Best Biographical Movies - Part 7
Posted on 1 Jun 00:00
Biographical movies have become very popular in the 20th century, some attracting awards many years after they are released. This article, a reader will present seven more of the best biographical movies to watch.
1) Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000)
Plot: Similar to 1996 prequel 'Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills', the 2000 Paradise Lost 2: Revelation depicts the court trial of the West Memphis Three. This is a proceeding that follows the three teenagers from West Memphis, Arkansas. The boys are accused of being involved in a satanic ritual. As part of the ritual, the boys are alleged to have killed and sexually mutilated three preadolescent boys. One of the boys charged, Damien Echols, makes an appeal for his case through his attorney in the film. There are photographs in which one of the victims clearly appears to have bite marks. Damien is on put on the defensive and argues that the bites do not result from teeth biting.
Director: Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky.
Main Cast: The West Memphis Three: Jessie Misskelley Jr. (as himself), Damien Echols (as himself), Jason Baldwin (as himself), also John Mark Byers (as himself).
Commercial Performance: Unknown.
Awards and Nominations: During the 2012 Charles Guggenheim Symposium in the Silverdocs Documentary Festival, the film won the Honorable Mention. It also won the Hell Yeah Prize at the 2012 Cinema Eye Honors Awards. Besides, the Primetime Emmy Awards nominated it for Outstanding Non-Fiction Special.
Plot: This film is about rugby competitions and the U.S rugby squad that consists of paraplegic men. The players are confined to wheelchairs and are offered some little protection. The organizing team has also slightly altered the rugby rules so that the paraplegic men’s limitations are taken into account. In the film, the team discusses the sport, the players’ lives and journey as they play their way to the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.
Director: Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro.
Main Cast: Joe Soares, Robert Soares, Patti Soares, and Mark Zupan, all as themselves.
Commercial Performance: 'Murderball' was a great commercial success. It was produced on a budget of $350,000, and grossed $1,750,211 worldwide.
Awards and Nominations: This film was well-received by critics, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 98% approval rating from 140 reviews while Metacritic gave it an 83 out of 100 average rating based on 33 critics. During the 78th Academy Awards and the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award, the film won two Best Documentary Feature Awards. It also won the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Audience Award for Best Feature. During the Indianapolis International Film Festival Audience Award, 'Murderball' won two awards for Best Non-Fiction Film and Best Feature.
3. The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002)
Plot: This movie depicts how Evans rises to fame, falls from favor, and finally rises up again. In the film, the viewer is taken through an intimate journey into the mind of Robert Evans while sharing the gripping anecdotes about how Evans manages unusual friendships and learns of his unique love life.
Director: Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen.
Main Cast: Robert Evans (as himself, the narrator), Eddie Albert (as himself through archive footage), and Peter Bart (as himself through archive footage).
Commercial Performance: Unknown.
Awards and Nominations: 'The Kid Stays in the Picture' won many awards, including the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Documentary Film, the Satellite Award for Best Documentary Film, and the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Documentary Film. It is one of the best documentaries in the history of biopic films.
4. The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)
Plot: This film is about the Los Angeles punk rock scene. The producers use archive footage and interviews to explore the subculture of the great punk bands that were largely ignored in the 1970s.
Director: Penelope Spheeris.
Main Cast: This film features numerous groups, however it puts special focus on a few, Eugene Tatu (Light Bulb Kid/ Eugene), Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, and Catholic Discipline.
Commercial Performance: Unknown.
Awards and Nominations: None known.
Plot: Having grown up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Guy Maddin cherishes the city. In this movie, he tours the city and calls the resulting movie a 'docu-fantasia.’ This film portrays Winnipeg in its entirety, historically, intimately, surreally and amusingly, using dreamlike camera work, interviews, archival footage, and created scenes all by himself.
Director: Guy Maddin.
Main Cast: Ann Savage (Maddin's Mother), Louis Negin (as Mayor Cornish), Amy Stewart (as Janet Maddin), and Darcy Fehr (as Guy Maddin).
Commercial Performance: The budget for 'My Winnipeg' was $500,000. Box office receipts are unknown.
Awards and Nominations: Between 2007 and 2009, it won four awards which are; the Toronto International Film Festival for Best Canadian Feature Film, the San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Documentary, the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards for Best Canadian Film, and the International Urban Film Festival, Tehran for Best Experimental Documentary.
6. Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997)
Plot: This movie follows four people with eccentric personalities with varied careers. The director, Errol Morris, uses an interrotron camera to interview Dave Hoover, a lion tamer; George Mendonça, a topiary gardener; Ray Mendez, a hairless mole rat expert; and Rodney Brooks, a robotics designer on different occasions and uses camera cut-outs and clips to draw connections between the four men for the audience.
Director: Errol Morris.
Main Cast: the primary cast consists of Dave Hoover, George Mendonça, Ray Mendez, and Rodney Brooks, as themselves.
Commercial Performance: This film’s box office was $878,960. Its budget is unknown.
Awards and Nominations: Fast, Cheap & Out of Control' movie was a critical success. It received many awards, including the Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Documentary Film, the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Documentary Film, the National Board of Review Award for Best Documentary Feature, the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Non-Fiction Film, and the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Non-Fiction Film.
Plot: Through home footage and interviews, this film reveals how famous skateboarding changed when a tiny group of surfers in Santa Monica started going to extremes with unique techniques and lifestyles. They display their skills in empty swimming pools and on the streets to create a new form of skateboarding.
Director: Stacy Peralta.
Main Cast: Zephyr Skate Team members (Sean Penn (as the narrator), Jay Adams, Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta) and Jeff Ament (as himself).
Commercial Performance: This film's budget was $400,000. The box office receipts are unknown.
Awards and Nominations: During the 2001 Sundance Film Festival, this movie received two awards, the Audience Award and Directing Award. The Independent Spirit Awards also awarded the movie the Best Documentary award.
Conclusion
Many movie buffs agree that biographical films are both informative and entertaining. This article has shared the seven best biographical movies that movie buffs will enjoy watching.
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