The origins of the concert film go back as far as 1948, whenrecorded live music concertsfirst made it into movie theaters withConcert Magic. By 1964,The T.A.M.I. Showbrought the firstrock docto screens, featuring acts like The Beach Boys, James Brown, and The Rolling Stones.As the Hippie Movement coalesced, and touring Rhythm and Blues and Rock acts became popular icons, there became a demand for further concert films, with some bands, like Pink Floyd withLive at Pompeiiusing the opportunity to make a more cinematic presentation, rather than simply documenting the concert experience.
By the 1970s, filmmakers like Martin Scorsese saw a need to document live Rock ‘n’ Roll and its surrounding lifestyles to properly capture the day’s burgeoning counter-cultural movement. The effect has been a lineage of rock docs that served to redefine the careers of filmmakers previously known for their narrative films. From that has grown a rich American tradition that quenches the thirst of audiences to understandmore about the lives of their musical heroes, an avenue explored by some of film’s foremost directors.
The following are the 11 greatest rock docs by directors better known for their narrative work.
11Taylor Hackford - Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’Roll
Taylor Hackford, already highly regarded for an Academy Award-winning short film andAn Officer and a Gentleman, tried his hand at an historical rock doc in 1986 to celebrate rock pioneer Chuck Berry’s 60th birthday, withHail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll. The film featured luminaries like Roy Orbison, Eric Clapton and Linda Ronstadt, but it’s The Rolling Stones Keith Richards who has the film’s greatest scenes, constantly bickering with the hot-headed Berry during rehearsals. No single man had a larger effect on the evolution of Rock ‘n’ Roll than Berry, and he never missed an opportunity to remind everyone on stage of that very fact. Regardless of all the beef, the live performances are sublime.
Related:The Rolling Stones Ink Deal for TV Series About their Rise to Fame
10Todd Haynes - The Velvet Underground
Todd HaynesexaminedThe Velvet Undergroundin his 2021 documentary that traced Lou Reed’s Long Island origins, and how he formed The Velvet Undergeround, eventually allowing Andy Warhol to manage the band and incorporate German chanteuse Nico into their live act. Through interviews with Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, and posthumous opinions of Reed’s polarizing personality, Haynes showed how The Velvet Underground became the first art-rock band on New York City’s 60s music scene, turning Max’s Kansas City and Warhol’s Factory into their playground of musical experimentation.
9Michel Gondry - Dave Chappelle’s Block Party
Michel Gondrycollaborated with Dave Chappelle to document hisBlock Party, a neighborhood gathering in the Clinton Hill section of South Brooklyn with performances by the likes of Kanye West, Mos Def, and Erykah Badu. The film was produced while Chappelle was navigating through his decision to walk away from a $50 million contract to renewChappelle’s Show, with the comedian eager to pursue creative endeavors like his block party and rediscover his roots rather than becoming a corporate-cooperative-creative — in essence, selling his soul.
TheBlock Partyput on display a cadre of hyper-creative, New York-centric black minds that captured the essence of Brooklyn, the highlight of which is Erykah Badu defiantly tearing her wig off during a performance of “Back in the Day”. French director Michel Gondry displayed his incredible range as both a documentarian and narrative director, the same year that saw the release of his groundbreakingEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Related:Michel Gondry’s Mood Indigo International Trailer
8Martin Scorsese - George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Martin Scorsesehas the distinction of making one of the best concert films,The Last Waltz, as well as one of the best “talking heads” rock docs,George Harrison: Living in the Material World, a two-part film that examined the “Quiet Beatle”, guitarist George Harrison. Harrison suffered for the creatively overbearing presence of John Lennon and Paul McCartney in The Beatles, but carved out as impressive a solo career as any other Beatle after the band’s 1970 dissolution.
