Jazz
by trapeziumalty | created - 18 Aug 2014 | updated - 25 Feb 2015 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Jazz Singer (1927)
Passed | 88 min | Drama, Music, Musical
The son of a Jewish Cantor must defy the traditions of his religious father in order to pursue his dream of becoming a jazz singer.
Director: Alan Crosland | Stars: Al Jolson, May McAvoy, Warner Oland, Eugenie Besserer
Votes: 11,067 | Gross: $7.63M
2. Young Man with a Horn (1950)
Passed | 112 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A young trumpet player is torn between an honest singer and a manipulative heiress.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, Doris Day, Hoagy Carmichael
Votes: 3,886
★★★★★
3. Love Me or Leave Me (1955)
Passed | 122 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A fictionalized account of the career of jazz singer Ruth Etting and her tempestuous marriage to gangster Marty Snyder, who helped propel her to stardom.
Director: Charles Vidor | Stars: Doris Day, James Cagney, Cameron Mitchell, Robert Keith
Votes: 4,739
4. High Society (1956)
Not Rated | 111 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
With socialite Tracy Lord about to remarry, her ex-husband - with the help of a sympathetic reporter - has 48 hours to convince her that she really still loves him.
Director: Charles Walters | Stars: Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm
Votes: 17,523 | Gross: $13.00M
5. Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
Approved | 96 min | Drama, Film-Noir
Powerful but unethical Broadway columnist J.J. Hunsecker coerces unscrupulous press agent Sidney Falco into breaking up his sister's romance with a jazz musician.
Director: Alexander Mackendrick | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, Martin Milner
Votes: 35,682
★★★★
6. Shadows (1958)
PG | 87 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Cassavetes' jazz-scored improvisational film explores interracial friendships and relationships in Beat-Era (1950s) New York City.
Director: John Cassavetes | Stars: Ben Carruthers, Lelia Goldoni, Hugh Hurd, Anthony Ray
Votes: 12,551
★★★★★
7. Paris Blues (1961)
Approved | 98 min | Drama, Music, Romance
During the 1960s, two American expatriate jazz musicians living in Paris meet and fall in love with two American tourist girls.
Director: Martin Ritt | Stars: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Sidney Poitier, Louis Armstrong
Votes: 3,959 | Gross: $1.30M
★★★★
8. Lady Sings the Blues (1972)
R | 144 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of the troubled life and career of the legendary Jazz singer, Billie Holiday.
Director: Sidney J. Furie | Stars: Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, James T. Callahan
Votes: 4,843 | Gross: $6.03M
9. New York, New York (1977)
PG | 155 min | Drama, Music, Musical
An egotistical saxophonist and a young lounge singer meet on VJ Day and embark upon a strained and rocky romance, even as their careers begin a long, uphill climb.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Liza Minnelli, Robert De Niro, Lionel Stander, Barry Primus
Votes: 21,883 | Gross: $16.40M
★★★★★
10. American Pop (1981)
R | 96 min | Animation, Drama, History
The story of four generations of a Russian Jewish immigrant family of musicians whose careers parallel the history of American popular music in the 20th century.
Director: Ralph Bakshi | Stars: Mews Small, Ron Thompson, Jerry Holland, Lisa Jane Persky
Votes: 5,502 | Gross: $6.00M
★★★★★
11. The Cotton Club (1984)
R | 129 min | Crime, Drama, Music
Meet the jazz musicians, dancers, owner, and guests (like gangster Dutch Schultz) of The Cotton Club in 1928-1930s Harlem.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Richard Gere, Gregory Hines, Diane Lane, Lonette McKee
Votes: 19,540 | Gross: $25.93M
12. 'Round Midnight (1986)
R | 133 min | Drama, Music
A troubled, but talented musician flees the US to escape his problems, finding refuge and support in Paris.
Director: Bertrand Tavernier | Stars: Dexter Gordon, François Cluzet, Gabrielle Haker, Sandra Reaves-Phillips
Votes: 5,859 | Gross: $3.27M
13. Bird (1988)
R | 161 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The troubled life and career of jazz musician Charlie "Bird" Parker.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Forest Whitaker, Diane Venora, Michael Zelniker, Samuel E. Wright
Votes: 13,479 | Gross: $2.18M
14. Sinatra (1992)
250 min | Biography, Drama, Music
An extensive biopic of one of the most famous entertainers of the 20th century - Frank Sinatra. The only thing that could engage the public more than his songs and films was his sometimes controversial private life.
