NME가 뽑은 베스트 음악 영화 50

[PennyLane]

50 AWESOME MUSIC MOVIES

 

To celebrate the launch of NME.COM/movies we've put together our pick of the greatest music films ever made.

And we're not just talking about rockumentaries and biopics – this list also encompasses any movie that is defined by its soundtrack. These are films for music fans to love.

Hence you'll find Trainspotting rubbing shoulders with Control, Almost Famouscelebrated alongside Meeting People Is Easy.

So please, take your seat and grab an oversize tub of popcorn as we count down the 50 best music movies ever to grace the big screen.

What have we missed? Should 8 Mile be higher than 30 Century Man? Have your say now here.

 

50

Boyz N The Hood (1991)

 

A modern American classic. And all the more resonant when you consider that L.A's infamous 'Rodney King riots' took place in the same city just one year later.

Ice Cube and Cube Gooding Jr. (back when he was cool) star in a powerful coming-of-age film that inspired a host of brash, "inner-city gang wars" copycat movies; but none of them were as smart or memorable as director John Singleton's masterpiece.

Ice Cube's crossover from music to film was a resounding success, as he played his character 'Dough Boy' with impressive grit and restraint. This was a film that acted as a further loud 'n' proud voice for hip-hop, exploding some of the complex issues - gun violence, education, disenfranchisement - at black America's core.

Best music moment: Soundtrack highlights include screen-shaking tracks from Ice Cube, 2 Live Crew, Monie Love and Run DMC.

David Moynihan

 

 

49

The Blues Brothers (1980)

 

Sure, Jake and Elwood’s soul covers (most famously, of Solomon Burke’s ‘Everybody Needs Somebody To Love’) are karaoke-esque at times - but this John Landis-directed comedy caper is propelled by a genuine reverence for black America’s musical past; hence the cameos from Cab Calloway, James Brown and Ray Charles.

But crucially that reverence never gets in the way of the comedy, and ultimately it’s the film’s sheer energy and escalating exuberance – the bazookas, SWAT teams, stacks of totaled cars - that make it irresistible.

Best music moment: Aretha Franklin’s thunderous, finger-wagging rendition of ‘Think’ in the soul food diner.

Luke Lewis

 

 

48

The Filth And The Fury (2000)

 

With a title inspired by a howlingly neurotic Daily Mirror headline, this is where the Sex Pistols get to tell their side of the story.

Julien Temple's 1979 debut The Great Rock And Roll Swindle caught the punk zeitgeist's tail end and offered a ramshackle glimpse into the Pistols' lives, albeit from a skewed Malcolm McLaren perspective.

This second documentary on the band set out years later to get their take on events and - although punks would balk at the word - contextualise their influence in a broken Britain.

Best music moment: A toss-up between 'God Save The Queen' and 'Anarchy In The UK'.

Tim Chester

 

 

47

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

 

Although not strictly a music film per se, this - like all John Hughes' movies - brought indie music to the mainstream.

From the ubiquitous "chick-a-chick-aahs" to the gratuitous use of The Beat, The Flowerpot Men, Sigue Sigue Sputnik and of course The Smiths' 'Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want' in the museum scene, 'FB's Day Off' seamlessly weaves iconic music into its goofy plot.

Weirdly, John Hughes refused to release the soundtrack as a seperate entity, thinking no-one would be interested in hearing Yello and Wayne Newston on the same CD. Which just means you have to watch the thing, and hear them all in the context they were intended.

Best music monent: The mass singalong to The Beatles' 'Twist And Shout'.

Tim Chester

 

 

46

The Future Is Unwritten (2007)

 

Released five years after Joe Strummer's death, Julien Temple's nuanced tribute to the much-loved Clash man featured some unexpected talking-head contributions (Johnny Depp, John Cusack) as well as some all-too expected ones (Bobby Gillespie, Bono).

Admirably, Temple makes no attempt to sugar-coat Strummer's various contradictions and hypocrisies - this is an affectionate documentary, but not an uncritical one.
Best music moment: There's some great archive footage early on, of Strummer laying down vocals, a capella, for 'White Riot'.

