HOME * REVIEWS * MIDTOWN * FESTIVALS * TOP 10 PROJECT

ESSAYS & ARTICLES * ODDS & ENDS * LINKS * CONTACT

THE
TOP 5
PROJECT

WEEK NO. 42
Main Page (including links to all past Top 5 weeks)

THE TOP 5 BIOPICS:

view full results       see how points are awarded
Rank Film Points L #1
#1 Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980) 48 14 3
#2 Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962) 45 13 3
#3 Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966) 43 11 6
#4 La Passion de Jeanne d'arc (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1928) 29 8 4
#5 Edvard Munch (Peter Watkins, 1974) 26 7 2
L=How many lists each film appears on             #1=How many number one votes each film recieves

It was a wild back and forth race this week and in the end was a film coming back from its defeat just last week (Top 5 Films of the 1980's) to grab the title of best biopic. And the headline should read: Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull beats out expected winner, David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia, by just three votes! Jake LaMotta ending up beating out T.E. Lawrence by a score of 48 to 45.

Also in a tight race this week but coming in third at the end was Andrei Takovsky's Andrei Rublev with a total of 43 points. Fourth went to Dreyer's La Passion de Jeanne d'arc with 29 points and fifth to (a bit of a surprise albeit a deserving one) Peter Watkins' Edvard Munch with 26 points. Just missing out were Forman's Amadeus and Gance's Napoleon.

The thing that surprised me most though were the votes for Citizen Kane. Though it may very well be Welles' veiled look at William Randolph Hearst, it is fictionalized enough to disqualify it - at least in my mind, but what do I know. Anyway, see you next week.

Individual lists:

Albert H. Muth
Auteurophile

  1. La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1928)
    "It was deep into his fiery heart
    He took the dust of Joan of Arc,
    And then she clearly understood
    If he was fire, oh then she must be wood.
    I saw her wince, I saw her cry,
    I saw the Glory in her eye.
    Myself I long for love and light,
    But must it come so cruel, and oh so bright?"
    -Leonard Cohen

  2. Isadora (Karel Reisz, 1968) - The tempestuous life of dancer Isadora Duncan with Vanessa Redgrave giving one of the greatest screen performances, EVER.

  3. Ivan the Terrible I & II (Sergei Eisenstein, 1944-46) - Grand opera by Eisenstein and Prokofiev.

  4. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962) - Few directors fulfilled the potential of CinemaScope as well as David Lean.

  5. Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966) - What can one say of Tarkovsky? Each of his films is a universe unto itself.

and, Motorcycle Diaries, Ed Wood, Amadeus, Vincent and Theo, Bonnie and Clyde, Raging Bull, Alexander Nevsky, Mahler, The Gospel According to St. Matthew, Reds.


David Sterritt
Chairman, National Society of Film Critics

  1. The Scarlet Empress (Josef von Sternberg, 1934)

  2. Molokh (Aleksandr Sokurov, 1999)

  3. American Hot Wax (Floyd Mutrux, 1978)

  4. La Môme (La Vie en rose) (Olivier Dahan, 2007)

  5. Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (Todd Haynes, 1987)



Chris Fujiwara
Film Critic & Editor, Undercurrent
Author, The World and Its Double: The Life and Work of Otto Preminger

  1. Edvard Munch (Peter Watkins, 1974)

  2. The Puppetmaster (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1993)

  3. Blaise Pascal (Roberto Rossellini, 1972)

  4. The Long Gray Line (John Ford, 1955)

  5. The Color of Pomegranates (Sergei Paradzhanov, 1969)



Jeffrey M. Anderson
Film Critic, Cinematical.com, Las Vegas Weekly,
San Jose Metro, Combustible Celluloid.com

  1. Ed Wood (Tim Burton, 1994)

  2. Sid and Nancy (Alex Cox, 1986)

  3. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)

  4. Young Mr. Lincoln (John Ford, 1939)

  5. Capote (Bennett Miller, 2005)
    Infamous (Douglas McGrath, 2006)

Plus: Naked Lunch (David Cronenberg, 1991), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Terry Gilliam, 1998), Good Night, and Good Luck (George Clooney, 2005), Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (George Clooney, 2002), Bird (Clint Eastwood, 1988), Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980), Auto Focus (Paul Schrader, 2002), I'm Not There (Todd Haynes, 2007), The Doors (Oliver Stone, 1991), Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola, 2006).


