This list also contains autobiographical and semi-autobiographical films.
| Rank | Title | Year | Director(s) | Subject(s) | Overall Rank |
| 1 | Lawrence of Arabia | 1962 | David Lean | T.E. Lawrence | 8 |
| 2 | Raging Bull | 1980 | Martin Scorsese | Jake La Motta | 18 |
| 3 | Schindler's List | 1993 | Steven Spielberg | Oskar Schindler | 22 |
| 4 | Goodfellas | 1990 | Martin Scorsese | Henry Hill | 31 |
| 5 | Bonnie and Clyde | 1967 | Arthur Penn | Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker | 41 |
| 6 | The Sound of Music | 1965 | Robert Wise | The von Trapp Family | 62 |
| 7 | Braveheart | 1995 | Mel Gibson | William Wallace | 94 |
| 8 | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | 1969 | George Roy Hill | Butch Cassidy and Harry Longabaugh | 100 |
| 9 | Ben-Hur | 1959 | William Wyler | 101 | |
| 10 | Patton | 1970 | Franklin J. Schaffner | George S. Patton Jr. | 178 |
| 11 | Aguirre: The Wrath of God | 1972 | Werner Herzog | Don Lope de Aguirre | 181 |
| 12 | Napoléon | 1927 | Abel Gance | Napoleon Bonaparte | 194 |
| 13 | Spartacus | 1960 | Stanley Kubrick | Spartacus | 198 |
| 14 | Gandhi | 1982 | Richard Attenborough | Mohandas K. Gandhi | 221 |
| 15 | Yankee Doodle Dandy | 1942 | Michael Curtiz | George M. Cohan | 257 |
| 16 | Ivan the Terrible | 1944 | Sergei M. Eisenstein | Czar Ivan IV | 363 |
| 17 | A Man for All Seasons | 1966 | Fred Zinnemann | Sir Thomas More | 428 |
| 18 | Out of Africa | 1985 | Sydney Pollack | Isak Dinesen | 445 |
| 19 | Reds | 1981 | Warren Beatty | Jack Reed | 452 |
| 20 | The Elephant Man | 1980 | David Lynch | John Merrick | 457 |
| 21 | The Last Emperor | 1987 | Bernardo Bertolucci | Emperor Pu Yi | 504 |
| 22 | Funny Girl | 1968 | William Wyler | Fanny Brice | 516 |
| 23 | Queen Christina | 1933 | Rouben Mamoulian | Christina of Sweden | 529 |
| 24 | Malcolm X | 1992 | Spike Lee | Malcolm X | 551 |
| 25 | The Pianist | 2002 | Roman Polanski | Wladyslaw Szpilman | 586 |
| 26 | Crumb | 1994 | Terry Zwigoff | Robert Crumb | 605 |
| 27 | Ed Wood | 1994 | Tim Burton | Ed Wood | 615 |
| 28 | Erin Brockovich | 2000 | Steven Soderbergh | Erin Brockovich | 618 |
| 29 | The Insider | 1999 | Michael Mann | Lowell Bergman and Dr. Jeffrey Wigand | 636 |
| 30 | A Beautiful Mind | 2001 | Ron Howard | John Nash | 645 |
| 31 | The Pride of the Yankees | 1942 | Sam Wood | Lou Gehrig | 665 |
| 32 | Born on the Fourth of July | 1989 | Oliver Stone | Ron Kovic | 678 |
| 33 | My Left Foot | 1989 | Jim Sheridan | Christy Brown | 739 |
| 34 | The Straight Story | 1999 | David Lynch | Alvin Straight | 740 |
| 35 | Topsy-Turvy | 1999 | Mike Leigh | William S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan | 785 |
| 36 | Ivan the Terrible, Part II | 1958 | Sergei M. Eisenstein and M. Filimonova | Czar Ivan IV | 786 |
| 37 | 'Breaker' Morant | 1980 | Bruce Beresford | Harry Morant | 815 |
| 38 | My Brilliant Career | 1979 | Gillian Armstrong | Sybylla Melvyn | 860 |
| 39 | Coal Miner's Daughter | 1980 | Michael Apted | Loretta Lynn | 870 |
| 40 | The Life of Emile Zola | 1937 | William Dieterle | Emile Zola | 871 |
| 41 | The Diary of Anne Frank | 1959 | George Stevens | Anne Frank | 912 |
| 42 | Sergeant York | 1941 | Howard Hawks | Alvin York | 923 |
| 43 | The Mystery of Kaspar Hausar | 1974 | Werner Herzog | Kaspar Hausar | 927 |
| 44 | An Angel at My Table | 1990 | Jane Campion | Janet Frame | 998 |
| 45 | Shine | 1996 | Scott Hicks | David Helfgott | 1018 |
| 46 | Elizabeth | 1998 | Shekhar Kapur | Queen Elizabeth I | 1039 |
| 47 | The Color of Pomegranates | 1968 | Sergei Parajanov | Sayat Nova | 1077 |
