Best Musical Biographies

Tools    





So many good movies, so little time.
Musical Biographies of musicians, composers and performers.

My favorites :

1. Amadeus (1984)
2. Bound For Glory (1976)
3. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
4. Bird (1988)
5. The Buddy Holly Story (1978)
6. Walk the Line (2005)
7. Ray (2004)
8. What's Love Got To Do With It (1993)
9. Shine (1996)
10. Sid and Nancy (1986)
11. De-Lovely (2004)
12. Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
13. La Bamba (1987)
14. The Great Ziegfield (1936)
15. The Doors (1991)
__________________

"Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others."- Groucho Marx



nice list

i'd have to include:
selena
the rat pack
why do fools fall in love



Yankee Doodle Dandy, 42' with Jimmy Cagney playing George M. Cohan. Great film, great songs - although I do prefer Cagneys gangster pictures.



The People's Republic of Clogher
Originally Posted by EugMc
You don't have Imagine on there so your opinion is worthless to me. Learn to my site: www.theusversusjohnlennon.co.uk
Your opinion is spam so is worthless to me...

Anyway, I'll add Michael Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People (2002) which charts the rise of Joy Division, New Order and The Happy Mondays through the eyes of svengali, visionary and pretentious arsehole, Tony Wilson.
__________________
"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan



walk the line was phenomenal



primative screwhead
Amadeus was awesome. His laugh rules



Standing in the Sunlight, Laughing
Originally Posted by MorbidKisses
Amadeus was awesome. His laugh rules
One of my bosses laughs like that. It's a little disturbing.

Has anyone seen The Buena Vista Social Club?
__________________
Review: Cabin in the Woods 8/10



Originally Posted by SamsoniteDelilah
Has anyone seen The Buena Vista Social Club?
Sure, but not really up for discussion if you want to keep making a distinction between BioPics and documentary. Buena Vista Social Club is a terrific flick, but it hardly seems fair to judge it against Bird and Amadeus.
__________________
"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra



Standing in the Sunlight, Laughing
Originally Posted by Holden Pike
Sure, but not really up for discussion if you want to keep making a distinction between BioPics and documentary. Buena Vista Social Club is a terrific flick, but it hardly seems fair to judge it against Bird and Amadeus.
Ah. I haven't seen it, so can't compare. It was recommended by a musician friend, so I figured it's probably fairly accurate about what happened.



Originally Posted by SamsoniteDelilah
Ah. I haven't seen it, so can't compare. It was recommended by a musician friend, so I figured it's probably fairly accurate about what happened.


The music is amazing, and you get to see all of these (then) forgotten musicians. I denote "then forgotten" because the success of the movie, the soundtrack and the subsequent touring made stars out of all of them again. And rightfully so. But what The Buena Vista Social Club is best at, as a movie (for me anyway), is the glimpse inside Castro's Cuba. It is an amazing chronicle of great music, yes, but I love the sociological aspects just as much, if not more.

Yeah, you should definitely see it....but it isn't a Musical BioPic. It's a Wem Wenders documentary where he and Ry Cooder travel to Cuba and find these great folks and, in the process, turn them into international stars.



Standing in the Sunlight, Laughing
Originally Posted by Holden Pike


The music is amazing, and you get to see all of these (then) forgotten musicians. I denote "then forgotten" because the success of the movie, the soundtrack and the subsequent touring made stars out of all of them again. And rightfully so. But what The Buena Vista Social Club is best at, as a movie (for me anyway), is the glimpse inside Castro's Cuba. It is an amazing chronicle of great music, yes, but I love the sociological aspects just as much, if not more.

Yeah, you should definitely see it....but it isn't a Musical BioPic.
Sounds excellent! Thanks for the info, H.