The Men Who Changed the World Biopics
ANY NOTABLE OMISSIONS OR QUESTIONABLE INCLUSIONS? I AM STILL ADDING/DELETING ANSWER OPTIONS, AS WELL AS, DEFINING SELECTION CRITERIA TO GET THE POLL UNDER 35 OPTIONS. SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME
Which of these biographical movies or mini-series about a man who literally changed the world inspires you the most?
Biopics selected based on a combination of biopic popularity, endeavor type, degree of world change and how inspirational the story is. A relatively simple question, but it can be complicated by relative perspective. The importance different types of game-changing endeavors (spiritual, military, political, scientific, business, artistic, exploration, social change, etc.) carry, both for the benefit and the detriment of mankind. As well as, how individual poll takers, may or may not, find these endeavors to be inspirational. You don't change the world without cracking a few eggs, so to speak.
Discuss the topic here.
Which of these biographical movies or mini-series about a man who literally changed the world inspires you the most?
Biopics selected based on a combination of biopic popularity, endeavor type, degree of world change and how inspirational the story is. A relatively simple question, but it can be complicated by relative perspective. The importance different types of game-changing endeavors (spiritual, military, political, scientific, business, artistic, exploration, social change, etc.) carry, both for the benefit and the detriment of mankind. As well as, how individual poll takers, may or may not, find these endeavors to be inspirational. You don't change the world without cracking a few eggs, so to speak.
Discuss the topic here.
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- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsBen KingsleyJohn GielgudRohini HattangadiThe life of the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of nonviolent protest.Mahatama Ghandi, Lawyer
(game-changing Asian/European political and civil rights pioneer) - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDaniel Day-LewisSally FieldDavid StrathairnAs the Civil War rages on, U.S President Abraham Lincoln struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on his decision to emancipate the slaves.Abraham Lincoln, Top Three Ranked U.S. President
(game-changing Americas military/political leader during American Civil War) - DirectorDavid LeanStarsPeter O'TooleAlec GuinnessAnthony QuinnThe story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.T.E. Lawrence aka Lawrence of Arabia, Archaeologist
(game-changing Middle East military/political leader during the First World War) - DirectorOliver StoneStarsColin FarrellAnthony HopkinsRosario DawsonAlexander, the King of Macedonia and one of the greatest army leaders in the history of warfare, conquers much of the known world.Alexander III of Macedon aka Alexander the Great, Greek King
(game-changing world military/political leader who created one of the largest empires of the ancient world) - DirectorJoe WrightStarsGary OldmanLily JamesKristin Scott ThomasIn May 1940, the fate of World War II hangs on Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Adolf Hitler, or fight on knowing that it could mean the end of the British Empire.Winston Churchill, U.K. Prime Minister
(game-changing world military/political leader who led Britain and the Allies to victory in the Second World War) - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsLiam NeesonRalph FiennesBen KingsleyIn German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.Oskar Schindler
(game-changing businessman and Nazi part member who is credited saving 1,200 Jews, Schindlerjuden from almost certain death) - DirectorAva DuVernayStarsDavid OyelowoCarmen EjogoOprah WinfreyA chronicle of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965.Martin Luther King Jr., Baptist Minister
(game-changing activist who became the U.S. civil rights movement's most visible spokesperson and leader) - DirectorStanley KubrickAnthony MannStarsKirk DouglasLaurence OlivierJean SimmonsThe slave Spartacus survives brutal training as a gladiator and leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic, as the ambitious Crassus seeks to gain power by crushing the uprising.Spartacus, Gladiator
(game-changing military leader who led a slave uprising against the Roman Republic during the Third Servile War) - DirectorMel GibsonStarsMel GibsonSophie MarceauPatrick McGoohanScottish warrior William Wallace leads his countrymen in a rebellion to free his homeland from the tyranny of King Edward I of England.William Wallace, Scottish Knight
