Great Music-Related Films
I've always enjoyed music-themed films about the music and the musicians who create it. These are some of my faves.
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- DirectorMilos FormanStarsF. Murray AbrahamTom HulceElizabeth BerridgeThe life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was deeply jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him.
- DirectorMark SandrichRobert AllenStarsBing CrosbyFred AstaireMarjorie ReynoldsAt an inn which is open only on holidays, a crooner and a hoofer vie for the affections of a beautiful up-and-coming performer.
- DirectorMaggie GreenwaldStarsJanet McTeerMichael HardingMichael DavisAfter being denied a promotion at the university where she teaches, Doctor Lily Penleric, a brilliant musicologist, impulsively visits her sister, who runs a struggling rural school in Appalachia. There she stumbles upon the discovery of her life - a treasure trove of ancient Scots-Irish ballads, songs that have been handed down from generation to generation, preserved intact by the seclusion of the mountains. With the goal of securing her promotion, Lily ventures into the most isolated areas of the mountains to collect the songs and finds herself increasingly enchanted - not only by the rugged purity of the music, but also by the raw courage and endurance of the local people as they carve out meaningful lives against the harshest conditions. It is not, however, until she meets Tom - a handsome, hardened war veteran and talented musician - that she's forced to examine her motivations. Is the "Songcatcher," as Tom insists, no better than the men who exploit the people and extort their land?
- DirectorTom McCarthyStarsRichard JenkinsHaaz SleimanDanai GuriraA college professor travels to New York City to attend a conference and finds a young couple living in his apartment.
- DirectorStephen WalkerSally GeorgeStarsJoe BenoitHelen BostonLouise CanadyA documentary on a chorus of senior citizens from Massachusetts who cover songs by Jimi Hendrix, Coldplay, Sonic Youth, and other unexpected musicians.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsGeorge ClooneyJohn TurturroTim Blake NelsonIn the deep south during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJulie AndrewsChristopher PlummerEleanor ParkerA young novice is sent by her convent in 1930s Austria to become a governess to the seven children of a widowed naval officer.
- DirectorWolfgang ReithermanStarsPhil HarrisSebastian CabotLouis PrimaBagheera the Panther and Baloo the Bear have a difficult time trying to convince a boy to leave the jungle for human civilization.
- DirectorJohn CarneyStarsGlen HansardMarkéta IrglováHugh WalshA modern-day musical about a busker and an immigrant and their eventful week in Dublin, as they write, rehearse and record songs that tell their love story.
- DirectorStanley DonenGene KellyStarsGene KellyDonald O'ConnorDebbie ReynoldsA silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his delusionally jealous screen partner are trying to make the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood.
- DirectorTony GatlifStarsLa CaitaThe journey of the Romany people told through musicians and dancers of India, Egypt, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, France, and Spain.
- DirectorUlu GrosbardStarsJennifer Jason LeighMare WinninghamTed LevineSadie is desperately looking up to her older sister Georgia who is a famous C&W artist. Her desperate need to be accepted by her sister is constantly complicated by her drug and alcohol problems.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsBing CrosbyDanny KayeRosemary ClooneyA successful song-and-dance team become romantically involved with a sister act and team up to save the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding general.
- DirectorFrançois GirardStarsCarlo CecchiJean-Luc BideauChristoph KonczA red-colored violin inspires passion, making its way through three centuries over several owners and countries, eventually ending up at an auction where it may find a new owner.
- DirectorSteve KlovesStarsJeff BridgesMichelle PfeifferBeau BridgesThe lives of two struggling musicians, who happen to be brothers, inevitably change when they team up with a beautiful, up-and-coming singer.
- DirectorJason MooreStarsAnna KendrickBrittany SnowRebel WilsonBeca, a freshman at Barden University, is cajoled into joining The Bellas, her school's all-girls singing group. Injecting some much needed energy into their repertoire, The Bellas take on their male rivals in a campus competition.
- DirectorWayne BlairStarsChris O'DowdDeborah MailmanJessica MauboyIn 1968, four talented young Australian Aboriginal girls learn about love, friendship, and war when their all-girl group The Sapphires entertains the US troops in Vietnam.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsTopolNorma CraneLeonard FreyIn pre-revolutionary Russia, a Jewish peasant with traditional values contends with marrying off three of his daughters with modern romantic ideals while growing anti-Semitic sentiment threatens his village.
- DirectorStephen HerekStarsRichard DreyfussGlenne HeadlyJay ThomasA frustrated composer finds fulfillment as a high school music teacher.