Luke Lewis

 

 

45

Monterey Pop (1968)

 

The precursor to the more famous Woodstock film caught the essence of the 1967 festival – and the summer of love - and set the bar high for concert documentaries to come.

The film boasts an enviable cast including The Mamas & The Papas, Otis Redding, Canned Heat, The Who and The Animals , but not The Grateful Dead, who deemed it too commercial a project.

Best music moment: Hendrix burning and smashing his guitar at the end of ‘Wild Thing’, of course.

Tim Chester

 

 

44

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987)

 

Richard and Karen Carpenter were the ultimate clean-cut, brother and sister act responsible for buckets of pleasant MOR, but behind the scenes lay a dark story of depression and anorexia. This film tells that story.

Or at least it did, until Richard filed a lawsuit banning its distribution, which may have been down to the use of Barbie dolls to depict Karen’s illness, or the accusations of homosexuality. Either way, it’s a short but not-so-sweet document as doomed as its subject.

Best music moment: Karen singing along to Dionne Warwick’s ‘I’ll Never Fall In Love Again’.

Tim Chester

 

 

43

Live Forever (2003)

 

We’re still waiting for the definitive Britpop film (though No Distance Left To Run comes close) – but Live Forever is a solid love-note to the era, even if it relies too heavily on Liam Gallagher’s show-stealing quotes, playing it for laughs rather as opposed to examining the true cultural impact, and never dwelling on the darker side (the rampant heroin use, for example).

Best music moment: You’ve heard all these songs a thousand times before, but the Oasis and Blur tunes still set the pulse racing.

Luke Lewis

 

 

42

The Importance Of Being Morrissey (2002)

 

Directors Tina Flintoff and Ricky Kelehar corralled an impressive cast of talking heads for this fawning celebration of the cantankerous Smiths legend – Bono, Noel Gallagher, playwright Alan Bennett and (weirdly) Harry Potter author JK Rowling were all on hand to sing Moz’s praises.

Obviously your attitude to the film will depend on your tolerance for Morrissey’s own sour world view – Tony Blair and the Royals come in for a kicking – but there are illuminating insights into the great man's life and work.

Best music moment: There’s some good, sweaty live footage of ‘Suedehead’ early on.

Luke Lewis

 

 

41

Walk The Line (2005)

 

Planned and filmed while the man in black was still fresh in his grave, Walk The Line nevertheless does a near-perfect job of capturing his tumultuous life.

Joaquin Phoenix captures a man wrestling his demons and knocking out a legendary career simultaneously while Reese Witherspoon won an Oscar for long-suffering wife June. Just don’t blame them for Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

Best music moment: Halfway through ‘Jackson’ when Cash stops and asks June to marry him.

Tim Chester

40

Where The Wild Things Are (2009)

 

Yeah Yeah Yeah’s frontwoman Karen O’s soundtrack to 2009’s fantastical Where The Wild Things Are got a nod in the Grammy nominations for ‘All Is Love’, a track written by herself and bandmate Nick Zinner.

O’s ex Spike Jonze directed the take on Maurice Sendak’s book for kids which combined live action, animatronics and CGI to tell the story of Max, a nine-year-old boy who discovers an island full of ‘wild things’ who make him their King.

Under the name Karen O And The Kids, the singer composed the soundtrack in collaboration with Carter Burwell – the man behind the score in Twilight.

Best music moment: Karen O And The Kids, ‘All Is Love’.

Abby Tayleure

 

 

39

Part Of The Weekend Never Dies (2008)

 

An ode to excess and life on the road, this Saam Farahmand-directed documentary followed French brothers Soulwax as they took their dance music spectacular around the globe.

Using just one camera to capture the action on and off-stage over 120 shows on a vast worldwide tour, interviews and cameos include James Murphy, Klaxons, Erol Alkan and Peaches - making for a film that's chaotic, hedonistic, sexy and exhilarating.

Best music moment: The spine-tingling sight of thousands of gurning clubbers bouncing in unison at giant warehouse raves.

