Music documentaries for us to watch!
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- StarsDermot MulroneyTodd BoydQuestloveSoundbreaking explores the history of recorded music. Featuring more than 150 original interviews, the series charts a century's worth of innovation and experimentation, and offers a behind-the-scenes look at the birth of brand new sounds.
- DirectorD.A. PennebakerStarsOtis ReddingJimi HendrixRavi ShankarA film about the greatest pre-Woodstock rock music festival.
- DirectorJeff SteinStarsRoger DaltreyPete TownshendKeith MoonInterviews, TV clips and concert footage make up this comprehensive profile of The Who, Britain's premiere rock band.
- DirectorMurray LernerStarsIan AndersonJoan BaezMartin BarreIn August 1970 600,000 fans flocked to the Isle of Wight to witness the third and final festival to be held on the island. Besides the music, they also got a look at the greed, cynicism and corruption that would plague the music industry for years to come. They also witnessed the final, drugged out performance of Jimi Hendrix in England just two weeks before he would meet a tragic death. When it all was over, the fans view of rock and roll was never the same.
- DirectorBob SmeatonFrank CvitanovichStarsJanis JoplinGrateful DeadThe BandThe filmed account of a large Canadian rock festival train tour boasting major acts like Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead and The Band.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsDavid ByrneBernie WorrellAlex WeirConsidered by critics as the greatest concert film of all time, the live performance was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December of 1983 and features Talking Heads' most memorable songs.
- DirectorMatt SchraderStarsMarco BeltramiJon BurlingameLeonard MaltinA look at the cinematic art of the film musical score, and the artists who create them.
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsIggy PopJim JarmuschBob WallerAn in-depth look at legendary punk band The Stooges.
- DirectorDon LettsStarsK.K. BarrettRoberta BayleyJello BiafraA documentary on the music, performers, attitude and distinctive look that made up punk rock.
- 1985– 3h 28mNot Rated8.4 (12K)TV EpisodeDirectorMartin ScorseseStarsBob DylanB.J. RolfzenDick KangasA chronicle of Bob Dylan's strange evolution between 1961 and 1966 from folk singer to protest singer to "voice of a generation" to rock star.
- DirectorGrant GeeStarsRichard BoonAnton CorbijnKevin CumminsA chronological account of the influential late 1970s English rock band.
- DirectorWill LovelaceDylan SouthernStarsDamon AlbarnMike SmithWayne HernandezAn insightful rockumentary looking at the history of the British rock band, Blur, as they head out on the road for their 2009 reunion tour.
- DirectorRoger PomphreyStarsJimi HendrixMitch MitchellNoel ReddingThe story of Hendrix's seminal album, his last, is told in words, music, rare archival footage and a diary kept by one of Jimi's employees. There are also interviews with band mates Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, legendary singer Steve Winwood, engineer Eddie Kramer and Chas Chandler who managed Jimi.
- CreatorDave GrohlStarsDave GrohlTaylor HawkinsPat SmearSonic Highways commemorates the Foo Fighters 20th anniversary by documenting the eight-city recording odyssey that produced their latest, and eighth, studio album.
- DirectorMark Christopher CovinoJeff HowlettStarsBobby HackneyDavid HackneyDannis HackneyA documentary on the 1970s punk trio Death, and their new-found popularity decades after they disbanded.
- DirectorWes OrshoskiStarsGaye AdvertFred ArmisenRoger ArmstrongA history of the influential English punk band The Damned from their inception in 1976 through to 2015.
- DirectorPaul RachmanStarsGreg GinnIan MacKayeJames DrescherThe History of American Punk Rock 1980-1986
- DirectorSteve O'HaganStarsThe BeatlesBlondieJoe BoydDocumentary showing how the long-playing album changed popular music for ever between the mid-1960s and the late 1970s by allowing artists to express themselves as never before.
- 1997– 1h 15mNot Rated7.5 (198)TV EpisodeDirectorJeremy MarreStarsJerry GarciaMickey HartRobert HunterDocumentary about the making of two Grateful Dead albums: 1968's "Anthem of the Sun" and 1970's "American Beauty".
- DirectorBob SmeatonStarsSamuel BayerKurt CobainSteve DiggleIt has sold millions and is responsible for the birth of grunge. This documentary looks at the story behind how Nirvana came to record Nevermind and the effect it was to have on the music world. Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl and Butch Vig share their memories and give us an insight into the genius of Kurt Cobain.
- DirectorScott HicksStarsPhilip GlassHolly CritchlowChuck CloseAcademy Award®-nominated director Scott Hicks ("Shine") documents an eventful year in the career and personal life of distinguished Western classical composer Philip Glass as he interacts with a number of friends and collaborators, who include Chuck Close, Ravi Shankar, and Martin Scorsese.
