Sometimes listening to music just isn’t enough and you need to watch a movie about music. Biopics, documentaries, even fictionalisations about music and musicians have been around for many decades in cinema.
They provide fascinating extra insight, they capture musical moments in time. They bring songs to life and show us the effort their creators went through.
It got us wondering just what the best movies about music are so we asked you for your suggestions. There were some obvious picks and some less obvious suggestions. Take a look below and see if we missed any great ones out!
Bohemian Rhapsody
Maybe we should chalk this down to recency bias because, oh boy, that was a cheesy movie. It’s one of the worst-reviewed movies to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Somehow, despite sporting some hilarious prosthetic teeth, Rami Malek actually won the Best Actor Oscar for his admittedly on-point portrayal of Queen’s wonderful frontman Freddie Mercury. If nothing else, getting to listen to Queen songs for two hours is never a bad thing.
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Amadeus
This 1984 period biographical drama presents a fictionalised vision of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s life from the time he left Salzburg, Austria. It follows the (fictional) rivalry between Mozart and the Italian composer Antonio Salieri at the court of Emperor Joseph II. Peter Shaffer adapted his own 1979 play of the same name to give it the big screen treatment and it paid off: it was nominated for several Academy Awards, triumphing for Best Picture and Best Director (Miloš Forman) amongst others.
The Blues Brothers
Your dad probably likes this one. Developed from a Saturday Night Live sketch, Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi play two brothers in a blues revivalist band. The musical comedy was heaving with stunning music, featuring the likes of soul and blues legends James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and Ray Charles. After becoming a cult movie, The Blues Brothers was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry last year. No small feat for an idea based on a 70’s SNL sketch. Just avoid the sequel.
I’m Not There
Aussie icon Cate Blanchett playing Bob Dylan? Count me in. Blanchett was one of six actors to depict different facets of the legendary songwriter’s public personas in the 2007 movie, including Christian Bale and Heath Ledger in his final movie role to be released during his lifetime. The movie was well-received but most of the praise went to the outstanding Blanchett.
Whiplash
“Not quite my tempo!” Before dividing public opinion with the grating La La Land, Damien Chazelle rose to fame with this 2014 psychological drama, focusing on the tense relationship between a young jazz drummer (Miles Teller) and his abusive bandleader (J.K. Simmons who deservedly won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar that year). It’s an intense watch and will leave you having newfound respect for drummers. Sorry Ringo.
This Is Spinal Tap
Unquestionably the best movie about music. The 1984 mockumentary is one of the consistently funniest movies, endlessly rewatchable. It follows the fictional English heavy metal band Spinal Tap (“one of England’s loudest bands”) on their stressful American tour. Rock documentaries and rock band behaviour were brutally satirised and most of the hilarious dialogue was impressively improvised. Although it was only a modest success upon its release, its since risen to become one of the most influential movies of the last few decades. Is there a more quotable movie?
24 Hour Party People
Manchester is one of the finest musical cities in the world and this 2002 biographical comedy-drama looks at its music community from 1976 and 1992, mainly focusing on the iconic Factory Records. What unbelievable music Manchester was privy to during those years: the movie begins with the dawning of punk rock in the late 70’s, transitioning through the 80’s into the rave and DJ culture of ‘Madchester’ in the early 90’s. Bands featured include Joy Division, Sex Pistols, New Order, and Happy Mondays. Unsurprisingly, there’s lots of drugs and alcohol.
