The 25 best music documentaries
Of all the documentaries we’ve been watching lately, we wanted to highlight those about music and musicians, simply because they’re our favourites. Luckily, there are plenty of brilliant ones out there, so here are the ones we think are well worth watching:
1. 20,000 Days on Earth (Filmin)
This film examines what makes us who we are and celebrates the transformative power of the creative spirit. It follows 24 fictional hours in the life of iconic musician Nick Cave, offering an intimate portrait of his artistic process.
2. Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Netflix)
A moving documentary about the band caught up in the brutal terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 89 people, and their return to Paris three months later.
3. Amazing Grace (Netflix)
On 13 January 1972, Aretha Franklin spent two consecutive nights recording a gospel album in a small church in the Watts neighbourhood of Los Angeles. That recording went on to become the best-selling gospel album of all time.
A young filmmaker, then at the beginning of his career, Sydney Pollack, filmed the entire thing — shooting more than 20 hours of footage. There was just one problem: he hadn’t used clapperboards at the beginning and end of each take, meaning the sound and images couldn’t be synchronised. Luckily, the problem was eventually solved and we can now enjoy this wonderful documentary.
4. The Punk Singer (YouTube)
The Punk Singer is a documentary that offers a broad and revealing look at the difficulties feminism has faced within the music industry, and at how Kathleen Hanna eventually became the figurehead of an important movement that challenged the status quo and carved out a space for itself in a male-dominated world.
5. Dig!
Are you more The Brian Jonestown Massacre or The Dandy Warhols? We definitely know where we stand, but we’re not going to influence you…
Either way, this documentary is a must. It chronicles, like few others, the rise and fall of two bands who were friends as well as rivals on the US West Coast in the late 1990s, sharing drugs and a passion for 1960s psychedelia in Portland.
The story unfolded over seven years, and its director, Ondi Timoner, began filming it as something of a groupie. It ended up winning her an award at Sundance in 2004.
6. Beastie Boys Story (Apple TV)
Directed by Spike Jonze, Beastie Boys Story is much more than a documentary about one of the most influential bands of the past four decades. Told by Mike Diamond (Mike D) and Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock) themselves, it looks back at the extraordinary journey of three friends who started out playing punk in New York before becoming hip-hop pioneers and changing popular culture along the way.
Funny, moving and refreshingly honest, the film combines live storytelling, archive footage and plenty of brilliant anecdotes, while also paying a heartfelt tribute to Adam Yauch (MCA), who died in 2012. A wonderfully unconventional portrait of friendship, creativity and growing up together. A must.
7. Searching for Sugar Man (Filmin)
We watched this one back when nobody yet knew where Sixto Rodríguez was. And we absolutely loved it. In fact, it went on to win the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 2013.
Searching for Sugar Man tells the story of two South Africans determined to discover what happened to the Detroit singer-songwriter who released three critically acclaimed albums in the early 1970s that failed to sell — except, curiously, in South Africa.
8. Buena Vista Social Club
This documentary about Cuban music grew out of the close relationship between filmmaker Wim Wenders and one of his regular collaborators, composer Ry Cooder, who created the soundtracks for Paris, Texas and The End of Violence.
Before the film was made, Cooder had already travelled to Cuba and recorded an album with musicians from the island, including the legendary Compay Segundo and Ibrahim Ferrer. The result was a Grammy-winning album entitled Buena Vista Social Club. Wonderful.
9. Mystify (Movistar)
This week we watched the controversial documentary about Michael Hutchence and his tragic death. We liked it, although it’s uncomfortable viewing in the sense that it’s incredibly sad to see how someone with so much talent ended up the way he did…
10. Back to Black (Netflix)
Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and starring Marisa Abela, Back to Black chronicles the life and music of Amy Winehouse, from her teenage years in North London to global stardom, while tracing the creation of one of the most celebrated albums of the 21st century.
Told from Amy’s perspective and inspired by her own words and songs, the film explores her extraordinary talent, her relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, the profound influence of her grandmother Cynthia and the darker side of fame, addiction and relentless media attention. Marisa Abela performs the songs herself, while Nick Cave and Warren Ellis provide the film’s evocative score. Moving, intense and inevitably heartbreaking.
11. Janis (Netflix)
Directed by Amy Berg, this documentary tells the story of the rise and tragic end of an extraordinary musician who suffered enormously because of her insecurities — she was cruelly voted ‘Ugliest Man on Campus’ at the University of Texas, an experience that affected her for the rest of her life — as well as her introverted personality and a series of bad decisions…
12. Glastonbury (Filmin)
Filmmaker Julien Temple, a friend of Michael Eavis — the farmer and founder of the UK’s biggest rock festival — documented the history of Glastonbury over 35 years.
That’s what makes this such an incredible visual record: you get to see the festival’s evolution, discover countless anecdotes and watch an extraordinary number of great artists who have performed there over the years, including Björk, Chris Martin, Morrissey and many more…
13. PJ Harvey: A Dog Called Money (Filmin)
Directed by Irish filmmaker and photographer Seamus Murphy, A Dog Called Money follows PJ Harvey through the creative process behind her album The Hope Six Demolition Project. Together, they travel through Afghanistan, Kosovo and Washington D.C., where Harvey gathers the stories, images and experiences that will eventually find their way into her music.
