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The best biopics of all time

26.5.2017

Translation: machine translated

They really do exist, and in all kinds of life situations: Heroes! It may well be that everyone has their own personal role model, but then there are those people who are remembered for great or even earth-shattering deeds - forever, of course. And such people should be duly celebrated, preferably with a film about their own life story.

Whether already deceased or still alive, these people have touched our hearts and created something very special that will remain in our memories forever. To ensure that our heroes still give our children and their children goosebumps, there are films that tell the story of their lives. At this point: Thank you Hollywood for showing us that there are still true heroes. The dream factory keeps giving us so-called biopics, because as we know, true stories are the most touching and fill the cinema box office. Whether in science, sport or art - these people have achieved something that will outlast their time on earth. They have created a memory that we can admire on the big screen. And finally, they become our own personal role models and spur us on to believe in our own dreams, because they made it too.

The travels of young Che (2004)

Directed by: Walter Salles
Actors: Gael García Bernal and Rodrigo de la Serna
True Facts: The revolutionary, the doctor, the poet and author, the guerrilla fighter, the leader of an entire rebel army and the hero of a nation - Che Guevara is considered one of the most important figures in the history of the Cuban Revolution.

Walter Salles tells the story of a young Che Guevara who has not yet lost hope in the world and in the good. The 23-year-old Ernesto "Che" Guevara (Gael García Bernal) is about to graduate from medical school in Buenos Aires. He decides to go on a long journey with his friend Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna) in 1952. On a rickety old motorbike, the two Argentinians first plan to travel their home country and then the South American continent. A total of around 13,000 kilometres of adventure await them. In the good-natured belief that everyone in the world lives to the same standard as in Argentina, they set off. But after a short time, Che realises that the reality is very different. Poverty, dreariness and inequality everywhere. And no one to help. Che Guevara goes from student to revolutionary.

The real Che also had a long journey behind him. In December 1951, the former freedom fighter set off with his childhood friend and travelled to the vast expanses of the South and Central American continent. Contrary to all his expectations, the harsh reality opened his eyes. The journey made him realise the political, economic and social circumstances under which people in other countries have to live. The journey turned him into the Che that we know so well from all the history books and from the T-shirts bought by unsuspecting teenagers in the H&M. The revolutionary who dreamed of improving Cuba and the world was born on the road. Che Guevara was a key leader of the rebel army during the Cuban revolution from 1956 to 1959. The great hero of an entire nation died in October 1967 - he was executed on the orders of Bolivian President René Barrientos Ortuño.

Walk the Line (2005)

Directed by: James Mangold
Actors: Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon
True Facts: Johnny Cash, also known as the "Man in Black", made music history with his country songs. With great fame came drug problems, but his everlasting love for June Carter tamed the musician.

He is a legend and shaped the country genre like no other Southerner after him. The portrait "Walk the Line" shows the true sufferings and loves of Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix) without holding back. June Carter (Reese Witherspoon) brings the love and gives the story a romantic touch. Not just for die-hard country fans, but something for anyone interested in music history.

When music legend Johnny Cash died in 2003, the world stood still for a moment. With songs such as "Walk the Line", "Hurt" and "Ring on Fire", he became a legend and shaped an entire generation. Whether Mangold's film adaptation will do justice to his life remains to be seen - but the director has certainly created a cinematic monument.

Walk The Line (DVD, 2005, English, German)

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Walk The Line

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A little bit of film trivia on the side: a version of the Johnny Cash hit "Hurt" plays in the trailer for the superhero film "Logan". The director of the film? James Mangold.

Milk (2008)

Director: Gus Van Sant
Actors: Sean Penn, James Franco and Emile Hirsch
True Facts: Harvey Bernard Milk was the first US politician to be open about his homosexuality. He fought for the rights of gays and lesbians and dreamed of a world in which homosexuals could live freely.

America in the 1970s: Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) is the first gay man to sit on the San Francisco City Council. And then comes the shock news: Milk is shot dead by his homophobic council colleague in 1978. With this biographical work, Gus Van Sant pays homage to a man who dared to fight back and fought for a voice in society until the bitter end. The film biography focuses in particular on Milk's environment, showing how he became the man he was. Initially loved and supported by his friend Scott Smith (James Franco), he developed into the mentor of young activist Cleve Jones (Emile Hirsch) and became a role model for an entire generation.

One more martyr who died for his convictions: Harvey Milk is often praised as the Martin Luther King of the gay rights movement.