(game-changing military/political leader in the quest for Scottish independence) - DirectorSergei BodrovStarsTadanobu AsanoAmadu MamadakovKhulan ChuluunThe story recounts the early life of Genghis Khan who was a slave before going on to conquer half the world in 1206.Temüjin aka Genghis Khan, Tribal Chieftan
(game-changing Asian military/political leader who founded the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous empire in world history) - DirectorGeorge StevensJean NegulescoStarsMax von SydowDorothy McGuireCharlton HestonAn all-star, large scale epic movie that chronicles the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.Jesus of Nazareth, Jewish Preacher
(game-changing religious leader who is the central figure of Christianity) - DirectorMoustapha AkkadStarsAnthony QuinnIrene PapasMichael AnsaraThis epic historical drama chronicles the life and times of Prophet Muhammad and serves as an introduction to early Islamic history.Muhammad, Prophet
(game-changing religious/political leader who founded Islam) - DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsCharlton HestonYul BrynnerAnne BaxterMoses, raised as a prince of Egypt in the Pharaoh's household, learns of his true heritage as a Hebrew and his divine mission as the deliverer of his people from slavery.Moses, Prophet
(game-changing legendary leader/lawgiver who led of the Israelites and to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed) - DirectorChandran RutnamSaman WeeramanStarsGagan MalikAnchal SinghRanjan RamanayakeThis is an extraordinary tale from over 2600 years ago, of a Prince who is endowed with everything he needs and more. Luxury, palaces, and all heart's-desires are provided to him by his father, a warrior King of the kingdom of Sakya. The story unfolds dramatically with the Prince leaving all his luxuries and possessions as well as his caring parents, loving wife, and newborn son, to embark on a journey through the unknown to find the end to human sorrow and suffering.Siddhartha Gautama aka Gautama Buddha, "The Budda"
(game-changing religious leader who founded Buddhism) - DirectorMorten TyldumStarsBenedict CumberbatchKeira KnightleyMatthew GoodeDuring World War II, the English mathematical genius Alan Turing tries to crack the German Enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians while attempting to come to terms with his troubled private life.Alan Turing, mathematician
(game-changing father of computer science, artificial intelligence and Second World War code-breaker) - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioCate BlanchettKate BeckinsaleA biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career from the late 1920s to the mid 1940s.Howard Hughes,
(game-changing entrepreneur, aviation, inventor, philanthropist and filmmaker pioneer) - DirectorJustin ChadwickStarsIdris ElbaNaomie HarrisTerry PhetoA chronicle of Nelson Mandela's life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.Nelson Mandela, South Africa president
(game-changing ANC political leader and South African civil rights pioneer) - DirectorBrian HelgelandStarsChadwick BosemanT.R. KnightHarrison FordIn 1947, Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era when he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and faces considerable racism in the process.Jackie Robinson, Baseball Player
(game-changing sports athlete and civil rights pioneer) - DirectorMilos FormanStarsF. Murray AbrahamTom HulceElizabeth BerridgeThe life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was deeply jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him.Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, musical composer
(World's greatest classical composer) - DirectorRoger MichellStarsBill MurrayLaura LinneyOlivia WilliamsThe story of the love affair between FDR and his distant cousin Margaret "Daisy" Suckley, centered around the weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of the United Kingdom visited upstate New York.Franklin D. Roosevelt, Top Three Ranked U.S. President
(game-changing Americas military/political leader who was crucial to the Allied victory in the Second World War and "New Deal" legislation that turned the tide of the Great Depression) - DirectorRoger DonaldsonStarsKevin CostnerBruce GreenwoodShawn DriscollIn October 1962, the Kennedy administration struggles to contain the Cuban Missile Crisis.John F. Kennedy, Top Ten Ranked U.S. President