The documentary then takes us inside the recording process itself, which Harvey transformed into an art installation at London’s Somerset House, allowing visitors to watch through one-way glass as the album took shape. An intimate and fascinating portrait of an extraordinary artist, and of the way observation, travel and reality can be transformed into music.
14. John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky (Netflix)
This documentary focuses on the relationship between John Lennon and Yoko Ono, as well as the impact of the album Imagine, recorded in 1971 at their home, Tittenhurst Park, in Ascot, England.
It features interviews with Yoko Ono, Julian Lennon and other musicians who witnessed the couple’s professional and personal lives first-hand.
15. Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (Filmin)
Metallica is one of the most important and successful bands in the music industry, and perhaps the most significant in the history of heavy metal.
Some Kind of Monster is a documentary about the difficulties the band faced while recording their eighth album, when arguments, misunderstandings, tension and stress — to put it mildly — were part of everyday life.
16. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese (Netflix)
Directed by Martin Scorsese, Rolling Thunder Revue takes us back to 1975 to revisit one of Bob Dylan’s most remarkable tours: an almost circus-like journey across the United States and Canada, accompanied by musicians, poets and artists including Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and Allen Ginsberg.
Part music documentary, part historical archive and part fiction, Scorsese deliberately plays with the boundaries between reality and myth to capture the chaotic, free-spirited and experimental nature of the adventure. A fascinating portrait of Dylan at one of the most creative, unpredictable and magnetic moments of his career.
17. What Happened, Miss Simone? (Netflix)
We particularly liked this documentary, although it’s difficult to watch someone with so much talent suffer quite so much…
What Happened, Miss Simone? brings us closer to Nina Simone, one of jazz’s legendary figures: a complex woman who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
18. Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (Filmin)
Joe Strummer, the charismatic frontman of The Clash, died of a heart attack at the age of 50. This documentary traces his life, his political and ideological interests and his most important influences, and features appearances from other major figures including Bono, John Cusack and Johnny Depp.
19. Quincy (Netflix)
Co-directed by his daughter, Rashida Jones, Quincy traces the extraordinary life and career of Quincy Jones, one of the most influential producers in music history and the man behind, among countless other masterpieces, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the best-selling album of all time.
Through archive footage and intimate moments, the documentary reveals not only the musician, composer, arranger and producer who worked with some of the biggest stars of the 20th century, but also the man behind an exceptional career and a lifelong commitment to activism and humanitarian causes. Two hours of music, talent and cultural history that will simply fly by.
20. The Dirt
The story of Mötley Crüe could probably be summed up in three words: sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll.
Made up of Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil and Mick Mars, Mötley Crüe became the living embodiment of the wildest, most outrageous kind of rock stars. Permanently drunk, addicted to drugs and sex, the remarkable thing is that they’re still alive…
21. Gaga: Five Foot Two (Netflix)
Although it’s not the kind of music we usually listen to, there’s no doubt in our minds that Lady Gaga is a great artist.
The documentary was a huge success when it came out because it reveals intimate details of her life and shows her without artifice, talking about her struggle with fibromyalgia and her complicated personal relationships, among other things. Very interesting.
22. Supersonic
Directed by Mat Whitecross, Supersonic tells the story of Oasis at their most explosive, tracing the band’s extraordinary rise from the Manchester music scene to their legendary concerts at Knebworth in 1996, where they played to 250,000 people over two nights.
Built around extensive archive footage and candid interviews with Liam and Noel Gallagher, the documentary captures the ambition, chaos, humour and inevitable tensions behind one of the defining bands of the 1990s. But above all, it’s a fascinating portrait of two brothers whose volatile relationship was as crucial to the Oasis story as the music itself. Essential viewing, even if you’re not an Oasis fan.
23. George Harrison: Living in the Material World
This monumental film — it runs for three and a half hours — directed by Martin Scorsese and chronicling the life of George Harrison is one you’ll love.
You can feel the affection behind it, and Scorsese allows himself the time and space to build a rich portrait of Harrison through unforgettable images and moments.
24. Suede: The Insatiable Ones
Mike Christie directs this documentary about the rise, fall and resurgence of Suede. It is the definitive story of one of the flagship bands of 1990s British pop, told with honesty and extraordinary attention to detail by the band members themselves.
25. Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck (Movistar)
Directed by Brett Morgen, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck offers an unusually intimate portrait of the Nirvana frontman, tracing his life from his childhood in Aberdeen, Washington, through the phenomenal rise of the band and the pressures of fame, to his death in 1994 at the age of 27.
Made with unprecedented access to Cobain’s personal archives, the film brings together home movies, recordings, notebooks, drawings, photographs and previously unseen footage, alongside interviews with those closest to him. Raw, visually inventive and at times uncomfortable to watch, it reveals both the extraordinary creativity and the profound vulnerability behind one of the most influential figures in modern music.
