Advertisement
The 10 Greatest Rockumentaries of All-Time
(Page 4)
Stop Making Sense (1984)
Director: Jonathan Demme
Palm Pictures/Universal Music, $29.98
Jonathan Demme’s film of a Talking Heads concert (actually several concerts edited together as a single performance) deserves comparison with The Last Waltz for the grace and simplicity with which it frames live music—long takes, impeccable camerawork and a decidedly non-flashy focus on musical craft and the joy of performance. It’s undoubtedly not coincidental that the two most cinematically proficient concert films on this list come from master moviemakers Scorsese and Demme, as the adeptness displayed in their fiction work clearly translates into their live music documentaries. It’s also interesting to note that Stop Making Sense is the only film among these 10 that thrives by limiting itself to a single band, depicted only in live concert footage (there are no interviews)—yet still stands as one of the most hypnotic of all contemporary music documentaries.
Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll!(1987)
Director: Taylor Hackford
Image Entertainment, $49.99
While much of the music in Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll! is indisputably great, it’s not necessarily the most compelling ingredient in the film, and the documentary would probably not make this list based on its concert footage alone. Taylor Hackford—who directed the Oscar-winning biopic Ray—surveys the preparation behind a concert honoring Chuck Berry’s 60th birthday in the rock icon’s hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. Berry collaborates with his show’s musical director and Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, creating an often combative dynamic which forms the dramatic focus of Hackford’s documentary. Richards obviously idolizes Berry, but this respect soon gives way to tension, as the elder statesman of rock ‘n’ roll is none too eager to defer to Richards’ instructions, particularly when it comes to the simple matter of rehearsals, which Berry regards with disinterest. Still, when the big night occurs, there can be no debating the results: Berry and Richards, joined by such figures as Eric Clapton, Linda Ronstadt, Etta James and Robert Cray, put on a fantastic show. The film also features interviews with musicians like Bruce Springsteen, Little Richard and Bo Diddley, all of whom discuss Berry’s influence on their own work. Undeservedly neglected, Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll at least received an exhaustive four-disc special-edition release in 2006.
The Filth and the Fury (2000)
Director: Julien Temple
New Line Home Entertainment, $19.88
It would initially seem unlikely that a documentary on the history of the Sex Pistols would emerge as the most emotionally moving rockumentary of this group, but this is indeed the case. Julien Temple has made a career out of projects that embrace U.K. rock and pop, both in fiction (his wrongfully maligned Absolute Beginners) and nonfiction (Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten), but this is his best work. Temple collaborated with the Pistols on early film projects (perhaps The Filth and the Fury could be considered a late apology for the mess that is Temple’s The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle), so his longtime friendship with the band’s members undoubtedly gives him a unique degree of unprecedented, intimate access. Interweaving performance clips, rare TV appearances and footage of mid-to-late 1970s Brit punk life (the film is an excellent snapshot of punk’s nascent days) with contemporary interviews with the band (photographed only in silhouetted form), The Filth and the Fury is a heartfelt and affectionate depiction of a band and subculture that shined very brightly—and all too briefly—making this essential viewing, even for non-Pistols fans.
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Del.icio.us
Reddit
YahooAdvertisement
COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
- Comment by Oliver Summers on 4/14/08 at 6:12 pm
Wow, this is a really daring list you got here. Way to go out on a limb and list some movies that maybe, oh, not everyone in the world has already seen. And you got paid to write this. What, did you enter “rock docs” into Google and copy the first list you came across? “Derivative” would be too kind a word to use for this list. How about “unnecessary.”
- Comment by Simon Witter on 5/31/08 at 7:42 pm
I’ve got to agree with Oliver Summers, this is a really tragic list - the sort of turgidly predictable affair you could expect from some muppet on Amazon. It is also - apart from ‘The Filth & The Fury’ - frustratingly US-centric. And even in the American field, you’ve missed the true greats. Tom Waits once said that the two films that reminded him most eerily of every minute of his career in music were ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ and Martin Scorcese’s ‘The King Of Comedy’. I understand exactly what he means by that.
Apart from a lack of lateral thinking, you’re clearly also ruling out great music-based biopics like ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’, ‘Great Balls Of Fire’, ‘The Doors’, ‘Tommy’, Quadrophenia’ and ‘Closer’, which is fine. But fans of fascinating rockumentaries would still be well-advised to check out some, or all, of the following.....
Rude Boy
Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster
Festival Express
24 Hour Party People
Slade In Flame
Pink Floyd Live In Pompeii
The Song Remains The Same
Human Traffic
That’ll Be The Day
Get Up Stand UpThey all have great merit, and they’re just the start.
- Comment by James on 7/22/08 at 12:31 am
Guys, give him a break :) You guys seem like pros. For someone less of a rockumentary fan, this listing was just fine. But thanks for the additional recommendations as well. I am just getting into this…
.jpg)
This story was published in the Spring 2008 MovieMaker Magazine. The headline was:
Shining a Light on 10 Great Rockumentaries
Order this issue | Subscribe to MM
Latest from the blog:
James Schamus Honored with Trailblazer Award at Woodstock
James Schamus, the man behind Focus Features (think The Constant Gardener, Atonement), was chosen to receive the 2008 Trailblazer Award from the Woodstock Film Festival. Prior to working at Focus he was co-president of independent production company Good Machine for 11 years and won numerous awards for his own work, including the award for Best Screenplay at the 1997 Cannes International Film Festival for The Ice Storm.
Posted 09.5.08 | No comments yet...
Other recent posts:
In Theaters Now: Bangkok Dangerous & Everybody Wants to Be Italian
“Give ‘Till It Hurts” at the Fourth Annual SAW Blood Drive
Tropic Thunder Holds Strong Over Labor Day Weekend
Posts people are talking about:
SITE DELIVERY OPTIONS
Advertisement