(game-changing negotiation that prevented nuclear World War) - DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsRyan GoslingClaire FoyJason ClarkeA look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.Neil Armstrong, Astronaut
(game-changing space explorer) - DirectorRidley ScottStarsGérard DepardieuArmand AssanteSigourney WeaverChristopher Columbus' discovery of the Americas and the effect this has on the indigenous people.Christoper Columbus, navigator
(game-changing explorer/colonist of Americas) - DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsRobert Downey Jr.Geraldine ChaplinPaul RhysAn elderly Charlie Chaplin discusses his autobiography with his editor, recounting his amazing journey from his poverty-stricken childhood to world-wide success after the ingenious invention of the Little Tramp.Charlie Chaplin, Filmmaker
(game-changing Hollywood leader who impacted every aspect of the industry) - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsTenzin Thuthob TsarongGyurme TethongTulku Jamyang Kunga TenzinFrom childhood to adulthood, Tibet's fourteenth Dalai Lama deals with Chinese oppression and other problems.Lhamo Dhondup aka Tenzin Gyatso, Tibetan Monk
game-changing 14th Dalai Lama and Nobel Peace Prize winner has been called the spiritual heir to nonviolence, travels the world speaking on a number of issues affecting the welfare of all the world's residents) - DirectorBernardo BertolucciStarsJohn LoneJoan ChenPeter O'TooleBernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning dramatisation of the life story of China's last emperor, Pu Yi.Pu Yi, Emperor of China
(game-changing Chinese leader during key transitional period) - DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsMichael FassbenderKeira KnightleyViggo MortensenA look at how the intense relationship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud gives birth to psychoanalysis.Sigmund Freud, Psychologist
(father of psychoanalysis) - DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsGeorge C. ScottKarl MaldenStephen YoungThe World War II phase of the career of controversial American general George S. Patton.General George Patton, U.S. General
(game-changing military leader in the Second World War) - DirectorBill CondonStarsLiam NeesonLaura LinneyChris O'DonnellA look at the life of Alfred Kinsey, a pioneer in the area of human sexuality research, whose 1948 publication "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male" was one of the first recorded works that saw science address sexual behavior.Alfred Kinsey, Sexologist
(game-changing human sexuality research pioneer who influenced social, cultural values and change, as well as, setting the stage for LGBT rights - DirectorRon HowardStarsGeoffrey RushJohnny FlynnSamantha ColleyThe story of Albert Einstein, seen through glimpses of his twilight years and flashbacks to his time as a student in Munich and Zürich in the 1890s.Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist
(game-changing scientist, E = mc2)
Genius: Season One - DirectorKenneth BillerStarsAntonio BanderasClémence PoésyAlex RichPablo Picasso confronts the threat of fascism in Spain, and Young Pablo rejects traditional painting to search for his own voice.Pablo Picasso, Artist
(game-changing Spaniard was one the most influential artists of the 20th century, - DirectorHenry HathawayStarsTyrone PowerLinda DarnellDean JaggerIn 1844, after the assassination of Mormon leader Joseph Smith by an angry mob in Illinois, the Mormons choose Brigham Young as their new leader and follow him to a new promised land in Utah.Brigham Young, President - Latter-day Saints Church
(game-changing religious/political leader of Mormon church) - DirectorNeil JordanStarsLiam NeesonAidan QuinnJulia RobertsNeil Jordan's historical biopic of Irish revolutionary Michael Collins, the man who led a guerrilla war against the UK, helped negotiate the creation of the Irish Free State, and led the National Army during the Irish Civil War.Michael Collins, Soldier
(game-changing Irish independence/political leader) - DirectorJames IvoryStarsNick NolteGreta ScacchiGwyneth PaltrowWidower Thomas Jefferson (3rd US president 1801-09) lives in Paris 1785-90 with his daughter. He has a pretty slave girl accompany his other daughter to France. He has an alleged affair with her resulting in children.Thomas Jefferson, Lawyer
Top Five Ranked U.S. President
