Best movies — biographie on Apple TV+ : our Top 20

1927 · Cecil B. DeMille

Using one of Hollywood’s largest budgets of the late 1920s, Cecil B. DeMille staged a sweeping silent-era portrayal of Jesus’ life and Passion that plays out like a monumental religious pageant. Anchored by intertitles drawn from Scripture, populated by thousands of extras and staged with the director’s trademark flair for massive sets and theatrical visuals, the film fuses strict devotional intent with show-stopping cinematic spectacle. Simultaneously solemn and breathtaking, it aims to move the heart as much as to awe the eye.

With H.B. Warner, Dorothy Cumming, Ernest Torrence, Joseph Schildkraut, James Neill, Joseph Striker and Robert Edeson

1993 · Steven Spielberg

During the Second World War, industrialist Oskar Schindler risks everything to defy the Nazi regime, using his factories and connections to employ, protect, and ultimately save more than a thousand Jewish people from deportation and death.

With Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Jonathan Sagall, Embeth Davidtz and Malgorzata Gebel

1995 · Mel Gibson

After his childhood sweetheart and new wife Murron is brutally killed, Scottish warrior William Wallace retaliates by ambushing and killing a detachment of the local English lord’s soldiers — an act that sparks a village uprising which soon grows into a nationwide rebellion against English rule.

With Mel Gibson, Catherine McCormack, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Angus Macfadyen, Brendan Gleeson and James Robinson

2013 · Martin Scorsese

A New York stockbroker, caught in the crosshairs of a sprawling securities fraud probe, refuses to turn state's evidence, drawing him deeper into a tangled web of Wall Street corruption, corporate banking collusion, and organized crime influence. Adapted from the autobiography of Jordan Belfort.

With Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner and Jon Bernthal

2001 · Ron Howard

A gifted but socially awkward mathematician rises rapidly after a groundbreaking theoretical breakthrough, poised for worldwide recognition. Recruited into covert cryptographic work, he is pulled into a web of secrecy and conspiracy that blurs the boundaries between truth and paranoia. As his brilliant mind unravels, he must endure a harrowing personal descent and a painful struggle to reclaim his identity and make sense of the life he once thought he controlled.

With Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Paul Bettany, Christopher Plummer, Josh Lucas and Adam Goldberg

1984 · Miloš Forman

Antonio Salieri, a strict and highly disciplined Italian composer, is overtaken by envy and bitterness toward the hedonistic, astonishingly gifted young Salzburg-born composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

With F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Roy Dotrice, Simon Callow, Christine Ebersole and Jeffrey Jones

2022 · Javier Ruiz Caldera

Inspired by the life of Lucio Urtubia, the film follows a daring anarchist who becomes a modern-day Robin Hood in Paris, running a cunning forgery operation to produce counterfeit travelers’ checks. He funnels the stolen funds into radical causes he believes in, but his success provokes the wrath of America’s largest bank and the international forces determined to bring him down. As the stakes escalate, alliances shift and moral lines blur in a tense, high-stakes chase between conscience and the law.

With Juan José Ballesta, Miki Esparbé, Luis Callejo, Liah O'Prey, Alexandre Blazy, Josean Bengoetxea and Philip Schurer

2015 · Tom McCarthy

Based on true events, Boston Globe reporters expose a widespread pattern of child sexual abuse and systematic concealment by leaders of the local Catholic archdiocese, igniting a scandal that reverberates throughout the global Church.

With Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci and Brian d'Arcy James

2002 · Steven Spielberg

Before his nineteenth birthday, Frank Abagnale Jr. assumes a string of high-profile identities—posing as a Pan Am pilot, a doctor and a lawyer—to cash millions in fraudulent checks. A relentless FBI agent makes it his mission to catch him, but Frank stays several moves ahead, thriving on the thrill of the chase and his ability to slip away.

With Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye, Amy Adams and James Brolin

2023 · Michael Mann

In the summer of 1957, former racing champion Enzo Ferrari faces a personal and professional collapse as the company he and his wife Laura forged from nothing a decade before teeters on the verge of bankruptcy. Their stormy marriage is tested further by the pain of mourning one son and the uneasy acceptance of another.

With Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Patrick Dempsey, Jack O'Connell, Gabriel Leone and Giuseppe Festinese

2019 · James Mangold

In 1966, American car designer Carroll Shelby teams up with British-born driver Ken Miles to fight corporate politics, the limits of engineering, and their own inner conflicts as they build a groundbreaking race car for Ford and challenge Enzo Ferrari’s dominance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France.

With Christian Bale, Matt Damon, Jon Bernthal, Caitríona Balfe, Josh Lucas, Noah Jupe and Tracy Letts

2013 · Steve McQueen

On the eve of the American Civil War, Solomon Northup, a free Black man from upstate New York, is abducted, stripped of his liberty, and sold into slavery. Enduring harsh cruelty and occasional acts of compassion, he fights to survive while holding fast to his dignity. After twelve years of captivity, a chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist sets in motion the possibility of his return to freedom.

With Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Sarah Paulson and Adepero Oduye

2004 · Terry George

Set in Rwanda in the 1990s amid a genocide that claimed over a million Tutsi lives while much of the world looked away, this film is drawn from real events and follows hotelier Paul Rusesabagina. Facing chaos and danger, he converts his hotel into a refuge for more than a thousand people, risking everything to protect those seeking shelter.

With Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte, Fana Mokoena, Joaquin Phoenix, Jean Reno and Desmond Dube

1980 · Martin Scorsese

A gifted fighter reaches the top of his sport through relentless aggression and a volatile temper, only to have that same rage unravel his relationships and destroy his life outside the ring.

With Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty, Frank Vincent, Nicholas Colasanto, Mario Gallo and Bernie Allen

2013 · Jean-Marc Vallée

Inspired by real events, the film follows Ron Woodroof — a hard-living, womanizing and openly homophobic man who, in 1986, is diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and given just thirty days to live.

With Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner, Denis O'Hare, Steve Zahn, Michael O'Neill and Dallas Roberts

2010 · Tom Hooper

When his older brother abdicates, Albert—nicknamed Bertie—is suddenly crowned king despite a debilitating stammer that saps his confidence and fuels doubts about his suitability. He reluctantly seeks out Lionel Logue, an unconventional speech therapist whose candid methods and insistence on emotional as well as vocal work forge an unlikely bond between them. Through persistence, surprising techniques, and growing trust, Bertie learns to master public speaking and summon the strength to address the nation as Europe edges toward war.

With Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Timothy Spall, Michael Gambon and Jennifer Ehle

2005 · Ron Howard

Former boxer Jim Braddock, forced into retirement during the 1930s, stages an unlikely comeback in the ring to battle his way out of hardship and lift his family from poverty.

With Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, Craig Bierko, Paddy Considine, Bruce McGill and David Huband

2015 · F. Gary Gray

In 1987, five young men turned uncompromising rhymes and relentless, hard-edged beats into the only weapon they had to voice their anger and frustration about life in one of America's most dangerous neighborhoods. The film traces how these cultural insurgents—relying on provocative lyrics, swagger, bravado and raw talent—confronted the authorities determined to keep them silent and built one of the most notorious hip-hop collectives, N.W.A. By laying bare the realities of life in the hood, their music unleashed a cultural and social uprising whose impact continues to resonate.

With O'Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr., Aldis Hodge, Marlon Yates Jr. and R. Marcos Taylor

2000 · Boaz Yakin

After guiding his team through fifteen consecutive winning seasons, Coach Bill Yoast is demoted when administrators install Herman Boone — a hard-edged, outspoken leader whose methods and personality starkly contrast with the well-liked Yoast. Pressed into partnership, the two men set aside their conflicts and, through discipline and growing mutual respect, turn a fractured, hostile roster into a unified, championship-caliber team.

With Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris, Ryan Hurst, Donald Faison, Craig Kirkwood and Ethan Suplee

1969 · George Roy Hill

In the 1890s, as the open range gives way to towns and sheriffs, two Wyoming fugitives find themselves chased by a relentless posse. With the frontier closing in, they make a desperate run for freedom, heading to South America in the hope that distance and unfamiliar territory will put them beyond the reach of the law.

With Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Strother Martin, Henry Jones, Jeff Corey and George Furth