20 Must-Watch Movies About Music

20 Must-Watch Movies About Music

Films are an amazing way to pass the time but films or movies about music are just a different form of pleasure that you cannot help but just get hooked to. You get to be entertained by the music itself and the drama of the plot. What better way to be entertained, right? Let’s therefore look at the must-watch movies about music that you cannot afford to miss out on.

1. Walk the Line (2005)

This film featuring the story of Johnny Cash is a masterpiece. The film is about his early career and life and gives a pretty good idea of what touring must be like. You know, touring around the world in amazing cars, hanging out with celebrities and all that. Featuring the legendary Joaquin Phoenix,  he showcases his bad- guy thing that just draws you to him even more.

2. Amy (2015)

This movie is both devastating and beautiful. It is a documentary telling the story of Amy Winehouse and it is interesting to see her as a young girl with raw talent and so much energy and vibrancy. Then like an ocean wave, she goes up and up and suddenly crashes down. As you are watching this movie, you feel so bad for her but also get to be impressed by her amazing talent.  Usually, films and documentaries about female celebrities, focus only on the tragedy and emotional turmoil of their lives and not enough about their amazing craft. In this one, however, you get a sense of what an amazing singer and songwriter she was. Even more than her addiction problems, she was a singular talent.

3. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)

This 2001 film is about an East German singer who has decided to have a botched sex change operation. However, this leaves her with an inch of flesh between her legs. She moves to the US and gets involved with another singer who steals her songs and becomes famous leaving her destitute and playing in a chain of seafood restaurants known as Bilgewater. The movie is a very beautiful one that even touches on Greek mythology and the origins of love as well as gender identity. The songs in the movie are perfect and the comic edge it has will just leave you wanting more.

4. The Doors (1991)

It is said that if you want to have the best experience with this movie, just get stoned. Of course that is up for debate. The movie is very psychedelic and weird; probably why you need to be stoned. That aside, this movie tells the story of the famous rock band, ‘The Doors,’ with its lead singer, Jim Morrison. The commitment he has towards performance and the bold expression of his sexuality is something to admire especially given the content of his music and work as a poetic artist

5. Whiplash (2014)

This film is about a music student who wants so badly to be great in the music industry and the great sacrifices he makes to get there. If you have ever struggled to make it as a singer and performer, then this movie is quite reliable. It reminds you to hold on and be patient because even greater things will come your way if you refuse to give up. That you have to unlearn everything you think you know and use your instrument of choice to speak in a way that people who end up listening to your content will best understand. It is an amazing masterpiece.

6. The Young Ones (1961)

7. Cracked Actor (1975)

This BBC documentary released in 1975 is special in so many ways. It tells the story of Bowie in America and gets you close to their vulnerability. It shows the originality and sharpness of Bowie’s talent and musical mind, especially in directing his amazing backing singers through their parts. It is fascinating to see him working as a musician and you get to have a whole new respect for him after watching the movie.

8. Cabaret (1972)

This is the story of singer, Sally Bowles in the Weimar Republic that came out in 1972 into a very dreary Britain. The fantastic songs, confined to the stage, the brilliant makeup in a frightening city. It explores the notion of ‘divine decadence’ quite well and it is very intriguing if you were an 18- 18-year-old student from Newcastle just arriving in London. Moreover, this movie also had an impact on punk, influenced by Liza Minnelli. It has an amazing impact if you look at it deeply. Just give it a chance.

9. Song of Summer (1968)

Released in 1968, this movie is a BBC Omnibus drama about a young composer from Yorkshire, Eric Fenby in the late 1920s. This young man reads that the composer, Delius, also from Yorkshire is now blind, he is partly paralyzed and no longer composes songs, hence has some unfinished work. However, Fenby manages to help him deliver those last works. It is a film that explores the painful process of creating music and the end of a creative life. It is quite emotional, unsettling, and moving and Delius portrays an incredibly tragic figure both brutal and fragile.

10. The Wrecking Crew! (2008)

11. 20,000 Days on Earth (2014)

Released in 2014, this movie is the kind that gives you a clear glimpse of the life of your favourite artist. Usually, when you are a fan of your favourite artist, you always want to know everything about them, be it their favourite colour, favourite meal and all that. That’s exactly what you will get from this Nick Cave documentary. This masterpiece has been thoughtfully crafted and curated and the glimpse into the friendship he shared with Warren Ellis is just so admirable.

12. What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015)

This 2015 film is all about a definitive film that features an incredible woman. Period! Nina Simone was just amazing who allowed us to sing in lower, stranger registers and who made politics a central part of her art. The fact that she was uncompromising has always been so admirable. Also, the way her daughter leads her story in the film, gives a special perspective into her life and you cannot help but feel really humble before her.

13. Little Voice (1998)

This 1998 movie absolutely nails the experience of wanting to perform so much. You know, that nagging feeling you get that you are meant to do something and music becoming your safest form of escape. Moreover, it is about finding your identity through music, finding your own voice through singing other people’s songs, and finding peace and comfort in that mere fact.

14. Scott Walker: 30 Century Man (2006)

This documentary released in 2006 tells the story of Scott Walker and once you watch it, he becomes your new favourite artist.  Even more impressive, it was made at a time  when he made his 2006 album, ‘The Drift.’  It explains how he moved his career from his early years, on his own terms and how he made it regardless. It’s a story of encouragement too and opens your mind to massive possibilities out there as far as dreams and ambitions are concerned.

15. Vox Lux (2018)

In this 2018 movie, Natalie Portman plays the role of a young teenage pop artist, Celeste, who starts making music after she survives a school shootout. It then becomes a film about what the pop industry can do to people what not to do and how bad the messiah complex can do to a person.  More than anything, it is a sinister film, it becomes almost alien but still manages to remind you to always keep your ego in check.

16. Pink Floyd: Live At Pompeii (1972)

Released in 1972, this movie is brilliant as it tells the amazing story of Pink Floyd. If you are an individual who ever admired becoming a rock star, then this is it for you. It tells brilliantly the story of this legendary rock band that managed to shake the world by becoming a  big influence on the pop culture of the 80s.

17. Cocksucker Blues (1972)

The thing with this Roling Stones documentary film is that it was unreleased but the beauty of it is that it can be streamed online whenever you want to. It’s a pretty good movie according to the many reviews that have been made so far about it.  It showcases the insane lives these people led, doing drugs and weird stuff but still managing to make some of the best music in the world. People who attend their concerts now may not be able to relate to those characters, but this film just goes to prove that Rolling Stones were phenomenal! Even in their craziest and weirdest hours, they would still manage to deliver without a doubt.

18. Woodstock (1970)

19. The Kids Are Alright (1979)

This 1979 documentary tells the story of a popular band who more than anything else, have a very captivating story that is also encouraging and inspiring, They are a group of young men (at the time) who are so obsessed with their music (something you rarely see in the music industry) and their energy and connection to each other is something that’s most definitely left to be admired. The documentary shows how much the band’s exuberance is in their music and when watching the documentary, their performances just leave you wanting more. You don’t see any form of fakeness and the art of their imagination is amazing!

20. Urgh! A Music War (1982)

This documentary released in 1982 is another masterpiece! it tells the background story of a compilation of US and UK punk rock bands; among them being XTC, the Cramps, the Dead Kennedys, and others. They came out around this time and had the same spirit. In a world where you knew you wouldn’t compete with the Beatles, there was John Cooper Clarke performing to only a crowd of 50 people and still being fantastic while at it.

The music movies open your eyes to how the creative industry has evolved over the years and that is something so amazing to be a witness of.