10 Must-Watch Musical Biopics, Ranked

Musical biopics seem to be making a comeback in recent years, with movies like Bohemian Rhapsody, Elvis, Rocketman, and A Complete Unknown finding commercial success and heaps of accolades. It’s certainly a fun and fascinating genre when done right, providing insights into beloved, larger-than-life figures while also serving up enjoyable renditions of beloved tunes.

This is a difficult recipe to pull off perfectly, which is why a lot of musical biopics end up being rather tame and uniform, playing it safe, sticking to tired story structures. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of great musical biopics out there, films that add to the viewer’s understanding and appreciation of their subjects. With this in mind, here are ten essential musical biopics, from the vibrance of Elvis to the stirring realism of Control.

10

‘Rocketman’ (2019)

Directed by Dexter Fletcher

Elton John, played by actor Taron Egerton, wears a smart suit with a feathered hat in Rocketman — Image via Paramount Pictures

“Real love’s hard to come by. So you find a way to cope without it.” Taron Egerton delivers a phenomenal performance in this one as Elton John, delving deep into both the star’s larger-than-life stage presence and his deep personal struggles. The story charts Elton’s transformation from his humble beginnings as Reginald Dwight, a shy piano prodigy with emotionally distant parents, to his meteoric rise as one of the most iconic musicians in history. However, fame brings its own demons, including drug addiction and toxic relationships.

Rocketman succeeds because it delivers on the emotional level as well as the musical, with electrifying musical numbers and grand theatrics. Sure, some of the narrative beats hew a little too closely to tried-and-true biopic formulas, but the star power and infectious tunes do a lot to compensate. Egerton is the biggest surprise of all, taking a big, bold step into storytelling territory.

Rocketman

Release Date: May 31, 2019
Runtime: 121 Minutes
Writers: Lee Hall

9

‘Elvis’ (2022)

Directed by Baz Luhrmann

Austin Butler as Elvis Presley standing in front of a microphone in Elvis (2022) — Image via Warner Bros.

“Did you know there’s a kind of bird that doesn’t have any legs? So it can’t land on nothing.” Elvis is a whirlwind ride through the life and career of the King. Austin Butler is transformative in the part, Presley’s signature voice, moves, and charisma. Meanwhile, Tom Hanks is predictably solid as Colonel Tom Parker, Presley’s controversial manager, whose influence over Elvis’ career was both a blessing and a curse.

As one would expect from Baz Luhrmann, Elvis is a huge spectacle; dazzling, high-energy, and moving at a breakneck pace. The rapid-fire editing and larger-than-life concert sequences are spellbinding. The filmmaker’s affection and reverence for Elvis is also very much on display. As a result, it’s arguably the director’s most accomplished film since Moulin Rouge! Still, there are occasional narrative missteps, and a few scenes are too gaudy for their own good. Fortunately, Luhrmann and Butler leaven the flashiness with some genuine emotion.

Elvis

Release Date: June 24, 2022
Runtime: 159 minutes

8

‘Love & Mercy’ (2014)

Directed by Bill Pohlad

Paul Dano in Love & Mercy — Image via Roadside Attractions

“Who are you, Mozart?” Love & Mercy focuses on Brian Wilson, the troubled genius behind The Beach Boys. Rather than following a linear timeline, the film is split into two narratives: the 1960s, where a young Wilson (Paul Dano) creates the groundbreaking ‘Pet Sounds’ album while battling auditory hallucinations, and the 1980s, where an older Wilson (John Cusack) struggles under the control of his manipulative therapist, Dr. Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti). Both Dano and Cusack do a fantastic job with an admittedly challenging role, as does

This dual storytelling approach creates an interesting tension, and helps to shine a light on both Wilson’s talents and mental health struggles. Likewise, the movie places the viewer inside Wilson’s head, showing us the disorienting voices and fragmented sounds he hears in his mind. The structure was also meant to represent the inventiveness of Wilson’s music, with screenwriter Oren Overman saying, “How do we tell his story in that way, too? Can we create strange chord shifts in the cinematic structure of this movie?”