Abby Tayleure

 

 

38

8 Mile (2002)

 

Eminem’s first foray into film saw him playing ‘Rabbit’, a white Detroit rapper so closely modeled on himself as to be almost autobiographical.

A gritty, underdog tale in the Rocky Balboa mould, boxing is swapped for battle MC’ing as our man fights through poverty, prejudice and a broken home to reach the top of his game.

Kim Basinger ditches her trademark glamour as the embittered trailer-park mom, while Brittany Murphy is the factory-worker girlfriend who only adds to Eminem’s struggles. What really impresses though, is the freestyle rapping. If you’ve ever doubted that improvised rhyming was an intricate art form, watch this film and pick up your jaw on the way out.

Best music moment: The final rap battle versus Papa Doc: an Olympian clash of tongue-twisting insults and lyrical dexterity.

David Moynihan

 

 

37

Loud Quiet Loud: A Film About The Pixies (2006)

 

For Pixies fans, the band’s 2004 reunion was a momentous event. The band themselves were a little less enthusiastic, and that tension comes through in this illuminating backstage documentary.

Featuring a dramatic moment in which the band confront drummer David Lovering over his rampant drug use, the film otherwise captures an often-overlooked truth about life on the road: musicians often don’t have a whole lot to say to each other.

Best music moment: The hits sound as mighty as you’d expect, but the live footage is not the most compelling part of the film.

Luke Lewis

 

 

36

Scott Walker 30 Century Man (2006)

 

There aren’t many films in which you can see a musical legend pondering the correct way to punch a joint of pork – but then Scott Walker is hardly your typical artist, and 30 Century Man demonstrates exactly why such flights of fancy make the pop idol-turned arty recluse so revered.

A-list stars queued up to get involved – David Bowie acted as executive producer, and interviewees include Radiohead, Jarvis Cocker, Damon Albarn and Johnny Marr.

Best music moment: The material from late-period avant-garde album ‘The Drift’ is powerful stuff, if you’ve got the stomach for it.

Luke Lewis

 

 

35

ATP All Tomorrow's Parties (2009)

 

Hailed by its makers as “post-punk DIY bricolage”, this documentary of the bi-annual ATP festivals brought film-making into a new dimension.

Combining footage from the fans and the musicians attending the events, on a multitude of formats from Super8 to camcorder and mobile phone, it features everyone from Fuck Buttons to Belle & Sebastian.
Best music moment: Butlins’ security guards screaming at extreme noiseniks Lightning Bolt as they play an impromptu gig outside the resort’s pub.

Tim Chester

 

 

34

The Devil And Daniel Johnston (2006)

 

Depressive singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston is one of those artists who’s more interesting to read about, or watch a film about, than actually listen to (even if Kurt Cobain did call him the “greatest songwriter on earth”).

Fortunately, this documentary, while never exactly easy viewing, tells his unhappy story in sensitive style, in the process winning director Jeff Feuerzeig a Sundance award in 2005.

Best music moment: ‘True Love Will Find You In The End’.

Luke Lewis

 

 

33

Blur: No Distance Left To Run (2010)

 

A retrospective retracing of the band's life and times in the ever-so-slightly melancholic light of their 2009 reunion tour.

Trawlings of behind-the-scenes tapes are anchored by fresh accounts and witterings from the four band members, and artily diced with footage of the reunion gigs.

The faded picture of a rag-tag Essex art-punk outift called Seymour hoisted into some parallel stratosphere of unfathomable pop superstardom is painted well with a patchwork of dodgy out-takes, home movies and backstage banter.

Best music moment: Choice cuts include Alex trudging through reams of Japanese radio station idents ("Hi, I'm Alex, the stupid one from Blur... Stop eating whales, you cunts"), an inebriated Graham struggling with a wine bottle backstage on 'The Great Escape' tour (before his alcoholism was deemed anything but 'a laff') and Seymour's startlingly ace 'Superman' performed live in Harlow, Essex in 1989.

Jaimie Hodgson

 

 

32

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004)

 

It’s one of the great misfortunes in life that Bill Murray was never a songwriter. So music fans should instead make do with this slice of Wes Anderson movie magic that features wonderful David Bowie covers from Brazilian musician Seu Jorge and a golden soundtrack.

