Musical Biopics
I really enjoy watching biopics, especially those about musicians. Firstly, most musical geniuses or rock stars inevitably lead pretty interesting lifestyles and secondly, the soundtrack is invariably good and introduces newcomers to the musicians. There are epics like 3-hour long 'Amadeus' and more fictional dramas like 'The Buddy Holly Story'. Here's my pick for the best musical biopics in recent memory.
Ray (2004)
Released the same year that Ray Charles passed away, The film focuses mainly on the earlier years of his life. Facing blindness and racism, Ray Charles manages to fight against racial segregation, guilt over his brother's death and drug addiction to come up as a brilliant blues player and singer, known to many as 'The Genius'.
Jamie Foxx's performance was staggeringly good, earning him an Oscar win. Foxx manages to imitate not only Ray's slack jawed appearance and speech mannerisms, classically trained in piano, he also plays in the show after getting an 'OK' from Charles himself.
The film features most of Charles' hits such as 'What I'd Do' and the touching 'Georgia on My Mind'. His final album 'Genius Loves Company' was released two months after his death.
Walk The Line (2005)
Love plays a big part in this film, while Johnny Cash was one of the most recognizable voices in America, the trials and tribulations he faced to finally marry June Carter makes for very good storytelling. Strikingly similar to 'Ray', Walk the Line also has a deceased brother and drug addiction problems. While racism was a key point there, The Man in Black must conquer his own demons to be with the one he loves. Watch out for parts by other legends like Jerry Lee Lewis and the King himself.
Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon put up top notch performances. They do their own singing in the movie, faithfully recreating country music's tones and nuances. Roger Ebert was amazed to discover that it was Phoenix singing in the movie instead of Cash. Witherspoon's performance finally cemented her status as a serious actress, she manages brings about a certain fragility and strength to her character at the same time.
A pivotal scene recreates Cash performing in Folsom Prison resulting in the live album 'Johnny Cash in Folsom Prison'
I'm Not There(2007)
For someone who had such influence and such a diverse career as Bob Dylan, it becomes hard to define his life with a single actor, so director Todd Haynes decided to use six. The actors range from an African American kid who sets out to seek his hero Woody Guthrie, to Cate Blanchett as the Dylan who turned 'electric' and shocked the world. The film depicts his life in six distinct parts with different names for each character.
Regarded as one of the greatest songwriters in the world today, Dylan's folk beginnings has since brought him to the other turnpoints of rock history, Dylan writes about politics, social unrest, becoming a reluctant figurehead for the masses.
The film is shot in different ways to identify the separate sections, some are in color others black and white. For example, Christian Bale's portrayal of a folk Dylan and a born again Christian is shot as a documentary. Most surprisingly though, is that Cate Blanchett's performance is the best depiction of Dylan. She manages to somehow convey every quirk or twitch and the unique way Dylan speaks with uncanny precision.
The film comes with an accompanying 2 Disc OST with a multitude of performers from Jeff Tweedy to Cat Power.
You can check out the Dvd's on Amazon.com by clicking on the posters.
-Ed
Ray (2004)
Released the same year that Ray Charles passed away, The film focuses mainly on the earlier years of his life. Facing blindness and racism, Ray Charles manages to fight against racial segregation, guilt over his brother's death and drug addiction to come up as a brilliant blues player and singer, known to many as 'The Genius'.Jamie Foxx's performance was staggeringly good, earning him an Oscar win. Foxx manages to imitate not only Ray's slack jawed appearance and speech mannerisms, classically trained in piano, he also plays in the show after getting an 'OK' from Charles himself.
The film features most of Charles' hits such as 'What I'd Do' and the touching 'Georgia on My Mind'. His final album 'Genius Loves Company' was released two months after his death.
Walk The Line (2005)
Love plays a big part in this film, while Johnny Cash was one of the most recognizable voices in America, the trials and tribulations he faced to finally marry June Carter makes for very good storytelling. Strikingly similar to 'Ray', Walk the Line also has a deceased brother and drug addiction problems. While racism was a key point there, The Man in Black must conquer his own demons to be with the one he loves. Watch out for parts by other legends like Jerry Lee Lewis and the King himself.Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon put up top notch performances. They do their own singing in the movie, faithfully recreating country music's tones and nuances. Roger Ebert was amazed to discover that it was Phoenix singing in the movie instead of Cash. Witherspoon's performance finally cemented her status as a serious actress, she manages brings about a certain fragility and strength to her character at the same time.
A pivotal scene recreates Cash performing in Folsom Prison resulting in the live album 'Johnny Cash in Folsom Prison'
I'm Not There(2007)
For someone who had such influence and such a diverse career as Bob Dylan, it becomes hard to define his life with a single actor, so director Todd Haynes decided to use six. The actors range from an African American kid who sets out to seek his hero Woody Guthrie, to Cate Blanchett as the Dylan who turned 'electric' and shocked the world. The film depicts his life in six distinct parts with different names for each character.Regarded as one of the greatest songwriters in the world today, Dylan's folk beginnings has since brought him to the other turnpoints of rock history, Dylan writes about politics, social unrest, becoming a reluctant figurehead for the masses.
The film is shot in different ways to identify the separate sections, some are in color others black and white. For example, Christian Bale's portrayal of a folk Dylan and a born again Christian is shot as a documentary. Most surprisingly though, is that Cate Blanchett's performance is the best depiction of Dylan. She manages to somehow convey every quirk or twitch and the unique way Dylan speaks with uncanny precision.
The film comes with an accompanying 2 Disc OST with a multitude of performers from Jeff Tweedy to Cat Power.
You can check out the Dvd's on Amazon.com by clicking on the posters.
-Ed