Like music biopics? Here are some of the best!

The release of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis this week shows that the demand for music biopics is undimmed.

The release of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis this week shows that the demand for music biopics is undimmed. Here’s some of the best from Leigh Paatsch – from Bohemian Rhapsody to 8 Mile and The Pianist to Walk Hard – and where you can stream them.

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (NETFLIX, DISNEY+)

The biggest, brassiest jukebox musical of the modern age is a grandiose greatest-hits play-through for the legendary British rock band Queen. Turn it up loud, and you will be waving your hands in the air like you just don’t care in homage to an electrifying portrayal of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury by Rami Malek.

Rami Malek stars as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. Picture: Alex Bailey

STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON (NETFLIX)

To this day, hip-hop pioneers NWA still sound like they’re playing live in a war zone. This movie hits maximum impact in a gripping first half: where the rap collective rapidly get their abrasive act together, then rush headlong at an unsuspecting world. This is where Ice Cube and Dr. Dre got their start.

RAY (BINGE, FOXTEL)

Jamie Foxx channels the soul-stirring spirit of RnB legend Ray Charles when swaying behind the piano during a multitude of exhilarating song sequences. In one hell of a hurry for a 152-minute flick, but has to be to match the exuberant rush of a wonderful soundtrack.

WALK THE LINE (DISNEY+)

A look at the life of country-and-western superstar Johnny Cash, taking in the years between his poor upbringing and a lifesaving second marriage to June Carter. A dynamic Joaquin Phoenix nails the competing swagger and sensitivity of Cash, and Reese Witherspoon is fantastic as the indomitable Carter.

WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY (BINGE, FOXTEL)

If a serious music biopic strikes you as a boring night in, it might be high time for a send-up. This goofily amusing sonic satire does it right. John C. Reilly plays the title role, a veteran country singer who changes music styles, drug habits and lovers with reckless abandon.

John C Reilly as musician Dewey Cox from 'Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

.

DREAMGIRLS (PARAMOUNT+, STAN)

A straightforward, crowd-pleasing adaptation of the blockbuster Broadway musical. The songs are insanely catchy, while the plot is a thinly-veiled take on the tumultuous career of Diana Ross and the Supremes. Stars Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Foxx.

BEHIND THE CANDELABRA (SBS ON DEMAND)

During a long reign as the Las Vegas king of keyboard kitsch, Liberace (Michael Douglas) went to extraordinary lengths to deny he was gay. The film spans the final decade of Liberace’s life, wherein he finally met Mr Right (Matt Damon), only for it all to go so horribly wrong. Directed by Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Eleven).

FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS (SBS ON DEMAND)

On a good night in the 1940s, New York singing socialite Florence (Meryl Streep) hit notes known only to canines. On a bad night, eardrums and windows alike were in imminent danger of cracking. A bonkers true story enhanced by yet another flawless display from Streep. Co-stars Hugh Grant.

Meryl Streep as Florence Foster Jenkins.

JERSEY BOYS (BINGE, FOXTEL, NETFLIX)

Though powered by the irresistible back catalogue of Sixties pop superstars Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons – whose colourful career is charted here – this well-crafted screen adaptation is not about to let the hits (Sherry, Oh What a Night, Big Girls Don’t Cry, etc.) do all the heavy lifting. Directed by Clint Eastwood.

WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT (DISNEY+)

Ike Turner (Laurence Fishburne) became a monster once he realised what a major talent he had discovered in his vocally gifted young wife Tina (Angela Bassett). You’ll be siding hard with Tina as she hits the 1980s with nothing left except her name. Then Ike tries to take that off her, too.

CONTROL (ABC IVIEW)

The story of the seminal, short-lived UK band Joy Division and their ill-fated lead singer Ian Curtis. This gripping biopic presents an alternative view of Curtis (played to perfection by Sam Riley) that challenges his misleading tagging as a poetic poster of sonic suicide notes. A must for music buffs.

8 MILE (STAN)

It might technically be regarded a work of fiction, but this is a remixed biopic of rap maverick Eminem by any other name. It all comes down to a killer battle-rap climax, in which Eminem grabs the mike and lets fly with a torrent of words that open up a future that was never there before.

Eminem in 8 Mile. Picture: AP

THE PIANIST (BINGE, FOXTEL, NETFLIX)

Powerful true story of gifted musician Wladyslaw Szpilman (an astonishing, Oscar-winning performance by Adrien Brody) and his fight to stay alive as a Jew living under a brutal Nazi regime during World War II. Lasting value to be found here in director Roman Polanski’s haunting, harrowing tribute to the human survival instinct.

COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER (BINGE, FOXTEL)

The improbable, yet inspirational rise to fame of American country singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn (a grittily sincere performance which netted a deserved Best Actress Oscar for Sissy Spacek). Filmed in the late ’70s, a lot of movies since have followed the same storytelling template. Co-stars Tommy Lee Jones.

NOWHERE BOY (STAN)

A surprisingly challenging look at the life of the young John Lennon (Aaron Johnson). The story is set in Liverpool in the late 1950s, where the Beatle-to-be was caught in a tug-of-love between the mother that abandoned him as a small child, and the aunt that raised him thereafter.

Originally published as Like music biopics? Here are some of the best!