Christopher Null
Film Critic &
Founder, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Filmcritic.com

  1. Amadeus (Milos Forman, 1984)

  2. The Elephant Man (David Lynch, 1980)

  3. Patton (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1970)

  4. Shine (Scott Hicks, 1996)

  5. Ed Wood (Tim Burton,1994)



Peter Sobczynski
Film Critic, eFilmCritic.com

  1. Rasputin and the Empress (Richard Boleslawski, 1932)

  2. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)

  3. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (Paul Schrader, 1985)

  4. Sid & Nancy (Alex Cox, 1986)

  5. Lisztomania (Ken Russell, 1975)

Runners-Up: Napoleon (Abel Gance, 1927), Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980), Reds (Warren Beatty, 1981), Ed Wood (Tim Burton, 1994), Ali (Michael Mann, 2001), Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola, 2006).


Michael Parent
Film Student

  1. Napoleon (Abel Gance, 1927)

  2. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  3. Amadeus (Milos Forman, 1984)

  4. Ed Wood (Tim Burton, 1995)

  5. Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966)

Out of the competition : Welles' own autobiography as in parallel with Hearst; Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941).

Runners-up (alphabetical order): The Aviator (Scorsese), Bonnie and Clyde (Penn), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Hill), Capote (Miller), Casanova (Fellini), Catch Me if you Can (Spielberg), Downfall (Hirshbiegel), Finding Neverland (Forster), Goodfellas (Scorsese), Last Temptation of Christ (Scorsese), Lawrence of Arabia (Lean), Malcolm X (Lee), Marie Antoinette (Coppola), Motorcycle Diaries (Salles), Alexander Nevsky (Eiseinstein), The Passion of Joan of Arc (Dreyer), Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (Peckinpah), Patton (Schaffner), The Pianist (Polanski), Reds (Beatty), Schindler's List (Spielberg), The Untouchables (De Palma).


Jeff Cardarelli
Film Enthusiast

  1. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  2. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)

  3. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)

  4. The Elephant Man (David Lynch, 1980)

  5. Ed Wood (Tim Burton, 1994)



Doug Pratt
DVD Critic, DVDLaser.com

  1. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)

  2. Bonnie & Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)

  3. Becket (Peter Glenville, 1964)

  4. Topsy-Turvy (Mike Leigh, 1999)

  5. Spartacus (Stanley Kubrick, 1960)



Matt Severson
Film Enthusiast
& Photograph Department Supervisor
at the Academy's Margaret Herrick Library

  1. Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966)

  2. Napoleon (Abel Gance, 1927)

  3. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  4. Amadeus (Milos Forman, 1984)

  5. Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (Todd Haynes, 1987)

    Runners up:

  6. Edvard Munch (Peter Watkins, 1974)

  7. Van Gogh (Maurice Pialat, 1991)

  8. Capote (Bennett Miller, 2005)

  9. An Angel at My Table (Jane Campion, 1990)

  10. The Flowers of St. Francis (Roberto Rossellini, 1950)

Anamolies: films that don't necessarily fit in the Bio Pic genre (most really depict a ceratin event in history); but nevertheless the events revolve around a single person or group of people:

  • The Passion of Joan of Arc

  • The Queen

  • Topsy-Turvy & Vera Drake

  • The Pride of the Yankees

  • The Devils



Andrew Horbal
Film Enthusiast

I used a liberal interpretation of "Bio Pic" (basically: any fictional film with the life of a historical person at its center) . . . and ended up with films about religious subjects comprising 4/5 of my list. I don't know quite what to make of that--maybe this is the only kind bio pic that can avoid the charge of being "mere hagiography"? If one day a film is made about my life, I hope the director has the grace to work in black and white. One could argue that Citizen Kane belongs at the top of this list.

