Best music biopics

While Andy Serkis plays Ian Dury in Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll cinephile pub conversations will inevitably revolve about the subject of best music biopics. Here's the Good Web Guide's shortlist. A one, two, a one, two, three, four...

1. Sid and Nancy (1986)

Gary Oldman is on superb form as Sex Pistol Sid Vicious, battling with his American girlfriend Nany Spungen. Alex Cox's film captures the mad ferocity of youth and drugs. You can feel the dirt under its nails. www.amazon.co.uk

2. The Buddy Holly Story (1978)

From humble beginnings in Lubbock to an early end in a wintery field in Iowa, this shows the genius of one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the twentieth century. Gary Busey sings the songs himself and what an incredible job he does. Anyone wondering why Buddy Holly matters should watch this. www.amazon.co.uk

3. Control (2007)

Sam Riley is so good as Joy Division's Ian Curtis that old videos of the singer now fail to convince. Riley gets the intense, disturbing magic of Curtis in performance and reveals a sensitive young man torn between two women, disturbed by fame and struggling with his epilepsy. www.amazon.co.uk

4. Backbeat (1994)

This story of The Beatles' early days playing rough clubs in Hamburg is a much better film that its relative anonymity suggests. The focus is original bass guitarist Stu Sutcliffe and his relationship with a German photographer called Astrid Kirchherr. Ian Hart is superb as John Lennon. www.amazon.co.uk

5. I'm Not There (2007)

Six actors play variations on the enigma of Bob Dylan. Not all of them convince. But Cate Blanchett is a revelation. She plays Jude Quinn, a stand-in for Dylan in his 60s black suit and sunglasses pomp. By turns funny, delightful and completely ridiculous, this is an inspired attempt to tell the story of the most unknowable figure in contemporary music. www.amazon.co.uk

6. Walk the Line (2005)

Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter famously sang the songs in this film. And they are both superb. What makes this film stand-out is the central relationship between the two. This is a love story as much as an epic panorama of a musician's career. www.amazon.co.uk

15 Jan 10