- DirectorKaige ChenStarsYun TangPeiqi LiuHong ChenA violin prodigy and his father travel to Beijing, where the father seeks the means to his son's success while the son struggles to accept the path laid before him.
- DirectorAllison AndersStarsIlleana DouglasJohn TurturroSissy BoydEdna wins a recording contract singing her own song at a competition in 1958. After trying to make it as a singer/songwriter for 11 months in NYC, she has success writing songs for others at the Brill Building.
- DirectorWim WendersStarsCompay SegundoIbrahim FerrerRubén GonzálezAging Cuban musicians whose talents had been virtually forgotten following Castro's takeover of Cuba, are brought out of retirement by Ry Cooder, who travelled to Havana in order to bring the musicians together, resulting in triumphant performances of extraordinary music, and resurrecting the musicians' careers.
- DirectorMark HermanStarsPete PostlethwaiteTara FitzgeraldEwan McGregorThe coal mine in a northern English village may be closing, which would also mean the end of the miners' brass band.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsMeryl StreepCloris LeachmanHenry DinhoferAfter Roberta Guaspari separates from her husband, she receives encouragement from her mother to take up a job of a music teacher at the Central Park East School in East Harlem.
- DirectorBrian GibsonStarsAngela BassettLaurence FishburneRaéVen KellyThe story of singer Tina Turner's rise to stardom and how she gained the courage to break free from her abusive husband, Ike Turner.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsEddie BarthIrene CaraLee CurreriA chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsRobert ArkinsMichael AherneAngeline BallJimmy Rabbitte, an unemployed Dublin boy, decides to put together a soul band made up entirely of the Irish working class.
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsRiver PhoenixSamantha MathisDermot MulroneyNewcomers to the country-music business seek love and stardom.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsRalph MacchioJoe SenecaJami GertzA wannabe blues-guitar virtuoso finds an old blues player and hopes he can teach him a long-lost song by legendary musician Robert Johnson.
- DirectorHarry ElfontDeborah KaplanStarsRachael Leigh CookTara ReidRosario DawsonA girl group find themselves in the middle of a conspiracy to deliver subliminal messages through popular music.
- DirectorKirsten SheridanStarsFreddie HighmoreKeri RussellJonathan Rhys MeyersA musically gifted orphan, Evan, runs away from his orphanage and searches New York City for his birth parents. On his journey, he's taken under the wing of the Wizard, a homeless man who lives in an abandoned theater.
- DirectorRandal KleiserStarsJohn TravoltaOlivia Newton-JohnStockard ChanningGood girl Sandy Olsson and greaser Danny Zuko fell in love over the summer. When they unexpectedly discover they're now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance?
- DirectorCameron CroweStarsBilly CrudupPatrick FugitKate HudsonA high-school boy in the early 1970s is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies them on their concert tour.
- DirectorJames MangoldStarsJoaquin PhoenixReese WitherspoonGinnifer GoodwinA chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsJohn BelushiDan AykroydCab CallowayJake Blues rejoins with his brother Elwood after being released from prison, but the duo has just days to reunite their old R&B band and save the Catholic home where the two were raised, outrunning the police as they tear through Chicago.
- DirectorFloria SigismondiStarsKristen StewartDakota FanningMichael ShannonA coming-of-age biographical film about the 1970s teenage all-girl rock band The Runaways. The relationship between band members Cherie Currie and Joan Jett is also explored.
- DirectorMarc LawrenceStarsHugh GrantDrew BarrymoreScott PorterA washed up singer is given a couple days to compose a chart-topping hit for an aspiring teen sensation. Though he's never written a decent lyric in his life, he sparks with an offbeat younger woman with a flair for words.
- DirectorTom HanksStarsTom HanksLiv TylerCharlize TheronA local Pennsylvania band scores a one-hit wonder in 1964 and rides the star-making machinery as long as they can, with lots of help from their manager.
- DirectorSam Taylor-JohnsonStarsAaron Taylor-JohnsonKristin Scott ThomasAnne-Marie DuffA chronicle of John Lennon's first years, focused mainly in his adolescence and his relationship with his stern aunt Mimi, who raised him, and his absentee mother Julia, who re-entered his life at a crucial moment in his young life.
- DirectorRon MaxwellStarsKristy McNicholDennis QuaidMark HamillA small-town stud wants to go to Nashville to be a big country star. His ambitious kid sister works as his manager. Their dream hits jeopardy when they cross paths with a small-town sheriff.
