Music is just a tiny part of what makes a great rock and roll documentary. The films on this list also contain intimate interviews, rare concert footage, and research into the social and political landscapes that have influenced some of the greatest musicians, bands, and musical movements in history. Here’s a list of some of the greatest rock and roll documentaries ever made.
1. Don’t Look Back
While it’s another Dylan doc that frequently tops the rock and roll documentary lists (Martin Scorsese’s No Direction Home), D.A. Pennebaker’s 1967 film covers a pivotal moment in Dylan’s career: his switch from folksy protest singer to brooding rock and roll poet. Dylan screws with journalists at press conferences, scoffs at fans that just don’t get where he’s going, and duets with Joan Baez as their relationship is on the verge of collapse.
This is the most intimate glimpse into Dylan’s personal life that he would ever allow the world to see. He fights with Baez, fights with journalists, fights with his entourage, fights with other musicians, and when not fighting, spends his time hammering away at a typewriter. “Dont Look Back is really about fame and how it menaces art, about the press and how it categorizes, bowdlerizes, sterilizes, universalizes or conventionalizes an original like Dylan into something it can dimly understand,” said a 1967 Newsweek review. Lastly, it contains what is thought by some to be the first ever music video, footage of Dylan holding up and dropping cards with the lyrics of “Subterranean Homesick Blues.”
2. The Last Waltz
Scorsese is not just a master of the gangster movie but also the rock and roll documentary. Several of Scorsese’s films could have made it on this list, but the most famous of his rock documentaries is The Last Waltz, which documents the final performance of the Band and includes appearances from Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, and Eric Clapton, among others.
The farewell concert was held on Thanksgiving Day 1976. Concert footage is broken up with interviews between band members Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, and Robbie Robertson with Scorsese. While the movie has been criticized for focusing too heavily on Robertson, seeing the hugely talented multi-instrumentalist members of the Band perform with such a legendary cast of musicians makes the film a treasure. It’s considered by many to be the best rock and roll film ever made.
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7. This Is Spinal Tap
Yes, this is a mockumentary, but one that comes terrifyingly close to the truth, and it is considered to be one of the funniest movies of all time. Spinal Tap is a fictional metal band comprised of comedians Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, and Christopher Guest. The film, directed by Rob Reiner, uses the group to satirize the egotistical, pretentious party animals that were rock’s biggest stars and the rockumentary form as a whole.
Everyone has their own favorite moment in the film, whether it be the too-small Stonehenge replica, the amps that go “to 11,” the manipulative girlfriend, or the series of bizarre deaths that befall the group’s drummers. Many famous musicians are rumored to have said that they identify with the movie, which reminded them of their own bizarre experiences. Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and Ozzy Osborne, among others have admitted to getting lost while trying to go onstage in huge arenas.
There are several stories about Spinal Tap being viewed by rock and roll stars who failed to understand the movie’s humor, including Steven Tyler and Eddie Van Halen. This movie hilariously smashes the godly aura surrounding the world’s biggest rock stars without ever even naming them.
By Jacqueline Sahagian | Google+
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