Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

An ongoing project to survey the best films of individual decades, genres, and filmmakers.
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Rayon Vert
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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#151 Post by Rayon Vert » Mon Apr 16, 2018 9:42 pm

ditto

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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#152 Post by Rayon Vert » Tue Apr 17, 2018 11:20 pm

The Virgin Queen (Koster 1955). Bette Davis reprises the role. As in the ‘30s film, the focus is on the affairs of the heart; this time it’s a romantic triangle of sorts involving the aging monarch, her young protégé Sir Walter Raleigh (Richard Todd), and his secret liaison with one of her ladies in waiting (Joan Collins). It’s competent in the acting and production departments but the story comes off feeling too slight and unsatisfying.

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domino harvey
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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#153 Post by domino harvey » Thu Apr 19, 2018 10:16 pm

Image

THE BIOPICS LIST

01 the Passion of Joan of Arc 8 (1)
02 Andrei Rublev 7 (1)
03 All the President’s Men 6
04 Lawrence of Arabia 5 (1)
04 My Darling Clementine 4
06 Raging Bull 4
07 Mishima 4 (1)
08 Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle 4
09 Ivan the Terrible 3
10 the Flowers of St Francis 5
10 JFK 3

12 the Taking of Power by Louis XIV 4
13 the New World 3
14 Zodiac 4
15 the Social Network 5
16 Salvador 3
17 the Wolf of Wall Street 3
18 the Song of Bernadette 2
19 Aguirre, Wrath of God 3
19 the Color of Pomegranates 2

21 the Gospel According to Matthew 3
21 Jackie 2 (1)
23 Catch Me If You Can 3 (1)
23 Schindler’s List 2
25 Cartesius 3 (1)
25 Sgt York 4
27 12 Years a Slave 3
28 Young Mr Lincoln 3
29 Napoleon 3
30 An Angel at My Table 2
30 Marie Antoinette 3

32 Edvard Munch 2 (1)
33 the Trial of Joan of Arc 2
34 Chronicle of Anna Magdelena Bach 2
35 the Last Temptation of Christ 2 (1)
36 Ed Wood 1
37 Lincoln 2
37 the Wrong Man 3
37 Yankee Doodle Dandy 2
40 I, Pierre Rivière, Having Slaughtered My Mother, My Sister, and My Brother 2
40 Moulin Rouge (Huston) 2
40 Witchfinder General 2

43 Gandhi 2
43 the Scarlet Empress 2
45 Nixon 2
45 Blaise Pascal 2
45 Goodfellas 2
45 Jaquot de Nantes 2
49 Pirosami 2
50 Amadeus 2
50 Madame Curie 2


Eleven lists

ALSO RANS

the Death of Louis XIV, I, Tonya, A Quiet Passion, Malcolm X, Topsy-Turvy, Spartacus, the Honeymoon Murders, Julie & Julia, the Straight Story, Carlos, the Elephant Man, Joy, Papillon


ORPHANS

A Dangerous Method, A Man for All Seasons, (the Age of Medici), Agony, Alexander Nevsky, Ali, American Splendor, Amistad, Artemisia, the Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

the Babe Ruth Story, Bandit Queen, (the Battle of Algiers), (Battleship Potemkin), Best Intentions, Born on the Fourth of July, the Boston Strangler, Breaker Morant, Bright Star

Casanova, the Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Che, Christine (Campos), Cleopatra (Mank), Coal Miner’s Daughter, Coup d’Etat

Dallas Buyers Club, the Dance of Reality, Danton, the Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Dog Day Afternoon

El Cid, El Dorado (1988), Elizabeth, the End of the Tour, Eros + Massacre, Everlasting Moments

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Gods and Monsters, Good Night and Good Luck

Hoffa

I’m Not There, Il divo, the Informant!, the Inn of the Sixth Happiness, the Insider (1), Into the Wild

Jarhead, Jesus of Nazareth

Klimt

Lenny, Lola Montes

Mangal Pandey, Marie Antoinette (1938), Milk, the Miracle Worker, Missing, Moneyball, the Motorcycle Diaries, (Munich), My Left Foot

October

Patton, Phil Spector, the Pianist, the Pride of the Yankees, the Puppetmaster

the Queen, Quiz Show, Quo Vadis (1)

Ray, the Revenant, Richard III (1955), (the Right Stuff), Rosa Luxemburg

Saint Joan, Salvatore Giuliano, Serpico, (Shakespeare in Love), Sink or Swim, the Story of Louis Pasteur, Straight Outta Compton, the Sun

Temple Grandin, the Ten Commandments, Tucker

Van Gogh, Vincent and Theo, Viva Zapata!

