Greatest Biopic Film Scripts

It is said that truth is stranger than fiction, which is why cinema owes a lot of its greatest accomplishments to reality. Biographical films are a special breed among movies based in true events, because they try to portray the evolution of real life characters through the most important events of their lives.

It’s a daunting task for the screenwriter, sometimes hard-pressed to fit decades of life into roughly 100-120 pages. That is probably why biopics often become monumental projects that bring the audience to a fast paced journey across a bunch of dissimilar environments.

But they are often the stories of those who shaped the world- for better or worse. And well written biopics seem to generally succeed in fulfilling the demands of reviewers and audiences alike. They are a challenge for the performer as well, compelled to carry most of the narrative weight through the whole shooting process. However, those efforts are often rewarded with wide recognition, and the Academy seems to have a certain weakness for biographical dramas.

A lot of moviegoers feel an inherent curiosity about watching the tale of a notorious figure in the big screen, and the list of famous –or infamous- individuals whose life has been adapted into a film keeps growing.

Here are some of the most acclaimed biopic film scripts of all time:

(1960) Spartacus

(1962) Lawrence of Arabia

(1967) Bonnie and Clyde

(1972) Lady Sings the Blues

(1980) Raging Bull

(1980) The Elephant Man

(1982) Gandhi

(1984) Amadeus

(1987) The Last Emperor

(1990) Goodfellas

(1992) Malcolm X

(1992) Chaplin

(1994) Ed Wood

(1995) Braveheart

(2001) A Beautiful Mind

(2002) Catch me if you Can

(2005) Walk the Line

(2010) The Social Network

(2014) The Theory of Everything

Ed Wood

Ed Wood poster thumbnail
Year:1994
Director:Tim Burton
Written by:Rudolph Grey (Author), Scott Alexander (Screenplay), Larry Karaszewski (Screenplay)

Script Synopsis:The mostly true story of the legendary "worst director of all time", who, with the help of his strange friends, filmed countless B-movies without ever becoming famous or successful.
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Tim Burton Scripts

Tim Burton, eccentric extraordinaire, has personally directed the following 16 films to date:

  1. Luau Script (1982) – let us know if you can find this!
  2. Pee-wee’s Big Adventure Script ($) (1985)
  3. Beetlejuice Script (1988)
  4. Batman Script (1989)
  5. Edward Scissorhands Script (1990)
  6. Batman Returns Script (1992)
  7. The Nightmare Before Christmas Script (PDF) (1993)
  8. Ed Wood Script (1994)
  9. Mars Attacks Script (1996) – let us know if you can find this!
  10. Sleepy Hollow Script (1999)
  11. Planet of the Apes Script (2001)
  12. Big Fish Script (2003)
  13. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Script (2005)
  14. Corpse Bride Script ($) (2005)
  15. Sweeney Todd Script (2007)
  16. Alice in Wonderland Script (2010)