Top Rated Music Movies on Kanopy - Page 12

Hot Summer

1968

Hot Summer

1968
5.8
In this East German teen musical, a group of girls are planning to take their summer vacation together on the Baltic coast. When a loud and obnoxious group of boys intrudes on their holiday, the girls are horrified to learn that the boys have the same vacations plans as them. The two groups quarrel with each other and compete over a number of things, but gradually an attraction starts to form.
A Cowgirl's Song

2022

A Cowgirl's Song

2022
5.1
An aspiring but adrift teen singer goes to live with her grandmother, once a country music legend, but has fallen on hard times after the death of her husband five years earlier. Together, they overcome adversity and find redemption through their love of music.
Last Man Standing: Suge Knight and the Murders of Biggie and Tupac

2021

Last Man Standing: Suge Knight and the Murders of Biggie and Tupac

2021
6.7
Last Man Standing takes a look at Death Row and how L.A.’s street gang culture had come to dominate its business workings, as well as an association with corrupt LA police officers who were also gang affiliated. It would be this world of gang rivalry and dirty cops that would claim the lives of the world’s two greatest rappers: Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls.
Awaken

2021

Awaken

2021
6.8
A documentary film exploring humanity's relationship with technology and with the natural world. Shot over a 5-year period in more than 30 countries, the film pioneers new timelapse, time-dilation, underwater, and aerial cinematography techniques to give audiences new eyes with which to see our world.
American Folk

2018

American Folk

2018
5.9
Two strangers, both folk musicians stranded in California, take a road trip to New York in the days after 9/11. A story about the kindness of strangers and the power of music.
Gary Numan: Android In La La Land

2016

Gary Numan: Android In La La Land

2016
7.2
The Godfather of electronic music is on a one-way trip to crack America, returning to the studio for the first time in nearly a decade. Android is a celebration of a music-making pioneer and the love story that helped him turn his life around.
Of Mind and Music

2014

Of Mind and Music

2014
6
Dr. Alvaro Cruz, a neuroscientist, disillusioned by the death of his mother and his inability to help her, finds redemption and reward by helping Una Vida, a jazz singer he discovers performing on the streets of New Orleans. Her health declining and her singing partner and her adopted daughter unable to help, Cruz seeks out her long lost son in an effort to bring resolution to the grief, loss and longing that has overshadowed her hard but beautiful life.
Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll

2014

Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll

2014
7.7
Through the eyes, words and songs of its popular music stars of the 50s, 60s, and 70s, Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll examines and unravels Cambodia's tragic past, culminating in the genocidal Khmer Rouge's dismantling of the society and murder of 2,000,000 of its citizens.
Whose Is This Song?

2003

Whose Is This Song?

2003
6.1
Adela Peeva explores the national origin of a song common amongst a set of countries, and finds that the answer is not as simple as one might think.
Bashment

2011

Bashment

2011
7.2
JJ is an aspiring MC exploding onto London's exciting outlaw urban music scene. He's got the skills, he's got the rhymes, and he's got the drive. But there's a problem — not only is JJ a white boy from the sticks — he's also gay. And gay — in the world of hip-hop and ragga — ain't good. So when JJ resolves to come onstage at the Urban Slam Finals, taking his boyfriend Orlando with him, he knows it's going to get a bit grimy... but when the couple falls foul of the Infamous ghetto-rap crew, the Ilford Illmanics and Orlando is beaten into a state of permanent brain-damage, all of their lives are changed forever in a way no one could have ever foreseen.
We Are Mari Pepa

2013

We Are Mari Pepa

2013
6.8
The story of Alex, a 16 year old teenager living with his grandma.He has various plans for the summer: writing a new song with his rock band, finding a job and having his first sexual experience. He also becomes aware that his grandma is increasingly dependent on him. As summer draws on, Alex realizes that things are going to change forever and that he will have to grow up and learn to say goodbye.
The Roe's Room

