Tags: movies similar to Bessie (2015) - full list
Mark | imdb: 6.9 |
Genre | drama, music, biography |
Country | United Kingdom, USA |
Duration | 02:19 |
A chronicle of James Brown's rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history.
Mark | imdb: 7.2 |
Genre | melodrama, drama |
Country | United Kingdom, USA, Australia |
Duration | 02:35 |
In 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.
Mark | imdb: 5.4 |
Genre | drama, music, biography |
Country | United Kingdom |
Duration | 02:35 |
The story of the late jazz musician and classical pianist Nina Simone including her rise to fame and relationship with her manager Clifton Henderson.
Mark | imdb: 7.2 |
Genre | melodrama, drama, music, biography |
Country | USA |
Duration | 01:52 |
Legendary trumpeter Art Hazzard teaches young Rick Martin everything he knows about playing, so Rick becomes a star musician, but a troubled marriage and the desire to play pure jazz instead of commercial swing songs cause him problems.
Mark | imdb: 6.8 |
Genre | drama, music, biography |
Country | USA |
Duration | 02:14 |
From director Clint Eastwood comes the big-screen version of the Tony Award-winning musical Jersey Boys. The film tells the story of four young men from the wrong side of the tracks in New Jersey who came together to form the iconic 1960s rock group The Four Seasons. The story of their trials and triumphs are accompanied by the songs that influenced a generation, including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Rag Doll,” and many more.
Mark | imdb: 6.3 |
Genre | drama, music, biography |
Country | USA |
Duration | 01:56 |
In the mid-80s, three women (each with an attorney) arrive at the office of New York entertainment manager, Morris Levy. One is an L.A. singer, formerly of the Platters; one is a petty thief from Philly; one teaches school in a small Georgia town. Each claims to be the widow of long-dead doo-wop singer-songwriter Frankie Lyman, and each wants years of royalties due to his estate, money Levy has never shared. During an ensuing civil trial, flashbacks tell the story of each one's life with Lyman, a boyish, high-pitched, dynamic performer, lost to heroin. Slowly, the three wives establish their own bond.
Mark | imdb: 6.5 |
Genre | drama, music, biography |
Country | USA |
Duration | 01:45 |
Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, two rebellious teenagers from Southern California, become the frontwomen for the Runaways -- the now-legendary group that paved the way for future generations of female rockers. Under the Svengalilike influence of impresario Kim Fowley, the band becomes a huge success.
Mark | imdb: 6.8 |
Genre | drama, music, biography |
Country | USA |
Duration | 02:07 |
In this biographical drama, Selena Quintanilla is born into a musical Mexican-American family in Texas. Her father, Abraham, realizes that his young daughter is talented and begins performing with her at small venues. She finds success and falls for her guitarist, Chris Perez, who draws the ire of her father. Seeking mainstream stardom, Selena begins recording an English-language album which, tragically, she would never complete.
Mark | imdb: 7.8 |
Genre | drama, music, biography, history |
Country | USA |
Duration | 01:35 |
In 1987, five young men, using brutally honest rhymes and hardcore beats, put their frustration and anger about life in the most dangerous place in America into the most powerful weapon they had: their music. Taking us back to where it all began, Straight Outta Compton tells the true story of how these cultural rebels—armed only with their lyrics, swagger, bravado and raw talent—stood up to the authorities that meant to keep them down and formed the world’s most dangerous group, N.W.A. And as they spoke the truth that no one had before and exposed life in the hood, their voice ignited a social revolution that is still reverberating today.
Mark | imdb: 6.4 |
Genre | fantasy, drama, music, biography |
Country | USA |
Duration | 01:42 |
The story follows 19-year-old Renee who has always loved fairy tales: the idea of a princess, a hero and a happily ever after. But Renee’s life is that of a darker tale: she’s a young woman battling addiction, depression and self-injury. In a creative blend of artistic fantasy balanced with harsh reality, the movie follows Renee on her courageous journey towards recovery.
Mark | imdb: 6.7 |
Genre | drama, crime, music, biography |
Country | USA |
Duration | 02:02 |
NOTORIOUS is the story of Christopher Wallace. Through raw talent and sheer determination, Wallace transforms himself from Brooklyn street hustler (once selling crack to pregnant women) to one of the greatest rappers of all time; THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G. Follow his meteoric rise to fame and his refusal to succumb to expectations - redefining our notion of "The American Dream."
Mark | imdb: 6.5 |
Genre | drama, music, biography |
Country | USA |
Duration | 01:49 |
Loosely traces the life of tenor Enrico Caruso (1873-1921). He loves Musetta, in his home town of Naples, and then Dorothy, the daughter of one of the Metropolitan Opera's patrons. Caruso is unacceptable to both women's fathers: to one, because he sings; to Dorothy's, because he is a peasant. To New York patricians, Caruso is short, barrel chested, loud, emotional, unrefined. Their appreciation comes slowly. The film depicts Caruso's lament that "the man does not have the voice, the voice has the man": he cannot be places he wants to be, because he must be elsewhere singing, including the day his mother dies. Throughout, Mario Lanza and stars from the Met sing.
