Popular Music Movies on Kanopy - Page 14

Expresso Bongo

1959

Expresso Bongo

1959
5.1
A seedy London promoter turns a naive, working-class teenager into a pop singing sensation.
My Depression (The Up and Down and Up of It)

2014

My Depression (The Up and Down and Up of It)

2014
7.4
Based on Elizabeth Swados’ picture book of the same name, this animated short film charts one woman's struggle with depression.
The Harvest

2017

The Harvest

2017
Gurwinder comes from Punjab, he’s been working for years as a farm hand in Agro Pontino, not far from Rome. Since he first came in Italy, he’s been living with the rest of the Sikh community in Latina province. Hardeep is also Indian, but her stress is Roman, and she works as a cultural mediator. She, born and raised in Italy, is trying to free herself from the memories of a family that emigrated in another age, while he is forced, against his faith, to take methamphetamine and doping to bear the heavy work pace, to be able to send money in India.
Tiny and Ruby: Hell Divin' Women

1989

Tiny and Ruby: Hell Divin' Women

1989
1
This profile of storied trumpeter of jazz, Tiny Davis, and her cohort pianist-drummer, Ruby Lucas, is an amalgam of artifacts about the two women, accompanied with poetry by Cheryl Clarke.
We Are X

2016

We Are X

2016
7.1
As glam rock's most flamboyant survivors, X Japan ignited a musical revolution in Japan during the late '80s with their melodic metal. Twenty years after their tragic dissolution, X Japan’s leader, Yoshiki, battles with physical and spiritual demons alongside prejudices of the West to bring their music to the world.
Metalhead

2013

Metalhead

2013
7.3
A young girl in 1990s Iceland is caught between the life that took her brother and her own inability to strike out on her own. In her grief, she finds solace in metal and dreams of making her own music.
Afghan Star

2008

Afghan Star

2008
6.3
This documentary on the effect the talent competition "Afghan Star" has on the incredibly diverse inhabitants of Afghanistan affords a glimpse into a country rarely seen. Contestants risk their lives to appear on the television show that is a raging success with the public and also monitored closely by the government.
Jimi: All Is by My Side

2013

Jimi: All Is by My Side

2013
5.6
A drama based on Jimi Hendrix's life as he left New York City for London, where his career took off.
Your Face

1987

Your Face

1987
6.6
A tenor, in suit and tie, with a receding hairline, sings a ballad to his love, “Your Face Is Like a Song,” to simple piano accompaniment. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2015.
Until the Light Takes Us

2008

Until the Light Takes Us

2008
6.7
Chronicles the history, ideology and aesthetic of Norwegian black metal, a musical subculture infamous as much for a series of murders and church arsons as it is for its unique musical and visual aesthetics. This is the first film to truly shed light on a movement that has heretofore been shrouded by rumor and obscured by inaccurate and shallow depictions. Featuring exclusive interviews with the musicians themselves, Until the Light Takes Us explores every aspect of the controversial movement that has captured the attention of the world.
Charley Pride: I'm Just Me

2019

Charley Pride: I'm Just Me

2019
3.8
This film traces the improbable journey of Charley Pride, from his humble beginnings as a sharecropper’s son on a cotton farm in segregated Sledge, Mississippi to his career as a Negro American League baseball player and his meteoric rise as a trailblazing country music superstar. The new documentary reveals how Pride’s love for music led him from the Delta to a larger, grander world.
The World According to Allee Willis

2024

The World According to Allee Willis

2024
Take one look at award-winning songwriter / artist Allee Willis and you see someone unafraid to be themselves. Dressed in a cacophony of prints and colors, her signature asymmetrical haircut and famed parties at her real-life Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, Allee didn’t waste any opportunity to tell you what she was about. But privately, Allee struggled with not fitting established gender and sexual norms. She buried herself in her work, until true love manifested her ultimate masterpiece - self-acceptance.
Marley

2012

Marley

2012
7.5
Bob Marley's universal appeal, impact on music history and role as a social and political prophet is both unique and unparalleled. Directed by Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland), MARLEY is the definitive life story of the musician, revolutionary, and legend, from his early days to his rise to international superstardom. Made with the support of the Marley family, the film features rare footage, incredible performances and revelatory interviews with the people that knew him best.
Dyke Hard

2014

Dyke Hard

2014
4.8
Dyke Hard is a failed rock group travelling to a battle of the bands competition in the big city. The journey is further filled with bizarre, fierce and passionate encounters with cyborgs, ghosts, a thai boxer, roller derby gals, ninjas, motorcycle gangs and a mysterious billionaire all of whom will do everything to stop the band from making it in time to the battle.
They Shall Have Music

1939

They Shall Have Music

1939
6.2
The future is bleak for a troubled boy from a broken home in the slums. He runs away when his step father breaks his violin, ending up sleeping in the basement of a music school for poor children.
Teaches of Peaches

2024

Teaches of Peaches

2024
8
Peaches - artist, feminist, rock star. She has been challenging gender stereotypes for over 20 years and is on par with the icons of the pop and rock world. With exclusive private archive material and current footage of preparations and concerts of her 2022 jubilee tour “20 Years of Teaches of Peaches”, we learn how the Canadian Merrill Nisker became the internationally celebrated musician and electro-clash icon Peaches.
Sita Sings the Blues

2008

Sita Sings the Blues

2008
6.9
Utilizing the 1920s jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw, the epic Indian tale of exiled prince Ramayana and his bride Sita is mirrored by a spurned woman's contemporary personal life, and light-hearted but knowledgeable discussion of historical background by a trio of Indian shadow puppets.
Ornette: Made in America

1986

Ornette: Made in America

1986
6.3
Shirley Clarke's frenetic documentary about multi-talented musician Ornette Coleman.
Style Wars

1984

Style Wars

1984
7.4
Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant's PBS documentary tracks the rise and fall of subway graffiti in New York in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Anvil! The Story of Anvil

2008

Anvil! The Story of Anvil

2008
7.6
At 14, best friends Robb Reiner and Lips made a pact to rock together forever. Their band, Anvil, hailed as the "demi-gods of Canadian metal" influenced a musical generation that includes Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax. Following a calamitous European tour, Lips and Robb, now in their fifties, set off to record their 13th album in one last attempt to fulfill their boyhood dreams.