Movie Documentary Music History
The 1980s as seen by MTV
Interviews with personalities including John Mellencamp, Spike Lee, Lou Reed, Roseanne Barr, David Byrne, George Michael and more, as they reflect on the 1980s.
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Cobain: Montage of Heck
Hailed as one of the most innovative and intimate documentaries of all time, experience Kurt Cobain like never before in the only ever fully authorized portrait of the famed music icon. Academy Award nominated filmmaker Brett Morgen expertly blends Cobain's personal archive of art, music, never seen before movies, animation and revelatory interviews from his family and closest friends.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
After the insane General Jack D. Ripper initiates a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union, a war room full of politicians, generals and a Russian diplomat all frantically try to stop the nuclear strike.
Bob Dylan - Dont Look Back
In this wildly entertaining vision of one of the twentieth century’s greatest artists, Bob Dylan is surrounded by teen fans, gets into heated philosophical jousts with journalists, and kicks back with fellow musicians Joan Baez, Donovan, and Alan Price.
The Filth and the Fury
Julien Temple's second documentary profiling punk rock pioneers the Sex Pistols is an enlightening, entertaining trip back to a time when the punk movement was just discovering itself. Featuring archival footage, never-before-seen performances, rehearsals, and recording sessions as well as interviews with group members who lived to tell the tale--including the one and only John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten).
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood
A look at 1970s Hollywood when it was known as New Hollywood, and the director was the star of the movie.
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin is a double DVD set first released in 2003. It represents the first official video release of Led Zeppelin's live material since 1976's The Song Remains the Same. The recording of the DVD spans the years from 1969 to 1979 and includes performances from the Royal Albert Hall in 1970, Madison Square Garden in 1973, Earls Court in 1975, and Knebworth in 1979. Extras provided on the set include a 1969 promo film for Communication Breakdown, a short performance on the French TV show 'Tous En Scene' in 1969, a short performance on the Danish TV Show 'TV-Byen' in 1969, a performance on the British TV shoe 'Supershow' in 1969, a performance of Immigrant Song from the band's show at the Sydney Showground in February 1972, an interview with the NYC Press Conference in 1970, an Australian press conference in 1972, an interview with The Old Grey Whistle Test, the Over The Hills And Far Away promo (1990) and the Travelling Riverside Blues promo (1990).
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
An exploration of the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on glam metal. It features concert footage and interviews of legendary heavy metal and hard rock bands and artists such as Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Megadeth, Motörhead, Ozzy Osbourne and W.A.S.P..
The Freddie Mercury Story: Who Wants to Live Forever?
The last years of Freddie Mercury (1946-1991), rock legend and frontman of Queen, a band that conquered the world of music in the seventies and eighties: what was his lifestyle and the path that led him to a tragic death due to AIDS when he was only 46 years old.
Queen: Days of Our Lives
In 1971, four college students got together to form a rock band. Since then, that certain band called Queen have released 26 albums and sold over 300 million records worldwide. The popularity of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon is stronger than ever 40 years on. But it was no bed of roses. No pleasure cruise. Queen had their share of kicks in the face, but they came through and this is how they did it, set against the backdrop of brilliant music and stunning live performances from every corner of the globe. In this film, for the first time, it is the band that tells their story. Featuring brand new interviews with the band and unseen archive footage (including their recently unearthed, first ever TV performance), it is a compelling story told with intelligence, wit, plenty of humor and painful honesty.
David Bowie & The Story of Ziggy Stardust
BBC documentary telling the story of how David Bowie arrived at one of the most iconic creations in pop history - Ziggy Stardust - with contributions from colleagues and famous fans.
Jealous Guy: The Assassination of John Lennon
An exploration of the life and career of the Beatles superstar, with a look at the strange parallels between him and his killer Mark David Chapman.
Prince: A Purple Reign
Part of BBC Four's Black Music Legends of the 1980s, this documentary explores how Prince - showman, artist, enigma - revolutionized the perception of black music in the 1980s with worldwide hits such as "1999," "Kiss," "Raspberry Beret" and "Alphabet Street." He became a global sensation with the release of the Oscar-winning, semi-autobiographical movie "Purple Rain" in 1984, embarking on an incredible journey of musical self-discovery that continues to this day.
Thriller 40
Forty years after the release of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller,’ the best-selling album of all-time, director Nelson George takes fans back in time to the making of a pop masterpiece, featuring never-before-seen footage and candid interviews.
Similiar TV Shows
American Bandstand
American Bandstand was an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer. The show featured teenagers dancing to Top 40 music introduced by Clark; at least one popular musical act—over the decades, running the gamut from Jerry Lee Lewis to Run DMC—would usually appear in person to lip-sync one of their latest singles. Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon holds the record for most appearances at 110. The show's popularity helped Dick Clark become an American media mogul and inspired similar long-running music programs, such as Soul Train and Top of the Pops. Clark eventually assumed ownership of the program through his Dick Clark Productions company.
Behind the Music
An intimate look into the personal lives of pop music's greatest and most influential artists.