Stars: Philip Casnoff, Olympia Dukakis, Joe Santos, Gina Gershon
Votes: 447
15. Kansas City (1996)
R | 116 min | Crime, Drama, Music
A pair of kidnappings expose the complex power dynamics within the corrupt and unpredictable workings of 1930s Kansas City.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte, Michael Murphy
Votes: 5,416 | Gross: $1.35M
★★★★
16. Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
In the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Sean Penn, Samantha Morton, Woody Allen, Ben Duncan
Votes: 36,664 | Gross: $4.20M
★★★★★
17. Ray (I) (2004)
PG-13 | 152 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of the life and career of the legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles, from his humble beginnings in the South, where he went blind at age seven, to his meteoric rise to stardom during the 1950s and 1960s.
Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Jamie Foxx, Regina King, Kerry Washington, Clifton Powell
Votes: 157,370 | Gross: $75.33M
18. The Jazzman (2009)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama
The Jazzman is a journey through the life of jazz drummer John Kaddly as he struggles to make a name for himself in the shadow of his jazz musician father.
Director: Mike Koffman | Stars: Michael Ironside, Victoria Snow, Max Dreesen, Michael Dunston
Votes: 74
19. Jimmy's Hall (2014)
PG-13 | 109 min | Biography, Drama, History
During the Depression, Jimmy Gralton returns home to Ireland after ten years of exile in America. Seeing the levels of poverty and oppression, the activist in him reawakens and he looks to re-open the dance hall that led to his deportation.
Director: Ken Loach | Stars: Barry Ward, Francis Magee, Aileen Henry, Simone Kirby
Votes: 6,949 | Gross: $0.56M
★★★★
20. Lost Highway (1997)
R | 134 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Anonymous videotapes presage a musician's murder conviction, and a gangster's girlfriend leads a mechanic astray.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, John Roselius, Louis Eppolito
Votes: 153,134 | Gross: $3.80M
★★★★
21. Calle 54 (2000)
G | 105 min | Documentary, Music
A film featuring performances of several stars of the Latin Jazz music scene.
Director: Fernando Trueba | Stars: Michel Camilo, Tito Puente, Arturo O'Farrill, Rolando Guerrero
Votes: 827 | Gross: $0.18M
22. Wild Man Blues (1997)
PG | 105 min | Documentary, Music, Romance
Academy Award-winner Barbara Kopple directs this documentary portrait of Academy Award and Golden Globe-winner Woody Allen, seen traveling with friends and fellow musicians during their New... See full summary »
Director: Barbara Kopple | Stars: Woody Allen, Letty Aronson, Soon-Yi Previn, Dan Barrett
Votes: 2,291 | Gross: $0.43M
23. Chicago (2002)
PG-13 | 113 min | Comedy, Crime, Musical
Two death-row murderesses develop a fierce rivalry while competing for publicity, celebrity, and a sleazy lawyer's attention.
Director: Rob Marshall | Stars: Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Taye Diggs
Votes: 243,299 | Gross: $170.69M
24. Birth of the Blues (1941)
Passed | 87 min | History, Music, Romance
Jeff grows up near Basin Street in New Orleans, playing his clarinet with the dock workers. He puts together a band, the Basin Street Hot-Shots, which includes a cornet player, Memphis. ... See full summary »
Director: Victor Schertzinger | Stars: Bing Crosby, Mary Martin, Brian Donlevy, Carolyn Lee
Votes: 457
25. Jammin' the Blues (1944)
Approved | 10 min | Documentary, Short, Music
Created under the guidance of jazz impresario and Verve Records founder Norman Granz, this short captures the spontaneity of a jam session and is one of few film records of black jazzers of the day including tenor sax legend Lester Young.
Director: Gjon Mili | Stars: Lester Young, George 'Red' Callender, Harry Edison, Marlowe Morris
Votes: 1,002
★★★★
26. All Night Long (1962)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama, Music
This movie, based on William Shakespeare's Othello, is neatly positioned as a vehicle to showcase some of the best jazz musicians of the period, including Dave Brubeck and Charles Mingus.
Director: Basil Dearden | Stars: Patrick McGoohan, Keith Michell, Betsy Blair, Paul Harris
Votes: 1,526
27. American Blue Note (1989)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Jack, Nat, Jerry, Lee and Tommy play jazz in small clubs, but only one of them will reach success.