  1. The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928)

  2. The Flowers of Saint Francis (Roberto Rossellini, 1950)

  3. Simon of the Desert (Luis Buñuel, 1965)

  4. The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1964)

  5. The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach (Danièle Huillet/Jean-Marie Straub, 1968)



Kevin Cassidy
Film Enthusiast

  1. Napoleon (Abel Gance, 1927)

  2. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)

  3. Reds (Warren Beatty, 1981)

  4. In The Name of The Father (Jim Sheridan, 1993)

  5. Sunrise at Campobello (Vincent Donehue, 1960)



Mathew Viola
Film Fanatic

  1. Napoléon (Abel Gance, 1927)

  2. An Angel at My Table (Jane Campion, 1990)

  3. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  4. Ed Wood (Tim Burton, 1994)

  5. Gentleman Jim (Raoul Walsh, 1942)

Runners-up: The Private Life of Henry V111 (Alexander Korda, 1933), Queen Christina (Rouben Mamoulian, 1933), Yankee Doodle Dandy (Michael Curtiz, 1942), Lust for Life (Vincente Minnelli, 1956), The Miracle Worker (Arthur Penn, 1962), The Buddy Holly Story (Steve Rash, 1978), Coal Miner's Daughter (Michael Apted, 1980), The Elephant Man (David Lynch, 1980), My Left Foot (Jim Sheridan, 1989), Cobb (Ron Shelton, 1994), La Vie En Rose (Olivier Dahan, 2007).


Jesse Richards
Filmmaker

  1. Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966)

  2. Van Gogh (Maurice Pialat, 1991)

  3. Edvard Munch (Peter Watkins, 1974)

  4. Dillinger (John Milius, 1973) - Warren Oates is awesome and should have been in every movie ever made.

  5. The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1928)



Bill Georgaris
They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?

  1. Young Mr. Lincoln (John Ford, 1939)

  2. Lust for Life (Vincente Minnelli, 1956)

  3. Trial of Joan of Arc (Robert Bresson, 1962)

  4. Edvard Munch (Peter Watkins, 1974)

  5. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

Also Terrific: The Glenn Miller Story (Anthony Mann, 1954), Ed Wood (Tim Burton, 1994), The Wings of Eagles (John Ford, 1957), The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (Budd Boetticher, 1960), Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola, 2006).


Vasili Mamulashvili
Geographer & Film Enthusiast from Tbilsi, Geaorgia

  1. Lili marleen (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1981)

  2. The Last Metro (Francois Truffaut, 1980)

  3. Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovski, 1966)

  4. Sayat Nova (Sergei Pharajanov, 1968)

  5. Max (Menno Meyjes, 2002)



Alan Smithee
Cinema Ex-Patriot

  1. Edvard Munch (Peter Watkins, 1974)

  2. The Scarlet Empress (Joseph von Sternberg, 1934)

  3. Amadeus (Milos Forman, 1984)

  4. Forbidden Paradise (Ernst Lubitsch, 1924)

  5. I'm Not There (Todd Haynes, 2007)



Eric Enders
Film Critic, Out There in the Dark

  1. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)

  2. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)

  3. Malcolm X (Spike Lee, 1992)

  4. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  5. Into the Wild (Sean Penn, 2007)



Clark Day
Film Enthusiast

  1. The Aviator (Martin Scorsese, 2004)

  2. Frances (Graeme Clifford, 1982)

  3. The Elephant Man (David Lynch, 1980)

  4. Lorenzo's Oil (George Miller, 1992)

  5. Born on the Fourth of July (Oliver Stone, 1989)

Honorable Mentions: All the President's Men (Alan J. Pakula, 1976) Amadeus (Milos Forman, 1984) Malcolm X (Spike Lee, 1992) My Left Foot (Jim Sheridan, 1989) Pollock (Ed Harris, 2000) Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980) The Last Temptation of Christ (Martin Scorsese, 1988)


Domingo Peeters
Film Enthusiast

While I actually prefer the more complex auto-biographical movies (like Otto e Mezzo, Zerkalo, Fanny och Alexander etc.), these are my five favourite bio-pics. The limits of the caregory are quite hard to draw.