Bronson (2008)

Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn
Actor: Tom Hardy
True Facts: He is considered Britain's most merciless prisoner. The Englishman Charles Bronson was only supposed to serve seven years in prison, but was held for a total of 40 years due to his enormous aggression.

His whole life revolves around violence. Even as a child, Michael Peterson (Tom Hardy), who has since changed his name to Charles Bronson, attacks his teachers, and in his early 20s he tries to rob a bank. It is crystal clear that Bronson is destined to end up in prison. The failed bank robbery earns him a seven-year prison sentence, which is repeatedly extended because Bronson gives free rein to his temper even behind bars and is unable to contain his rage. When he is finally released, he begins a career as a boxer. The Englishman fights his way through London society. But after just 68 days, his old life catches up with him: Bronson robs a jeweller. Once again, prison awaits him, where he becomes notorious for countless hostage-takings, brutal beatings and incredible outbursts of rage. The Brit is more feared than Blackbeard in "Pirates of the Caribbean" and puts everyone to flight with his look of indiscriminate aggression.

The real Charles Bronson is still in maximum security prison today. And he will probably stay there for what feels like the next hundred years. After more than 120 prison changes, the prison guards and the justice system have lost all hope of calming him down. During one of his many hostage-takings in 1983, Bronson held several victims on the roof of Broadmoor Prison and only released them after 47 hours. The damages totalled £750,000 and Bronson was sent to a mental hospital. Just one example of the Brit's criminal madness. The now 64-year-old was drugged several times during his years in prison and spent most of his time in solitary confinement.

Children's film + Family film

Bronson

DVD, 2009, German, English

Desert Flower (2009)

Directed by: Sherry Hormann
Actors: Liya Kebede, Sally Hawkins and Timothy Spall
True Facts: It's the story about a young girl who flees the constraints of society and makes it to the top. From Somali nomad girl to international top model - Waris Dirie has made it.

Based on the autobiographical novel by Waris Dirie (Liya Kebede), which is a global bestseller, Sherry Hormann tells the incredible story of a nomadic girl from Somalia in "Desert Flower". Waris grows up in the desert and at the age of 14 is to be forcibly married to a much older man. But the girl decides to flee and is taken in by her mother's family in the Somali capital, who get her a job at the Somali embassy in London. When she finally has to leave after a long time, she finds a job as a cleaner in a restaurant in England's big city. There she meets her future friend and confidante Marilyn (Sally Hawkins), who goes through thick and thin with her. And suddenly everything changes, as Waris is discovered by star photographer Terence Donaldson (Timothy Spall), who helps her to become an internationally renowned top model.

Waris Dirie shows everyone: From dishwasher to millionaire, or from nomad girl to top model - anything is possible in this day and age. And not just in America, but also in other parts of the world. She shows all women in the world that they can achieve anything if they just believe in themselves and never lose hope. The story of a strong woman who faced many obstacles in life, but bravely overcame them.

J. Edgar (2011)

Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer and Naomi Watts
True Facts: J. Edgar Hover was the sixth chief of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) from 1924 and the first chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1935 until his death in 1972.

He wanted fame and power. He constantly searches for the truth and has no qualms about using it as a weapon. J. Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio) has been the boss of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for almost 50 years. He survives the terms of eight presidents, is one of the most powerful men in America during three wars and fights for the truth, not always fully obeying the law to ensure the protection of his countrymen.

The film version of his life begins in his childhood and shows him as an up-and-coming man through to the dying FBI director. Clint Eastwood creates a work from the eyes of the protagonist himself and shows a very soft and vulnerable side of the former J. Edgar, who is always striving for the secrets of others, but keeps his own private life in the dark. He only allows a few people to be close to him, such as his life partner and closest employee Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer) and his secretary Helen Gandy (Naomi Watts).

Director Clint Eastwood and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black ("Milk") make an unspoken fact an important part of the film: Hoover's homosexuality. The former FBI director grew up in a neighbourhood full of civil servants and was often dismissed as a mama's boy - because he had a close relationship with his beloved mother until her death. He spent his whole life with her and gave much of his mother's love and affection. Hoover never married, but maintained a very close relationship with his deputy Clyde Tolson, which gave rise to rumours. The two were inseparable, ate lunch and dinner together and Hoover affectionately called his friend "Junior". Whether the FBI chief and Tolson had a sexual relationship remains unclear, as it is still only rumours to this day. In any case, J. Edgar maintained strict Catholic views to the outside world and would never have had the courage to reveal the truth to the public.

