Best Rock Biopics

The music biopic is a notoriously difficult genre to nail, in part because using one medium to capture the magic of another is never an easy task. 

It’s no secret many musicians secretly want to be actors — and most actors (not-so-secretly) want to be musicians. The chance to belt out a greatest-hits collection of songs by your favourite rock stars is too tempting to pass up for most actors. You may never be Elvis — but you can play him on TV. 

While some superfans might baulk at the liberties taken with the slightest of details many of us embrace that as part of the fun. 

With Bruce Springsteen and the Beatles next up for biopics following Timothée Chalamet’s successful turn as Bob Dylan, we select our favourite music movies and then imagine some we’d like to see.

 John Carpenter’s Elvis (1979), originally made for television but subsequently released theatrically in shortened form, features a wonderful performance from the 27-year-old Kurt Russell as the young Elvis Presley. He shows Elvis’s intensity, instability and complex emotional pain.

Good Vibrations (2012) is a terrific music biopic about someone who isn’t a singer, a musician or even a producer. It’s about a record-shop owner who became the proprietor of a tiny indie record label in the halcyon era of punk and John Peel. The Belfast shop called Good Vibrations becomes the spiritual HQ of punk in Northern Ireland and launching pad for the Undertones and their great single Teenage Kicks. 

Backbeat (1994). Iain Softley’s smart movie about the early days of the Beatles finds an indirect way of getting up close and personal with the music legends; A study of the band’s hardworking lives gigging in Hamburg in the early 60s. Ian Hart gives a spiky, tasty, angular performance as John Lennon, who is shown as having an intense, almost romanticised friendship with the doomed Sutcliffe.

 Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2010). Andy Serkis gives us an absolute barnstormer with his wonderful performance as the punk-era singing star and polio survivor Ian Dury, singing all Dury’s vocals with his actual band, the Blockheads. It’s a gutsy, passionate picture and, though it’s a labour of love, it never feels laborious.

Rocketman (2019). The classic music-biopic template of dizzying rise, followed by drug/egotism crisis, followed by redemption is squeezed into two-thirds of the Elton journey. The movie is partly a jukebox musical and partly a full-on Andrew Lloyd Webber-style extravaganza.

‘The Runaways’ (2010). Floria Sigismondi’s take on the early days of the pioneering all-female rock band has two dynamite performances  from Kristen Stewart’s Joan Jett and Michael Shannon’s Kim Fowley. Stewart’s Jett is pure badass, and Shannon manages to make Fowley both charismatic and repellent.

‘The Doors’ (1991). Oliver Stone’s celebration of Jim Morrison is so kinetically, preposterously grandiose that it’s magnificently bombed out on its own rock & roll excess. Val Kilmer gave the performance of his life as the Lizard King, not by deifying the singer (who died at 27) but by making him the embodiment of 1960s L.A. hedonism, doped up on hormones, liquor and smack. 

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018). This was all about Rami Malek’s Oscar-winning performance as Mercury – mischief, melancholy and madness – the seductive power of the set-pieces, plus the pacing and delivery of the tunes. 

Walk The Line (2005). Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon play and sing John R. Cash, country music’s most distinctive (and self-destructive) superstar and June Carter, the onstage fire-cracker love of his ever-complex, pill-popping life. Both Phoenix and Witherspoon figured among the film’s five Oscar nominations, with Witherspoon deservedly winning the Best Female Actor award.

A Complete Unknown (2024). James Mangold perfects the traditional rise, fall and resurrection rock biopic narrative by using Elijah Wald’s 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric as the frame in which to tell the story. Timothée Chalamet is fittingly electrifying as Dylan, capturing not only his hunger and intelligence, but impish sense of humour.

Rock biopics have been hugely successful, and there are so many incredible stories in hard rock and heavy metal that deserve the big-screen treatment. Here are a few that would make for killer films:

1. Ronnie James Dio – “Rainbow in the Dark”

The story of Dio’s rise from doo-wop singer to one of metal’s most legendary vocalists. Covering his time in Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and his own band, Dio, the film would showcase his unmatched talent, struggles in the industry, and the creation of iconic songs like Holy Diver and Heaven and Hell. A mix of drama, triumph, and fantasy—because you know we need epic dragon and wizard imagery woven in.

2. Motörhead – “Born to Lose, Live to Win”

The ultimate outlaw rock ‘n’ roll story. Following Lemmy Kilmister from his roadie days with Jimi Hendrix to his time in Hawkwind, and then forming Motörhead, one of the most legendary bands of all time. Expect debauchery, speed-fueled mayhem, and an unflinching look at Lemmy’s relentless dedication to music.

3. Judas Priest – “Metal Gods”

The rise of Judas Priest from the grimy streets of Birmingham to becoming one of the most influential heavy metal bands ever. The film would focus on Rob Halford, his journey as a closeted gay man in the metal scene, and how he later became an LGBTQ+ icon without sacrificing his leather-clad, high-screaming dominance.

5. Iron Maiden – “Run to the Hills”

A visually stunning, globe-trotting epic about Iron Maiden’s rise to power. From their early pub gigs to filling stadiums worldwide, it would follow Steve Harris’ vision, Bruce Dickinson’s electrifying stage presence, and their legendary album creations. With Eddie (their iconic mascot) potentially coming to life in creative sequences, this could be a unique rock biopic with a touch of the surreal.

7. Van Halen – “Eruption”

A wild, high-energy look at the legendary Van Halen, featuring the genius of Eddie Van Halen, the flamboyant antics of David Lee Roth, and the tensions that eventually led to lineup changes. A film filled with party-fueled madness, groundbreaking guitar solos, and larger-than-life rock drama.

8. Ozzy Osbourne – “Diary of a Madman”

While the Mötley Crüe biopic The Dirt gave us some Ozzy craziness, this film would tell his whole story. From his time in Black Sabbath to his wild solo career, bat-biting infamy, and struggles with addiction. Plus, his partnership with Sharon Osbourne and the highs and lows of reality TV fame.