- DirectorDagen MerrillStarsLuke ArnoldAlexa PenaVegaRhys WakefieldA sheep-rancher's son aspires to win a music conservatory scholarship, but to apply he needs musicians who can play his music. Circumstances lead him to form a band out of prison inmates.
- DirectorMark HermanStarsBrenda BlethynJane HorrocksMichael CaineA shy reclusive lady is convinced by an invisible entity to sing. Subsequently, she finds herself noticed by a sleazy talent agent and her talent being showcased on-stage. She also meets a kind but nervous man who becomes her best friend.
- DirectorJim McBrideStarsDennis QuaidWinona RyderJohn DoeThe life and career of wildly controversial rock 'n' roll star Jerry Lee Lewis.
- DirectorRichard FleischerSidney J. FurieStarsLaurence OlivierNeil DiamondLucie ArnazThe son of a Jewish Cantor must defy the traditions of his religious father in order to pursue his dream of being a popular singer.
- DirectorCharles Stone IIIStarsNick CannonZoe SaldanaOrlando JonesA band director recruits a Harlem street drummer to play at a Southern university.
- DirectorLuis ValdezStarsLou Diamond PhillipsEsai MoralesRosanna DeSotoBiographical story of the rise from nowhere of early rock and roll singer Ritchie Valens who died at age 17 in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.
- DirectorEmile ArdolinoStarsWhoopi GoldbergMaggie SmithHarvey KeitelWhen a nightclub singer is forced to take refuge from the mob in a convent, she ends up turning the convent choir into a soulful chorus complete with a Motown repertoire, until the sudden celebrity of the choir jeopardizes her identity.
- DirectorScott CooperStarsJeff BridgesMaggie GyllenhaalColin FarrellA faded country music musician is forced to reassess his dysfunctional life during a doomed romance that also inspires him.
- DirectorGarry MarshallStarsBette MidlerBarbara HersheyJohn HeardA privileged rich debutante and a cynical struggling entertainer share a turbulent, but strong childhood friendship over the years.
- DirectorSara SugarmanStarsRachel GriffithsJonathan PryceIoan GruffuddAfter her father suffers a stroke, his daughter is forced to take care of him.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsJack BlackMike WhiteJoan CusackAfter being kicked out of his rock band, Dewey Finn becomes a substitute teacher of an uptight elementary private school, only to try and turn his class into a rock band.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsRob ReinerMichael McKeanChristopher GuestSpinal Tap, one of England's loudest bands, is chronicled by film director Marty DiBergi on what proves to be a fateful tour.
- DirectorMick JacksonStarsKevin CostnerWhitney HoustonGary KempA former Secret Service agent takes on the job of bodyguard to an R&B singer, whose lifestyle is most unlike a President's.
- DirectorJane CampionStarsHolly HunterHarvey KeitelSam NeillIn the mid-19th century a mute woman is sent to New Zealand along with her young daughter and prized piano for an arranged marriage to a farmer, but is soon lusted after by a farm worker.
- DirectorDustin HoffmanStarsMaggie SmithMichael GambonBilly ConnollyAt a home for retired musicians, the annual concert to celebrate Composer Giuseppe Verdi's birthday is disrupted by the arrival of Jean (Dame Maggie Smith), an eternal diva and the former wife of one of the residents.
- DirectorKay PollakStarsMichael NyqvistFrida HallgrenHelen SjöholmA famous international conductor returns to his small childhood town in Sweden for early retirement. He's asked to help with the church choir. He affects the lives of all in the choir.
- DirectorMark SandrichStarsFred AstaireGinger RogersEdward Everett HortonA ballet dancer and a showgirl fake a marriage for publicity purposes, then fall in love.
- DirectorJeff FeuerzeigStarsDaniel JohnstonMabel JohnstonBill JohnstonDaniel Johnston, manic-depressive genius singer/songwriter/artist is revealed in this portrait of madness, creativity and love.
- DirectorBarbara KoppleCecilia PeckStarsNatalie MainesEmily StrayerMartie MaguireA documentary on the The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks) in the wake of singer Natalie Maines' anti-George W. Bush statement at a 2003 concert.
- DirectorAndrew L. StoneStarsLena HorneBill RobinsonCab Calloway and His Cotton Club OrchestraThe relationship between an aspiring dancer and a popular songstress provides a retrospective of the great African-American entertainers of the early 1900s.
- DirectorKate Barker-FroylandStarsAnne HathawayJohnny FlynnBen RosenfieldA young woman strikes up a relationship with her ailing brother's favorite musician.