Walker, Wild, the Wild Child, the Wind Rises

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domino harvey
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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#154 Post by domino harvey » Thu Apr 19, 2018 10:20 pm

Top 10 + ORPHANS

01 Jackie
02 the Song of Bernadette
03 Sgt York
04 Moulin Rouge (Huston)
05 All the President’s Men
06 Born on the Fourth of July
07 Yankee Doodle Dandy
08 the Passion of Joan of Arc
09 the Wolf of Wall Street
10 the Pride of the Yankees

11 Hoffa
12 the Miracle Worker
13 Phil Spector
16 the Inn of the Sixth Happiness
20 Saint Joan
21 Dallas Buyers Club
25 the Story of Louis Pasteur

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Rayon Vert
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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#155 Post by Rayon Vert » Thu Apr 19, 2018 11:07 pm

Thanks Domino! I didn't vote for it (though I hold it in high esteem) but I expected Joan to be the winner.

1. The Last Temptation of Christ
2. My Darling Clementine
3. JFK
4. Andrei Rublev
5. Nixon
6. Schindler’s List
7. Salvatore Giuliano
8. Danton

9. All the President’s Men
10. Cartesius

12. Vincent & Theo
13. El Cid
14. Elizabeth
15. Richard III (1955)
16. Patton
23. Marie Antoinette (1938)
24. Viva Zapata!


(orphans)

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zedz
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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#156 Post by zedz » Thu Apr 19, 2018 11:14 pm

Thanks Domino. But. . . The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser and Every Man for Himself and God Against All are the same film.

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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#157 Post by Rayon Vert » Thu Apr 19, 2018 11:16 pm

I'm curious to know who voted for Cartesius at No. 1 - it's in my top ten and I didn't figure anyone would vote for it!

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domino harvey
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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#158 Post by domino harvey » Thu Apr 19, 2018 11:18 pm

zedz wrote:Thanks Domino. But. . . The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser and Every Man for Himself and God Against All are the same film.
Oh good lord people. For future reference, if you think I occupy my mind any more about Herzog than absolutely necessary (to the extent of knowing multiple titles for his films), you're mistaken

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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#159 Post by knives » Thu Apr 19, 2018 11:19 pm

Every Man for Himself and Gd Against the Rest is the same as The Enigma of Kasper Hauser. That bit aside, thank you very much. It seems this list was especially trying though I got a kick out of it. Also thanks to the fellow Rossellini voters (though I doubt anyone else was crazy enough to have five of his films on their list and a sixth likely to make had I seen it before the deadline). Anyway here's my list:
1. Cartesius
2. Ivan the Terrible
3. The Taking of Power by Louis XIV
4. Mishima
5. Blaise Pascal
6. Il divo (Sorrentino)
7. The Flowers of St. Francis
8. Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach
9. Agony (Klimov)
10. Cleopatra (Mankiewicz)
11. The Age of the Medici
12. A Dangerous Method
13. A Quiet Passion
14. All the President's Men
15. The Social Network
16. Andrei Rublev
17. Marie Antoinette (Coppola)
18. Dog Day Afternoon
19. Lincoln (Spielberg)
20. Moulin Rouge (Huston)
21. The Straight Story
22. The Dance of Reality
23. Sergeant York
24. Klimt
25. Mangal Pandey (Mehta)

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Rayon Vert
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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#160 Post by Rayon Vert » Thu Apr 19, 2018 11:23 pm

I think we ruled earlier on that The Age of Medici didn't count, otherwise that would also have made my top ten!

I planned on seeing Mankiewicz's Cleopatra, but ran out of time...

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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#161 Post by knives » Thu Apr 19, 2018 11:24 pm

Did we? Guess I didn't get the memo.

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Rayon Vert
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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#162 Post by Rayon Vert » Thu Apr 19, 2018 11:25 pm

Or maybe it was just me who said it didn't count! :)

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domino harvey
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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#163 Post by domino harvey » Thu Apr 19, 2018 11:25 pm

Rayon Vert wrote:I think we ruled earlier on that The Age of Medici didn't count, otherwise that would also have made my top ten!
There were a few votes that didn't count. I didn't notice til tallying just now, so I just put them in parenthesis. None had more than one vote. It's possible some of the qualifying films didn't follow my clear rules, but what else is new. Had a good chuckle at the wag who put Zelig at 25 on their list, though (they provided two 25's, so all was well)

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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#164 Post by knives » Thu Apr 19, 2018 11:31 pm

Oopsie, well my 26 would have been Socrates so literally no difference on my end.

