Top Rated Music Movies on Kanopy - Page 12

Fresh Dressed

2015

Fresh Dressed

2015
6.4
The history of Hip-Hop / Urban fashion and its rise from southern cotton plantations to the gangs of 1970s in the South Bronx, to corporate America, and everywhere in-between. Supported by rich archival materials and in-depth interviews with individuals crucial to the evolution of a way of life--and the outsiders who studied and admired them – Fresh Dressed goes to the core of where style was born on the black and brown side of town.
Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival

2016

Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival

2016
6
Lucifer incites Heaven’s wrath by dispatching train cars of condemned souls a-crashin’ through the pearly gates. As God plots to put an end to the rebellious deeds, a fable is told, and the midway gets set for a fateful reunion between God’s Agent and Hell’s Painted Doll, promising to make sinner and saint alike scream Alleluia!
Last Days Here

2011

Last Days Here

2011
7.4
Documentary follows Bobby Liebling, lead singer of seminal hard rock/heavy metal band Pentagram, as he battles decades of hard drug addiction and personal demons to try and get his life back.
Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place

2011

Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place

2011
6.9
A freewheeling portrait of Ken Kesey and the Merry Prankster’s fabled road trip across America in the legendary Magic Bus. In 1964, Ken Kesey, the famed author of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” set off on a legendary, LSD-fuelled cross-country road trip to the New York World’s Fair. He was joined by “The Merry Band of Pranksters,” a renegade group of counterculture truth-seekers, including Neal Cassady, the American icon immortalized in Kerouac’s “On the Road,” and the driver and painter of the psychedelic Magic Bus.
Till the Clouds Roll By

1946

Till the Clouds Roll By

1946
5.7
Light bio-pic of American Broadway pioneer Jerome Kern, featuring renditions of the famous songs from his musical plays by contemporary stage artists, including a condensed production of his most famous: 'Showboat'.
Barracuda

2017

Barracuda

2017
6.2
Sinaloa hitchhikes into Texas to meet Merle, her half-sister by way of their dead country musician father. As the two get to know each other, Sinaloa's chaotic influence starts to unravel Merle's quiet, comfortable life. While the family music legacy brought Sinaloa to Austin, she won't leave without taking revenge against the people who stole her daddy away years ago.
Murder Rap: Inside the Biggie and Tupac Murders

2015

Murder Rap: Inside the Biggie and Tupac Murders

2015
7.1
Two of the most notorious unsolved cases in the history of American crime – the murders of renowned rap stars Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls – have been the subject of exhaustive investigations, relentless speculation, and a web of conspiracy theories and dark secrets. Now, for the first time, the true story behind these sensational cases is laid bare in "Murder Rap: Inside the Biggie and Tupac Murders". Using information sourced from hundreds of police case files, taped confessions never shown before, and interviews with the lead detective and witnesses, this is the riveting account of the task force that finally exposed the shocking truth behind the deaths of these two rap music icons.
I Dream of Wires

2014

I Dream of Wires

2014
6.4
An independent documentary film about the phenomenal resurgence of the modular synthesizer — exploring the passions, obsessions and dreams of people who have dedicated part of their lives to this esoteric electronic music machine. Inventors, musicians, and enthusiasts are interviewed about their relationship with the modular synthesizer — for many, it's an all-consuming passion.
Jazz on a Summer's Day

1960

Jazz on a Summer's Day

1960
7.2
Set at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, this documentary mixes images of water and the town with performers and audience. The film progresses from day to night and from improvisational music to Gospel. It's a concert film that suggests peace and leisure, jazz at a particular time and place.
Little Richard: I Am Everything

2023

Little Richard: I Am Everything

2023
6.4
The story of the black, gay origins of rock n' roll. It explodes the whitewashed canon of American pop music to reveal the innovator – the originator – Richard Penniman. Through a wealth of archive and performance that brings us into Richard's complicated inner world, the film unspools the icon's life story with all its switchbacks and contradictions.
Dreamin' Wild

2023

Dreamin' Wild

2023
6.2
The true story of the Emerson family and the tumult that followed the success of their self-recorded pop-funk album of the same name, which went largely unnoticed until critics rediscovered and reappraised it decades later. Now, as an adult, Donnie is forced to confront the ghosts from the past and grapple with the emotional toll his dreams have taken on the family who supported him.
Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart

2016

Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart

2016
6.1
The life story of R&B singer-songwriter and producer, Toni Braxton.
Will-o’-the-Wisp

2022

Will-o’-the-Wisp

2022
5.9
On his deathbed, his royal highness Alfredo, King without a crown, is taken back to distant youth memories and the time he dreamt of becoming a fireman. The encounter with instructor Afonso from the fire brigade, opens a new chapter in the life of the two young men devoted to love and desire, and the will to change the status quo.
I'll Find You

2019

I'll Find You

2019
5.4
Inspired by stories of Polish musicians from the 1930s and 40s. Two young lovers, Robert, a Catholic opera singer, and Rachel, a Jewish violin virtuoso, dream of one day performing together at legendary Carnegie Hall. When they're torn apart by the German invasion of Poland, Robert vows to find Rachel, no matter what the war may bring. His search leads him on a life-threatening journey through the heart of Nazi Germany, to a reckoning that Rachel may be lost to him forever.
Casablanca Beats

2021

Casablanca Beats

2021
4.5
When a rapper-turned-teacher brings hip-hop to a community center in an impoverished area of Casablanca, his tough methods spark an explosion of talent.
Shot! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock

2017

Shot! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock

2017
6.9
A reckless joyride into the darkest corners of popular music that delves deep into the mind of Mick Rock, the genius photographer who immortalized the seventies and the rise to rock stardom of many legendary musicians.
Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90)

2015

Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90)

2015
7
"Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90)" examines the early DIY punk scene in the Nation's Capital. It was a decade when seminal bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Government Issue, Scream, Void, Faith, Rites of Spring, Marginal Man, Fugazi, and others released their own records and booked their own shows-without major record label constraints or mainstream media scrutiny. Contextually, it was a cultural watershed that predated the alternative music explosion of the 1990s (and the industry's subsequent implosion). Thirty years later, DC's original DIY punk spirit serves as a reminder of the hopefulness of youth, the power of community and the strength of conviction.
Spook Sport

1940

Spook Sport

1940
5.9
It's midnight in a graveyard. The principal characters are spooks, ghosts, bats, bells, and, at the end, the sun. As midnight strikes, 12 spooks appear, then two ghosts. They move to the music's rhythm. Against the black night, they are blue and yellow. Bats appear as does a xylophone of bones. Mist rises, spooks swirl. A bell tolls. The sky turns light blue, the ghosts' dance slows. Then black night returns bringing intimations of frenzy. Bones play snare drums; spooks peek out of square graves. Scary faces appear. Frenetic movement takes over. A rooster crows and all return to earth as the sun's light appears.
The Great Gabbo

1929

The Great Gabbo

1929
5.5
For the ventriloquist Gabbo his wooden dummy Otto is the only means of expression. When he starts relying more and more on Otto, he starts going mad.
The Burden

2017

The Burden

2017
7.3
A shopping center along a large highway is the scene of an apocalyptic musical. Animation with a strong sense of form set to auto-tuned music by Klungan. About liberation through great catastrophy.