Characters: singers
Description: Hear the music like never before as these films reveal the real and fictional stories behind the songs we love. Ranging from biopics of legendary vocalists to fictionalized portrayals, we gain intimate insight into the lives of talented singers on and off stage.
More characters to explore:
Characters: Monarchs
Characters: Rebels
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Characters: Writers
Characters: Filmmakers
Characters: Politicians & Influencers in History
Characters: Gangsters
Characters: Pioneers
Characters: High IQ
Characters: Poets
Characters: Fashion Designers
Characters: Teachers
Characters: Painters & Sculptors
Characters: Pirates
Characters: Music Composers
*Some descriptions might have been enhanced by AI.
More characters to explore:
Characters: Monarchs
Characters: Rebels
Characters: Polymaths
Characters: Writers
Characters: Filmmakers
Characters: Politicians & Influencers in History
Characters: Gangsters
Characters: Pioneers
Characters: High IQ
Characters: Poets
Characters: Fashion Designers
Characters: Teachers
Characters: Painters & Sculptors
Characters: Pirates
Characters: Music Composers
*Some descriptions might have been enhanced by AI.
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94 titles
- DirectorFrank MarshallStarsBarry GibbMaurice GibbRobin GibbAn exploration of the history of the Bee Gees, featuring revealing interviews with oldest brother Barry Gibb, and archival interviews with the late twin brothers Robin and Maurice.
- DirectorMichael SimonStarsBarry GibbRobin GibbMaurice GibbThe Bee Gees play all their greatest hits in this incredible gig.
- DirectorSkot BrightStarsThe Bee GeesTony BennettDon Everly"In Our Own Time" is a new film on the long and illustrious career of the legendary Bee Gees, from their modest beginnings to unrivaled worldwide success in the "70's to the tragedy of losing their brothers Maurice and Andy. The story is told "in their own words" by Barry and Robin from extensive new interviews, and the film also includes archive interview footage of Maurice, videos, TV appearances and live performances.
- DirectorLeslie LibmanStarsThe Bee GeesBarry GibbMaurice GibbOfficial music video of 'You Win Again' by Bee Gees.
- StarsBarry GibbMaurice GibbRobin GibbThis is an incredible look at the life and times of three brothers, Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, one of the worlds first super groups, taking us on a journey from their roots to the pinnacle of their careers. This is a must for all music fans!
- DirectorJohn CarneyStarsKeira KnightleyMark RuffaloAdam LevineA chance encounter between a down-and-out music business executive, and a young singer songwriter new to Manhattan, turns into a promising collaboration between the two talents.
- DirectorPaul WeitzStarsJulianne MooreKen WatanabeSebastian KochA world-renowned opera singer becomes trapped in a hostage situation when she's invited to perform for a wealthy industrialist in South America.
- DirectorD.A. PennebakerStarsBob DylanAlbert GrossmanBob NeuwirthDocumentary covering Bob Dylan's 1965 tour of England, which includes appearances by Joan Baez and Donovan.
- DirectorCurtis HansonStarsBob DylanMichael DouglasRobert Downey Jr.Award winning legend Bob Dylan performs this great track from the original soundtrack of "Wonder Boys" in this music video where he has the chance to interact the stars of the movie (Michael Douglas, Robert Downey Jr. and Tobey Maguire) in between amusing situations taken from the film directed by Curtis Hanson.
- DirectorGavin TaylorStarsBob DylanThe BandMary Chapin CarpenterOn October 16, 1992, an impressive and eclectic group of artists gathered at Madison Square Garden in New York City for the purpose of celebrating the music of Bob Dylan on occasion of his 30th anniversary of recording. Bringing together musical greats as far-flung as Johnny Cash and Eddie Vedder, The Clancy Brothers and Lou Reed, the four hour show celebrated a truly remarkable lifetime of songs in front of a sold-out audience of over 18,000. Warmly dubbed the Bobfest by participant Neil Young, the show was broadcast around the world and featured a cast of musical notables performing carefully chosen and often surprising selections from the incomparable Dylan songbook. At evening's end, the man of honor himself appeared on stage and gracefully brought it all back home again. In a world where all-star celebrity gatherings have become commonplace, the Bob Dylan celebration stood out as, first and foremost, a legitimately memorable musical event. Available for the first time in High Definition.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsBob DylanAllen GinsbergPatti SmithIn an alchemic mix of fact and fantasy, Martin Scorsese looks back at Bob Dylan's 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue tour and a country ripe for reinvention.