The film traces Harrison’s Scouse roots in Liverpool, all the way through his terrifying home invasion experience, then an untimely cancer diagnosis and death in 2001. Along the way, Harrison became a Hare Krishna and essentially prototyped woke-minded endeavors for the music business, creating The Concert for Bangladesh in 1971 to benefit starving refugees. The film’s greatest moments examine Harrison’s relationship with Eric Clapton, which saw the two involved in a love triangle with Pattie Boyd.
7Spike Lee - American Utopia
Two of Brooklyn’s most famous residents,Spike Leeand David Byrne collaborated for one of the borough’s greatest Rock Docs,American Utopia, a heavily-rehearsed, 1/4" cable-free music and dance performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, a breeding-ground for some of the nation’s greatest young musical talent. Byrne’s design and Lee’s unique approach to concert cinematography make for a sublime watching experience, that combines the auditory genius of Byrne’s songbook with a visual design that matches his level of musical creativity.
Byrne and Lee utilized heavily choreographed dance to accentuate the poly rhythmic World Beat of Talking Heads classics and new compositions, all in a cooperativegesamtkunstwerkthat’s come to define Byrne’s storied career.
6Jim Jarmusch - Year of the Horse
ConsideringJim Jarmusch’s ouevre of groundbreakingly creative movies,Year of the Horseis a pretty straightforward concert film. Still, it captures what many other rock docs miss, an essential essence of Neil Young’s collaboration with Crazy Horse, intent on returning to their Rock ‘n’ Roll roots and creating a live show to match the scope of their musical heritage. Jarmusch has long been a purveyor of rock’s roots, and captured Neil Young at a time after his legal quarrels with David Geffen, when the Canadian rocker returned to the touring lifestyle that suited his simplistic approach to creating and performing music, with his greatest backing band.
5Penelope Spheeris - The Decline of Western Civilization: Part II
Penelope Spheerismade an indelible stamp on the history of Rock Docs with a trilogy of documentary films titledThe Decline of Western Civilization, the second installment of which was far and away the most entertaining.Part IIfollows the “Metal Years” when Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip was overflowing with a new rock scene, with bands as concerned with their hair and makeup as their sleazy stage antics. The film glides between interviews with the likes of Kiss’s Paul Stanley, Ozzy Osbourne, and most memorably, Lemmy Kilmister from Mötorhead, putting the drug-laden, heart attack lifestyle of Sunset Blvd. rockers on full display.
4Peter Bogdanovich - Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers: Running Down a Dream
Peter Bogdanovich’s 2007 documentary,Running Down a Dream, captured Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at a time when they were transitioning from the rock hit makers of the 80s and 90s to a regularly touring band intent on maintaining the magic of their rise to fame. Tom Petty cuts a defiantly creative figure in the film, bringing his South Florida Rock ‘n’ Roll ethos to the screen by explaining the origins and influences of his band. Petty was wise beyond his years when it came to incorporating his influences, like Carl Perkins, into a contemporary live act, and utilized
3Jim Jarmusch - Gimme Danger
Jim Jarmusch made the preeminent documentary on punk’s roots withGimme Danger, which explored the genesis of the movement in Detroit, as Iggy Pop and the Asheton Brothers founded The Stooges, a proto-punk band that flamed out before the importance of their influence was properly recognized. Jarmusch seemed keen on alerting the general public to the importance of Iggy Pop’s role in creating theAmerican version of the Punk Movement, diagramming The Stooges' discovery by MC5, and subsequent unraveling thanks to the band’s preoccupation with heroin. The result is one of the most important Rock Docs in terms of historical revision.
Related:Why The Limits of Control is One of the Coolest Philosophical Movies of All Time
2Jonathan Demme - Stop Making Sense
Jonathan Demmepaired his incredible narrative films of the early 90s with his exploration of The Talking Heads' seminal 1983 shows at the Pantages Theater, capturing the band at their most experimental phase withStop Making Sense, when David Byrne sought to mix an early Punk/New Wave sound with their World Music influences. The result is a confluence of post-punk and African guitar sounds influenced by Ali Farka Toure, that saw the band’s greatest creative period shortly before a sojourn due to creative differences.
