Notorious: The Top 5 Musical Bio-Pics

FILM, AS AN ART FORM, likes to romanticize things, reimagining reality, history and people's lives. Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette" gave the queen a pair of Converse sneakers, Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" showed Jesus marrying Mary Magdalene and David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia" depicted the Arab Council as dysfunctional and useless, while it actually stayed intact until 1920. Completely accurate, they ain't.

And only time will tell if "Notorious," the biopic about the Notorious B.I.G. (given name: Christopher Wallace) and the latest in a recent deluge of musician-oriented films (see: "Ray," "La Vie En Rose," etc.), truthfully recounts Biggie's story. Starring up-and-coming rapper Jamal Woolard and also featuring Angela Bassett as his mother, Derek Luke as Sean Combs/Diddy, Anwan Glover as Snoop Dogg and Anthony Mackie as Tupac Shakur, the film comes out nationwide on Jan. 13.

Before you jump into Biggie's shoes, though, take a look at our favorite music-related biopics. We're looking forward to the upcoming films about Jeff Buckley ("Mystery White Boy") and Cage (untitled for now, but the film about the disturbing, depressing and downright lyrically imaginative rapper's life will definitely star fan Shia LaBeouf), but for now, we'll settle for these.

» "8 MILE"
The film that would explain Eminem would have been easy to brush off if it weren't for how surprisingly good Marshall Mathers' acting was. Maybe it was just because he had, you know, already lived his own life, but his intensity and grit as Jimmy/Rabbit carried the semi-autobiographical film, from the scenes with his distant, clueless mom (a ditzy, sometimes-sympathetic turn from Kim Basinger) to those with his group of similarly down-on-their-luck friends (led by Mekhi Phifer as Future, his best friend but still "an Uncle Tom," according to Rabbit). And better than even the acting was the soundtrack, which helped depict Rabbit's inner genius and outer frustrations and featured the deservedly Academy Award-winning "Lose Yourself," which was named by VH1 as the fourth-best song of the past 25 years. Now, if only Vibe's "Best Rapper Alive" could release "Relapse" as soon as possible, that'd be great.

» "SELENA"
Some haters may claim that Jennifer Lopez only became famous because Mexican songstress Selena unexpectedly died, and in a way, they could be right. Lopez's depiction of the murdered singer in the 1997 film was bubbly, nuanced and heartbreaking, and jettisoned the former Fly Girl into the public spotlight, high-profile relationships with Diddy and Ben Affleck (Bennifer!) and a bazillion-page photo spread of her and her babies in People. Yet it was her role as Selena that started it all, and the film — the production of which was overseen by Selena's family — effectively captured the slain singer's charm, from her forbidden relationship with guitarist Chris Perez to the confusion of rich whiteys over her success (best line: "Excuse me, miss — we don't need the dress"). And just like "8 Mile," the film successfully shows what made Selena's music so good (if you don't like the performance scenes, which use Selena's actual voice, not Lopez's, you just may be heartless), and what made her murder at the hands of embezzling fan-club president Yolanda Saldivar such a loss.

» "WALK THE LINE"
Kurt and Courtney and Sid and Nancy are nothing compared to the love story of Johnny and June Cash, whose relationship was depicted in 2005's "Walk the Line." Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon (who would win an Academy Award for her work), the film was a humongous success and followed Cash's life, from the lows (his drug addiction, rejection from an uninterested June and his tense relationship with his critical father) to his redemption (going sober with June and her family's help, the infamous Folsom Prison performance, convincing June to marry him and reconciling with his dad). Probably Phoenix's and Witherspoon's best performances to date (especially considering Witherspoon up until 2005 was still just that girl from "Legally Blonde," and Phoenix has now sworn off acting), the chemistry between the two — and their singing, which is impressive in and of itself — carry the film. Though the film doesn't necessarily capture Cash's impact on pop music as much as, say, the video for his cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" does, it's still a moving look at the Man in Black's life.

» "WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT"
Could Ike Turner have been one of the most hated men in pop? It's possible, considering his volatile relationship with Tina Turner and the depiction of the two in 1993's "What's Love Got to Do with It," which was based on her 1986 autobiography, "I, Tina." Despite Ike's contributions to the pop world (he recorded "Rocket 88," arguably the first rock and roll song ever, in 1951), he will probably always be remembered as the jerk Tina finally escaped from, and Laurence Fishbourne's go-ahead-and-hate-me-already portrayal doesn't hurt. But the real star of the film, and what makes it so good, is Angela Bassett as Tina, in a career-making role that depicted the singer as an empathetic, relatable woman — not just Aunty Entity. Two people entered that relationship, and just Tina left — and because of "What's Love Got to Do with It," it seems like most people are OK with that.

» "AMADEUS"
Is there anything more ‘80s than this delightfully glamorous, enjoyably overdone retelling of Mozart's life, competition with fellow composer Antonio Salieri and indescribable genius? Though Tom Hulce was good as Wolfgang, it was F. Murray Abraham as the conspiratorial Salieri who stole the show — and an Academy Award — from Hulce; his depiction of a composer both fanatically in awe of and insanely resentful and bitter toward Mozart was fantastically entrancing. Patron saint of mediocrity? We beg to differ.
Also, anything that inspired "Rock Me Amadeus" is gold in our book.

Written by Express contributor Roxana Hadadi

» "Evocative and real, 'Notorious' is a B.I.G. winner" [AP review of "Notorious"]
» "Lil Kim not happy with Biggie biopic" [AP report]