Director: Ralph Toporoff | Stars: Peter MacNicol, Carl Capotorto, Tim Guinee, Bill Christopher-Myers
Votes: 97
28. The Connection (1961)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
A director tries to film a group of junkies in Leach's room while they are waiting for Cowboy to bring their heroin connection.
Director: Shirley Clarke | Stars: William Redfield, Warren Finnerty, Garry Goodrow, Jerome Raphael
Votes: 1,007
29. The Gene Krupa Story (1959)
101 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Biopic of famous jazz drummer, Gene Krupa, who becomes a sensation but cannot handle success and life in the fast lane and ends-up broke, struggling with drugs and alcohol.
Director: Don Weis | Stars: Sal Mineo, Susan Kohner, James Darren, Susan Oliver
Votes: 779
30. The Glenn Miller Story (1954)
Approved | 115 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Biography of bandleader Glenn Miller from his beginnings to his death over the English Channel in December 1944.
Director: Anthony Mann | Stars: James Stewart, June Allyson, Harry Morgan, Charles Drake
Votes: 9,705
31. Jivin' in Be-Bop (1946)
Not Rated | 59 min | Documentary, Music
A musical film in the style of a documentary, featuring 19 musical and dance numbers, by many notable musicians.
Directors: Leonard Anderson, Spencer Williams | Stars: Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Carter, Sahji, Helen Humes
Votes: 61
32. A Man Called Adam (1966)
Not Rated | 104 min | Drama, Music
A famous jazz trumpeter finds himself unable to cope with the problems of everyday life.
Director: Leo Penn | Stars: Sammy Davis Jr., Louis Armstrong, Ossie Davis, Cicely Tyson
Votes: 685
33. Pete Kelly's Blues (1955)
Not Rated | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Music
In 1927, a Kansas City, Missouri cornet player and his band perform nightly at a seedy speakeasy until a racketeer tries to extort them in exchange for protection.
Director: Jack Webb | Stars: Jack Webb, Janet Leigh, Edmond O'Brien, Peggy Lee
Votes: 1,502
34. Play Misty for Me (1971)
R | 102 min | Drama, Thriller
The life of a disc jockey is turned upside down after a romantic encounter with an obsessed fan.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Jessica Walter, Donna Mills, John Larch
Votes: 31,888 | Gross: $11.80M
35. Stormy Weather (1943)
Passed | 78 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
The relationship between an aspiring dancer and a popular songstress provides a retrospective of the great African-American entertainers of the early 1900s.
Director: Andrew L. Stone | Stars: Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra, Katherine Dunham and Her Troupe
Votes: 2,888
36. Cabin in the Sky (1943)
Passed | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A compulsive gambler dies during a shooting, but he'll receive a second chance to reform himself and to make up with his worried wife.
Directors: Vincente Minnelli, Busby Berkeley | Stars: Ethel Waters, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Lena Horne, Louis Armstrong
Votes: 3,411
37. King of Jazz (1930)
Passed | 99 min | Comedy, Musical
American Pre-Code color film starring Paul Whiteman and his Jazz orchestra.
Directors: John Murray Anderson, Walter Lantz | Stars: Paul Whiteman, John Boles, Laura La Plante, Jeanette Loff
Votes: 1,611
38. Buck Privates Come Home (1947)
Approved | 77 min | Action, Comedy, Family
Two ex-soldiers return from overseas--one of them having smuggled into the country a French orphan girl he has become attached to. They wind up running into their old sergeant--who hates ... See full summary »
Director: Charles Barton | Stars: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Tom Brown, Joan Shawlee
Votes: 2,151
39. Blues in the Night (1941)
Passed | 88 min | Crime, Drama, Music
"Jigger' Pine forms a band that includes singer Ginger 'Character' Powell, wife of the trumpeter Leo Powell, and Nickie Haroyen and Peppi. All of them dedicate themselves to work as a unit ... See full summary »
Director: Anatole Litvak | Stars: Priscilla Lane, Betty Field, Richard Whorf, Lloyd Nolan
Votes: 1,306
40. A Great Day in Harlem (1994)
Not Rated | 60 min | Documentary, Music
The documentary compiles interviews of all the top jazz musicians in NYC in the year 1958, for a piece in Esquire magazine.
Director: Jean Bach | Stars: Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Hinton, Marian McPartland, Art Blakey
Votes: 493 | Gross: $0.53M
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