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One of the more important sub-genres of documentaries is the music documentary, which portrays a particular group, musician, or concert. These documentaries can often effectively capture the visual and aural impact of a successful performance, as well as explore the behind-the-scenes perspectives of musicians about their work. For example, one of the most successful of these documentaries is The Last Waltz (click here for
trailer), filmed by Martin Scorsese in 1978 and reissued in 2001 on DVD. It portrays the last concert of The Band which included performances by Muddy Waters, Neil Young, and Eric Clapton.
| Another success music documentary is Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002),
which documents the unnoticed back-up band to many of the Motown stars, The Funk Brothers, who perform in a concert with younger singers performing familiar Motown songs.
| Webquest: Standing in the Shadows of Motown
| One of the most interesting music documentaries is Stop Making Sense (1984)
by Jonathan Demme which captures an engaging concert by The Talking Heads.
| Another important documentary is Scratch, which portrays the development of hip-hop DJ practices from the early turn-table street concerts to more current DJ contests.
| In 2003, PBS aired the series, The Blues, a series of seven documentaries by famous movie directors who focus on a particular aspect of the history of the blues that most interested them:
| Feel Like Going Home: Martin Scorsese (The Last Waltz): the Delta blues with Willie King, Taj Mahal, Otha Turner, Ali Farka Touré, Son House, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker.
The Soul of a Man: Wim Wenders (Buena Vista Social Club): songs by Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson, and J. B. Lenoir as performed by Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, Lou Reed, Eagle Eye Cherry, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and others.
The Road to Memphis: Richard Pearce (The Long Walk Home): B.B. King, Bobby Rush, Rosco Gordon, Ike Turner, Howlin’ Wolf and Fats Domino.
Warming by the Devil’s Fire: Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep): the intergenerational tensions between gospel and the blues.
Godfathers and Sons: Marc Levin (Slam): Chuck D (of Public Enemy) and Marshall Chess unite to produce an album that seeks to bring veteran blues players together with contemporary hip-hop musicians.
Red, White and Blues: Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas): Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Tom Jones talk about how the early 60s British music reintroduced the blues sound to America.
Piano Blues: Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven): piano blues of Pinetop Perkins, Jay McShann, Dave Brubeck, and Marcia Ball.
Other music documentaries:
| Buena Vista Social Club
Jazz
Woodstock
Gimme Shelter, Rolling Stones
Don’t Look Back, Bob Dylan
Bound For Glory, Woody Guthrie
I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times, Brian Wilson
Thirty-Two Short Films about Glenn Gould, Glen Gould (fiction and actual footage)
The Complete Monterey Pop Festival
Hellhounds On My Trail, Robert Johnson
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, Wilco
Kurt & Courtney, Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love
Sid & Nancy, Sid Vicious of The Sex Pistols
Tommy: The Movie, The Who
Yellow Submarine, The Beatles
Help!, The Beatles
The Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles
The Compleat Beatles, The Beatles
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