Mavericks - Live your dream (2012)

Directed by: Curtis Hanson and Michael Apted
Actors: Gerard Butler and Jonny Weston
True Facts: No names have been changed. The surfer Jay Moriarity and the myth of the giant wave in Mavericks, California, really exist - 100%!

Since his childhood, 15-year-old Jay Moriarity (Jonny Weston) has had nothing else on his mind but surfing. He would risk his life to ride the perfect wave one day. One day, when he observes Frosty (Gerard Butler) driving to a hidden cove, he follows him inconspicuously and accidentally discovers the infamous wave in a now not-so-hidden cove in Mavericks, California. From that moment on, he wants nothing more than to ride this dangerous wave. Jay is overwhelmed by the unbridled power of the wave and the rebellious sea fascinates him. Together with Frosty, he trains day after day until he is finally equal to the dangers of the ocean and looks the wave in the eye with death-defying courage.

Spoiler alert: The real Jay Moriarity drowned while freediving in the Maldives in 2001. One day before he would have turned 23, he left behind his wife Kim (played by Leven Rambin in the film). "Mavericks - Live your dream" tells the story of a hero who lived by the motto "life begins at the end of your comfort zone" and knew how to savour every day of his far too short life to the full. He achieved his life's goal of riding the monster wave Mavericks in 1994.

Mandela - The long road to freedom (2013)

Directed by: Justin Chadwick
Actor: Idris Elba
True Facts: A life for freedom and democracy: Nelson Mandela was a South African activist and politician and fought against apartheid for decades.

It is a long and rocky road that Nelson Mandela (Idris Elba) has travelled. Even while studying law, he began to take an enormous interest in world politics and its events. What nobody could have guessed at the time: He would later influence the world more than anyone else - and his name would one day be written in all the history books. In his biopic about Mandela, Justin Chadwick shows a slightly different side to the freedom fighter. From his childhood, his first great love and the beginning of his fight against apartheid to his inauguration as South Africa's first president, Chadwick's work provides a wonderful overview of the life of an unforgotten hero.

In 2013, Mandela left this world, leaving behind a body of work that will be remembered forever. Alongside Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, his name is probably the most outstanding in the history of all freedom fighters. Not even prison could stop him, as he was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964. It was not until 1990 that he was released after an eternity and Mandela was able to complete his life's work. In 1994, he was elected the country's first black president and became a hero - not just to an entire nation, but to the whole world. Mandela raised his voice for the weak and marginalised as well as against oppression and social injustice and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for his life's work.

Children's film + Family film

Mandela The Long Road to Freedom

DVD, 2013, German

The Discovery of Infinity (2014)

Directed by: James Marsh
Actors: Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones
True Facts: The life story of world-famous physicist Stephen Hawking gets under your skin, as the exceptional talent is diagnosed with a nerve disease in 1963, which confines him to a wheelchair from 1968 and robs him of the ability to speak in 1985. Despite everything, Hawking fought on and showed the world that he would not give up so easily.

Based on Jane Hawking's memoirs "Love has eleven dimensions: My Life with Stephen Hawking", the biopic tells the story of the extraordinary natural scientist Stephen Hawking.

In the 1960s, Hawking (Eddie Redmayne), who was studying at Cambridge University at the time, falls in love with language student Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones). She is the physicist's support when he is diagnosed with the degenerative nerve disease ALS at the age of 21 and the rug is pulled out from under his feet. Although the doctors only give him a short time to live, he fights his way through life with sheer willpower and the love of Jane. The former student becomes his wife and accompanies him on all his journeys. Due to his illness, Hawking is physically limited, but despite all this, he publishes one scientific paper after another and goes down in history as a pioneering researcher.

It is the story of a physically ill person who doesn't let anything get him down and gives the disease the cold shoulder. Hawking lost the ability to speak in 1985 due to severe pneumonia and from then on could only communicate with a speech computer, which he could control with movements of his cheek muscles and eyes. The physicist did not let this stroke of fate throw him off course, but instead became increasingly bursting with willpower.

The ALS diagnosis drastically changed Hawking's life, but his mental abilities were never affected by the disease - and the scientist was gripped by a surge of motivation. From 1979 to 2009, Hawking held the prestigious Chair of Mathematics at Cambridge University and contributed work on cosmology, general relativity and the physics of black holes.