Mark | imdb: 6.2 |
Genre | drama, music, biography |
Country | USA |
The most feared battle emcee in early-'80s NYC was a fierce teenager from the Queensbridge projects with the weight of the world on her shoulders. At age 14, hustling the streets to provide for her family, Roxanne Shanté was well on her way to becoming a hip-hop legend.
Mark | imdb: 7 |
Genre | drama, music, biography |
Country | USA |
Duration | 01:49 |
The story of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, and the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry.
Mark | imdb: 7.5 |
Genre | drama, music |
Country | USA |
Duration | 01:45 |
Henry struggles to bond with his estranged son, Gabriel, who suffers from a brain tumor that prevents him from forming new memories. With Gabriel unable to shed the beliefs and interests that caused their physical and emotional distance, Henry must learn to embrace his son's choices and try to connect with him through music.
Mark | imdb: 7.4 |
Genre | melodrama, drama, music, biography |
Country | United Kingdom, USA |
Duration | 02:01 |
The life and death of the legendary Ludwig van Beethoven. Beside all the work he is known for, the composer once wrote a famous love letter to a nameless beloved and the movie tries to find out who this beloved was. Not easy as Beethoven has had many women in his life.
Mark | imdb: 5.7 |
Genre | drama, music, biography |
Country | United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, USA |
Duration | 01:56 |
A drama based on Jimi Hendrix's life as he left New York City for London, where his career took off.
Mark | imdb: 8.1 |
Genre | drama, biography, history |
Country | USA, United Kingdom |
Duration | 02:13 |
In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty as well as unexpected kindnesses Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon’s chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.
Mark | imdb: 7.7 |
Genre | drama, biography, history |
Country | USA, Japan |
Duration | 03:22 |
A tribute to the controversial black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation. He hit bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s, he became a Black Muslim and then a leader in the Nation of Islam. His assassination in 1965 left a legacy of self-determination and racial pride.
Mark | imdb: 6 |
Genre | drama, biography, history |
Country | USA |
Duration | 01:35 |
At an isolated log cabin in the harsh wilderness of Indiana circa 1817, the rhythms of love, tragedy, and the daily hardships of life on the developing frontier shaped one of our nation’s greatest heroes: Abraham Lincoln. Abe is a thoughtful and quiet boy who spends his days at the side of his beloved mother while learning to work the land from his stern father. When illness takes his mother, Abe's new guardian angel comes in the form of his new stepmother, who sees the potential in the boy and pushes for his further education.
Mark | imdb: 7.4 |
Genre | drama, biography |
Country | Kenya, India, USA, Canada, South Africa |
Duration | 01:50 |
A young refugee of the Sudanese Civil War who wins a lottery for relocation to the United States with three other lost boys. Encountering the modern world for the first time, they develop an unlikely friendship with a brash American woman assigned to help them, but the young man struggles to adjust to this new life and his feelings of guilt about the brother he left behind.
Mark | imdb: 7.1 |
Genre | melodrama, drama, biography |
Country | United Kingdom, USA, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Japan |
Duration | 02:35 |
When Gerda Wegener asks her husband Einar to fill in as a portrait model, Einar discovers the person she's meant to be and begins living her life as Lili Elbe. Having realized her true self and with Gerda's love and support, Lili embarks on a groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.
Mark | imdb: 7 |
Genre | melodrama, drama, crime, music, biography |
Country | Brazil, France |
Duration | 02:20 |
A story inspired by the life of one of the most remarkable figures in Brazilian popular culture, João Francisco dos Santos (1900-1976). In turn, bandit, transvestite, street fighter, brothel cook, convict and father to seven adopted children, dos Santos – better known as Madame Satã – was also a notorious gay performer who pushed social boundaries in a volatile time.
Mark | imdb: 7.2 |
Genre | drama, music, biography |
Country | United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland |
Duration | 01:43 |
The story of music legend Terri Hooley, a key figure in Belfast's punk rock scene. Hooley founded the Good Vibrations store from which a record label sprung, representing bands such as The Undertones, Rudi and The Outcasts.
Mark | imdb: 6.2 |
Genre | drama, music, biography |
Country | USA |
Duration | 01:48 |
The story of Jerry Lee Lewis, arguably the greatest and certainly one of the wildest musicians of the 1950s. His arrogance, remarkable talent, and unconventional lifestyle often brought him into conflict with others in the industry, and even earned him the scorn and condemnation of the public.
Mark | imdb: 5.9 |
Genre | melodrama, drama, music |
Country | USA |
Duration | 02:06 |
Young Cuban Rafael just buried his mother, and comes to Houston to meet his father John for the first time. The difficult part is that John doesn't know he is Rafael's father. John runs a dance studio, and everyone prepares for the World Open Dance championship in Las Vegas. It soon becomes clear Rafael is a very good dancer, and Ruby is the biggest hope for the studio at the championship.
Mark | imdb: 7.5 |
Genre | drama, biography, history |
Country | United Kingdom, USA, France |
Duration | 02:08 |
"Selma," as in Alabama, the place where segregation in the South was at its worst, leading to a march that ended in violence, forcing a famous statement by President Lyndon B. Johnson that ultimately led to the signing of the Civil Rights Act.