- DirectorMorgan NevilleStarsDarlene LoveMerry ClaytonLisa FischerBackup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we've had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead, until now.
- DirectorElizabeth BanksStarsAnna KendrickRebel WilsonHailee SteinfeldAfter a humiliating command performance at The Kennedy Center, the Barden Bellas enter an international competition that no American group has ever won in order to regain their status and right to perform.
- DirectorJohn CarneyStarsKeira KnightleyMark RuffaloAdam LevineA chance encounter between a down-and-out music business executive, and a young singer songwriter new to Manhattan, turns into a promising collaboration between the two talents.
- DirectorJim KohlbergStarsLou Taylor PucciJ.K. SimmonsJulia OrmondTale of a father who struggles to bond with his estranged son Gabriel, after Gabriel suffers from a brain tumor that prevents him from forming new memories. With Gabriel unable to shed the beliefs and interests that caused their physical and emotional distance, Henry must learn to embrace his son's choices and try to connect with him through music.
- DirectorYôjirô TakitaStarsMasahiro MotokiRyôko HirosueTsutomu YamazakiSoon after buying an expensive cello, Daigo learns that his orchestra is disbanding. He moves back to his hometown with his wife, where he answers an ad for what Daigo thinks is a travel agency but is, in actuality, a mortuary.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsDemetri MartinHenry GoodmanEdward HibbertA man working at his parents' motel in the Catskills inadvertently sets in motion the generation-defining concert in the summer of 1969.
- DirectorTom TykwerLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsTom HanksHalle BerryHugh GrantAn exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.
- DirectorDerrick BorteStarsJonathan Rhys MeyersDaniel HuttlestoneDougray ScottIn '70s London, a 14 year-old boy is introduced to the Clash by his estranged mother. It changes his life forever.
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsDanny GloverLisaGay HamiltonYaya DaCosta1950. Rural Alabama. Cotton harvest. It's a make-or-break weekend for the Honeydripper Lounge and its owner, piano player Tyrone "Pine Top" Purvis. Deep in debt to the liquor man, the chicken man, and the landlord, Tyrone is desperate to lure the young cotton pickers and local Army base recruits into his juke joint, away from Touissant's, the rival joint across the way. His plan to hire a guitar legend goes awry and Tyrone is forced to take drastic action in a final scheme to save the club.
- DirectorMarc EvansStarsMinnie DriverKristian GwilliamAdam ByardIn the heat of the summer of 1976, drama teacher Vivienne fights sweltering heat and general teenage apathy to put on an end-of-term version of Shakespeare's The Tempest.
- DirectorLenny AbrahamsonStarsMichael FassbenderDomhnall GleesonMaggie GyllenhaalJon, a young wanna-be musician, discovers he's bitten off more than he can chew when he joins an eccentric pop band led by the mysterious and enigmatic Frank.
- DirectorBill CondonStarsEmma WatsonDan StevensLuke EvansA selfish Prince is cursed to become a monster for the rest of his life, unless he learns to fall in love with a beautiful young woman he keeps prisoner.
- DirectorJulie TaymorStarsEvan Rachel WoodJim SturgessJoe AndersonThe music of The Beatles and the Vietnam War form the backdrop for the romance between an upper-class American girl and a poor Liverpudlian artist.
- DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsRyan GoslingEmma StoneRosemarie DeWittWhile navigating their careers in Los Angeles, a pianist and an actress fall in love while attempting to reconcile their aspirations for the future.
- DirectorJon M. ChuStarsAubrey SheaStefanie ScottAurora PerrineauAs a small-town girl catapults from underground video sensation to global superstar, she and her three sisters begin a journey of discovering that some talents are too special to keep hidden.
- DirectorPaolo SorrentinoStarsMichael CaineHarvey KeitelRachel WeiszA retired orchestra conductor is on vacation with his daughter and his film director best friend in the Alps when he receives an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to perform for Prince Philip's birthday.
- DirectorPeter FarrellyStarsViggo MortensenMahershala AliLinda CardelliniA working-class Italian-American bouncer becomes the driver for an African-American classical pianist on a tour of venues through the 1960s American South.
- DirectorJesse PeretzStarsChris O'DowdRose ByrneEthan HawkeAnnie (the long-suffering girlfriend of Duncan) has an unlikely transatlantic romance with once revered, now faded, singer-songwriter, Tucker Crowe, who also happens to be the subject of Duncan's musical obsession.
- DirectorChad HartiganStarsMarkees ChristmasCraig RobinsonCarla JuriThe romantic and coming-of-age misadventures of a 13-year-old American living in Germany.