Murray plays an off-the-wall, Jacques Cousteau-esque oceanographer for whom murderous pirates and a killer fish are only the start of his troubles. His career is in tragic decline and his personal life is in disarray.

Musical highlights include the angelic strains of Sigur Ros as a magnificent shark cruises alongside Murray’s submarine, as well as Joan Baez, Scott Walker and tracks by Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo.

Best music moment: Seu George strumming a tender, lo-fi version of 'Life On Mars' in Portuguese.

David Moynihan

 

 

31

Juno (2007)

 

A teen coming of age movie at its core – Juno’s clear regard for its soundtrack and various band references within the film make it a must-see for anyone of an NME bent.

Juno herself loves Patti Smith, Iggy and The Stooges and Mott The Hoople. The adoptive-dad-to-be declares he once opened for Kurt Cobain-favourites the Melvins. Together they dig through old mix tapes, share songs and delight in cult horror flicks.

Alternative indie rock sits firmly at the heart of the film. And it’s a film with a huge heart.

Best music moment: Sonic Youth's cover of The Carpenters' 'Superstar'.

David Moynihan

30

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)

 

The best music movie that most people have never seen – largely because it’s not available on DVD – this charmingly haphazard documentary captures the leading lights of the US glam-metal scene – Poison, WASP et al - just as it was starting to slide into self-parody.

Featuring an endless parade of drunken, semi-coherent rock star idiots, the viewer is left with an inescapable impression of: “This is why grunge had to happen.”

Best music moment: The Megadeth footage rocks fairly hard, but it’s the rambling interviews that you’ll enjoy the most.

Luke Lewis

 

 

29

Beastie Boys; Awesome I Fuckin' Shot That! (2006)

 

Here’s a neat concept: borrow a bunch of video cameras, dispense them to 50 super-fans at a live show and give them one instruction: “Just keep filming”.

Frame-perfect editing of the ensuing hundreds of hours of footage ensures that this innovative “fan’s eye view” (including one punter’s comic rush to and from a urinal) of a Beastie Boys show at Madison Square Garden is unlike any other live DVD you’ll ever see.

Best music moment: Cameo appearances include Doug E. Fresh and DMC (of Run DMC). Oh, and Ben Stiller rapping along with his missus.

David Moynihan

 

 

28

Justice: A Cross The Universe (2008)

 

Listening to their music is like being thrust into the thumping heart of a great, demonic robot. So it’s only fitting that this raucous documentary encapsulates the wild, strobe-infested days of French DJ duo Xavier and Gaspard on tour.

Their Led Zeppelin-esque adventures with guns, groupies, cops and million-dollar mansions may have been ‘accentuated’ for the camera, but the result is still a thrilling slice of rock ‘n’ roll that makes you want to go out tonight and get utterly obliterated.

Plus, it’s funny, fast-paced and sexy. What’s not to like?

Best Music Moment: Xavier serenades an bemused Anthony Kiedis with a bizarre rendition of 'Under The Bridge'.
David Moynihan

 

 

27

Rust Never Sleeps (1979)

 

The video accompaniment to Neil Young’s classic 1979 live album of the same name, this film really needs a DVD release.

Capturing Young at his creative peak, where shows would veer from electric to acoustic at the drop of a pick, this is one of the definitive concert films.

Best music moment: ‘Like A Hurricane’ performed like a, well, hurricane.

Tim Chester

 

 

26

Heavy Metal In Baghdad (2007)

 

Gotta give it to those Vice documentary guys. From True Norwegian Black Metal through to the more recent Guide To Liberia, they know how to consistently produce some of the smartest, most balls-out filmmaking online.

Flying into the Baghdad war zone to trail Iraq’s only heavy metal band Acrassicauda, their heart-in-mouth mission is best summed up by presenter (and Vice founder) Suroosh Alvi: “This is risky, it’s dangerous. People would say that it’s really fucking stupid for us to be doing this. But, y’know, heavy metal rules.”