| 48 | Lust for Life | 1956 | Vincente Minnelli | Vincent Van Gogh | 1086 |
| 49 | Papillon | 1973 | Franklin J. Schaffner | Henri Charriere | 1093 |
| 50 | The Miracle Worker | 1962 | Arthur Penn | Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller | 1117 |
| 51 | Brian's Song | 1971 | Buzz Kulik | Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo | 1150 |
| 52 | Gods and Monsters | 1998 | Bill Condon | James Whale | 1165 |
| 53 | Cleopatra | 1963 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Cleopatra | 1169 |
| 54 | El Cid | 1961 | Anthony Mann | El Cid | 1192 |
| 55 | Ray | 2004 | Taylor Hackford | Ray Charles | 1230 |
| 56 | Silkwood | 1983 | Mike Nichols | Karen Silkwood | 1274 |
| 57 | Evita | 1996 | Alan Parker | Eva Perón | 1290 |
| 58 | Cool Runnings | 1993 | Jon Turteltaub | 1315 | |
| 59 | The Rookie | 2002 | John Lee Hancock | Jim Morris | 1318 |
| 60 | The People vs. Larry Flynt | 1996 | Milos Forman | Larry Flynt | 1329 |
| 61 | Rudy | 1993 | David Anspaugh | Rudy Ruettiger | 1359 |
| 62 | The Puppet Master | 1993 | Hsiao-hsien Hou | Tianlu Li | 1369 |
| 63 | Sherman's March | 1986 | Ross McElwee | Ross McElwee | 1382 |
| 64 | Story of G.I. Joe | 1945 | William A. Wellman | Ernie Pyle | 1388 |
| 65 | October Sky | 1999 | Joe Johnston | Homer Hickam | 1396 |
| 66 | What's Love Got to Do with It | 1993 | Brian Gibson | Tina Turner | 1402 |
| 67 | Sid and Nancy | 1986 | Alex Cox | Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen | 1414 |
| 68 | Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould | 1993 | François Girard | Glenn Gould | 1488 |
| 69 | 28 Up | 1985 | Michael Apted | Various People | 1507 |
| 70 | Lenny | 1974 | Bob Fosse | Lenny Bruce | 1508 |
| 71 | The Motorcycle Diaries | 2004 | Walter Salles | Che Guevara and Alberto Granado | 1536 |
| 72 | American Splendor | 2003 | Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini | Harvey Pekar | 1537 |
| 73 | The Private Life of Henry VIII | 1933 | Alexander Korda | King Henry VIII | 1550 |
| 74 | Finding Neverland | 2004 | Marc Forster | J.M. Barrie | 1613 |
| 75 | Bugsy | 1991 | Barry Levinson | Bugsy Siegel | 1614 |
| 76 | The Great Ziegfeld | 1936 | Robert Z. Leonard | Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. | 1631 |
| 77 | A River Runs Through It | 1992 | Robert Redford | Norman Maclean | 1633 |
| 78 | The Aviator | 2004 | Martin Scorsese | Howard Hughes | 1662 |
| 79 | The Madness of King George | 1994 | Nicholas Hytner | King George III | 1673 |
| 80 | The Sea Inside | 2004 | Alejandro Amenábar | Ramón Sampedro | 1681 |
| 81 | The Long Day Closes | 1992 | Terence Davies | Terence Davies | 1698 |
| 82 | Caro Diario | 1993 | Nanni Moretti | Nanni Moretti | 1713 |
| 83 | Samurai 1: Musashi Miyamoto | 1954 | Hiroshi Inagaki | Musashi Miyamoto | 1716 |
| 84 | Entre Nous | 1983 | Diane Kurys | 1731 | |
| 85 | Shadowlands | 1993 | Richard Attenborough | C.S. Lewis | 1733 |
| 86 | 24 Hour Party People | 2002 | Michael Winterbottom | Tony Wilson | 1742 |
| 87 | The Hurricane | 1999 | Norman Jewison | Rubin "Hurricane" Carter | 1745 |
| 88 | The Story of Adele H. | 1975 | François Truffaut | Adèle Hugo | 1756 |
| 89 | The Time to Live and the Time to Die | 1985 | Hsiao-hsien Hou | Hsiao-hsien Hou | 1840 |
| 90 | Mommie Dearest | 1981 | Frank Perry | Joan and Christina Crawford | 1864 |
| 91 | Cinderella Man | 2005 | Ron Howard | James J. Braddock | 1928 |
| 92 | The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith | 1978 | Fred Schepisi | Jimmy Governor | 1935 |