(game-changing American Founding Father who was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and diplomat who steered the U.S. during its formative years and a Top Five U.S. Presidency) - DirectorSpike LeeStarsDenzel WashingtonAngela BassettDelroy LindoBiographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam and his eventual assassination.Malcolm X, Muslim Minister
(game-changing advocate for the rights of blacks and outspoken critic of the civil rights movement he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history) - DirectorWalter LangStarsYul BrynnerDeborah KerrRita MorenoA widow accepts a job as a live-in governess to the King of Siam's children.King Mongkut, Kingdom of Siam
(game-changing Asian political leader) - DirectorRobert HarmonStarsTom SelleckJames RemarTimothy BottomsA dramatization of the 90 days leading up to Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy, and how General Dwight Eisenhower, against all odds, brilliantly orchestrated the most important military maneuver in modern history.Dwight D. Eisenhower, Soldier
(game-changing U.S. General who turned the tide in the Second World War and went on to be a Top Ten U.S. President) - DirectorMichael AlmereydaStarsEthan HawkeEve HewsonEli A. SmithA freewheeling take on visionary inventor Nikola Tesla, his interactions with Thomas Edison and J.P. Morgan's daughter Anne, and his breakthroughs in transmitting electrical power and light.Nikola Tesla, Engineer
(game-changing inventor whose alternating current (AC) electricity supply system powered the world)
Leonardo da Vinci, Italian polymath
(game-changing Re Renaissance man, whose interest included invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography)- George Washington, Top Three Ranked U.S. President
(game-changing Americas military/political leader) - Woodrow Wilson, Top Ten Ranked U.S. President
(game-changing Americas military/political leader whose idealistic 14 points formed the basis for the League of Nations, the forerunner of the United Nations) - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioA biographical drama about President Theodore Roosevelt.Theodore Roosevelt, Top Five Ranked U.S. President
game-changing political/military leader who led Progressive Era, the Rough Riders during the Spanish–American War and brokered a Nobel Peace Prize winning end to the Russo-Japanese War earning him a Top Five Ranked U.S. Presidency) - Ulysses S. Grant, Soldier
(game-changing U.S. General who turned the tide in the American Civil War and went on to be U.S. President) - StarsTom BerengerSam ElliottGary BuseyUndersecretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt resigns to form a volunteer militia unit called "The Rough Riders" to fight in the Spanish-American War.Theodore Roosevelt, Top Five Ranked U.S. President
(game-changing political/military leader who led Progressive Era, the Rough Riders during the Spanish–American War and brokered a Nobel Peace Prize winning end to the Russo-Japanese War earning him a Top Five Ranked U.S. Presidency) - DirectorJay RoachStarsBryan CranstonAnthony MackieMelissa LeoLyndon B. Johnson becomes the President of the United States in the chaotic aftermath of John F. Kennedy's assassination, and spends his first year in office fighting to pass the Civil Rights Act.Lyndon Johnson, Politician
(game-changing political leader who expanded America’s role in Vietnam and designed the "Great Society" legislation that changed America forever securing him a Top Ten Ranked U.S. Presidency) - DirectorRob ReinerStarsWoody HarrelsonMichael Stahl-DavidRichard JenkinsLyndon B. Johnson aligns himself with John F. Kennedy, rises to the Presidency, and deals with the civil rights struggles of the 1960s.Lyndon Johnson, Politician
(game-changing political leader who expanded America’s role in Vietnam and designed the "Great Society" legislation that changed America forever securing him a Top Ten Ranked U.S. Presidency) - DirectorJulian SchnabelStarsWillem DafoeRupert FriendOscar IsaacA look at the life of painter Vincent van Gogh during the time he lived in Arles and Auvers-sur-Oise, France.Vincent van Gogh, Painter
(game-changing artist who was one of the influential figure in the history of Western and Modern art) - DirectorVincente MinnelliGeorge CukorStarsKirk DouglasAnthony QuinnJames DonaldThe life of brilliant but tortured artist Vincent van Gogh.Vincent van Gogh, Painter
(game-changing artist who was one of the influential figure in the history of Western and Modern art)