The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday spent much of her career being adored by fans. In the 1940s, the government targeted Holiday in a growing effort to racialize the war on drugs, ultimately aiming to stop her from singing her controversial ballad, "Strange Fruit."
Movies Like The United States vs. Billie Holiday
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Bird
1988★ 6.9
Saxophone player Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker comes to New York in 1940 and is quickly noticed for his remarkable way of playing. He becomes a drug addict but his loving wife Chan tries to help him.
Cadillac Records
2008★ 7.1
The story of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, and the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry.
Get On Up
2014★ 6.8
A chronicle of James Brown's rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history.
The Doors
1991★ 7.1
The story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison.
Born to Be Blue
2015★ 6.5
Jazz legend Chet Baker finds love and redemption when he stars in a movie about his own troubled life to mount a comeback.
The Catcher Was a Spy
2018★ 6.2
Former major league baseball player Moe Berg lives a double life working for the Office of Strategic Services in World War II Europe.
Hounddog
2008★ 6.5
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Rocketman
2019★ 7.3
The story of Elton John's life, from his years as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his influential and enduring musical partnership with Bernie Taupin.
Blaze
2018★ 6.3
Inspired by the life of Blaze Foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the Texas outlaw country movement that spawned the likes of Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson. The film weaves together three periods in Blaze's life, exploring his love affair with Sybil Rosen; his last, dark night on Earth; and the impact his songs and his death had on his fans, friends, and foes.
J. Edgar
2011★ 6.2
As the face of law enforcement in the United States for almost 50 years, J. Edgar Hoover was feared and admired, reviled and revered. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career, and his life.
Miles Ahead
2016★ 6.4
An exploration of the life and music of Miles Davis.
The Smashing Machine
2025★ 6.4
In the late 1990s, up-and-coming mixed martial artist Mark Kerr aspires to become the greatest fighter in the world. However, he must also battle his opioid dependence and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend Dawn.
Kill the Messenger
2014★ 6.6
A reporter becomes the target of a vicious smear campaign that drives him to the point of suicide after he exposes the CIA's role in arming Contra rebels in Nicaragua and importing cocaine into California. Based on the true story of journalist Gary Webb.
Ray
2004★ 7.5
Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered coupling gospel and country together.
What's Love Got to Do with It
1993★ 7.1
Singer Tina Turner rises to stardom while mustering the courage to break free from her abusive husband Ike.
The Color Purple
1985★ 7.7
An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing 'Mister' Albert Johnson, things go from bad to worse, leaving Celie to find companionship anywhere she can. She perseveres, holding on to her dream of one day being reunited with her sister in Africa.
Straight Outta Compton
2015★ 7.8
In 1987, five young men, using brutally honest rhymes and hardcore beats, put their frustration and anger about life in the most dangerous place in America into the most powerful weapon they had: their music. Taking us back to where it all began, Straight Outta Compton tells the true story of how these cultural rebels—armed only with their lyrics, swagger, bravado and raw talent—stood up to the authorities that meant to keep them down and formed the world’s most dangerous group, N.W.A. And as they spoke the truth that no one had before and exposed life in the hood, their voice ignited a social revolution that is still reverberating today.
Shattered Glass
2003★ 7.0
Stephen Glass is a staff writer for the respected current events and policy magazine The New Republic and a freelance feature writer for publications such as Rolling Stone, Harper's and George. By the mid-90s, Glass' articles had turned him into one of the most sought-after young journalists in Washington, but a bizarre chain of events - chronicled in Buzz Bissinger's September 1998 Vanity Fair article - suddenly stopped his career in its tracks.
Being the Ricardos
2021★ 6.5
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz face a crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage.
Clika
2026★ 8.1
Aspiring small-town musician Chito is determined to make it big. When a clip of him performing one of his songs goes viral, he seizes the opportunity and pushes to carve out a place for himself in the new wave of Mexican-American music... and ultimately gets caught in a game more dangerous than anticipated.