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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#165 Post by zedz » Fri Apr 20, 2018 12:22 am

My list (along with the subject, if not apparent from the title):

1. Andrey Rublyov (Tarkovsky)
2. Van Gogh (Pialat)
3. Sink Or Swim (Friedrich) – Su Friedrich’s Father
4. The Colour of Pomegranates (Paradzhanov) – Sayat Nova
5. Pirosmani (Shenegelaya)
6. Every Man for Himself and God Against All (Herzog) – Kaspar Hauser
7. The Gospel According to Matthew (Pasolini) – Jesus Christ
8. Zodiac (Fincher) – Robert Graysmith
9. Eros + Massacre (Yoshida) – Sakae Osugi
10. Chronicle of Anna Magdelena Bach (Huillet / Straub) – Johann Sebastian Bach
11. My Darling Clementine (Ford) – Wyatt Earp
12. I, Pierre Riviere (Allio)
13. Jacquot de Nantes (Varda) – Jacques Demy
14. The Rise to Power of Louis XIV (Rossellini)
15. The Death of Louis XIV (Serra)
16. Edvard Munch (Watkins)
17. The Passion of Joan of Arc (Dreyer)
18. Casanova (Glenister / Cullingham)
19. The Elephant Man (Lynch) – John Merrick
20. The Boston Strangler (Fleischer) – Albert DeSalvo
21. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (Schrader)
22. The Flowers of St Francis (Rossellini)
23. A Quiet Passion (Davies) – Emily Dickinson
24. Coup d’Etat (Yoshida) – Kita Ikki
25. The Wrong Man (Hitchcock) – Manny Balestrero

Sink or Swim was, I admit, a very marginal choice, and I didn't expect anybody else to vote for it (and I even left it up to domino whether to count it or not). I'm most surprised that nobody else voted for Pialat's Van Gogh.

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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#166 Post by DarkImbecile » Fri Apr 20, 2018 10:54 am

My absurdly recency-bias-heavy list with a multitude of Orphans and an Also-Ran:

1. The Insider (Mann)
2. The Pianist (Polanski)
3. The New World (Malick)
4. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Dominik)
5. Raging Bull (Scorsese)
6. The Revenant (Inarritu)
7. Jackie (Larrain)
8. 12 Years a Slave (McQueen)
9. The Social Network (Fincher)
10. JFK (Stone)
11. Wolf of Wall Street (Scorsese)
12. Lawrence of Arabia (Lean)
13. Zodiac (Fincher)
14. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Herzog)
15. Spartacus (Kubrick)
16. Salvador (Stone)
17. The Passion of Joan of Arc (Dreyer)
18. The Last Temptation of Christ (Scorsese)
19. Che (Soderbergh)
20. The Motorcycle Diaries (Salles)
21. Jarhead (Mendes)
22. Ali (Mann)
23. Christine (Campos)
24. Milk (Van Sant)

25. The Informant! (Soderbergh)

Glad to have helped save Jackie and Last Temptation from the orphanage, and to have contributed to Salvador and Wolf of Wall Street's surprisingly high placements. As for four of my top six being orphaned, I regret nothing, and wasn't surprised except that The Insider - which I think is Mann's best film - couldn't garner a single other 20-25th-place vote to at least get into the Also-Rans.

For having thrown my list together at the last minute, I'm happily surprised to A) not see anything that I should have included in retrospect and B) not have included anything that broke the rules, though this list does reinforce my ongoing shame that I still haven't seen Andrei Rublev.

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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#167 Post by domino harvey » Fri Apr 20, 2018 11:03 am

Thought about including Jarhead after seeing it on your list, but I just could not bump anything else. It would be my number 26! For me the high placement of JFK was hugely surprising, but well-deserved. In a world where JFK, Nixon, and Salvador have such hearty showings, I was stunned to be the only one to vote for Stone's best film, Born on the Fourth of July. The top three are also very close in votes, so Jeanne d'Arc was not necessarily a foregone conclusion

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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#168 Post by swo17 » Fri Apr 20, 2018 11:09 am

Guess I'll post my list in case they ever make a movie about me and want to have a scene where I show how I voted for this list:

