Hollywood is cranking out film after film as part of the new biopics movie trend. Historical biopics are films that dramatize the history of either a fictional character or real figure. In the last few years, historical biopics have become a popular movie genre. Many of these films have come out this past year including Oppenheimer, Sound of Freedom, Bank of Dave, Golda, Dreamin’ Wild, The Hiding Place, and Big Crow. These are films that were released in July and August alone!
Elements of Biopics
In order to make your film have a historical feel, there are many elements that the production team should keep in mind.
Events: The ffilms need to have a timeline that the audience can follow. These events should have some sort of historical accuracy in them. The events aspect is truly what makes a biopic a biopic. History is nothing without a chain of occurrences.
Costumes: Costumes are typically one of the key factors that display what time period a film takes place in. Even simple details such as the color scheme of the outfits make a huge difference.
Dialect: The way the character speaks adds value to the movie. The dialect can really transform the audience to that particular time, especially if that time period had its own distinctive phrases.
Music/Soundtrack: The music of the film builds on its dramatic effect. Sometimes, these films might have a soundtrack to create a suspenseful scene instead of actual dialogue. Music often creates more depth than a conversion.
Sarah Shamsi, a Health Academy sophomore, said: “The little details add a super authentic effect to the film, without those details, the film would seem just like an everyday modern movie.”
Early Biopic
One of the first ever biopics was about our former President, Abraham Lincoln. The film Young Lincoln (1939) takes place before Lincoln’s presidency, during his career as a lawyer. It takes place in Illinois, where Lincoln (Henry Fonda) meets his first love, Ann Rutledge (Pauline Moore), who encourages him to go into law. After Rutledge’s death, Lincoln connects with Mary Todd (Marjorie Weaver). Lincoln then puts his law studies into practice when he encounters two brothers who have been charged with murder.
Criticism These Films Receive
Many critics claim that these films are just not accurate enough. It is very arduous to squeeze an entire lifespan in two hours worth of footage. The production team mostly just cuts to the peak of the character’s life, without going into a lot of the minor details. The movie also may exhibit the key occasion in an over exaggerated manner. Blonde (2022), was widely criticized for this very reason.
One example of this criticism comes from a student at our school. An anonymous senior says: “Last year I watched Blonde, I was completely disappointed.The movie displayed no positive highlights of Monroe’s life, I felt like I was watching two hours of someone constantly having a mental breakdown.” The film Blonde (2022) presents the life of Marylin Monroe and her struggles in the entertainment business. The film was based on a novel of the same name. Joyce Carol Oates’s novel was based on events not entirely confirmed and the author has said herself that there was some historical inaccuracy.
People love history because it is one big story of why the world is the way it is. Historical biopics are the closest thing that allows us to visualize the sequence of events that unfolded.To answer the question, biopics are becoming popular because in order to understand the present we have to first understand the past.