Best music moment: Watching Acrassicauda put their lives on the line to rock out live: “Most of our fans are either dead or out of this country. They just disappeared.”


David Moynihan

 

 

25

Standing In The Shadows Of Motown (2002)

 

Motown's house band The Funk Brothers have played on more number-one hits than The Beatles, Elvis, The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys combined.

However, it took this stunning 2002 documentary to pull them out, blinking, into the limelight to get the credit they deserve, for the likes of 'The Tears Of A Clown' and 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine'.

Best music moment: The modern day Funk Brothers hooking up with Chaka Khan for 'What's Going On'.

Tim Chester

 

 

24

Woodstock (1970)

 

There’s an argument that Woodstock – the festival – would never have accrued so much cultural and historical significance, had it not been for Woodstock the movie, which won an Best Documentary Oscar in 1970.

Certainly, nothing makes a rock show seem more important than a feature-length film (edited by Martin Scorsese, among others).

Forty years on, some of the hippy-dippy talking head stuff can feel a bit directionless – but the live performances still stand up, in particular Sly And The Family Stone’s can’t-tear-your-eyes-away rendition of ‘I Want To Take You Higher’.

Best music moment: The aforementioned Sly Stone.

Luke Lewis

 

 

23

American Hardcore (2006)

 

Based on the book American Hardcore: A Tribal History, this is the definitive documentary on the fiercely politicized movement that threw up such incendiary bands as Bad Brains, Black Flag and Minor Threat in the early-mid 80s, and – mysteriously – ended up mutating so far, we ended up twenty years later with Owl City.

If bald heads, screaming, tattoos and “beatdowns” are your thing, then… well, you’ve almost certainly already seen this.

Best music moment: Hard to pick one song, but the Minor Threat footage provides the biggest fist in the face, sonically speaking.

Luke Lewis

 

 

22

Singles (1992)

 

This being a Cameron Crowe film, Singles took the self-lacerating, counter-cultural rage of grunge and made it as safe and saccharine as an episode of Friends - which incidentally launched two years later, and surely took a few tips from this film, with its cast of quirky-yet-clean-cut young apartment-dwellers.

But it’s not quite as much a betrayal of the scene as purists made out at the time (Kurt Cobain hated it, for example). After all, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains all get cameos, and there’s even a reference to Mudhoney - hardly your usual, sugar-coated Hollywood fare.

Best music moment: The brief blast of Alice In Chains’ ‘Would?’, surely one the heaviest songs ever to appear in a mainstream rom-com.

Luke Lewis

 

 

21

The Last Waltz (1978)

 

Martin Scorsese’s film captures The Band’s 1976 farewell concert at San Franscisco’s Winterland Ballroom – but thanks to a host of special guests (Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan), it also documents, more broadly, American folk-rock in its high pomp.

The gig was a debauched affair, with Scorsese as well as the musicians indulging in heavy cocaine use backstage. Legend has it a large lump of coke – visibly hanging from Neil Young’s nose – had to be edited out in post-production.

Best music moment: ‘The Weight’ takes some beating.

Luke Lewis

20

Pretty In Pink (1986)

 

Inspired by and featuring the Psychedelic Furs track ‘Pretty In Pink’, this quintessential John Hughes movie is a story of teenage love, high school troubles and social cliques that's both of-its-time (its time being the '80s) and in thrall to the cosy certainties of '50s America.

The film also features New Order tracks ‘Shell-Shock’, ‘Thieves Like Us (Instrumental)’, ensuring that the soundtrack has aged well, even if the on-screen drama hasn't.

Best Music Moment: Psychedelic Furs – ‘Pretty In Pink’.

Abby Tayleure

 

 

19

Glastonbury (2006)

 

From the opening mud squelches onwards this documentary does what all great docs do – makes you wish you were right there in the thick of it.

Composed by Julien ‘Filth And The Fury’ Temple from live footage, interviews and stuff sent in by punters, it’s the ultimate postcard from the world’s greatest festival. It doesn’t claim to cover the sprawling bender in minute detail, rather offers a snapshot of the experience.

Best music moment: Re-arranging the tracks via the interactive options to create your own perfect setlit featuring Paul McCartney, The White Stripes and The Killers.

