Austin Butler is currently dazzling audiences as the Rock & Roll King Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann's latest glamourous biopic Elvis, but he's far from the first actor to adopt the role of a famous music icon for the big screen. Musical biopics have become more and more popular as of late, with a plethora of different musicians finding themselves subject to these cinematic analyses.
After watching Luhrmann's Elvis, plenty of fans have taken to Reddit to give their recommendations of similar films that audiences may like. Whether that's because of the glamourous style, the emotional narrative, or the standout performances, there's something for everybody to like with a great musical biopic.
Control (2007)
Control is a uniquely devastating drama that tells the story of Joy Division's Ian Curtis, who sadly ended his own life at the age of 24 after a series of personal and professional traumas. It's certainly not an easy film to watch, but its distinctly macabre style makes it stand out from the crowd in all the right ways.
Control blends its emotional narrative with the celebrated music of Joy Divison through a series of live performances, in which Sam Riley perfectly captures the essence of Curtis' one-of-a-kind stage presence. Reddit fredmull1973 calls the film "really great", proving just how popular and acclaimed it has become.
Walk The Line (2005)
Telling the captivating story of Johnny Cash's rollercoaster career, Walk The Line is often celebrated as one of the very first musical biopics to define how audiences perceive the genre today. It boasts one of Joaquin Phoenix's best performances, as he navigates Cash's life with surprising tenderness and emotion.
It's because of Phoenix's talent and the ubiquity of Cash's struggles that Walk The Line is so widely considered to be one of the best musical biopics of all time. Reddit everyth1ngcounts describes Phoenix as "heartbreakingly good" in the film, proving that it's full of both style and substance.
The Doors (1991)
Jim Morrison finds himself as the subject of 1991's The Doors, an exuberant examination of the singer's professional contributions to the rock band The Doors. The film was directed by Oliver Stone and stars an electric Val Kilmer in the lead role, which proves that the film was destined to be a hit from its very conception.
Redditor aciuaciu claims that "the movie did a really good job of combining Morrison's lunacy and brilliance in a couple of hours". About Kilmer's performance, they also write that he "didn't get the credit [he] deserved", which is certainly true when considering just how transformative this role must have been.
Rocketman (2019)
It's pretty surprising that a biopic about Elton John didn't get made until this late into the genre's rise to popularity, but it was apparently worth the wait with Rocketman. Taron Egerton's lead performance is often talked about as one of the greatest biopic performances ever, despite his surprising omission from that year's Academy Award lineup.
Redditor Rocketman also boasts a widely recognizable cast that helped push the film to various audiences.
La Vie En Rose (2007)
Marion Cotillard steals the show as Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose, a critical examination of the singer's early life and consequent personal struggles. Piaf was an extremely complex character, and it's a miracle that the film managed to effectively capture all the various aspects of her life that most audiences will have been unfamiliar with.
Redditor everyth1ngcounts once again comments that "Marion Cotillard is such a dime", which is proven by the fact that Cotillard was granted the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2008 for this role. It's impossible to imagine La Vie En Rose with anybody but her playing the lead role.
Get On Up (2014)
James Brown is the subject of 2014's Get On Up, which focuses on the struggles of Brown's early life in poverty as he strives to become one of the most successful musicians of his time. Chadwick Boseman shines in the lead role, which many still cite as one of his defining performances.
Like many of the best biopics, Get On Up boasts an incredibly infectious atmosphere of electric energy that keeps the audience on their toes throughout and keeps the adrenalin pumping. Edmerx54 praises Boseman's lead performance in the film, claiming that "Chadwick Boseman is James Brown."
Tick...Tick...Boom! (2021)
A more recent entry, Lin Manuel Miranda's Tick...Tick...Boom! tells the revolutionary story of screenwriter Jonathan Larson, who is best known as the writer of Rent (among several other successful theater pieces). The film explores Larson's compulsive obsession with time, and the all-too-familiar feeling that you're running out of it.
Andrew Garfield provides one of his best performances to date as Larson in the film, which gathered him plenty of Oscar buzz and eventually culminated in a Best Actor nomination in 2022. According to Redditor unutulmazpodcastler, the film is "like a masterclass on how to structure a biopic".
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Although Bohemian Rhapsody wasn't quite as critically acclaimed as some biopics, there was still a huge group of audiences with whom the film resonated strongly. Focusing on the bold and dynamic life of Freddie Mercury, the film takes the audience on a rollercoaster journey of fame, fortune, and friendship that culminates in a thrilling reconstruction of the band's famous Live Aid set.
The film is best known for driving Rami Malek towards his first Oscar for playing the lead role of Freddie Mercury - a performance that's widely considered to be one of the film's strongest assets. Reddit hw-btw writes: "I didn't care much for the movie itself, but Rami Malek was outstanding in this."
The Buddy Holly Story (1978)
There's no doubt that Buddy Holly was one of the most impactful and influential musicians of his time, but what's not so well-known is that he was also the subject of one of the very first musical biopics, The Buddy Holly Story. Reddit aciuaciu believes that the film "did an excellent job of portraying [Holly's] short and tragic career"
The Buddy Holly Story chronicles Holly's battle to become to best in the business, detailing the many threats and challenges that he faced on a daily basis in order to achieve that title. It's an extremely moving and inspirational film, and one that pretty much set the groundwork for what a musical biopic could (and should) be.
Love & Mercy (2014)
Paul Dano and John Cusack play different versions of The Beach Boys' frontman Brian Wilson in Love & Mercy, which explores two completely different points in the musician's life and details his tragic psychological breakdown between them. Redditor everyth1ngcounts calls the film "so excellent", noting that it does everything an audience could hope for from a musical biopic.
Wilson was undeniably one of the greatest musical minds of the 1960s, with his magnum opus 'Pet Sounds' still being considered one of the greatest albums of all time today. Love & Mercy represents the heights of Paul Dano's filmography, with the actor giving a standout performance as the tragic genius whose story many people are sadly unfamiliar with.