- DirectorBob SmeatonStarsRoger DaltreyJohn EntwistleBob PriddenA look at the production of The Who's critically acclaimed release, which became their first and only album to top the UK album chart.
- DirectorBob SmeatonStarsMeat LoafJim SteinmanKarla DeVitoThe story behind the making of the epic album "Bat Out of Hell" by Meatloaf and Jim Steinman.
- DirectorDon LettsStarsTerry ChimesTerence DackombeTopper HeadonA career retrospective of British punk band The Clash, featuring exclusive interviews with the entire band.
- StarsMark RadcliffeGillian GilbertStephen MorrisThe story of Britain's independent music scene and the innovative artists it launched.
- DirectorGreg 'Freddy' CamalierStarsRick HallAretha FranklinKeith RichardsA documentary that celebrates Rick Hall, the founder of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and the signature sound he developed in songs such as "I'll Take You There", "Brown Sugar", and "When a Man Loves a Woman".
- DirectorColin HanksStarsRuss SolomonMichael SolomonHeidi Cotler'All Things Must Pass' is a documentary that explores the rise and fall of Tower Records, and its legacy forged by its rebellious founder, Russ Solomon.
- DirectorJulien TempleStarsPaul CookSteve JonesJohn LydonA film about the career of the notorious punk rock band, the Sex Pistols.
- DirectorDon LettsStarsSoo CatwomanSteve StrangeRobin BanksDocumentary on the London punk-rock scene, circa '78.
- DirectorJohn DowerStarsNoel GallagherLiam GallagherDamon AlbarnThe story of the mid-1990s Britpop music scene.
- DirectorDavis GuggenheimStarsJimmy PageThe EdgeJack WhiteA documentary on the electric guitar from the point of view of three significant rock musicians: The Edge, Jimmy Page, and Jack White.
- DirectorTina FlintoffRicky KeleharStarsMorrisseyChristopher EcclestonJ.K. RowlingFeaturing interviews by famous fans and followers, this rare documentary encapsulates the essence of the controversial, enigmatic, and deliciously melancholic bard. This is Morrissey, the charming man with the thorn in his side.
- DirectorRichard LevineTim BroadPaula GreifStarsMorrisseyCraig GannonMike JoyceThirteen Smiths' recordings, half of them in a club with a live audience. These alternate with five rock videos, two directed by Derek Jarman (Panic and Ask), two by Tim Broad (Girlfriend in a Coma and Stop Me...), and one by Paula Grief and Richard Levine (How Soon Is Now?). It concludes with Jarman's short film, "The Queen Is Dead," with a three-song soundtrack. The rock videos, particularly Jarman's, are filled with multiple and superimposed images, changing tints, and little narrative coherence; they get their pace from the music's rhythm. Androgyny, dancing children, belching smokestacks, graffiti, angry young men, a waif in a cap: collages of modern alienation.
- DirectorDerek BurbidgeStarsWall of VoodooStan RidgwayMarc MorelandLive performances from dozens of leading early-1980s musical acts - rock, punk, ska, reggae - it's all here.
- DirectorFlorian HabichtStarsPulpJarvis CockerNick BanksBritpop band Pulp found fame on the world stage in the mid-1990s with anthems including "Common People" and "Disco 2000". Twenty five years and 10 million album sales later, they return to their hometown for their last UK concert.
- DirectorRoger SargentStarsCarl BarâtPete DohertyJohn HassallAn access-all-areas documentary about The Libertines' reunion shows at Reading and Leeds Festivals 2010 from first-time director Roger Sargent: photographer, witness, and confidante of the band throughout their short, turmoil-filled career. Featuring the present-day story of the build-up, rehearsals, warm-ups and concerts set against the painfully-honest interviews with each band member recounting the band's history and illustrated by Sargent's unparalleled archive of classic Libertines photographs. An intense and intimate portrayal of arguably Britain's most exciting and influential band of the last decade.
- DirectorPaul RachmanStarsGreg GinnIan MacKayeJames DrescherThe History of American Punk Rock 1980-1986
- DirectorLisa Barros D'SaGlenn LeyburnStarsCathal MaguirePeter KellyCharlie BerkeleyA chronicle of Terri Hooley's life, a record-store owner instrumental in developing Belfast's punk-rock scene.
- StarsBoy GeorgeGraham CoxonAndrew Loog OldhamThis series tells the story of British pop music through the prism of related art forms, revealing how imagery defined the medium, the phenomenal influence of art schools, the scene's love affair with fashion and the pivotal role of the star-makers and svengalis who invented the rules of the modern music industry as they went along. London Calling cracks the creative code underpinning the global ascent of British pop, to reveal the players that created brand Britannia.