- DirectorGurinder ChadhaStarsBilly BarrattRonak Singh Chadha BergesViveik KalraIn England in 1987, a teenager from an Asian family learns to live his life, understand his family and find his own voice through the music of American rock star Bruce Springsteen.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsHimesh PatelLily JamesSophia Di MartinoA struggling musician realizes he's the only person on Earth who can remember The Beatles after waking up in an alternate reality where they never existed.
- DirectorJohn CarneyStarsFerdia Walsh-PeeloAidan GillenMaria Doyle KennedyA young lad notices a beautiful girl who begins to occupy his thoughts. While struggling with poverty, personal relationships and life's woes, he starts a band, hoping to catch her attention.
- DirectorGina Prince-BythewoodStarsGugu Mbatha-RawNate ParkerMinnie DriverThe pressures of fame have superstar singer Noni on the edge, until she meets Kaz, a young cop who works to help her find the courage to develop her own voice and break free to become the artist she was meant to be.
- DirectorPeter LivolsiStarsAsa ButterfieldAlex WolffNick OffermanThe film tells futurist, architect, and inventor R. Buckminster Fuller's incredible story through two teens hoping to get laid, become punk gods, and survive high school.
- DirectorGeorge C. WolfeStarsS. Epatha MerkersonMarcus Carl FranklinYasiin BeyIn a story fueled by rhythm and blues, a young boy's life is shaped by love and the stories of a cast of characters in the boarding house where he lives in 1960s Lackawanna, New York.
- DirectorJasmine DellalStarsMaharajaEsma RedzepovaTaraf de HaidouksA brief look into Romani culture and Rom (Gypsies) from around the globe as five famous Romani groups tour the USA. The film visits their families at home in Spain, India, Macedonia and Romania.
- DirectorBill PohladStarsJohn CusackPaul DanoElizabeth BanksIn the 60s, Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson struggles with emerging psychosis as he attempts to craft his avant-garde pop masterpiece. In the 80s, he's a broken, confused man under the 24-hour watch of shady therapist, Dr. Eugene Landy.
- DirectorJames GriffithsStarsNick FrostRashida JonesChris O'DowdBeneath Bruce Garrett's under-confident, overweight exterior, the passionate heart of a salsa king lies dormant. Now, one woman is about to reignite his Latin fire.
- DirectorBrett HaleyStarsNick OffermanKiersey ClemonsBlythe DannerA father and daughter form an unlikely songwriting duo in the summer before she leaves for college.
- DirectorAmanda LipitzStarsGari McIntyreAmanda LeonardBlessin GiraldoSTEP documents the senior year of a girls' high-school step dance team against the background of inner-city Baltimore.
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsOscar IsaacCarey MulliganJohn GoodmanA week in the life of a young singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961.
- DirectorJon M. ChuStarsRobert HoffmanBriana EviganCassie VenturaRomantic sparks occur between two dance students from different backgrounds at the Maryland School of the Arts.
- DirectorChris FogginStarsJames PurefoyMeadow NobregaDavid HaymanTen fisherman from Cornwall are signed by Universal Records and achieve a top ten hit with their debut album, "Sea Shanties."
- DirectorMat WhitecrossStarsElliott TittensorNico MirallegroAdam LongFive teenage friends will stop at nothing to attend a concert by their favourite band, The Stone Roses.
- DirectorJared BushByron HowardCharise Castro SmithStarsStephanie BeatrizMaría Cecilia BoteroJohn LeguizamoA Colombian teenage girl has to face the frustration of being the only member of her family without magical powers.
- DirectorGarth JenningsChristophe LourdeletStarsMatthew McConaugheyReese WitherspoonScarlett JohanssonBuster Moon and his friends must persuade reclusive rock star Clay Calloway to join them for the opening of a new show.
- DirectorEddie SternbergStarsEd SkreinEleanor MatsuuraLeo LongFollows Vince, a desperate former popstar who dreams of making a comeback. An impromptu jam session with autistic young drummer Stevie sparks an unexpected friendship between the two misunderstood musicians.
- DirectorJohn CarneyStarsEve HewsonJoseph Gordon-LevittOrén KinlanA single mom at war with her son is trying to find a hobby for him. One day, she rescues a guitar from a dumpster.
- DirectorBryan SingerStarsRami MalekLucy BoyntonGwilym LeeThe story of the legendary British rock band Queen and lead singer Freddie Mercury, leading up to their famous performance at Live Aid (1985).