Music Documentaries to Watch
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- DirectorD.A. PennebakerStarsBob DylanAlbert GrossmanBob NeuwirthDocumentary covering Bob Dylan's 1965 tour of England, which includes appearances by Joan Baez and Donovan.
- DirectorJudith PearlmanStarsBob BurnsGeoffrey ReadGlenn GouldThe Idea of North is part filmed docudrama, part fantasy, part forerunner of music television. Based on the radio play by Glenn Gould, North's montage of words, images and music tells a universal story of the quest for our last frontier. A young man boards a train going North. It is a real train on a scheduled run, yet also a train of mind and mythology. As the journey unfolds, he chats with a seasoned guide, and passes his time in reading, watching the rugged landscape and speculating about his fellow travelers. He encounters four of them in his imagination, sharing their memories and the challenges that transformed their lives in the North. Together, they describe the final playing-out of man's two dreams: Eldorado and Utopia, both unattainable. At the journey's end, he descends to meet his future, walking away from the camera until he disappears into the North, perhaps forever.
- DirectorPeter PrzygoddaStarsHolger CzukayMichael KaroliIrmin SchmidtCan's legendary "Free Concert," recorded in Cologne's Sporthalle, Germany, on February 3, 1972.
- DirectorPierre BarouhStarsMaria BethâniaJoão da BaianaPaulinho da ViolaDocumentary about Brazilian music circa 1969, with extremely rare scenes, such as the only color footage of Pixinguinha, images of João da Baiana, one of the fathers of Samba, Maria Bethânia rehearsing at Barroco nightclub, Baden Powell playing his acoustic guitar, Paulinho da Viola showing his masterpiece "Coisas do Mundo, Minha Nega", that he had just finished, and Márcia, a singer from São Paulo.
- DirectorD.A. PennebakerStarsDavid BowieMick RonsonTrevor BolderThe July 3rd, 1973 historic concert of the 'leper Messiah'. This was to be David Bowie's last concert with the Ziggy persona and the Spiders from Mars. A great medley of 'Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud'/'All The Young Dudes'/'Oh! You Pretty Things', a Lou Reed cover, and a Rolling Stones cover are but some of the highlights.
- DirectorLes BlankStarsRamiro CavazosLos Alegres De TeranLos Pinguinos del Norte"Chulas Fronteras" examines the origins and social significance of the traditional Tejano (or 'Tex-Mex') music that developed along the U.S.-Mexico border.
- DirectorFrank ZappaStarsFrank ZappaAdrian BelewTommy MarsRock artist Frank Zappa hosts a concert in New York City. This movie contains tons of on-stage footage, off-stage footage, and animation.
- DirectorJeff SteinStarsRoger DaltreyPete TownshendKeith MoonInterviews, TV clips and concert footage make up this comprehensive profile of The Who, Britain's premiere rock band.
- DirectorEric DionysiusEric MistlerStarsAC/DCPhil RuddBon ScottFilmed coverage of Australian band AC/DC's '79 appearance in Paris intercut with quasi-fictional interludes.
- DirectorJay DubinStarsVinny AppiceBlack SabbathEric BloomConcert film of 1980 East Coast U.S. performance by heavy metal bands Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult.
- DirectorCharles ChabotJo MenellStarsAl AndersonAston BarrettCarlton BarrettThe life of Bob Marley with interviews from family and friends, and features rare footage of Bob Marley. Captures the feel and timelessness of the music and the man himself.
- DirectorPeter GreenawayStarsRobert AshleyJohn CageMeredith MonkThis is a 4-part documentary that follows four different contemporary composers performing/creating/building their shows. Peter Greenaway leads us, with a great sense of balance between the performances and the interviews, through the creative process of 4 very different composers in style (sound and noise, repetition and discipline, vocal experimentation, poetry and musical freedom) who are all framed under the same musical genre - contemporary music. A Great way to get introduced to this music and to understand how much of it is intellectual or playful.
- 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.
- DirectorTerry ZwigoffStarsHoward ArmstrongTed BoganYank RachellAbout the obscure country-blues musician and idiosyncratic visual artist Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong, member of the last known black string band in America.
- DirectorTaylor HackfordStarsChuck BerryKeith RichardsEric ClaptonThis documentary movie covers two concerts at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri, to celebrate Chuck Berry's 60th birthday, and also discusses his life and career.
- DirectorFrank ZappaStarsPhyllis Smith AltenhausDick BarberMassimo BassoliBiff Debris becomes obsessed with trying to record a hit single.
- DirectorChris BlumStarsTom WaitsMichael L. BlairRalph CarneyBringing his unique sense of humor to this bizarre and original piece of moviemaking, Tom Waits takes the audience through a musical journey with his jazzy, quirky, bluesy tunes presented as you would never, ever, ever expect.
- DirectorFrank ZappaStarsPhyllis Smith AltenhausDick BarberBBC Symphony OrchestraThe bizarre story behind the creation of Frank Zappa and Tony Palmer's film 200 Motels (1971).
- DirectorLes BlankChris StrachwitzStarsBarry Jean AnceletAlphonse ArdoinDewey BalfaFilm on the history of the toe-tapping, foot-stomping music of French Southwest Louisiana.
- DirectorAlan CollinsRobert LangStarsStan RogersGarnet RogersAriel RogersStan Rogers returns to Nova Scotia, the inspiration for many of his songs and the home of many of his family members.
- DirectorDavid DawkinsChris HegedusD.A. PennebakerStarsOtis ReddingBooker T. & the M.G.sThe Mar-KeysA documentary examining the life and career of the late singer Otis Redding.
- DirectorJohn SanbornStarsPenn JilletteThe ResidentsTellerA pseudo-documentary about the band The Residents blends comedy with live clips, music videos, interviews and documentary footage. Spanning the years 1972 to 1990, and including clips from the recent album The King and Eye and fragments of the band's "media mercenary" work, the program romps through established notions of pop culture, the music industry and the nature of musical invention, replacing them with the iconoclastic vision of The Residents.