Top 20 Rock and Roll Biopics of All Time!
From 'Elvis' to 'Ray,' Moviefone counts down the greatest movies ever made about Rock and Roll musicians.
Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna in the Roku Channel's ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.'
Rock and Roll musicians always make interesting subjects for biopics, and often win Oscars like in the case of 'Ray' or Bohemian Rhapsody.'
We've already seen the release of director Baz Luhrmann's 'Elvis' earlier this year, and Naomi Ackie will play Whitney Houston in 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody,' opens in December.
Meanwhile, 'Weird: The Al Yankovic Story' premieres on The Roku Channel November 4th and stars Daniel Radcliffe as Yankovic, and Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna.
In honor of the new film, Moviefone is counting down the top 20 Rock and Roll biopics of all time. Since the term "Rock and Roll" can cover several different genres of music, we are only including movies about musical artists who were known for performing popular music within the rock genre, including jazz, blues, country, rap, etc.
Without further ado, let's begin!
20) Notorious (2009)
"Notorious" is the story of Christopher Wallace (Jamal Woolard). Through raw talent and sheer determination, Wallace transforms himself from Brooklyn street hustler (once selling crack to pregnant women) to one of the greatest rappers of all time: The Notorious B.I.G. Follow his meteoric rise to fame and his refusal to succumb to expectations - redefining our notion of "The American Dream."
19) La Bamba (1987)
Los Angeles teenager Ritchie Valens (Lou Diamond Phillips) becomes an overnight rock 'n' roll success in 1958, thanks to a love ballad called "Donna" that he wrote for his girlfriend. But as his star rises, Valens has conflicts with his jealous brother, Bob (Esai Morales), and becomes haunted by a recurring nightmare of a plane crash just as he begins his first national tour alongside Buddy Holly (Marshall Crenshaw).
La Bamba
18) The Dirt (2019)
The Dirt
17) Nowhere Boy (2010)
The drama tells the story of John Lennon's (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) teenage years in Liverpool and the start of his journey to becoming a successful musician. The story also examines the impact on his early life and personality of the two dominant females in his childhood.
16) The Runaways (2010)
Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) and Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning ), two rebellious teenagers from Southern California, become the frontwomen for the Runaways -- the now-legendary group that paved the way for future generations of female rockers. Under the Svengali-like influence of impresario Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon), the band becomes a huge success.
15) Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
20th Century Fox
Singer Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek), guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee), drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) and bass guitarist John Deacon (Joe Mazzello) take the music world by storm when they form the rock 'n' roll band Queen in 1970. Hit songs become instant classics. When Mercury's increasingly wild lifestyle starts to spiral out of control, Queen soon faces its greatest challenge yet – finding a way to keep the band together amid the success and excess.
14) Miles Ahead (2016)
An exploration of the life and music of Miles Davis (Don Cheadle).
13) Jimi: All Is by My Side (2014)
A drama based on Jimi Hendrix's (André 3000) life as he left New York City for London, where his career took off.
12) Control (2007)
The story of Joy Division’s lead singer Ian Curtis (Sam Riley), from his schoolboy days in 1973 to his suicide on the eve of the band's first American tour in 1980.
11) Sid and Nancy (1986)
January 1978. After their success in England, the punk rock band Sex Pistols venture out on their tour of the southern United States. Temperamental bassist Sid Vicious (Gary Oldman) is forced by his band mates to travel without his troubled girlfriend, Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb), who will meet him in New York. When the band breaks up and Sid begins his solo career in a hostile city, the turbulent couple definitely falls into the depths of drug addiction.
10) Ray (2004)
Universal Pictures
Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles (Jamie Foxx) went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered coupling gospel and country together.
9) Love & Mercy (2015)
In the late 1960s, the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson (Paul Dano and John Cusack) stops touring, produces "Pet Sounds" and begins to lose his grip on reality. By the 1980s, Wilson, under the sway of a controlling therapist, finds a savior in Melinda Ledbetter (Elizabeth Banks).
8) Rocketman (2019)
The story of Elton John's (Taron Egerton) life, from his years as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his influential and enduring musical partnership with Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell).
7) Elvis (2022)
The life story of Elvis Presley (Austin Butler) as seen through the complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks).
6) What's Love Got to Do with It (1993)
Singer Tina Turner (Angela Bassett) rises to stardom while mustering the courage to break free from her abusive husband Ike (Laurence Fishburne).
What's Love Got to Do with It
5) Get on Up (2014)
Universal Pictures
A chronicle of James Brown's (Chadwick Boseman) rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history.
4) Walk the Line (2005)
A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's (Joaquin Phoenix) life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.
3) The Doors (1991)
The story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison (Val Kilmer).
2) Straight Outta Compton (2015)
In 1987, five young men, using brutally honest rhymes and hardcore beats, put their frustration and anger about life in the most dangerous place in America into the most powerful weapon they had: their music. Starring O'Shea Jackson Jr. as O'Shea "Ice Cube" Jackson, Corey Hawkins as Andre "Dr. Dre" Young, and Jason Mitchell as Eric "Eazy-E" Wright.
Straight Outta Compton
1) I'm Not There (2007)
The Weinstein Company
Six actors (Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Ben Whishaw) portray six personas of music legend Bob Dylan in scenes depicting various stages of his life, chronicling his rise from unknown folksinger to international icon and revealing how Dylan constantly reinvented himself.
