Browse Movies : Biography

The Insider recounts the chain of events that pitted an ordinary man against the tobacco industry and dragged two people into the fight of their lives. Al Pacino stars as veteran 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman and Russell Crowe co-stars as the ultimate insider, former tobacco executive Dr. Jeffrey Wigand. When Wigand is fired by his employer -- one of the largest tobacco companies in America -- he agrees to become a paid consultant for a story Bergman is working on regarding alleged unethical practices within the tobacco industry. But what begins as a temporary alliance leads to a lengthy battle for both men to save their reputations. As they soon find out, Corporate America will use all legal means at its disposal to save a billion-dollar-a-year habit. And as the corporate giants soon find out, Bergman and Wigand are honorable men, driven to smoke out the evidence.

A Beautiful Mind stars Russell Crowe in an astonishing performance as brilliant mathematician John Nash, on the brink of international acclaim when he becomes entangled in a mysterious conspiracy. Now only his devoted wife (Jennifer Connelly) can help him in this powerful story of courage, passion and triumph.

This is the true story of a former bicycle repairman, Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges), who made his fortune introducing the automobile to the American West, and who owned a small, knobbly-kneed horse called Seabiscuit. Howard teamed up with a half-blind ex-boxing prize fighter, Red Pollard (Tobey Maguire), who became the horse's jockey and a former "mustang breaker" Wild West performer called "The Lone Plainsman", Tom Smith (Chris Cooper), who became the horse's trainer. As the United States struggled through the Great Depression, people around the country followed with rapt interest of the Seabiscuit story, leading to his win of the Horse of the Year honors in 1938...

The plot is based on the true story of Harvey Pekar (Paul Giamatti), a Cleveland Hospital file clerk who writes comic books about his life and experiences in his free time.

This is the true story of how a Japanese businessman from Los Angeles, Eishy Hayata, built an emerald mining empire in Columbia that is today one of the world's largest and most powerful, starting in the 1970s as an "esmeraldero", an emerald buyer who goes directly to rural areas where emeralds can be procured from locals at bargain prices in their rough form. Central to the film's intrigue are Columbia's more brutal realities, as guerrilla warfare and street kidnappings are quite common. To combat this, Hayata fashions himself as a sort of modern cowboy, armed and dressed to fit the bill, along with a powerful cadre of personal bodyguards.

Robert McNamara, former Secretary of Defense during the JFK and LBJ administrations, was one of the key figures in the Vietnam War. This documentary is built around 20 hours of interviews and additional archival footage of Mr. Namara, who later became president of the World Bank and broadened his global influence.

In 1992, Nick Broomfield made his first documentary about serial killer Aileen Wuornos, and this follow-up comes a year after Wuornos' execution for killing six men during her years as a Florida prostitute. Wuornos gave Broomfield the last interview of her life, and this film includes scenes of Broomfield testifying about his experiences with her.

For some athletes, the ultimate win comes through a stroke of luck, but for Robert Tyre Jones, Jr., Bobby Jones, the only golfer in history to win the prestigious Grand Slam all in the same year—it was truly a stroke of genius. Having overcome an early childhood illness, he would later leave an indelible print in sports history. In 1930, at the age of 28, Jones won the title of Grand Slam Champion by winning the British Amateur, the British Open, the U.S. Open and the U.S. Amateur. His record remains unbroken today. Even then, Jones was still able to complete two college degrees and graduate from law school. Eventually torn between his family and the game he loved, Jones retired early to spend time with his wife and children. However, his contributions to golfing continued, as Jones went on to found the acclaimed Augusta National Golf Club and the annual professional and amateur tournament—The Masters. The biopic, itself, is not only a story about the amazing feats Bobby Jones accomplished on the golf course, but also, the way he lived his life off the course. Bobby Jones became a true American hero, not because he played for money or fame, but rather for the love of the game. Bobby Jones, whose natural skill and uncanny passion for the game earned him the title the best golfer in the world, will always be remembered as a true gentleman and gracious sportsman.

"De-lovely" is an original musical portrait of American composer Cole Porter, filled with his unforgettable songs. In the film, Porter is looking back on his life as if it was one of his spectacular stage shows, with the people and events of his life becoming the actors and action onstage. Through elaborate production numbers and legendary hits like "Anything Goes," "It's De-lovely," and "Night and Day," Porter's elegant, excessive past comes to light - including his deeply complicated relationship with his wife and muse, Linda Lee Porter. Directed by Academy Award-winner Irwin Winkler from a script by Jay Cocks and starring Oscar-winner Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd, and Jonathan Pryce in addition to some of today's biggest rock and pop music stars, "De-lovely" is a sparkling celebration of Porter's music as well as a stirring exploration of the artist's journey and the undying power of love.