Love & Mercy

Run Time: 121 minutes
Director: Bill Pohlad
Release Date: June 5, 2015

7

‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ (1980)

Directed by Michael Apted

Sissy Spacek singing on stage in Coal Miner's Daughter — Image Via Universal Pictures

“After seventeen years of marriage, I’m gonna start livin’ a little.” Coal Miner’s Daughter features Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn, one of country music’s most renowned voices. In particular, the film explores her early marriage to the charming but reckless Doolittle “Doo” Lynn (Tommy Lee Jones). Spacek is brilliant in the part (and very different from her fiery performance in Carrie), perfectly capturing Lynn’s transformation from a timid young girl to a confident, trailblazing artist. She won an Oscar for her efforts. (Lynn herself reportedly chose Spacek to play her.)

In terms of the storytelling, director Michael Apted takes a refreshingly restrained approach to the material, allowing emotions to build gradually rather than leaning into overt sentimentality. The characters are richly drawn, and the narrative feels authentic. Even the most dramatic or even traumatic moments tend to be depicted in an unsensationalized way (not always the case with musical biopics).

Coal Miner’s Daughter

Release Date: March 7, 1980
Runtime: 125 minutes
Director: Michael Apted
Writers: Loretta Lynn, Thomas Rickman, George Vecsey

6

‘Control’ (2007)

Directed by Anton Corbijn

Sam Riley as Ian Curtis in the recording studio in Control — Image Via The Weinstein Company

“I don’t stand a chance.” Control is a haunting and deeply personal portrayal of Ian Curtis (Sam Riley), the enigmatic frontman of Joy Division. Filmed in stark black and white, the movie immerses viewers in Curtis’s world, capturing the intensity and isolation that defined his short life. It begins with the singer’s early days in Macclesfield, his marriage to Deborah Curtis (Samantha Morton), and the formation of the band. Their melancholy, atmospheric sound would shape post-punk music.

Director Anton Corbijn had long been a fan of Curtis, and his background as a creative director in the music industry gave him an informed perspective on the subject matter. He takes a stripped-back, introspective approach to this biopic, eliminating the mythologizing and instead focusing on Curtis simply as a person. This makes it bleaker than most music biopics, but unusually powerful, resisting easy answers and instead leaning into the complexity of its central figure.

Control

Release Date: September 12, 2007
Runtime: 121 minutes
Director: Anton Corbijn
Writers: Deborah Curtis, Matt Greenhalgh

5

‘Ray’ (2004)

Directed by Taylor Hackford

“I might be blind, but I ain’t stupid.” Jamie Foxx won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance here as Ray Charles, the pioneering musician who revolutionized soul and R&B despite losing his sight at a young age. The movie begins with Ray’s difficult childhood in the segregated South, where he loses his vision at age seven and learns to navigate the world through touch and sound. Flashbacks to his past reveal the guilt he carries over the death of his younger brother, a tragedy that haunts him throughout his life.

Foxx’s work is uncanny, capturing the artist’s mannerisms and voice with astonishing accuracy. (He would repeat this trick a year later, covering part of Charles’s “I Got a Woman” for the song “Gold Digger”). The actor really is the movie’s secret weapon. The rest of it is good, though its admirable commitment to covering all the major events of Charles’s life means that the runtime is occasionally a bit of an endurance test.

Ray

Release Date: October 29, 2004
Runtime: 152 Minutes

4

‘Walk the Line’ (2005)

Directed by James Mangold

Do Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon Really Sing in 'Walk the Line' — Custom Image via Zanda Rice

“You’re not nothing.” Walk the Line is an electrifying portrait of Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix), delving into his legendary love story with June Carter (Reese Witherspoon) as well as his struggles with addiction. While the movie doesn’t reinvent the genre, it benefits greatly from its lead performances. Phoenix is raw and restless as Cash, while Witherspoon is energetic and likable as June, nabbing the Best Actress Oscar in the process. The pair of them have crackling chemistry.