1997

The Roe's Room

1997
6.4
Bound to a suffocating existence, a young man embarks on a marvelous journey of the imagination, transforming ordinary details of his room into fantastic images of natural beauty, where the cycles of life mysteriously play themselves out.
Ornette: Made in America

1986

Ornette: Made in America

1986
6.3
Shirley Clarke's frenetic documentary about multi-talented musician Ornette Coleman.
Chely Wright: Wish Me Away

2012

Chely Wright: Wish Me Away

2012
4.8
After a lifetime of hiding, Chely Wright becomes the first commercial country music singer to come out as gay, shattering cultural stereotypes within Nashville, per conservative heartland family and, most importantly, within herself. With unprecedented access over a two-year period, including her private video diaries, the film layers Chely's rise to fame while hiding in the late 90's with the execution of her coming out plan, culminating in the exciting moment when she steps into the media glare to reveal she is gay. The film shows both the devastation of internalized homophobia and the transformational power of living an authentic life. The film also documents the conflicting responses from Nashville, the heartland and the LGBT community as Chely Wright prepares for an unknown future.
Ain't in It for My Health: A Film About Levon Helm

2010

Ain't in It for My Health: A Film About Levon Helm

2010
6.3
Starting with the image of a tour bus warming its engine in the stillness of an empty lot, this haunting, personal portrait of music legend Levon Helm evokes the mood of a lifetime spent on the road. Jacob Hatley's extraordinarily intimate documentary finds Helm, a founding member of The Band, at home in Woodstock in the midst of creating his first studio album in 25 years. The ultimate survivor, he's overcome drugs, bankruptcy, the bitter breakup of The Band and a bout of throat cancer -but then, as the rueful title indicates, he wasn't in it for his health
The Daydreamer

1966

The Daydreamer

1966
5
A young Hans Christian Andersen goes in search of knowledge in the Garden of Paradise in order to make his studies easier. Each time he falls asleep, he experiences in his dreams the different characters he would later write about in fairy tales including The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, and The Emperor's New Clothes.
The Singing Revolution

2006

The Singing Revolution

2006
6
Most people don't think about singing when they think about revolutions. But song was the weapon of choice when, between 1986 and 1991, Estonians sought to free themselves from decades of Soviet occupation. During those years, hundreds of thousands gathered in public to sing forbidden patriotic songs and to rally for independence. "The young people, without any political party, and without any politicians, just came together ... not only tens of thousands but hundreds of thousands ... to gather and to sing and to give this nation a new spirit," remarks Mart Laar, a Singing Revolution leader featured in the film and the first post-Soviet Prime Minister of Estonia. "This was the idea of the Singing Revolution." James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty's "The Singing Revolution" tells the moving story of how the Estonian people peacefully regained their freedom--and helped topple an empire along the way.
Welcome to Death Row

2001

Welcome to Death Row

2001
7.5
The record label Death Row Records has, since its creation in 1993, been synonymous with the American hip-hop climate. Formed by ex-bodyguard Suge Knight, the label has released seminal rap albums from luminaries including Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and the famous hip-hop martyr Tupac Shakur. WELCOME TO DEATH ROW is a fascinating, well-researched documentary which explores the history of this intriguing and incredibly significant company.
Pick It Up!: Ska in the '90s

2019

Pick It Up!: Ska in the '90s

2019
7.9
Pick It Up! is an independent documentary film about the rise in popularity of ska music in the 1990s and the subsequent return to the underground. The film features members of Reel Big Fish, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, No Doubt, Sublime, Save Ferris, Goldfinger, The Specials, Less Than Jake, Hepcat and many more.
Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk

2017

Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk

2017
7.4
Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk spans over 30 years of the California Bay Area’s punk music history with a central focus on the emergence of the inspiring 924 Gilman Street collective. This diverse group of artists, writers, organizers and musicians created a do-it-yourself petri dish that changed the punk scene... and the world at large.