Tim Chester

 

 

18

Garden State (2004)

 

Zach Braff chose all the music for his film Garden State, sending a copy of the script with every request for a track to try and persuade the artist that the song was essential for the movie.

Coldplay’s ‘Don’t Panic’, ‘New Slang’ and ‘Caring Is Creepy’ by The Shins and Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘The Only Living Boy In New York’ all accompany the film.

Nick Drake, Iron and Wine and Bonnie Somerville also feature as the movie – which was filmed over just 25 days - follows actor and waiter Andrew Largeman as he goes back to his hometown when his mother dies.

Best music moment: Sam tells Andrew to listen to ‘New Slang’ by The Shins saying, "You gotta hear this one song — it’ll change your life, I swear."

Abby Tayleure

 

 

17

Meeting People Is Easy (1998)

 

If you ever wondered why Radiohead went all leftfield and electronic on ‘Kid A’ – rather than taking the baton from U2 as the biggest band in the world – look no further than this on-tour documentary, which captures the full horror of the promotional treadmill that ‘OK Computer’ set them on.

It’s an anti-tour film, exposing the tedium rather than the glamour of being on-the-road.

Moreover, MPIE prefigured Radiohead’s later fondness for unorthodox methods of releasing music: the film is studded with clips of work-in-progress songs, some of which (‘Nude’) didn’t surface in studio form until a decade later.

Best music moment: An early version of ‘How To Disappear Completely’ is pretty devastating.

Luke Lewis

 

 

16

Gimme Shelter (1970)

 

Borrowing its title from one of the greatest tunes of all time, ‘Gimme Shelter’ is one of the essential music documentaries.

Recorded fly-on-the-wall – which seemed revolutionary at the time, honest – it follows the Stones at the height of their ‘70s excess, from playing Madison Square Garden to the unfortunate death of a fan at Altamont. One of the camera operators was an unknown rookie called George Lucas.

Best music moment: ‘Brown Sugar’ live, ‘Wild Horses’ in the studio, ‘Honky Tonk Woman’, ‘Sympathy For The Devil’… it’s one long music moment.
Tim Chester

 

 

15

Pulp Fiction (1994)

 

John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman star in the film that sees violence, comedy, crime and pop culture collide as mobsters, a boxer and a gangster's wife find that their stories inter-link.

The soundtrack was a hit in itself, reaching Number 21 in the US billboard charts. With no score written for the film, Quentin Tarantino chose rock, soul and surf tracks to accompany the movie.

Best Music Moment: Dick Dale’s version of ‘Misirlou’ during the opening credits.

Abby Tayleure

 

 

14

No Direction Home (2005)

 

You don’t have to be a rabid Dylanologist to enjoy Martin Scorsese’s high-minded documentary about Bob Dylan’s career between 1961 and 1966.

Sure, it’s enormously reverent – but any fears of fustiness or tedium are expelled by some genuinely illuminating archive material, including newly-discovered colour footage of the infamous “Judas” moment at the Manchester Free Trade Hall concert, May 1966.

Best music moment: For curiosity value (rather than musical quality), the grainy footage of Dylan’s high-school rock band is a highlight.

Luke Lewis

 

 

13

Dazed And Confused (1993)

 

Richard Linklater’s love-note to his mid-70s schooldays pulls of the neat trick of making you nostalgic for a time you (probably) never even lived through.

Even if you’ve never smoked reefer, attended a keg party, or ‘hazed’ a freshman, you’ll still feel a pang of recognition from this heartfelt hymn to discovering the joys of girls and guitars.

Best music moment: When Mitch comes home after losing his virginity, puts his headphones on, and immerses himself in Foghat’s ‘Slow Ride’.

Luke Lewis

 

 

12

Stop Making Sense (1984)

 

The highest-ranking concert movie in our list, Stop Making Sense was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater, during Talking Heads' 1983 ‘Speaking In Tongues’ tour.

What’s noteworthy is how far it deviates from the norms of live performance footage. By largely avoiding crowd shots and quick jump-cuts, the film represented an arty counterpoint to the growing clichés of MTV, which had launched three years previously.

