This weekend, the Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen, is the subject of a brand new music biopic called Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.
Jeremy Allen White from The Bear takes on the role of Springsteen during a significant period in the musician’s life, and the film is already generating a lot of awards season hype.
To celebrate the theatrical release of Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, Watch With Us has compiled a list of the five greatest music biopics ever.
It may surprise you to know that all but one of our selections were produced in the 21st century, even though music biopics have been around for many decades. But each of these films has definitely earned its spot on the list.
5. ‘Elvis’ (2022)
Director and cowriter Baz Luhrmann pulled out all the stops with Elvis, an extravagant interpretation of the life of Elvis Presley. Austin Butler received an Oscar nomination for his incredible transformation into the King, and the film follows Elvis’ life from the start of his career to its conclusion. Butler embodies the role so well that it’s difficult to imagine anyone else playing Elvis in the future.
Tom Hanks also plays a significant part in the film as Colonel Tom Parker, the man who led Elvis to fame. Parker doesn’t always prioritize Elvis’ well-being, but nothing could prevent Presley from marrying his true love, Priscilla Presley (Olivia DeJonge), even though she was underage when they first met. The drama of his life is captivating, but it’s Elvis’ music that has truly stood the test of time.
Elvis is available to rent or purchase on Prime Video.
4. ‘A Complete Unknown’ (2024)
Like Butler, Timothée Chalamet deserves an Oscar after only receiving a Best Actor nomination for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. The Academy Awards gave this film eight nominations, but it didn’t win any. Nevertheless, it’s still one of the best music biopics we’ve ever come across.
The story focuses on Dylan’s early years as a recording artist, as he rebelled against the expectations of the industry and his fans. Dylan also develops close relationships with music legends Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro) and Johnny Cash (Boyd Holbrook) while straining his relationship with his girlfriend, Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning). Dylan isn’t perfect, and he makes some poor decisions, but the music he created during this era cemented his legacy for decades to come.
A Complete Unknown is available for streaming on Hulu.
3. ‘La Bamba’ (1987)
Have you ever heard the expression “the day the music died”? Don McLean used this phrase in his song “American Pie,” referencing the 1959 plane crash that resulted in the deaths of Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly and J. P. Richardson, also known as “The Big Bopper.”
La Bamba addresses this event, but it’s also an uplifting depiction of the life of Valens (Lou Diamond Phillips), who was only 17 years old when he passed away. The film looks back at Valens’ rise to stardom, as well as his sometimes complicated relationship with his half-brother, Roberto “Bob” Morales (Esai Morales). It also explores the story of Valens and Donna Ludwig (Danielle von Zerneck), the love of his life, whose first name was immortalized in one of his famous songs.
La Bamba can be streamed on Tubi.
2. ‘Walk the Line’ (2005)
Director James Mangold directed two of the films included on this list: A Complete Unknown and Walk the Line. While both are excellent films, Walk the Line is elevated by Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscar-nominated performance as Johnny Cash and Reese Witherspoon’s Oscar-winning performance as June Carter. Even more impressively, Phoenix and Witherspoon performed all of the songs in the film themselves.
Cash’s story unfolds before the audience as the film revisits the tragedies of his life, his rise to fame and his crippling addictions that led to the dissolution of his first marriage to Vivian Cash (Ginnifer Goodwin). Carter was Cash’s second wife, and arguably the one who rescued him from his inner demons.
Walk the Line is available to rent or purchase on Prime Video.
1. ‘Straight Outta Compton’ (2015)
Straight Outta Compton stands out as one of the few contemporary music biopics to achieve major box office success. Director F. Gary Gray chose O’Shea Jackson Jr. — Ice Cube’s son — to portray his father in the story of N.W.A.’s rise and fall as one of the most influential hip-hop groups in the history of the genre.
In the ’90s, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins) and Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell) defy all expectations when N.W.A. gains immense popularity. However, the group is torn apart by betrayals and emotional wounds that result in intense rivalries, even as their collective stardom continues to grow. Without N.W.A.’s groundbreaking work, many of the biggest names in hip-hop and rap might never have had the opportunity to succeed.
Straight Outta Compton is available to rent or purchase on Prime Video.
Led by Senior Editor and experienced critic Jason Struss, Watch With Us’ team of writers and editors sees almost every movie and TV show from the distant past to the present to determine what’s worth your time and money. Our countless hours of multimedia consumption — combined with years of experience in the entertainment industry — help us determine the best movies and TV shows you should be streaming right now.
To be considered “the best,” these films and series can be visually engaging, intellectually stimulating or simply just fun to watch, but the one trait they must have is that they are all, in some way, entertaining. We then check which platform they are streaming on and how you can access them as a subscriber. No algorithm nonsense or paid endorsements here — our recommendations are based purely on our love and interest for the films and shows we love.
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