * AluminumChristmasTrees: Occasionally biopics will leave in the more extraordinary details of someone's life, regardless of their believability to laypeople. |
| 343 | * ArtisticLicense: Big time. In some cases this is a JustifiedTrope as a fictional work must telescope key moments of the person's life rather than say, all the times, Leonardo sat in his room and waited for his assistants to mix his paints. In other cases this trope exists for legal reasons, for instance if a location where an event ''did'' occur refuse permission to use its locations or if the military refuses to lend assets to a topic it regards as controversial. |
| 344 | * AsHimself: In more recent films, expect TheCameo of the subject. |
| 345 | * BiographyAClef: Films about artists where they are shown interacting with figures who are intended by the author as MetaOrigin for their later works. ''Film/ShakespeareInLove'' is the most well known example. |
| 346 | * {{Bowdlerization}}: |
| 347 | ** On account of ValuesDissonance, expect to be be surprised (or not really) that LGBT figures like Music/ColePorter were depicted as heterosexual in the film ''Night and Day'' (starring Creator/CaryGrant in addition[[note]]long rumored to be bisexual[[/note]]), as well as giving Creator/MichelangeloBuonarroti (widely suspected to have been gay) a straight romance in ''The Agony and the Ecstacy''. |
| 348 | ** This is doubly the case in films set in earlier eras where the different values and cultural norms get played down to make the characters relatable to a modern audience. Expect to see Kings and Politicians MarryForLove in eras where ArrangedMarriage was the norm, and where a PerfectlyArrangedMarriage still allowed room in one's heart for TheMistress. |
| 349 | * CaptainErsatz: Some movies depicting a historical figure will stick close to the outline but change the names for legal and artistic reasons. This happened with Film/CitizenKane which was modelled on William Randolph Hearst and other press moguls and featured a number of {{Biopic}} tropes. It also appears in later films like ''Film/VelvetGoldmine'' (based on Music/DavidBowie [[note]]Who disliked the script and refused to license music for the production[[/note]]) as well as Creator/ClintEastwood's ''White Hunter, Black Heart'' (about Creator/JohnHuston). |
| 350 | * CompositeCharacter: Multiple real people might be collapsed to one in particular if they essentially serve the same purpose in the subject's life (this happens frequently with {{love interest}}s). Creator/AndyKaufman's late-in-life girlfriend Lynne Margulies is an example in ''Film/ManOnTheMoon'' (where she's played by Music/CourtneyLove); she both represents the real Lynne and other women in his life, and enters the story much earlier than in reality. |
| 351 | * DarkAndTroubledPast: Even in cases where the past is relatively happy or not as troubling, except loads of AdaptationalAngstUpgrade. |
| 352 | * {{Deuteragonist}}: A lot of biopics will usually portray the subject from an AudienceSurrogate POV. For example: Hitler is seen by Traudle Junge (''Film/{{Downfall}}''), Mozart by Salieri in (Film/{{Amadeus}}) and many others. This is especially the case when the person is supposed to be a bigger than life personality, who writers might regard as difficult or unconventional if shown from within, and easier to do so by a more relatable observer who might at times be a fictional character (see Film/MeAndOrsonWelles). |
| 353 | * DownerEnding: A tragic early death, usually by murder or substance abuse. |
| 354 | * DyeingForYourArt: More visually-accurate biopics might see actors go to heavy lengths to better resemble the real-life figures they play. Creator/ChristianBale for instance gained an immense amount of weight, shaved his head, and bleached his eyebrows to play UsefulNotes/DickCheney in ''Film/Vice2018''. |
| 355 | * FakeNationality: More often than not, an actor playing a character is not of the same nationality as that character. For example, it is not uncommon for an American character to be played by [[FakeAmerican a non-American actor]]. |
| 356 | * {{Flashback}}, often a TroubledBackstoryFlashback. |
| 357 | * ForegoneConclusion: Particularly for famous people who are dead, as the audience already knows this beforehand. In the case of particularly notable historical figures, the audience will obviously know their fate beforehand. Doubly so if the subject was murdered, and triply if said murder was a high-profile one (by celebrity killing standards anyway). |
| 358 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: Certain scenes will use a metaphor or a HarsherInHindsight[=/=]HilariousInHindsight line or scene in which the celebrity is shown in the very distant past, anticipating some of the more famous stuff he'll do later in life. |
| 359 | * HardWorkHardlyWorks: Movies about artists, philosophers and scientists will often present work as EurekaMoment or a montage rather then attempt to portray in a believable fashion the evolution of an artistic sensibility, scientific acumen or insight. Some argue that this is because actors are, usually, not painters/musicians/composers/scientists so they can't believably portray the artistic and scientific process, even if the film-makers wanted to go in that direction. |
| 360 | * HistoricalBeautyUpdate: Men and women will often be made more beautiful or attractive than they actually were in RealLife. And always according to modern beauty standards. |
| 361 | * HistoricalDomainCharacter: Expect to see multiple films of some figures, especially prominent and important ones like Lincoln, Nixon, Elizabeth I and Napoleon. |
| 362 | * HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Likely to happen when conflict with another person/group is key to the story. |
| 363 | * HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Also likely to happen when conflict is a key part of a story. |
| 364 | * HollywoodAtlas: It's expensive to shoot on multiple locations, so different places are collapsed into each other. |
| 365 | * HollywoodHistory: Since Hollywood popularized the genre it often informs biographical misconceptions of famous figures. |
| 366 | * HollywoodOld: Many biopics limit how accurately their actors can resemble their subjects in older age, resulting in imagery such as a 70-year-old being played by someone who obviously looks decades younger. |