| 93 | Selena | 1997 | Gregory Nava | Selena Quintanilla-Pérez | 1951 |
| 94 | Queen Margot | 1994 | Patrice Chéreau | Margot de Valois | 1954 |
| 95 | Midnight Express | 1978 | Alan Parker | Billy Hayes | 1960 |
| 96 | Henry & June | 1990 | Philip Kaufman | Anaïs Nin | 1976 |
| 97 | Boys Town | 1938 | Norman Taurog | Edward Joseph Flanagan | 1996 |
| 98 | The Great White Hope | 1970 | Martin Ritt | Jack Johnson | 2002 |
| 99 | Without Limits | 1998 | Robert Towne | Steve Prefontaine | 2003 |
| 100 | Somebody Up There Likes Me | 1956 | Robert Wise | Rocky Graziano | 2010 |
| 101 | Ali | 2001 | Michael Mann | Muhammad Ali | 2017 |
| 102 | In the Name of the Father | 1993 | Jim Sheridan | Gerry Conlon | 2021 |
| 103 | Casualties of War | 1989 | Brian De Palma | 2028 | |
| 104 | Calamity Jane | 1953 | David Butler | Calamity Jane | 2030 |
| 105 | 42: Forty Two Up | 1998 | Michael Apted | Various People | 2046 |
| 106 | Becket | 1964 | Peter Glenville | Thomas à Becket | 2081 |
| 107 | Bird | 1988 | Clint Eastwood | Charlie Parker | 2100 |
| 108 | Samurai 3: Duel at Ganryu Island | 1956 | Hiroshi Inagaki | Musashi Miyamoto | 2120 |
| 109 | The Dream of Light | 1992 | Víctor Erice | Antonio López García | 2128 |
| 110 | Samurai 2: Duel at Ichijoji Temple | 1955 | Hiroshi Inagaki | Musashi Miyamoto | 2133 |
| 111 | Bound for Glory | 1976 | Hal Ashby | Woody Guthrie | 2165 |
| 112 | Girl, Interrupted | 1999 | James Mangold | Susanna Kaysen | 2176 |
| 113 | Knute Rockne, All American | 1940 | Lloyd Bacon | Knute Rockne | 2201 |
| 114 | Childhood of Maxim Gorky | 1938 | Mark Donskoy | Maxim Gorky | 2209 |
| 115 | Best Boy | 1979 | Ira Wohl | Philly Wohl | 2211 |
| 116 | Chopper | 2000 | Andrew Dominik | Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read | 2219 |
| 117 | Gentleman Jim | 1942 | Raoul Walsh | James J. Corbett | 2223 |
| 118 | The Buddy Holly Story | 1978 | Steve Rash | Buddy Holly | 2240 |
| 119 | Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters | 1985 | Paul Schrader | Yukio Mishima | 2262 |
| 120 | Pollock | 2000 | Ed Harris | Jackson Pollock | 2269 |
| 121 | Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey | 1988 | Michael Apted | Dian Fossey | 2273 |
| 122 | Frida | 2002 | Julie Taymor | Frida Kahlo | 2304 |
| 123 | The Times of Harvey Milk | 1984 | Rob Epstein | Harvey Milk | 2306 |
| 124 | Hotel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie | 1988 | Marcel Ophüls | Klaus Barbie | 2356 |
| 125 | Mask | 1985 | Peter Bogdanovich | Rocky and Rusty Dennis | 2361 |
| 126 | Capote | 2005 | Bennett Miller | Truman Capote | 2367 |
| 127 | The Queen | 2006 | Stephen Frears | Queen Elizabeth II | 2369 |
| 128 | My Mother's Castle | 1990 | Yves Robert | Marcel Pagnol | 2375 |
| 129 | Annie Get Your Gun | 1950 | George Sidney | Annie Oakley | 2400 |
| 130 | My Father's Glory | 1990 | Yves Robert | Marcel Pagnol | 2435 |
| 131 | Kinsey | 2004 | Bill Condon | Alfred Kinsey | 2436 |
| 132 | I Want to Live! | 1958 | Robert Wise | Barbara Graham | 2439 |
| 133 | The Testament of Orpheus | 1960 | Jean Cocteau | Jean Cocteau | 2447 |
| 134 | Walk the Line | 2005 | James Mangold | Johnny Cash | 2466 |
| 135 | Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing | 1955 | Henry King | 2469 | |
| 136 | Love Me or Leave Me | 1955 | Charles Vidor | Ruth Etting | 2476 |
| 137 | Before Night Falls | 2000 | Julian Schnabel | Reinaldo Arenas | 2487 |
| 138 | Van Gogh | 1991 | Maurice Pialat | Vincent Van Gogh | 2492 |
| 139 | Danton | 1983 | Andrzej Wajda | Georges Danton | 2493 |
| 140 | 35 Up | 1991 | Michael Apted | Various People | 2506 |