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What is a biographical drama

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Film Genres

Biopic (biographical picture; biographical film)

A film that tells the story of the life of a real person, often a well-known monarch, political leader, or artist. Thomas Edison’s Execution of Mary Queen of Scots (US, 1895) prefigures the genre but perhaps the earliest biopic is Jeanne d’Arc/Joan of Arc (Georges Méliès, France, 1900). Biopics were popular with audiences in Europe in the early 20th century, including Queen Elizabeth (Henri Desfontaine and Louis Mercanto, France, 1912), Danton (Dimitri Buchowetski, Germany, 1920), Anne Boleyn (Ernst Lubitsch, Germany, 1920), Napoleon (Abel Gance, France, 1927), and The Private Life of Henry VIII (Alexander Korda, UK, 1933). Beyond Europe and North America, biopics celebrated anti-colonial figures and continue to do so (seePhilippines, film in). The biopic was a staple of US cinema during the studio period, with some 300 films released between 1927 and 1960. The work of director William Dieterle, including The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936), Juarez (1939),

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The rise and critique of biopics: Navigating the line between reality and entertainment

In recent years, movie popularity has shifted towards a unique genre, one that explores the lives of musical icons who have influenced generations. Music biopics, as they are called, are a blend of biography and musical storytelling, shedding light on the personal stories of beloved artists. This genre brings these artist’s journeys to the big screen in a way that’s digestible, entertaining and educational for the public. Films such as Bohemian Rhapsody, Elvis, and Rocketman have successfully combined history and entertainment. However, while the music biopic genre has earned significant commercial success, it has faced persistent criticism for its tendency to blur the line between fact and fiction. Where does that line get crossed, and why do so many people dislike them despite their success?

The roots of the music biopic genre stretch back to the 1940s with Alfred E. Green’s The Jolson Story (1946), which told the life of Lithuanian-American singer-songwriter Al Jolson. The

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Biopics
by
Tom Brown, Belén Vidal
  • LAST REVIEWED: 11 May 2023
  • LAST MODIFIED: 22 November 2024
  • DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199791286-0206

  • Anderson, Carolyn. “Biographical Film.” In A Handbook of American Film Genres. Edited by Wes D. Gehring, 331–351. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1988.

    Based on a survey of two hundred films produced 1929–1986, this chapter can claim to be one of the first broad surveys of the genre in Hollywood and comments on the then-available scholarship. Notes development of more experimental film biopics as well as growth of highly conventional tele-film examples.

  • Baldizzone, José. “Esquisse d’un catalogue des biographies cinématographiques.” In Special Issue: The Cinema of Great Men. Edited by Pierre Guibbert. Les Cahiers de la Cinémathèque 45 (May 1986): 13–21.

    One of the first attempts at generic classification of biographical fiction films by type of subject and corresponding themes. Claims that full-fledged film biographies are still rare, with historical figures serving, more often than not, to reinfo

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