Headbangers Ball
Headbangers Ball (also referred to as simply The Ball) was a music television program consisting of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV, MTV2 (its sister channel), MTV Australia, MTV Rocks (formerly known as MTV2 Europe), MTV Adria (the MTV subsidiary covering the former Yugoslavia), MTV Brand New, MTV Portugal, MTV Finland, MTV Arabia, MTV Norway, MTV Sweden, MTV Denmark, MTV Greece, MTV Türkiye, MTV Israel, MTV Hungary and MTV Japan. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987,[1] playing heavy metal and hard rock music videos late at night, from both well-known and more obscure artists. The show offered (and became famous because of) a stark contrast to Top 40 music videos shown during the day. However, with the mainstream rise of alternative rock, grunge, pop punk and rap music in the 1990s, the relevance of Headbangers Ball came into question, and the show was ultimately canceled in 1995. Over eight years later, as new genres of heavy metal were gaining a commercial foothold and fan interest became unavoidable, the program was reintroduced on MTV2. It has remained in varying degrees on the network's website, but is no longer shown on television. Many of the videos that aired on the first incarnation of the series would find a home on the similarly themed Metal Mayhem on sister channel MTV Classic.
Metalocalypse
Metalocalypse is an American animated television series, created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha, which premiered on August 6, 2006 on Adult Swim. The television program centers around the larger than life death metal band Dethklok, and often portrays dark and macabre content, including such subjects as violence, death, and the drawbacks of fame, with extremely hyperbolic black humor; which accounts for the cartoon's consistent TV-MA rating. The show can be seen as both a parody and celebration of heavy metal culture. The music, written by guitarist/creator Brendon Small, is credited to the band, and is featured in most of the episodes. The animation is often carefully synced to the music, with the chord positions and fingering of the guitar parts shown in some detail. One of the trademarks of the show is having the usual "bleeps" for extreme profanity replaced by pinch harmonics.
Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday
Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday is an American limited-run series broadcast on NBC. It is a political satire news show spin-off from Saturday Night Live, featuring that show's "Weekend Update" segment. It initially ran for three 30-minute episodes in October 2008, during the lead-up to the 2008 United States presidential election.
MTV Unplugged
MTV's acclaimed music series showcases today's top artists and rising stars in the industry performing acoustic versions of their songs.
The Roseanne Show
The Roseanne Show is a syndicated talk show hosted by American actress Roseanne Barr following the end of her long-running sitcom. The show featured Roseanne interviewing a mixture of quirky guests along with Roseanne's signature style of brassy, in-your-face, domestic goddess comedy.The Roseanne Show was the first to be recorded digitally. During the shows run there were also live call in's from Viewers and celebrities. Sometimes during a taping there was a webchat during the taping and after the show. Skits included Judge Roseanne, The Dr. is In-sane and a dating game-esque skit. Some skits also included her producer Mary Pelloni. Throughout the show's entire two-year run, Dailey Pike was Roseanne's warm up guy and sidekick regular on the show. In season one, Zach Hope was Roseanne's cyber sidekick. Later in season two, Michael Fishman, who portrayed D.J. Conner on Roseanne, replaced Hope as Roseanne's cyber sidekick.
I'm in a Rock 'n' Roll Band!
Series looking into the different elements that makes up the perfect Rock band.
Roseanne's Nuts
Roseanne's Nuts is a Lifetime reality show/docudrama that aired from July 13, 2011, to September 16, 2011. It featured Roseanne Barr, her partner Johnny Argent and son Jake Pentland as they live on their macadamia nut and livestock farm in Hawaii. Celebrity guests included: Bonnie Bramlett, Michael Fishman, Phyllis Diller and Sandra Bernhard. It premiered on July 13, 2011, with two half-hour episodes. The show received mixed reviews based on its first episode. Its premiere was watched by 1.6 million viewers becoming Lifetime's fourth most-watched unscripted series launch in total viewers, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. However, by its sixth week it was down to 711,000 viewers and was moved from Wednesdays to Friday nights for its final three weeks; repeats of Dance Moms took its Wednesday slot. On September 21, 2011, it was reported that Lifetime canceled the series.
Tanner on Tanner
Sixteen years ago, Jack Tanner's bid for the White House ended at the 1988 Democratic convention. Now the former congressman is the subject of a documentary film directed by his daughter Alex focusing on the toll paid by failed contenders.
Banned in the UK
Four-part series demonstrating different kinds of censorship, such as censorship by the government or of art.
The Great Songwriters
Authoritative and entertaining series featuring original portraits of songwriters discussing the creative process and their inspiration, including exclusive performances and interviews.
Wrong Is Right
Political double-talk, dirty tricks, hidden microphones, spy satellites, bugging the Oval Office and a nuclear bomb for sale are all ingredients in this swift, funny and frightening look at the possibilities in today's political arenas. Sean Connery stars as TV Newsman Patrick Hale on an international chase to track two suitcase sized nuclear weapons and to uncover the twisting maze of apparent involvement of US Government agencies.