(in alphabetical order)

  • Braveheart (Mel Gibson, 1995)

  • Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog, 2005)

  • I'm Not There (Todd Haynes, 2007)

  • Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)

  • Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg, 1993)

Runners-up (also alphabetically): Gandhi (Richard Attenborough, 1982); Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990); Into the Wild (Sean Penn, 2007); Le Scaphandre et le Papillon (Julian Schnabel, 2007); The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005); Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980); Spartacus (Stanley Kubrick, 1960).


Hans Lucas
Film Student

  1. Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovksy, 1966)

  2. Edvard Munch (Peter Watkins, 1974)

  3. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  4. The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1964)

  5. The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1928)



Dennis Schwartz
Film Critic Ozu's World Movie Reviews

  1. Vincent: The Life and Death of Vincent Van Gogh (Paul Cox, 1987)

  2. Nijinsky (Paul Cox, 2001)

  3. Edvard Munch (Peter Watkins, 1974)

  4. Chronicle of Anna Magdelena Bach (Danièle Huillet/Jean-Marie Straub, 1968)

  5. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)



Jerry Johnson
Film Enthusiast &
Former Programming Director of the Austin Film Society

  1. Young Mr. Lincoln (John Ford, 1939)

  2. The Story of Adele H. (François Truffaut, 1975)

  3. Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (Todd Haynes, 1987)

  4. Van Gogh (Maurice Pialat, 1991)

  5. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)



Rich Cline
Film Critic and Creator of Shadows on the Wall.

  1. The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Dreyer, 1928)

  2. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  3. Lenny (Bob Fosse, 1976)

  4. Amadeus (Milos Foreman, 1984)

  5. My Left Foot (Jim Sheridan, 1989)

    The rest of the Top 10:

  6. Ed Wood (Tim Burton, 1994)

  7. The Elephant Man (David Lynch, 1980)

  8. I'm Not There (Todd Haynes, 2007)

  9. Gandhi (Richard Attenborough, 1982)

  10. Reds (Warren Beatty, 1981)



Ben Dalton
Film Student & Enthusiast

  1. Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966)

  2. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  3. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)

  4. An Angel at my Table (Jane Campion, 1990)

  5. The Elephant Man (David Lynch, 1980)

Runners-Up: Ed Wood (Tim Burton, 1994), American Splendor (Berman & Pulcini, 2003), The Aviator (Martin Scorsese, 2004), Kinsey (Bill Condon, 2004), Control (Anton Corbijn, 2007) & I'm Not There (Todd Haynes, 2007).


Nathan Deen
Film Buff & Staff Writer, FilmSchoolRejects.com

  1. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)

  2. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  3. Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg, 1993)

  4. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)

  5. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, 2007)



Scott Klus
Film Enthusiast

  1. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)

  2. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)

  3. Into the Wild (Sean Penn, 2007)

  4. The Pianist (Roman Polanski, 2002)

  5. I'm Not There (Todd Haynes, 2007)



Film Prophet
Film Critic, FilmProphet.com

  1. Downfall (Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2004)

  2. Amadeus (Milos Forman, 1984)

  3. The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928)

  4. Rudy (David Anspaugh, 1993)

  5. Ed Wood (Tim Burton, 1994)



Tristan Anthony Johnson
Film Enthusiast

It wasn't so easy to determine what to qualify as a biopic and what to discard. Several excellent ones have limited historical accuracy, but not being an expert on all things historical myself, I decided not to hold that against films. As a result, my top two are of particularly questionable accuracy, but they nonetheless belong there.

