Bob Dylan is the latest music legend to receive a biopic with A Complete Unknown. The James Mangold-directed biographical film sees Timothée Chalamet transform into Dylan as viewers track the beginnings of his career and the controversy he caused with his decision to go electric for his music.
Chalamet's mesmerizing transformation has received high praise and generated Oscar buzz, while A Complete Unknown has been well-received as a solid tribute to Dylan. However, as with any biopic about a figure as legendary as Dylan, the film only scratches the surface of his life and legacy.
Viewers interested in learning more about Dylan or other musicians can check out our guide to find the best movies and documentaries like A Complete Unknown, available for streaming on platforms like Max, MGM+, and more!
Best Bob Dylan movies like A Complete Unknown
Bob Dylan: Dont Look Back
For viewers interested in learning more about Dylan, few movies and documentaries are as honest and straightforward as Dont Look Back. The documentary film by D. A. Pennebaker offers a behind-the-scenes look at Dylan’s 1965 concert tour in England, including candid shots of his performances or the legend singing songs in his hotel room. It’s an artistic documentary that emphasizes realism and captures the real Dylan close to the same time period A Complete Unknown dramatizes.
I’m Not There
I’m Not There is an excellent alternative for viewers looking for a more experimental biographical film than A Complete Unknown. The movie follows six different characters portrayed by Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Ben Whishaw through six different stories. Every story correlates to an aspect of Dylan’s life or personality. Like A Complete Unknown, it tackles the electric instrument controversy through Jude Quinn’s (Blanchett) story and is chock-full of A-list stars. However, it gets deeper and more artistic in examining Dylan’s life.
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan is a documentary by legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese. Like A Complete Unknown, it tracks Dylan's career from his move to New York City through the electric instrument controversy. However, it offers a deeper and more heartfelt look into Dylan through its compilation of rare footage and Scorsese’s meticulous and passionate interviews and research.
Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story is Scorsese’s second documentary on Dylan, which covers the musician’s Rolling Thunder Revue concert tour and outtakes of Renaldo and Clara, the film Dylan directed and starred in during his tour. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story gets closer to the creativity of A Complete Unknown with its intertwining of recovered footage from Renaldo and Clara and the inclusion of fictional interviews. Its mixture of fact and fiction can be confusing, but the documentary ultimately offers one of the most creative takes on Dylan yet.
Best biopics like A Complete Unknown
Bob Marley: One Love
Bob Marley: One Love dramatizes the life and career of reggae singer Bob Marley (Kingsley Ben-Adir). It focuses on his desire to spread a message of peace even as the growing conflict in his home country, Jamaica, leads to an assassination attempt on him and his wife, Rita (Lashana Lynch). Like A Complete Unknown, Bob Marley: One Love pays tribute to a larger-than-life figure and includes an electric performance as Ben-Adir embodies Marley's spirit and charisma.
Elvis
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis delves into the life of rock' n' roll icon Elvis Presley (Austin Butler). The movie explores how he became a music legend and his complicated and turbulent relationships with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), and his partner, Priscilla Presley (Olivia DeJonge). With an Academy Award-nominated performance from Butler, a thought-provoking deep dive into Presley, and an intriguing vision from Luhrmann, Elvis is a musical biopic one won’t want to miss.
Ray
Nominated for six Academy Awards and featuring a career-best performance from Jamie Foxx, Ray is a must-see biopic. The film follows Ray Charles (Foxx) as he rises above blindness and grief in his childhood to become a pioneer of soul music and one of the most influential musicians of all time. It’s the perfect movie for viewers looking for an awe-inspiring musical biopic in which the lead actor wholly transforms into the film’s subject.
Rocketman
Rocketman tells the story of pop icon Elton John (Taron Egerton), tracking his career from his early days as a piano prodigy to his historical partnership with Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell). The movie is told through music, as each major moment in his life is paired with one of his hit songs. Rocketman is perfect for viewers who loved A Complete Unknown's musical elements but may also be seeking a biopic that offers an even more personal and intimate look into a music legend.
Walk the Line
Not only is Walk the Line a biopic of a music legend, but it also shares a director with A Complete Unknown. Mangold’s 2005 film dramatizes the life of Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix), following his rise to fame, his relationship with June Carter (Reese Witherspoon), and his struggles with substance abuse. It boasts powerful performances from Phoenix and Witherspoon and effectively pays tribute to Cash. Dylan fans may also be particularly interested in it, considering Dylan and Cash shared a friendship.
Where to watch more movies like A Complete Unknown streaming online
Check out our list below to find out where to watch even more movies like A Complete Unknown online in the U.S.!