- DirectorBryan SingerStarsRami MalekLucy BoyntonGwilym LeeThe story of the legendary British rock band Queen and lead singer Freddie Mercury, leading up to their famous performance at Live Aid (1985).
- DirectorBradley CooperStarsLady GagaBradley CooperSam ElliottA musician helps a young singer find fame as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.
- DirectorFrank PiersonStarsBarbra StreisandKris KristoffersonGary BuseyA has-been rock star falls in love with a young, up-and-coming songstress.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsJudy GarlandJames MasonJack CarsonA film star helps a young singer and actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career on a downward spiral.
- DirectorMick JacksonStarsKevin CostnerWhitney HoustonGary KempA former Secret Service agent takes on the job of bodyguard to an R&B singer, whose lifestyle is most unlike a President's.
- DirectorFrançois GirardStarsDustin HoffmanKathy BatesEddie IzzardAfter his single mother dies, a young boy with an excellent voice is sent to a prestigious choir school and has trouble adapting to the culture of the school.
- DirectorSian HederStarsEmilia JonesMarlee MatlinTroy KotsurAs a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family's fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her passion at Berklee College of Music and her fear of abandoning her parents.
- DirectorRamona S. DiazStarsJonathan CainDeen CastronovoArnel PinedaDon't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey follows the real life rock-n-roll fairy tale story of Filipino Arnel Pineda, who was plucked from You Tube to become the front man for iconic American rock band, Journey, thereby becoming the latest performer to go from the Internet to real life celebrity. Having already overcome a life full of painful obstacles and now saddled with the immense pressures of leading a world renowned band and replacing a legendary singer, the film follows Arnel on this personal journey.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsVal KilmerMeg RyanKyle MacLachlanThe story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band The Doors and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison, from his days as a UCLA film student in Los Angeles, to his untimely death in Paris, France at age 27 in 1971.
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsTom HanksAustin ButlerOlivia DeJongeThe life of American music icon Elvis Presley, from his childhood to becoming a rock and movie star in the 1950s while maintaining a complex relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellShelley WintersBing RussellBiographical movie about the famous rock singer Elvis Presley.
- StarsJonathan Rhys MeyersRose McGowanRandy QuaidA chronicle of the life of Elvis Presley, from his humble beginnings to his rise to international stardom.
- DirectorLiza JohnsonStarsMichael ShannonKevin SpaceyAlex PettyferThe untold true story behind the meeting between Elvis Presley, the King of Rock 'n Roll, and President Richard Nixon, resulting in this revealing, yet humorous moment immortalized in the most requested photograph in the National Archives.
- DirectorLarry PeerceStarsSusan WaltersDale MidkiffLinda MillerThe story of Priscilla Presley's life with rock and roll star Elvis Presley.
- DirectorSteve BaldersonStarsJonathan NationDoug BurchSallieu SesayPlagued by a heavy drug addiction and his failing voice, The King is desperate to make things right with himself, his deceased brother, and God. His attempts to get back on track are thwarted, however, after he helps the cops bring down a powerful crime syndicate-putting his family in danger and sending him on a journey that will change his life forever.
- DirectorThom ZimnyStarsSteve AllenAnn-MargretChet AtkinsElvis Presley's evolution as a musician and a man.
- DirectorGérard CorbiauStarsStefano DionisiEnrico Lo VersoElsa ZylbersteinThe story of castrato opera singer Carlo Broschi, who enthralled 18th-century European audiences under his stage name Farinelli.
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsMeryl StreepHugh GrantSimon HelbergThe story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible singing voice.
- DirectorAndrew ErwinJon ErwinStarsK.J. ApaBritt RobertsonNathan ParsonsThe true-life story of Christian music star Jeremy Camp and his journey of love and loss that looks to prove there is always hope.
- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsChristian BaleCate BlanchettHeath LedgerRuminations on the life of Bob Dylan, where six characters embody a different aspect of the musician's life and work.
- DirectorDustin MarcellinoStarsBlake RayneRay LiottaAshley JuddTwin brothers are unknowingly separated at birth; one of them becomes an iconic rock 'n' roll star, while the other struggles to balance his love for music and pleasing his father.
- DirectorRupert GooldStarsRenée ZellwegerJessie BuckleyFinn WittrockLegendary performer Judy Garland arrives in London in the winter of 1968 to perform a series of sold-out concerts.