- DirectorWill LovelaceDylan SouthernStarsDamon AlbarnMike SmithWayne HernandezAn insightful rockumentary looking at the history of the British rock band, Blur, as they head out on the road for their 2009 reunion tour.
- DirectorMichael WinterbottomStarsShirley HendersonPaul PopplewellJames McArdleAn intimate look at life on the road for the band Wolf Alice as they tour Great Britain.
- DirectorRandall MillerStarsAlan RickmanMalin AkermanJustin BarthaA look at the New York City punk-rock scene and the venerable nightclub, CBGB.
- StarsShadLL Cool JBig Daddy KaneMC and journalist Shad Kabango meets with Hip-Hop's biggest stars to retrace how Hip-Hop became the world's most popular music, but realizes that Hip-Hop's true legacy is something much more profound.
- DirectorSam DunnScot McFadyenStarsTom ArayaKen AyugaiRafael BittencourtA continued examination of the heavy metal subculture focusing on the adaptation and performance of heavy metal in various global communities, and how the increased import of Western cultural forms has impacted new global markets.
- DirectorGreg OlliverWes OrshoskiStarsLemmyPhil CampbellMikkey DeeA documentary on the life and career of revered heavy-metal musician Lemmy Kilmister.
- DirectorSam DunnScot McFadyenStarsBruce DickinsonJanick GersSteve HarrisA chronological account of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden's 2008 world tour through India, Australia, Japan, USA, Canada, Mexico and South America in a jet piloted by the band's front man, Bruce Dickinson. Features interviews with the musicians, their road crew and fans.
- DirectorAaron AitesAudrey EwellStarsFenrizVarg VikernesEuronymousInterviews and news footage explore the rise of black metal music in Norway in the 1990s, including artists who were involved in suicide, murder and arson.
- DirectorSacha GervasiStarsRobb ReinerSteve 'Lips' KudlowTiziana ArrigoniSince 1978, Anvil has become one of heavy metal's most influential yet commercially unsuccessful acts. In 2006, after a fledging European tour Anvil sets out to record their thirteenth album and continue to follow their dreams.
- DirectorFrederic LumiereStarsKimee BalmileroBree BumataiMichael DawsonAmazing Journey takes us into the hearts and lives of America's undiscovered talent. Follow them on the path to self discovery and what they really want. Travel behind the scenes to see those involved in producing an adaptation of the Tony award-winning off-Broadway musical "Tommy," produced by Hawaii's own Manoa Valley Theatre. There's truth about raw ambition and extreme dedication. There's an inside look at the dreams of the innocent, the knowledge of experience and the pride in the journey itself, while providing a cultural view on society and the arts. Tim, the narrator, provides bipolar complexity-how experience contrasts with innocence, and how easily youthful talent can dissolve into an unappreciative society.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsGeorge HarrisonHarry HarrisonPeter HarrisonFilmmaker Martin Scorsese examines the life of musician George Harrison, weaving together interviews, concert footage, home movies and photographs.
- DirectorAlbert MayslesDavid MayslesCharlotte ZwerinStarsMick JaggerKeith RichardsMick TaylorWhen three hundred thousand members of the Love Generation collided with a few dozen Hells Angels at San Francisco's Altamont Speedway, the bloody slash that transformed a decade's dreams into disillusionment was immortalized on this film.
- DirectorAmy BergStarsCat PowerJanis JoplinKarleen BennettMusician Cat Power narrates this documentary on Janis Joplin's evolution into a star from letters that Joplin wrote over the years to her friends, family, and collaborators.
- DirectorMargaret BrownStarsJoe ElyGuy ClarkWillie NelsonBe Here to Love Me - Chronicles the fascinating and often turbulent life of musician Townes van Zandt.
- DirectorMark MoormannStarsRay CharlesJohn ColtraneAretha FranklinA documentary about Tom Dowd, who was an innovative recording engineer and producer of noted albums with John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Otis Redding, Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers and many others.
- DirectorStephen KijakStarsDon WasWill.i.amJack WhiteA look at the creation and impact of the 1972 Rolling Stones album "Exile on Main St."
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobbie RobertsonMuddy WatersNeil YoungA film account and presentation of the final concert of The Band.
- DirectorPeter CliftonJoe MassotStarsRobert PlantJimmy PageJohn Paul JonesThe line forms here for the world's greatest and possibly most influential band--Led Zeppelin. This mesmerizing movie built around Zep's famed 1973 concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden is convincing proof why.
- StarsTaj MahalRobert RedfordJack WhiteAt the height of the Roaring Twenties, music scouts set out across America to capture the breadth of American music and discovered the artists that would shape our world.