Behind the Music: 10 Powerful Musical Documentary Films

I watched a documentary tonight about Pete Seeger from the American Masters series on PBS. An amazing documentary to say the least, and it got me thinking, what are some of the best musical documentaries available? I’ve seen a number of good documentary films that have sparked my interest in various subjects and I guess it all really depends on what you feel like watching or what you’re into.

While I may not be a so-called expert on the subject, I do have some very good musical films worth checking out. Here are my top favorite documentaries, films that no person who likes music should miss.

1. No Direction Home

   

   This is one of the finest Bob Dylan docs around. It delves into the period of time where he went from being Bob Dylan the Folk God, to Bob Dylan, a man of rock with his own way of doing things.

   This documentary takes place between 1961 and 1966 and really just focuses on how he stopped playing acoustic music and started playing rock. It really is fantastically done and kind of gives you a back-story on the man himself. You’ll see what he went through and how much people hated him for turning his back on the folk music scene. But if you really followed Dylan over the years, and of course this comes from a perspective not of that time, you’d realize that he doesn’t really go with the grain, he destroys it completely. It’s a documentary by Martin Scorsese that I’d have to say is one of his best works.

   The one funny thing, though not in a funny way, is that he was called everything from sell-out to Judas for abandoning folk music. And in fact, if you listen to the Bootleg Series: Vol. 4, you’ll hear during ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ that someone in the audience yell out “JUDAS!” Just kind of makes you laugh now, being called Judas for playing with a backing band. Quite compelling to say the least.

2. Pete Seeger: The Power of Song (PBS)

   

   Read more in Live Music

   « Hayden Concert Review in Toronto

   How to Win a Karaoke Contest »

   Fantastically shot and fantastically done in every way. This documentary focuses on Pete Seeger’s life and his music, from the early days in The Weaver Family Band to his solo work and his being blacklisted and labeled a communist. It also shows just how much of a revolutionary he was, both musically and through his personal actions.

   One fascinating thing in the documentary is about how he helped clean up the Hudson River, which I did not know, by building a boat, bringing people aboard and showing them just how polluted the river actually was and how bad it was getting.

   Back then, the Hudson River was considered an industrial river and was basically given the right to have industrial waste and oil dumped into it regularly by the government, which just blew my mind. He brought an awareness to this project which was totally unheard of at that time.

   This documentary also showed how much being labeled a communist at that time could hurt your career, although through it all he continued to fight for what he believed in, and in the end he actually benefited from being on the FBI blacklist. In fact, he sold even more tickets while the FBI brought a new revival into folk music that was just completely ironic.

3. American Masters: Jimi Hendrix (PBS)

   

   A great documentary, and quite frankly a great series, again from PBS. Not only does it show amazing clips of Jimi’s performances, including Woodstock and The Fillmore East, but it also interviews those that were closest to him, including the family and the band members, as well as some very popular artists including Mick Jagger.

   It was so interesting to see how he just blew away conventional rock and roll and just made it his own pet, so to speak. Really, words don’t do this documentary justice and it’s definitely one that needs to be seen rather than heard about. It includes some fantastic stories about Jimi and his ability to win over the pop music crowd that was definitely not on his side back then.

4. Don’t Look Back

   

   A film by D. A. Pennebaker that focuses on the 1965 Bob Dylan concert tour of the United Kingdom. A great documentary about Dylan, though there are a few good ones. The great thing about this one is that it shows the whole tour and what Dylan was going through and how this one tour almost made him give up on music. The fans were brutal in their criticism and it just makes you sympathize whole-heartedly with Dylan and what he was going through at the time. Great for any musician who’s feeling like what they’re doing isn’t worth it or for any musician who feels that although he’s making great music, the audience doesn’t really care.

   Not only does this film focus on the tour but it also features a rare fly-on-the-wall look at Dylan after his motorcycle accident that just threw him into a hermit-like state, during a period of time where he wrote some of his best music since The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.

5. Live in Cuba: Audioslave

   

   This is primarily a concert DVD from Audioslave, but it also features an amazing documentary on this extremely historic concert event. This was the first time an American band had ever been able to play in Cuba, as popular music is mostly banned there. The documentary is great and really shows the band interacting with the locals of Cuba.

   I like the documentary for the reason that it’s more like a tour diary than a documentary. It shows how grateful the Cuban people are to have music of any kind played there, and all for free. All in all, a film well worth watching.

6. Rolling Stones: Gimme Shelter

   

   This doc follows The Rolling Stones through their 1969 tour, or more accurately, through the end of the 1969 tour. The last stop on the American Tour was at Altamont Speedway, in a concert that has been dubbed the death of the 1960’s spirit of optimism. It was during a very crazy tour and it finally culminated with the stabbing of one of the concert-goers by the security force, The Hell’s Angels.

   It was just crazy to see that a performance featuring an innocent sounding rock concert with The Rolling Stones could turn out like it did. Including some really great film making that shows how life for a rock band on the road can be literally brutal.

7. Rage Against The Machine: Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium

   

   Not necessarily strictly a documentary, this is also a concert DVD. The main part that I enjoyed was the inclusion of the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles in 2000 which Rage played at after much of the red-taped bureaucracy ended in fiasco.

   This film also shows the concert tour as well as the insane tactics of the police force. It’s fantastic that at the end of the concert, the police swoop in and start throwing tear gas, almost insinuating a riot themselves. It also shows the press conference afterwards between the police and some of the concert-goers. Just amazing to watch the brazenness of the police chief and one attendee who was trampled by police horses. Well done and well worth the watch.

8. Metallica: Some Kind of Monster

   

   Another great rock doc, this time featuring Metallica during the recording sessions for their album St. Anger. They brought in a psychiatrist to help them with their anger issues and the movie features not only departing bassist Jason Newsted, but also Dave Mustaine of Megadeth.

   Besides discussing the problems the band was facing at the time, they also discussed Napster and file-sharing along with James Hetfield’s drug rehab. Really well done and was also shown in theatres. A must buy for any Metallica fan or any fan of a well-done musical documentary.

9. This Is Spinal Tap

   

   Obviously not a real documentary, but definitely a documentary parody that no fan of music should miss. It’s hilarious in every way and as absurd as it is, and it definitely is, it’s almost true in a way. If it doesn’t make you laugh, then you either take your music way too seriously or you don’t laugh enough. I wouldn’t say it’s flawless by any means, but if you like music and you haven’t seen it, buy it, you’ll love it.

10. The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan Live at Newport Folk Festival

    

    Another great Bob Dylan documentary masterpiece. This film focuses primarily on the Newport Folk Festivals from 1963-1965 and has extremely well shot cinematography. The only gripe I have is that only two songs were shown from the infamous Dylan rock saga, although it’s still brilliant nonetheless. You can really see Dylan evolve from a folk musician to a folk visionary to someone doing things his own personal way.

    I know much of it’s been shown in other documentaries but this is still a great performance piece on Dylan and is mostly concert-oriented. Not much of a documentary but the music speaks where words would fail. Definitely a must buy.