Top 20 Biopics

Johnny Cash certainly had a lot of style, and Joaquin Phoenix does a great job of portraying the musician. While the plot of the film is certainly engaging, the charisma and energy between Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon during their performances of Cash's famous songs are simply magical.

A unique holocaust story, this movie portrays the life of Oskar Schindler, a savvy war profiteer who is enterprising enough to realize that during WWII Jewish labor would be cheaper than any other kind. After a while though, he becomes a reluctant hero, deciding that he must use his contacts with the Nazi party to employ as many Jewish people as possible, thus saving them from the concentration camps.

One of the best performances by Gary Oldman, this movie succeeds not because it tells the story of the most famous composer of all time, but because instead of telling a linear biography, the film focuses on the jealousy of fellow composer Antonio Salieri.

This is possibly one of the most amazing transformations an actor has ever done. Ben Kingsley truly becomes Gandhi in this vivid retelling of the Mahatma's life.

Johnny Depp does an incredible job of capturing the character of cross-dressing director of the worst movie ever made, Ed Wood.

Sean Penn portrays Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to a major political office in the U.S., only to be assassinated a year later.

An amazing performance by Denzel Washington, the actor really becomes Malcolm X. One of Spike Lee's best film, the movie shows how Malcolm Little, small-time hustler, eventually becomes involved in the Nation of Islam, and ultimately becomes one of the most famous civil rights leaders of all time.