7 Important Biopics That Were Derailed By Massive Problems

1. Che (Part One And Two)

The Motorcycle Diaries illuminated the formative years of Ernesto Guevara, the man who would die as Che Guevara in Bolivia. Although the Motorcycle Diaries showed him in a Saint-like manner, these films played fast and loose with the historical fact; most noticeable is the final scene in which he is killed. The film portrays the young soldier given the task of ending Che's life as somewhat reluctant; in reality there was a long line of people waiting to be behind the death (and subsequent construction) of a martyr. Steven Soderbergh's films capture the essence of the counterculture icon which Che has become, but it does this for the benefit of corporations; surely this is a corruption of his image? The unpalatable aspects of Che Guevara's life have been erased from his cultural legacy; Jon Lee Anderson, who wrote an extremely detailed biography of Guevara, notes how Che executed a man for treason, then examined the wounds to establish in a medical manner how the man died. Was this really necessary for a man who had been shot in the head? Guevara's brutal time as the commandant of the La Cabana fortress in Havana saw him oversee possibly hundreds of politically motivated executions (causing him to make enemies who would come back to kill him). The movies build Che Guevara into an icon frozen in that revolutionary image we all remember, but it does not do justice to his historical reality, just as none of these films fully humanise the subjects while placing them in context. They all build heroes to be so tall that normal people cannot aspire to emulate them, possibly preventing future Malcolm X's, Ernesto Guevara's and Gandhi's. Do you think any other important biopics deserve to be on this list of flawed pictures? Share your own picks below in the comments thread.