In recent years, movie theaters have been flooded with musician biopics. From Elvis to Freddie Mercury, these films promise to show us the “real story” behind the legends. But more often than not, they feel over-dramatic and predictable. Instead of letting the music speak, they wrap it up in Hollywood shine.
That’s why, when we see actors like Timothée Chalamet playing Bob Dylan or Jeremy Allen White set to play Bruce Springsteen, some fans can’t help but wonder—do we really need another biopic? Wouldn’t their stories be better told through the songs themselves or in a thoughtful documentary?
Dylan and Springsteen: A Shared Spirit
Long before their songs were turned into box office hits, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen shared a creative bond. Springsteen has always said that Dylan was one of his biggest influences. The New Jersey rocker looked up to Dylan for how he told stories about real people—the kind of working-class, struggling Americans who don’t often make it into the spotlight.
Springsteen once said that Dylan’s music “instantly started to change my life.” The song that did it for him? Like a Rolling Stone. The opening line—
“Once upon a time you dressed so fine / You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn’t you?”
That was the spark.
He told Stephen Colbert in an interview, “You were hooked, you were in that story so quickly. That’s the one that immediately comes to my mind.” For Springsteen, hearing Dylan on the radio for the first time was like being hit by a wave. “It floods your soul and wakes you up,” he said.
That’s what great art does. It opens your eyes to new worlds. It shakes something inside you that you didn’t even know was asleep.
Why Biopics Often Fall Short
Music biopics try to tell these stories, but they often miss what makes musicians like Dylan and Springsteen truly special. Here’s why:
They rush the story. A lifetime of growth and struggle gets squeezed into two hours. The little moments—the real creative spark—get lost.
They love the drama more than the music. The arguments, the heartbreak, the fame—these become the main story instead of the songs.
They miss the message. Dylan and Springsteen wrote about real people and real struggles. Their songs are about you and me, not just them.
A five-minute song like Like a Rolling Stone can move people more deeply than any movie montage ever could.
The Real Connection
The link between Dylan and Springsteen isn’t about imitation—it’s about inspiration. Dylan showed that a song could tell a story like a novel. Springsteen took that idea and brought it to the factories, highways, and small towns of America. He turned Dylan’s poetic rebellion into something grounded and human.
When you listen to Born to Run or Thunder Road, you can feel that same energy—restless, searching, alive. Dylan’s influence runs through it like a heartbeat.
Music Tells the Story Best
Maybe that’s why so many fans feel that music biopics miss the point. You can’t recreate the feeling of hearing Like a Rolling Stone for the first time, or watching Springsteen light up a stage. Those moments don’t need a script—they already exist in the songs themselves.
A film can show you what happened.
A song can make you feel it.