Born in a poor town in Georgia, Ray Charles went blind at the age of seven shortly after witnessing his younger brother's accidental death. Inspired by a fiercely independent mother who insisted he make his own way in the world, Charles found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered incorporating gospel, country, jazz and orchestral influences into his inimitable style. As he revolutionized the way people appreciated music, he simultaneously fought segregation in the very clubs that launched him and championed artists' rights within the corporate music business. "Ray" provides an unflinching portrait of Charles' musical genius as he overcomes drug addiction while transforming into one of this country's most beloved performers.

The true story of one of history's most luminous and influential leaders, Alexander the Great—a man who had conquered 90% of the known world by the age of twenty-seven. Alexander led his virtually invincible Greek and Macedonian armies through 22,000 miles of sieges and conquests in just eight years, and by the time of his death at the age of thiry-two had forged an empire unlike any the world had ever seen. The story chronicles Alexander's path to becoming a living legend, from a youth fueled by dreams of myth, glory and adventure to his lonely death as a ruler of a vast Empire. Alexander is the incredible story of a life that united the Known World and proved, if nothing else, fortune favors the bold.

For Bobby Darin, performing was his life. It kept his heart beating. He came alive onstage, even when he was near collapse offstage. From the age of seven, Walden Robert Cassotto—Little Bobby knows the odds are stacked against him. Rheumatic fever has permanently damaged his heart, and he's not expected to make it to age fifteen. Bobby's family pour all their energies into caring for him. Bobby's frail heart may be one truth, but his mother Polly, a former singer, introduces her boy to another wonderful truth: music. Music becomes Bobby's bargaining chip against time; he's not only singing, but also playing piano, drums and guitar before he even hits his teens. Music takes him into a world beyond the Bronx, and beyond sickness. It's a world of effortlessly swinging songs, and couples dancing to the lilt of Bobby's voice. Bobby has a plan, and no heart ailment will stop him.

"The Aviator" tells the story of aviation pioneer Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio), the eccentric billionaire industrialist and Hollywood film mogul, famous for romancing some of the world's most beautiful women. The drama recounts the years of his life from the late 1920s though the 1940s, an epoch when Hughes was directing and producing Hollywood movies and test flying innovative aircraft he designed and created. A daredevil pilot, the most famous flyer since Charles Lindbergh, Hughes became a major force in commercial aviation. He was a mythic figure in the America of his day, imbued with an aura of excitement, glamour and mystery. "The Aviator" looks at Hughes' emotional life, and his love affairs with two Hollywood legends, elegant, Yankee-bred screen star Katharine Hepburn in the 1930s, and the sensual and luminous screen beauty of the 1940s, Ava Gardner. It also chronicles Hughes' struggle with his physical disabilities and phobias, and with his increasingly erratic, obsessive-compulsive behavior that leads him ultimately to isolate himself from his associates and withdraw from the world.

This biopic focuses on the life of 20th-century Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani during the period after the first World War.

This biopic about Johnny Cash will star Joaquin Phoenix as the legendary country icon and focus on the singer's early career in Memphis, including his struggles with drug addiction. Reese Witherspoon is set to star as his wife and bandmate, June Carter Cash.

After a lifetime of perfecting his classic Indian motorcycle, Burt Munro sets off from the bottom of the world to test his bike at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. With all odds against him, he set a new speed record and captured the spirit of his times. Burt Munro's 1967 world record remains unbroken and his legend lives on today.

A uniquely compelling exploration of fame and identity. The drama, inspired by one of Hollywood's most infamous real-life mysteries, follows a 1950s private detective (Academy Award winner Adrien Brody) who, investigating the mysterious death of "Superman" star George Reeves (Academy Award winner Ben Affleck), uncovers unexpected connections to his own life as the case turns ever more personal. The torrid affair Reeves had with the wife (Diane Lane) of a studio executive (Bob Hoskins) might hold the key to the truth.

Based on Augusten Burroughs' best-selling memoir, the story follows Deirdre Burroughs (Annette Bening), a 1970s poet with bipolar disorder. Her instability after a messy divorce leads her to send her 12-year-old son to live with an unusual psychiatrist and his eccentric family.

A biopic about the life of photographer Diane Arbus, considered one of the most mysterious, enigmatic, and frighteningly bold artists of the 20th century. Most known for her obsession with 'freak' subject-matter, her haunting work emerged from a deeply private place. Arbus' death was as mysteriously tragic as was the aura surrounding some of her most piercing portraits.