Must-Watch Biopics for Everyone

Occasionally, the biographical film genre can get tedious. Every year, new films with the same formulaic approach appear, the majority of them exist just to attract Oscar nominations. Certain films, on the other hand, defy genre standards or succeed in being exceptionally unique in their portrayal of extraordinary people's lives, both good and evil. Following the success of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, biopics have become the new rage in Bollywood. With films like Neerja, Aligarh, and even films like Raees and Dangal, the formula is not only succeeding, but it's also bringing deserving characters back into the spotlight.

Hollywood, on the other hand, has long dominated this genre. There have been numerous films based on true events and people from various walks of life. These biopics are, of course, visually stunning, but knowing that these events actually occurred makes us feel even closer to them.

1. The Revenant

Hugh Glass, who suffers life-threatening injuries after being attacked by a grizzly bear, is the subject of Leonardo DiCaprio's first and only Academy Award nomination. Hugh is fuelled with vengeance after his crew abandons him in the bush, and he hikes through the mountain to find the individuals who abandoned him.

2. Gandhi

When it comes to crafting brilliant biopics, Richard Attenborough spared no expense. In addition to Chaplain and Shadowlands, Attenborough directed Gandhi in 1982, a picture he had long desired to do. It received appreciation from both British and Indian audiences for its nonviolence advocacy and endeavour to stay faithful to Gandhi's philosophy. Ben Kingsley's transformation into the leading man was stunning, and fans were left wanting more from the newcomer.

3. Into the Wild

The film is based on Christopher McCandless's 1996 non-fiction book of the same name, and it follows him on his journey of self-discovery. This film, directed by Sean Penn, depicts Christopher's travel to Alaska and his discovery, which is quite different from what he had expected.

4. The Imitation Game

Alan Turing, who deciphered the German Enigma code during WWII, was the focus of this biopic. Alan, a cryptographer by trade, is hired to decrypt the code in order to aid Britain during the war. In the film, Benedict Cumberbatch portrays the title role. The film also highlights the challenges that gays faced in British culture at the time.

5. Schindler’s List

Steven Spielberg submitted in Schindler's List as his class project for the course when he was on pace to get his Bachelor of Arts degree in the Fall Semester of 2001, years after he began his career in filmmaking. Needless to say, he got through. And it seemed fitting that he chose this film out of all the possibilities. Schindler's List recounts the narrative of the Jews who survived the Holocaust/Shoah during the Nazi dictatorship in WWII, not simply Oscar Schindler. Each character in the film is an important part of the plot, a thread in the greater story's tapestry. It's no surprise that it's Spielberg's magnum achievement.

6. The Social Network

David Fincher has a long list of brilliant films under his belt, but The Social Network is his Citizen Kane. Indeed, the film's analogies in depicting the rise of an ambitious person and the final breakdown of their social life are startlingly similar. Based on the true-life book The Accidental Billionaires, the film tells the tale of the formation of Facebook and shows Mark Zuckerberg's and his company's journey in reverse chronological order. Zuckerberg's "Rosebud" has been dumped by his college lover, prompting him to establish "FaceMash." He has acquired wealth and power by the end of the film, as he sends her a Facebook friend request, but he stays in absolute isolation, yearning for the belonging he desired from the beginning.

7. The Wolf of Wall Street

The core character of this film was Jordan Belfort, a stockbroker who perpetrated a large penny stock fraud. He wrote a nonfiction book on his life, which was later transformed into this film. The plot of this film revolves around the frauds he made in order to rise from rags to riches and his conviction by the FBI. In this picture, Leonardo DiCaprio took the lead role, and it quickly became one of his career's high points.