Author biographical movies netflix instant

Real events have always been some of the most reliable sources of inspiration for directors and writers, which means there’s no shortage of compelling films drawn from accounts about real people and events. Whether you’re in the mood for an exploration of recent history or you’re looking to travel further back in time, there’s a movie out there for you.

There are plenty of options available, but we’ve gone ahead and curated a list of 17 films that are inspired by true stories and are absolutely worth your while. Our list has it all: engrossing portraits of icons, spotlights on unsung figures from the past, and thrilling portrayals of harrowing events. 

Dolemite Is My Name

Eddie Murphy’s salute to blaxploitation filmmaker Rudy Ray Moore is a fun and outrageous story of dogged perseverance. Murphy stars as Moore, an aging entertainer who, after years of struggling to make it in Hollywood, begins performing stand-up comedy as a foul-mouthed pimp character named Dolemite. The concept takes off, allowing him to turn his brash routine into an album and then a film career, which Moore approaches with a scrappy, homemade spirit. Look out for the supporting cast, which features Da’Vine Joy Randolph (a few years before her Oscar win) in her breakout film role, Keegan-Michael Key, Wesley Snipes, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson, and more.

Dumb Money

A lot of biographical films look to distant history to tell their stories, but Dumb Money draws inspiration from the very recent past. You might remember the GameStop short squeeze of 2021, which happened at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and saw a lot of everyday working people attempting to get rich based on the financial advice of Keith Gill (played here by Paul Dano). He was a YouTube creator and Reddit user whose social media posts helped drive GameStop stock to dramatic highs, and subsequently sent a group of billionaires into panic m

This is an amazing documentary but be warned, the main character has some weird characteristics.

By coincidence, an art collector stumbles upon an undiscovered collection of sculptures and paintings that can only be described as the work of a genius. There was almost no reference to the artist, but upon research the collector finds that they are by a man called Stanislav Szukalski. He traces him down and finally locates him living anonymously in a California suburb. 

The documentary, Struggle: The Life And Lost Art Of Szukalski, is a collection of tapes from numerous interviews in the 1980s between the collector and Szukalski. He was helped by George DiCaprio, who would later produce this movie with his son Leonardo (!). 

In these interviews it becomes clear that Szukalski is pure genius. The funny thing is that he seemed to be well aware of this fact himself. 

Remember the weird characteristics I mentioned in that first sentence? Here we go. Szukalski’s past is full of a lot of antisemitism, sexism and bigotry. 

The question that lingers is how exactly can this forgotten-genius story be reshaped by the discovery of his twisted opinions. Can the artist be separated from the art? It’s a personal matter for the people who found Szukalski and later made this movie. It might never get as personal for you, but this movie will sure try to provoke an answer.

Go to IMDbRotten TomatoesWikipedia

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Adam Jones, Charles Schneider, Ernst Fuchs, Gabriel Bartalos, George DiCaprio, Glenn Bray, James Kagel, Nick Tate, Rebecca Forstadt, Robert Williams, Stanislav Szukalski, Suzanne Williams, Timothy Snyder

Director: Irek Dobrowolski, Ireneusz Dobrowolski

Rating: TV-MA

Having offered horrors, action movies, thrillers and more in the past, we're looking at the best biography movies on Netflix this week.

In recent weeks, we covered the best romantic comedies, sci fi movies, musicals and war movies on Netflix. We've gone in a totally different direction again for this week, looking at biographies, or biopics, on Netflix.

The genre has often found success in awards season. After all, there are few things more moving than true life stories. Seeing big names step into and transform themselves into real-life icons consistently impresses audiences.

There are plenty of biographical dramas, or biography movies, to choose from.

Steve Jobs

With the combination of a script from Aaron Sorkin; Danny Boyle as the director; and leads in Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet, audiences knew they were going to get something really interesting out of 'Steve Jobs'. The flick takes place over the course of 14 years, examining three pivotal moments in the Apple co-founder's life. Fassbender, who lost the Best Actor Oscar that year to Leonardo DiCaprio in 'The Revenant', has called it the most challenging role of his career.

The Social Network

Sure we all know about Facebook. So why not watch the movie that depicts how the social media platform started? The film’s phenomenal cast boasts Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin, Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker, and Armie Hammer as Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. Aaron Sorkin’s incisive script earned the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Its opening has got to be one of the best movie breakup scenes ever.

The Theory of Everything

This engrossing romantic drama depicting the life of Stephen Hawking and his relationship with his wife Jane earned Eddie Redmayne an Oscar and was a breakthrough performance for Felicity Jones. (She went on to star in 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' and 'On the Basis of Sex'). Their marri

85 Documentaries About Movies Currently on Netflix Instant

Please note: This post was originally published in July 2012.

Something I frequently see is people asking for are suggestions of documentaries about movies, movie-making, or the movie industry. I have watched a few myself and, being a fellow film buff and aspiring filmmaker, I figured I was as good a candidate as any to help out! Unlike the last entry, I did not limit the selections by IMDb rating, but I did exclude any title that had an expiration date.

So, with that said, here are 85 documentaries currently available on Netflix Instant that are in any way related to films, filmmaking, or the culture of cinema: In no particular order (numbered only to keep track):

1. Not Quite Hollywood - The story of “Ozploitation” movies - a time when Australian cinema showed an explosion of sex, violence, horror and action.

2. Woody Allen: A Documentary - A documentary on Woody Allen that trails him on his movie sets and follows him back to Brooklyn as he visits his childhood haunts.

3. Life in a Day - A documentary shot by filmmakers all over the world that serves as a time capsule to show future generations what it was like to be alive on the 24th of July, 2010.

4. Imaginary Witness - Examines the treatment of the Holocaust in Hollywood films over a period of sixty years and the impact of the films on public perception and thinking, and vice versa.

5. Reel Injun - A documentary about the evolution of the depiction of First Nations people in film, from the silent era to today.

6. Best Worst Movie - A look at the making of the film Troll 2 and its journey from being crowned the “worst film of all time” to a cherished cult classic.

7. Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff - In 2001 Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) became the first director of photography in the history of the Academy Awards to win an Honorary Oscar.

8. This Film Is Not Y