Best music moment: ‘Once In A Lifetime’ - for most of the song’s duration we see only David Byrne, shot in severe black and white.

Luke Lewis

 

 

11

Dig! (2004)

 

Controversial Ondi Timoner documentary Dig! tracks the Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor of the Dandy Warhols over seven years.

Labelled by Newcombe as unfair and “at best a series of punch-ups and mishaps taken out of context”, the film charts the pair's fascinating rivalry - starting from similar backgrounds, the two musicians diverge further and further, Newcombe fading into anguished obscurity while Taylor finds fame and fortune. The resulting tension makes for compelling - yet often painful - viewing.

Best music moment: Courtney's 'Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth' and Anton's 'Not If You Were the Last Dandy on Earth' - what better way to argue than by the medium of song?
Abby Tayleure

10

High Fidelity (2000)

 

Those of us who’d loved Nick Hornby’s book, set in London, initially bridled at the all-American film version, transposed to Chicago. But the characters, especially John Cusack’s list-making lead, lost none of their essential warmth in the adaptation.

After all, geography is unimportant – this is a film that speaks to anyone who’s ever obsessed over music to the detriment of actual, y'know, human relationships.

Best music moment: Bruce Springsteen’s brief cameo is pretty cool, but Jack Black’s climactic rendition of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ provides the film’s killer scene.

Luke Lewis

 

 

9

This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

 

What can we say that hasn’t already been said? Scenes from …Tap get quoted so many times, yet somehow the spoof rock doc never gets stale, perhaps because it’s so true to life: Eddie Van Halen once confessed, "Everything in that movie [has] happened to me."

The sharpness of the performances – especially Christopher Guest’s dim-but-lovable Nigel Tufnel – is even more impressive when you consider that much of the dialogue was improvised. Now, if only they hadn’t done that awful reunion tour…

Best music moment: Too many to choose from, but we’ll go with ‘Lick My Love Pump’ – in D Minor, the saddest of all keys.

Luke Lewis

 

 

8

Don't Look Back (1967)

 

More than a tour documentary, this film finds Dylan inventing the modern idea of the mercurial rock star: combative, awkward, refusing to be caged by critics or fans.

It’s full of mesmerising scenes – Dylan taunting the Time Magazine journalist, Dylan playing ‘It’s All Over Now Baby Blue’ to a hotel room full of awestruck onlookers. Has any musician ever oozed charisma like the man born Robert Zimmerman does in Don’t Look Back?

Best music moment: The ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ opening sequence has become instantly recognizable – but it’s the spotlit live performances that pack the greatest emotional punch.

Luke Lewis

 

 

7

Quadrophenia (1979)

 

Bursting with violence, drugs, sexual longing and despair, Quadrophenia - loosely based on The Who's 1973 rock opera - is often dismissed as a mod film, but its appeal is universal.

The character of Jimmy Cooper speaks across generations to anyone who's ever felt young, lost, and hungry for self-definition. The fact it's accompanied by the best music Pete Townshend ever wrote only magnifies the film's deathless power.

Best music moment: Jimmy's climactic, cliff-top Lambretta ride, soundtracked by 'Love Reign O'er Me' .

Luke Lewis

 

 

6

Trainspotting (1996)

 

Released in 1996, the height of Britpop, Danny Boyle’s breathtakingly distinctive film caught a unique moment in British culture: youthful, confident, alive with possibility.

Wisely, though, the Britpop bands on the soundtrack – Sleeper, Pulp etc – were played down in the film itself, and it was two veteran US acts (Iggy Pop, Lou Reed) who accompanied the film’s most vividly memorable scenes.

Best music moment: When Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’ kicks in as Renton abandons his mates to go straight. Instant goosebumps.

Luke Lewis

 

 

5

Some Kind Of Monster (2004)

 

The greatest puzzle about Metallica’s in-the-studio documentary is that they allowed it to be released at all, since it’s more ‘warts-and-all’ than Motorhead’s Lemmy – a startling, wince-inducing insight into the band’s ego-driven petty rivalries.

