Best and worst music biopics

Our thirst for pop culture nostalgia is limitless. A production line churns out reissues of classic albums, while magazine and online retrospectives of every genre's greats show the enormous demand for reappraisal. Where will it end? Not on the big screen, where celebrated tales are being retold again and again.

This week, it emerged that The Beach Boys are in talks about bringing their pop career to life on film, in a ‘Mamma Mia!'- style adaption, incorporating their landmark back catalogue. Similarly, Oasis star Liam Gallagher recently confessed that he wanted to chronicle his time in the band on screen "without a doubt."

Many films about our music icons been made in recent years, some good, some bad, some very ugly. These have variously been helmed by the world's greatest film-makers and quite a few unknowns. But which deserve to be seen and which should be avoided? Find out below as we explore the world of music biopics...


The best

‘8 Mile'
How hard can it be to play yourself? Well, look at 50 Cent, who tried to imitate Eminem's celebrated performance with ‘Get Rich Or Die Tryin'' but just ended up looking like a dim-witted beefcake, as usual. The semi-autobiographical ‘8 Mile' may only have claimed musical Oscars and Grammys but there can be little doubt that Marshall Mathers deserved much acclaim for his onscreen debut.

‘Walk The Line'
Joaquin Phoenix was mentored from ‘The Man In Black' himself for the 2005 recreation of Johnny Cash's chequered life as a country music outlaw. The accolades soon followed for both him and co-star Reese Witherspoon, who took the Best Actress Academy Award, one of five Oscar nominations, and the film has now grossed more than $185,000,000 worldwide. This is how it should be done.

‘I'm Not There'
Todd Haynes' 2007 take on Bob Dylan's life and persona stunned fans when it emerged that six actors, including a woman, would play him. One critic called the idea "preposterous". However, they were all made to eat their words when Cate Blanchett swept the board, proving the director's assertion that "the minute you try to grab hold of Dylan, he's no longer where he was. He's like a flame."

‘Control'
The cult surrounding Joy Division's tragic rock icon Ian Curtis was building long before photographer and band ally Anton Corbijn's 2007 film, be it via endless column inches, documentaries or 2002's rather comic cinematic take on events, '24 Hour Party People'. The myth was sealed by ‘Control', which recounts his compelling descent into the void with affection, energy and monochrome beauty.

‘Ray'
Sadly, we'll never get to find out what Ray Charles thought of Jamie Foxx's extraordinary take on him for this Taylor Hackford-directed biopic. At least the blind singer was given a Braille script to approve, just months before he passed away. Of course, upon its release, the film was met with an unstoppable wave of accolades, culminating in Foxx taking the 2004 Academy Award.


The worst

‘Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story'
What's going on here? Todd Haynes takes another bow as his spectacularly bizarre film about the life and death of The Carpenters' star crashes into view. Not only did the director not bother to seek permission to use any of the official music, but he also decided against using actors, replacing all the key figures in this rather tragic tale with modified Barbie figures. Is that her brother Richard?! No, it's Ken.

‘Summer Dreams'
They've been here before, of course. As if The Beach Boys needed an excuse not to desecrate their towering career, check out what is perhaps the worst music biopic of all-time. Watch in horror as Brian Wilson's switch from teen genius to overweight recluse is realised by the subtle use of a pillow and the same fake beard which makes Charles Manson look like a woman rather than a psycho.

‘The Doors'
Equally celebrated and panned, Oliver Stone may have captured the wild rock excess of Jim Morrison but he also took leave of reality and the facts. When Jim is not being called "Val", he's standing before a billboard for 1990 movie '48 Hours' or his beard is peeling off during an admittedly rousing rendition of ‘Five To One'. "A third of it's fiction," said drummer John Densmore. He's being generous.

‘El Cantante'
It's not so much the 2007 tale of salsa star Héctor Lavoe or the cringeworthy fact it stars husband and wife team Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez that make this an utter stinker. It's just J. Lo. Her acting helped secure it a 22% ‘rotten' certification on Rotten Tomatoes. Amazingly, she still hailed her part an Oscar winner, ranting: "I don't even think the Academy members saw it." Well, she's right about that.

‘Last Days'
If this really was how Kurt Cobain spent his last days on earth it's hardly a surprise the Nirvana legend decided to end it all. Gus Van Sant's ‘experimental' 2005 film captures the grunge icon staggering about pointlessly for what seems like years, building to the inevitable (and much-needed) conclusion. No wonder Courtney Love is reportedly attempting to tell the story on the big screen once again.


What do you think of our top ten? What is your favourite music biopic? Which ones have we missed out? Have your say below...