01 Edvard Munch (Peter Watkins, 1974)
02 Sayat-Nova (Sergei Parajanov, 1969)
03 Blaise Pascal (Roberto Rossellini, 1972)
04 The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1928)
05 Ivan the Terrible (Sergei Eisenstein, 1944/1958)
06 Every Man for Himself and God Against All [The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser] (Werner Herzog, 1974)
07 Andrei Rublyov (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966)
08 The Scarlet Empress (Josef von Sternberg, 1934)
09 The Gospel According to Matthew (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1964)
10 My Darling Clementine (John Ford, 1946)
11 All the President's Men (Alan Pakula, 1976)
12 I, Pierre Rivière, Having Slaughtered My Mother, My Sister, and My Brother (René Allio, 1976)
13 Aguirre, Wrath of God (Werner Herzog, 1972)
14 The Flowers of St. Francis (Roberto Rossellini, 1950)
15 Napoléon (Abel Gance, 1927)
16 The Sun (Aleksandr Sokurov, 2005)
17 The Honeymoon Killers (Leonard Kastle, 1969)
18 The Death of Louis XIV (Albert Serra, 2017)
19 Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola, 2006)
20 The Straight Story (David Lynch, 1999)
21 Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)
22 Walker (Alex Cox, 1987)
23 Pirosmani (Giorgi Shengelaia, 1969)
24 Joy (David O. Russell, 2015)
25 The Elephant Man (David Lynch, 1980)

Also, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story was originally in my top 10, but was ruled 2 minutes short of being eligible. That movie just can't catch a break...

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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#169 Post by DarkImbecile » Fri Apr 20, 2018 11:10 am

domino harvey wrote: In a world where JFK, Nixon, and Salvador have such hearty showings, I was stunned to be the only one to vote for Stone's best film, Born on the Fourth of July.
I almost added it - it would have been below JFK and Salvador for me, but not too much lower - but it had been too long since I'd seen it and I didn't trust my recollection enough to include it. I did, however, go out of my way to buy a copy of the Blu for a long overdue reassessment.

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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#170 Post by John Shade » Fri Apr 20, 2018 1:26 pm

1. Catch Me If You Can
2. The New World
3. Andrei Rublev
4. The Song of Bernadette
5. The Passion of Joan of Arc
6. Marie Antoinette (2006)
7. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
8. Ed Wood
9. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
10. Young Mr. Lincoln

I love My Darling Clementine but didn't think of it for this; also somehow forgot Sgt. York. Oh and I'm the Zelig wag...

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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#171 Post by hearthesilence » Fri Apr 20, 2018 2:16 pm

Mine:
1. The Passion of Joan of Arc
2. Andrei Rublev
3. Raging Bull
4. The Puppetmaster
5. GoodFellas
6. Aguirre, the Wrath of God
7. Lola Montes
8. An Angel at My Table
9. Ivan the Terrible Parts 1 & 2
10. My Darling Clementine
11. The Wrong Man
12. The Taking of Power of Louis XIV
13. Young Mr. Lincoln
14. Lawrence of Arabia
15. Zodiac
16. Napoleon
17. The Scarlet Empress
18. The Gospel According to St. Matthew
19. October
20. I'm Not There
21. Wild Child
22. The Social Network
23. Alexander Nevsky
24. Topsy-Turvy
25. Carlos

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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#172 Post by colinr0380 » Mon Apr 23, 2018 12:53 pm

I found Alex Cox's amusing 1994 Moviedrome introduction to Salvador after rewatching the film!

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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#173 Post by hearthesilence » Mon Apr 23, 2018 1:41 pm

Colin, I wonder if we were the only two people who voted for Topsy-Turvy. I was tempted to slot in Turner (primarily about the connection or relation an artist has with his work) - I still like it but I have a few reservations about it whereas Topsy-Turvy (primarily about the creative process) has slowly grown on me.

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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#174 Post by colinr0380 » Mon Apr 23, 2018 3:03 pm

I think the thing that I most like about Topsy-Turvy (and Mr Turner) is that there is a fine balance between the creative and biographical elements, so it never seems about a life story with a play or a few paintings thrown in; or on the other hand all about the art with the world fading into the background. It feels as if the creative spark could only have come about at that particular time through a particular set of circumstances or people coming together, resulting in work with a unique, and unrepeatable aspect to them.

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Re: Biopics List Discussion + Suggestions (Genre Project)

#175 Post by ando » Mon May 27, 2019 12:07 am

domino harvey wrote:
Sun Feb 25, 2018 1:17 pm
the Helen Morgan Story (Michael Curtiz 1957)
Ann Blyth stars as the famous Chicago singer of the Jazz Age, who rises from obscurity with the help of Paul Newman’s gangster and eventually develops a debilitating alcohol problem. Blyth can be a gifted actress when cast as the coquette or brat, but her sanctimonious act here is tiresome and she is woefully in over her head for the third act souse stuff. Between her and Newman’s fresh-faced, green perf, lots of second-hand embarrassment abounds here. (R1 Warners DVD)
dh, have you seen the Playhouse 90 version? I was searching for the Ann Blyth film when I stumbled on this recorded telecast from '57.

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