There’s more to it than mere psychodrama, though. The film also raises some awkward questions about creativity. What happens when the songs dry up, and what used to come so easily, is suddenly agonizingly difficult?

Best music moment: ‘Some Kind Of Monster’ and ‘Frantic’ are pretty bracing, but really this is a film about a band failing to write good music.

Luke Lewis

 

 

4

Almost Famous (2000)

 

Former Rolling Stone writer Cameron Crowe based the script on his on experiences, and while you could argue it offers a sterilized version of ‘70s rock’n’roll, the film doesn’t shy away from portraying guys in bands as deeply flawed (Stillwater guitarist Russell Hammond bellowing “I am a golden god!” – originally a Robert Plant quote - is one scene that sticks in the mind).

But it’s the soundtrack that makes it truly shine, a hazily elegant collection of tracks (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Simon & Garfunkel, The Who) that evokes an almost impossibly glamorous moment in time.

Best music moment: The tourbus scene, where they all sing Elton John’s ‘Tiny Dancer’ – it’s cheesy as hell, but you can’t fail to be moved.

Luke Lewis

 

 

3

Control (2007)

 

Erstwhile NME photographer Anton Corbijn swaps his stills camera for video, to produce one of the finest music biopics to grace the screen.

Stunningly shot in black and white, the modern classic focusses on Joy Division and the band's enigmatic frontman Ian Curtis, who commited suicide aged just 23.

Based on Deborah Curtis's biography Touching from a Distance, the film explores Curtis' life from his school days in the 1973 up until his death on the brink of the band's breakthrough American tour in 1980. The pressures of success, troubled romance and the torments of epilepsy are all portrayed as factors in his untimely demise.

Best music moment: The live show scenes, actually performed by the actors who learnt to play the bands' songs. Newcomer Sam Riley is electrifying as the ill-fated frontman.

David Moynihan

 

 

2

Anvil: The Story of Anvil (2008)

 

You don’t need to be a gumby old-school metal fan to appreciate the desperate poignancy of this award-winning documentary, which follows the exploits of a has-been rock band as they endure repeated humiliations – empty gigs, missed trains - before finally achieving vindication, of a sort.

Much like The Wrestler, which came out the same year, the message is an unexpectedly nuanced one: follow the dreams of youth into middle-age, sure – but be aware that there’s a heavy price to pay.

Best music moment: The uplifting finale, when the band walk out on stage in Japan to find… well, won’t spoil it for you.

Luke Lewis

 

 

1

24 Hour Party People (2002)

 

As celebratory as it is comical, 24 Hour Party People bows at the altar of Manchester’s legendary, pioneering indie scene – while never being afraid to add a mischievous dash of the surreal to liven up proceedings.

It’s this irrepressible comedy charm that carries the movie as it tracks the rise and fall of Factory Records, taking in the birth of punk and the explosion of club culture. It’s genuinely funny: Steve Coogan’s hilarious turn as Tony Wilson sees him crash a hang-glider and talk to God; Happy Mondays giddily poison 3,000 pigeons; Joy Division’s drummer is dispatched to play on the studio roof by their irascible producer.

Add to those cartoon-esque capers some of the most spine-tinglingly great music ever made, complimented by cameos from the artists involved, and Director Michael Winterbottom’s masterpiece is a thoroughly British piece of perfection.

Best music moment: "The Gig That Changed The World": Sex...

[Gallagher]

영화음악이랑 영화ost랑틀림?

[penelrope]

베스트 음악영화가 아니라 영화음악이군요.

[PennyLane]

베스트 음악영화 맞답니다. 기사 앞 시작글 수정해서 달았어요.

[PennyLane]

음악이 좋은 영화! 인 듯 으히히

[킹콩]

싱글즈랑 하이피델리티 패리스뷸러의 휴일 앤드류맥카시 20세기 전집을 갖고싶다는 생각이 문득,

[cureshow]

여기 있는 영화들은 다 어디서 구해야 하나요??

[DistinctShadow]

개인적으로는 500일의 썸머도 나쁘지 않았는데 여기는 없네요..