| 367 | * {{Montages}}: With the sheer amount of time covered, transitions from one period to the next are often handled this way. |
| 368 | * MostWritersAreWriters: The reason why biopics about writers are far rarer than composers, dancers, musicians and painters. Writing is generally not considered to be visually interesting since it features men and women in a room (sometimes a cafe) with a piece of paper. Movies which feature writers tend to be about their colourful personal lives and drama (Film/KillYourDarlings) or their involvement in a political cause (''The Life of Emile Zola'' dealing with the Dreyfuss Affair). Shakespeare being that he's a playwright and theatre actor, gets a free pass to the extent ([[ShakespeareInFiction that he has his own trope]]). |
| 369 | * TheMusicalMusical: Usually in biopics about musicians and composers, and especially ones about people who have performed in stage musicals. |
| 370 | * NoAntagonist: Some biopics don't have a physical villain (at least not as a character). The conflict may come from the protagonist's own inner demons, whatever they may be. |
| 371 | * NothingButHits: Common to the genre as a whole, but most pronounced in films about musicians. The musician's {{Signature Song}}s are likely to be used. |
| 372 | * OscarBait: Has been one since the 1930s. |
| 373 | * PoliticallyCorrectHistory: A side effect of the HistoricalHeroUpgrade in particular, but pops up in nearly all of them to varying degrees. |
| 374 | * PostModernism: |
| 375 | ** Because story structure in this genre is so predictable, some more recent films invoke this to freshen things up. Commonly, the filmmakers try to frame the story in the style of the performer's work. For example, ''The Life and Death of Creator/PeterSellers'' has a film-within-a-film structure: Peter (Geoffrey Rush) is making the film and "actually" playing everyone in it. ''Film/ManOnTheMoon'' admits its use of ArtisticLicense in the opening sequence and builds a CreditsGag from it. |
| 376 | ** Film-in-a-film/character as himself is also used in ''Beyond The Sea'', to justify Kevin Spacey's tiny bit of DawsonCasting-- the subject, singer Bobby Darin died at a relatively early age. |
| 377 | ** Todd Haynes' ''Film/ImNotThere'' is about Music/BobDylan's artistic career rather than his personal life, so its a film done InTheStyleOf Dylan's music and personae, with different actors (including women) playing him at various points. An earlier version of this is Creator/PaulSchrader's ''Film/MishimaALifeinFourChapters'' which is a {{Deconstruction}} of the subject's life and work. |
| 378 | * RealPersonCameo: Often at the end, should one of the subjects still be alive at the time of filming. |
| 379 | * RippedFromTheHeadlines: It's extremely rare to see films about famous figures at the height of their fame and level of influence. Some argue that the objectivity and distance of time is needed to get some measure of the life and work to form a worldview. In other cases it's because of legal reasons (fear of libel) which leads instead to CaptainErsatz coming to the rescue. A recent notable exception is Creator/OliverStone's ''Film/{{W}}'', made while President UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush was still in office. A film about Kennedy's war years was released while he was still alive, so there is a precedent, but Stone's film presented a critical view of Bush's presidency ''during'' that period. |
| 380 | * RiseAndFallGangsterArc: Gangster films based on real-life criminals tend to follow this plot structure. Examples include ''Film/AmericanGangster'', ''Film/AmericanMade'', ''Film/{{Blow}}'', ''Film/GoodFellas'', ''Film/TheWolfOfWallStreet'', ''Film/Legend2015'', and many others. |
| 381 | * ShownTheirWork: Expect Creator/MartinScorsese and Creator/RobertoRossellini to lean heavily on this trope at least. |
| 382 | * TalentDouble: Frequently averted as noted on the trope page, although a NonSingingVoice[=/=]NotQuiteStarring is often heard. |
| 383 | * TearJerker: Biopics frequently exploit the subjects' personal drama to invoke this reaction from the audience, which is especially true when said subjects were wracked with actual tragedy (e.g. [[Music/JoyDivision Ian Curtis]], who had to deal with depression, epilepsy, and marital dysfunction all at once). |
| 384 | * TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Viewers more knowledgeable than others about the subject matter are often aggravated by any changes made to the story, particularly reordering events and/or dropping them. Since different people have different ideas about ''what'' is important, this is extremely subjective. Also, it doesn't just apply to viewers -- the subject and/or their friends/family might have issues with what is and isn't included. This at times lead to later biopics that address the previous ones. |
| 385 | * TimeshiftedActor: Very frequently with the character as a child or teenager. |
| 386 | * TimeSkip: Another common way to handle the passage of time. |
| 387 | * TitledAfterTheSong: Common in biopics about musicians and songwriters. Usually, the name of their SignatureSong is used. |
| 388 | * ViewersAreGeniuses: Some biopics are made for audiences who already know a lot about the person and will alienate the general public who hasn't got enough knowledge beforehand. |
| 389 | * ViewersAreMorons: Things are often simplified in order not to confuse, disturb or make audiences think too much. Often they are downright romanticized. |
| 390 | * WartsAndAll: Some more audacious biopics will openly show their subjects as flawed figures with distinct vices, especially when the subject is a controversial figure like UsefulNotes/RichardNixon or Music/JerryLeeLewis. |
| 391 | * WellDoneSonGuy: Familial drama is a common plot point in biopics, with subjects seeking approval from their parents that they only scarcely got. |
| 392 | * WhatTheHellHero: In the more [[WartsAndAll unflinching]] biopics. |
| 393 | * WhenItAllBegan: RuleOfDrama frequently means that real people's motivations will be distilled down to one significant event in their life. |
| 394 | * WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Especially if the subject is still alive at the time the biopic is made. |
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