Children's film + Family film

The discovery of infinity

Blu-ray, 2014, German

Selma (2014)

Directed by: Ava DuVernay
Actors: David Oyelowo and Oprah Winfrey
True Facts: March 1965 was a momentous month for the US civil rights movement. Unforgotten and led by civil rights hero Martin Luther King, people today talk about the Selma to Montgomery marches. In 1996, the route was designated the "Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail" by the USA Congress to honour the historic route.

The time has come and Martin Luther King (David Oyelowo) is to receive a Nobel Prize in Norway. Ava DuVernay starts where King has already achieved the most, but wants to achieve much more. His focus is on the city of Selma, where racial segregation has by no means disappeared - even if the government claims it has. The problems are being played down and hushed up everywhere. But King sets off for Alabama, to the town of Selma, where a black man was shot dead by the police in 1965.

The resentment has built up and the blacks begin to demonstrate with all their might, led by King.

History lesson: The Selma to Montgomery marches are referred to, yes, in the plural, because they were three consecutive demonstrations. The first march took place on 7 March and was led by John Lewis. However, the march was stopped just outside the city by the police with tear gas and truncheons, also known as "Bloody Sunday". Two days later, another march followed, this time led by Martin Luther King himself. But this time too, the participants did not reach the capital Montgomery, as King cancelled the march due to fears of escalation. It was not until 21 March that the march was finally completed and the demonstrators covered a total of 86 km together with protection troops - all the way to Montgomery.

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Selma

DVD, 2014, German

The big trip - Wild (2014)

Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Actors: Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern
True Facts: Cheryl Strayed walked 1600 kilometres through the wilderness. She had to battle fears time and again, but she encourages everyone: "You can do it! Be strong and brave!", she kept saying to herself.

A series of sad strokes of fate drives Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon) to embark on a journey of extremes. With too much luggage and too little trekking experience, she decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail on the west coast of the USA.

1600 kilometres and pure wilderness await her.

Frustrated by the lows in her life, Cheryl hopes for forgiveness - because she has been struggling with herself for years. Along the way, she braves heat, cold, hunger and thirst and discovers a whole new side to herself. The mercilessness of nature opens her eyes and gives her new hope.

Cheryl Strayed was born in 1968 and lost her mother in her early 20s. She had lost the constant in her life and fell into a deep hole. Heroin addiction and male escapades followed. In order to find herself and become the girl her mother once raised, she made a radical decision: the merciless wilderness would save her. In 1995, she embarks on the trip of a lifetime and finally makes peace with herself again. Today she lives happily with her husband and their two children in Portland, Oregon.

The big trip wild (DVD, 2014, German, English, French)

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The big trip wild

DVD, 2014, German, English, French

The Woman in Gold (2015)

Directed by: Simon Curtis
Actors: Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Moritz Bleibtreu and Antje Traue
True Facts: Maria Altmann was an art collector who fought for years in a legal battle to be given paintings by Gustav Klimt that were originally owned by her family but were looted by the Nazis during the Second World War.

Vienna, World War II: The Nazis rob the Maria Altmann family (Helen Mirren) of several works of art. The extended family is forced to leave the country and flees to the North American continent.

Many decades later, when Maria has already reached an advanced age and has been living in the USA for a long time, the Jewish woman plucks up her courage and sets off for her old homeland. The painting "Golden Adele", which shows her aunt Adele (Antje Traue) portrayed by Gustav Klimt (Moritz Bleibtreu), is particularly close to her heart. Together with lawyer Randol Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds), she fights to get back what rightfully belongs to her family.

In 2006, Maria Altmann was finally able to rejoice because, after a long legal battle, she was awarded five paintings by Gustav Klimt that once belonged to her uncle and were exhibited in the Austrian Belvedere Palace Gallery in Vienna after the Nazi looting. These included the painting "Adele Blocher-Bauer I", which is now on display at the Neue Galerie in Manhattan.

Straight Outta Compton (2015)

Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Actors: O'Shea Jackson, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr. and Aldis Hodge
True Facts: A story about the time when there was really good hip hop. N.W.A was the hip-hop crew that made gangsta rap famous. Dr Dre, Ice Cube and co. achieved worldwide fame with the song "Fuck tha Police".

We take a look into the past: Compton in the south of Los Angeles in the 1980s. The city is one of the most crime-ridden and violence and drug dealing are part of everyday life here. In this world live Dr Dre (Corey Hawkins), Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson Jr.), MC Ren (Aldis Hodge), Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell) and DJ Yella (Neil Brown Jr.), who want to be heard with the help of music. They found the rap group N.W.A and use hip hop as a mouthpiece to tell the world how things really are in the USA and especially how black people are treated.

