Musical drama films based on actual events

The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical drama film produced and directed by Robert Wise from a screenplay written by Ernest Lehman. It is based on the 1959 stage musical composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Lindsay and Crouse, itself based on the 1949 memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp. The film stars Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, with Richard Haydn, Peggy Wood, Charmian Carr, and Eleanor Parker. Set in Salzburg, Austria, it is a fictional retelling of Maria von Trapp's experiences as governess to seven children, her eventual marriage with their father Captain Georg von Trapp, and their escape during the Anschluss in 1938.

2018 film directed by Bryan Singer

1936 film by Robert Zigler Leonard

2017 film directed by Michael Gracey

1996 film directed by Alan Parker

1942 film by Michael Curtiz

Michael is a 2026 biographical film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by John Logan. It follows the life of American singer Michael Jackson, covering his involvement in the Jackson 5 in the 1960s to the Bad tour in the late 1980s. Jackson is portrayed by his nephew Jaafar Jackson and as a child by Juliano Krue Valdi, both in their film debuts. The supporting cast includes Nia Long, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, Laura Harrier, Jessica Sula, Mike Myers, Miles Teller, and Colman Domingo.

1997 film directed by Gregory Nava

2014 film by Clint Eastwood

2010 film directed by Floria Sigismondi

1952 film directed by Walter Lang

2004 film by Kevin Spacey

The Testament of Ann Lee is a 2025 historical musical drama film directed by Mona Fastvold, who co-wrote it with Brady Corbet. The film stars Amanda Seyfried as Ann Lee, the founding leader of the Shakers religious sect in the 18th century. It also stars Thomasin McKenzie, Lewis Pullman, Stacy Martin, Tim Blake Nelson, and Christopher Abbott in supporting roles.

2016 film by Stéphanie Di Giusto

2013 film by Alejandro Jodorowsky

1962 musical comedy-drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy

1945 film by George Marshall

2017 film by Bruno Dumont

2022 film directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli

2017 television film