Director James Mangold commands the material well, even if his storytelling style isn’t particularly inventive or flashy. Rather, he creates a sturdy framework for the actors and the music to do their work. Plus, as with Control, he pulls away the mythology surrounding Cash and places his human foibles, particularly his deep self-doubts, front and center. It’s for this reason that Walk the Line rises above hagiography to be a stirring, engaging character study.

Walk The Line

Release Date: September 13, 2005
Runtime: 136 Minutes

3

‘A Complete Unknown’ (2024)

Directed by James Mangold

Timothée Chalamet strumming a guitar as Bob Dylan, playing Masters of War in A Complete Unknown. — Image via Searchlight Pictures

“How does it feel, to be on your own?” The most recent movie on this list is A Complete Unknown, a snapshot of Bob Dylan’s arrival in New York’s Greenwich Village in 1961, also directed by Mangold. Timothée Chalamet steps ably into the admittedly daunting role of Dylan, perhaps the most mythologized musician in history. Rather than attempting to cover Dylan’s whole life, it follows him for just a handful of years up to his famous and controversial decision to go electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.

The movie could have dug a little deeper into Dylan as a person, but, overall, it’s a terrific profile of this pivotal era in his life. Chalamet deserves kudos for his performance, which is multifaceted and entertaining, as well as his impressive singing chops, reflecting years of lessons and practice. His rendition of “The Times They Are A-Changin” is raw and gripping, making for one of the year’s best musical moments on screen.

A Complete Unknown

Release Date: December 25, 2024
Runtime: 140 minutes

2

‘Straight Outta Compton’ (2015)

Directed by F. Gary Gray

O'Shea Jackson Jr. as Ice Cube holding his hands up for the crowd in 'Straight Outta Compton' — Image via Universal Pictures

“Our art is a reflection of our reality.” Straight Outta Compton dramatizes the story of the groundbreaking rap group N.W.A. Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell), Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins), and Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) start out as scrappy amateurs on the streets of Compton, but go on to become international superstars. Their unapologetic lyrics speak to the realities of life in this hardscrabble environment, making them both heroes and targets of controversy.

The musicians themselves were closely involved in the movie’s production, meaning that it might not be as objective and critical as it could have been. Nevertheless, it still comes across as real and honest, with plenty of rough edges. It’s engrossing from the get-go, infused with social commentary, radiating an affection for hip-hop, and ultimately becoming a great recreation of an influential cultural moment. O’Shea Jackson Jr.’s performance as his father is especially noteworthy, with him practically becoming Ice Cube on screen.

Straight Outta Compton

Release Date: August 14, 2015
Runtime: 147minutes
Writers: Jonathan Herman, Andrea Berloff

1

‘Amadeus’ (1984)

Directed by Miloš Forman

Salieri's (F. Murray Abraham) face contorts in awe, envy, and admiration as he reads Mozart's music for the first time in 'Amadeus' (1984). — Image via Orion Pictures

“Forgive me, Mozart, for I will murder your magic.” Claiming the top spot on this list is the operatic, visually stunning Amadeus, recounting the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce), seen through the jealous eyes of his rival, Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham). Through flashbacks, we see the contrast between Salieri’s disciplined yet uninspired compositions and Mozart’s effortless, almost divine talent.

Amadeus plays fast and loose with the facts, changing details in order to better amplify its themes. It’s a bold approach but one that works spectacularly well, resulting in one of the most creative, charming, and darkly funny biopics ever made. The kinetic storytelling and heightened drama transform the distant past into something vividly immediate. The performances rise to the occasion, with Abraham delivering a career-defining turn as the tormented Salieri and Hulce nailing the prodigious but irreverent and troubled Mozart. In the end, Amadeus is more than a biopic—it’s a meditation on genius, mediocrity, and artistic obsession.