The police and even the FBI clearly had problems with the young group, as "Fuck tha Police" was an appeal against the authorities. In 1989, a year after the song was released, the FBI wrote a letter of complaint to the distributor Priority Records. They wanted the song to be taken out of circulation, but only triggered even more hype. Because what's the deal with the forbidden? Yes, people do it all the more. When Priority Records published the FBI's letter, sales of the album "Straight Outta Compton" exploded.

Children's film + Family film

Straight Outta Compton

DVD, 2015, German

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Directed by: Mel Gibson
Actors: Andrew Garfield, Teresa Palmer, Vince Vaughn, Luke Bracey and Sam Worthington
True Facts: Desmond Doss (1919-2006) was the war hero with a difference during the Second World War, because without ever touching a weapon, he saved more lives than any other soldier.

World War II: Young Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) signs up for military service on the condition that he never touches a weapon. Even his training is a struggle, as his superiors Captain Glover (Sam Worthington) and Sergeant Howell (Vince Vaughn), as well as his comrade Smitty (Luke Bracey), make things extremely difficult for him.

Nobody really takes him seriously and wants him around - because for the others he is just an unnecessary appendage that they have to protect. Doss grew up as a devoted Christian and has followed a strict moral code his entire life. Strongly rooted in his faith, he refuses to ever take another person's life.

When he is finally authorised to go to war without a weapon, his heart is lifted. His beloved Dorothy (Teresa Palmer) is waiting for him at home while he and his comrades fight for their country in the battle for Okinawa. Doss, the devout medic, saves more lives than anyone would have thought possible before.

What no one could believe at first later earned veteran Desmond Doss the Medal of Honour. Doss had a strong faith and was not deterred. Initially treated with hostility by his comrades, they no longer dared to step onto the battlefield without the Christian. On 29 April 1945, Doss' regiment took its first steps onto the battlefield at the Battle of Okinawa, where the cruel Japanese awaited them.

Incredible but true: in the end, almost 100 soldiers owed their lives to Doss. His superior swore that the young man had saved 100 of his men, but the modest Doss spoke of "only" 50, so the two agreed on 75 for which the American should be honoured.

A United Kingdom (2016)

Directed by: Amma Asante
Actors: David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike
True Facts: We've often heard that love can move mountains - but in the case of Botswana's Seretse Khama and England's Ruth Williams, it really did. Initially a fiery romance, the two lovers ultimately defy all conventions and stand up to the government and society.

It is an incredible love story: in 1947, the future king of Botswana, Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo), and the Englishwoman Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike) fall in love. It would be an ordinary romance if only it didn't take place during the apartheid era. Rejected from all sides, Seretse and Ruth not only defy their families and friends, but also stand up to Britain and Botswana's government - because their love is stronger than anything else.

Amma Asante tells the touching story of two lovers who faced all obstacles and were not only an inspiration for a nation, but also influenced world history with their love story. Seretse Khama met his beloved Ruth on a trip to England in 1947 - and they married a year later. At home in Africa, the marriage was rejected and the council of elders did not want any whites in the court of the head of the family. The prince was asked to relinquish his office and return to England in exchange for a settlement. However, Seretse refused and was subsequently banished from Botswana. He was allowed to return with his wife and children in 1956. After a constitutional reform in 1960, Seretse Khama became a member of parliament and founded a party a year later. When Botswana finally gained its independence in 1966, Seretse Khama took over the office of president and ruled until his death in 1980.

And now it's your turn! Tell us in the comments which story touched you the most or which biopic made you shed the most tears. And maybe you can think of a film that didn't make it onto our list and tells the story of your very own hero - let us know!

And if your role models are perhaps just your dad or mum, then we have just the thing for you to show them:

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Vanessa Büchel

vanessa.buechel@gmail.com

I spend my everyday life with writing, eating, sports and sleeping - and in between a lot of humour. I love the summer, ice cream, chocolate, sunsets and walking barefoot. Traveling, exploring new worlds and experiencing adventures. And nothing beats a good pizza with good friends to a good movie.

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The best biopics of all time

The travels of young Che (2004)

Walk the Line (2005)

Milk (2008)

Bronson (2008)

Desert Flower (2009)

J. Edgar (2011)

Mavericks - Live your dream (2012)

Mandela - The long road to freedom (2013)

The Discovery of Infinity (2014)

Selma (2014)

The big trip - Wild (2014)

The Woman in Gold (2015)

Straight Outta Compton (2015)

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

A United Kingdom (2016)

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