On the other hand, I decided to omit films, accurate or not, that didn't cover a large enough portion of the subjects life. For instance, Herzog's Aguirre: the Wrath of God, one of my all time favorite films, only covers the final voyage of the titular conquistador. I couldn't bring myself to include this over films with a greater scope on the subject's life.

  1. The Scarlet Empress (Joseph Von Sternberg, 1934)

  2. Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966)

  3. Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)

  4. Ivan the Terrible (Sergei Eisenstein, 1944, 1946)

  5. The Elephant Man (David Lynch, 1980)



Burt Gold
Amateur Filmmaker

  1. Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1969)

  2. La Passion de Jeanne d'arc (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1928)

  3. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  4. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)

  5. Napoleon (Abel Gance, 1927)



Josh Dean
Contributor to MuchoMovies.net

  1. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  2. Ed Wood (Tim Burton, 1994)

  3. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)

  4. Patton (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1970)

  5. Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg, 1993)



Kostas Papadimitriou
Film Enthusiast

  1. Ivan Groznyi (Sergei Eisenstein, 1944-46)

  2. Amadeus (Milos Froman, 1984)

  3. Lust for Life (Vincente Minelli, 1956)

  4. Spartacus (Stanley Kubrick, 1960)

  5. Napoleon (Abel Gance, 1927)



Matthew Griffiths
Film Enthusiast

  1. Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966)

  2. Edvard Munch (Peter Watkins, 1976)

  3. The Devil and Daniel Johnston (Jeff Feuerzeig, 2006)

  4. Ivan Groznyy I (Sergei M. Eisenstein, 1944)

  5. The Elephant Man (David Lynch, 1980)



Le Hinton
Jazz Aficionado & Film Enthusiast

  1. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  2. Bird (Clint Eastwood, 1988)

  3. Malcom X (Spike Lee, 1992)

  4. Ali (Michael Mann, 2001)

  5. Pride of the Yankees (Sam Wood, 1942)



Kevyn Knox
Film Critic, Essayist + Historian

The dreaded biopic has for many years been the bane of my cinematic existence. Usually highlighting a stellar acting tour de force, or whatever you want to call it, but more oft than not ending up as merely typical in every other aspect. Yet, even with that disclaimer I was easily able to find five biopics worthy of inclusion here - more than that even. Some might argue my number one pick since technically it only covers a few days in the life of its subject and therefore probably cannot be called a true biopic. But rules be damned, I cannot in good conscience make this list without including it. So there it is, and with that said, here is my list.

  1. La Passion de Jeanne d'arc (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1928)

  2. Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966)

  3. Ivan the Terrible I & II (Sergei Eisenstein, 1944-46)

  4. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  5. Bonnie & Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)

Best Post-Modern Biopic: I'm Not There (Todd Haynes, 2007)

Runners-Up (in chronological order):
Napoleon (Gance), Queen Christina (Mamoulian), The Scarlet Empress (von Sternberg), Lawrence of Arabia (Lean), The Trial of Joan of Arc (Bresson), The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Pasolini), Sayat Nova (Parajanov), Edvard Munch (Watkins), The Elephant Man (Lynch), Reds (Beatty), Amadeus (Forman), Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (Haynes), The Puppetmaster (Hou), Joan the Maid (Rivette), Moloch (Sokurov), Marie Antoinette (Coppola).

*points are given as follows: for numbered lists, first place recieves 5 points, second place recieves 4, third place 3, fourth place 2 and fifth place gets 1 point; for unumbered lists, each film will recieve 3 points; total points are then tallied up and a comprehensive Top 5 list is created


The Next Topic is:
Name The Top 5
Howard Hawks Films

e-mail me at kevynknox@thecinematheque.com with your picks for week #43,
no later than 6pm on Sunday, July 13, 2008.

HOME * REVIEWS * MIDTOWN * FESTIVALS * TOP 10 PROJECT * ESSAYS & ARTICLES * ODDS & ENDS * LINKS * CONTACT