- DirectorSidney J. FurieStarsDiana RossBilly Dee WilliamsRichard PryorThe story of the troubled life and career of the legendary Jazz singer, Billie Holiday.
- DirectorMark PellingtonStarsShirley MacLaineAmanda SeyfriedAnnJewel Lee DixonHarriet is a retired businesswoman who tries to control everything around her. When she decides to write her own obituary, a young journalist takes up the task of finding out the truth, resulting in a life-altering friendship.
- DirectorTom VolfStarsFanny ArdantJoyce DiDonatoMaria CallasAn intimate look at the life and work of Greek-American opera singer Maria Callas, as told in her own words.
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsNicole KidmanEwan McGregorJohn LeguizamoA poor Bohemian poet in 1890s Paris falls for a beautiful courtesan and nightclub star coveted by a jealous duke.
- DirectorCynthia MortStarsZoe SaldanaDavid OyelowoKevin MamboThe story of the late jazz musician and classical pianist Nina Simone, including her rise to fame and relationship with her manager Clifton Henderson.
- DirectorSam Taylor-JohnsonStarsAaron Taylor-JohnsonKristin Scott ThomasAnne-Marie DuffA chronicle of John Lennon's first years, focused mainly in his adolescence and his relationship with his stern aunt Mimi, who raised him, and his absentee mother Julia, who re-entered his life at a crucial moment in his young life.
- DirectorJohn CarneyStarsGlen HansardMarkéta IrglováHugh WalshA modern-day musical about a busker and an immigrant and their eventful week in Dublin, as they write, rehearse and record songs that tell their love story.
- DirectorLiesl TommyStarsJennifer HudsonForest WhitakerMarlon WayansFollowing the rise of Aretha Franklin's career from a child singing in her father's church's choir to her international superstardom, RESPECT is the remarkable true story of the music icon's journey to find her voice.
- DirectorEmile ArdolinoStarsWhoopi GoldbergMaggie SmithHarvey KeitelWhen a nightclub singer is forced to take refuge from the mob in a convent, she ends up turning the convent choir into a soulful chorus complete with a Motown repertoire, until the sudden celebrity of the choir jeopardizes her identity.
- DirectorBill DukeStarsWhoopi GoldbergKathy NajimyMaggie SmithShowgirl Deloris Van Cartier returns as Sister Mary Clarence to teach music to a group of Catholic students whose run-down school is slated for closure.
- DirectorTim FederleStarsJenifer LewisKeke PalmerWhoopi GoldbergThird installment of the 'Sister Act' comedy franchise.
- DirectorKenny OrtegaStarsMichael JacksonAlex AlAlexandra ApjarovaA compilation of interviews, rehearsals, and backstage footage of Michael Jackson as he prepared for his series of sold-out shows in London.
- DirectorLee DanielsStarsAndra DayTrevante RhodesGarrett HedlundFollows Holiday during her career as she is targeted by the Federal Department of Narcotics with an undercover sting operation led by black Federal Agent Jimmy Fletcher, with whom she has a tumultuous affair.
- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsEwan McGregorJonathan Rhys MeyersChristian BaleIn 1984, British journalist Arthur Stuart investigates the career of 1970s glam superstar Brian Slade, who was heavily influenced in his early years by hard-living and rebellious American singer Curt Wild.
- DirectorJames MangoldStarsJoaquin PhoenixReese WitherspoonGinnifer GoodwinA chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins.
- DirectorLiz GarbusStarsNina SimoneLisa Simone KellyRoger NupieA documentary about the life and legend Nina Simone, an American singer, pianist, and civil rights activist labeled the "High Priestess of Soul."
- DirectorBrian GibsonStarsAngela BassettLaurence FishburneRaéVen KellyThe story of singer Tina Turner's rise to stardom and how she gained the courage to break free from her abusive husband, Ike Turner.
- CreatorTheresa RebeckStarsDebra MessingJack DavenportKatharine McPheeMore drama occurs behind the scenes than on stage, as the team prepares an ambitious Broadway musical on the life of Marilyn Monroe.
- CreatorPilar NadalDaniel ÉcijaErnesto PozueloStarsAlfonso LaraBeatriz LuengoMiguel Ángel MuñozThe show focuses on the professors and students at a prestigious art school in Spain. They want to be successful singers, dancers, and actors, but they learn as they go along that the path to fame is not easy.
- CreatorIan BrennanBrad FalchukRyan MurphyStarsLea MicheleJane LynchMatthew MorrisonA group of ambitious misfits try to escape the harsh realities of high school by joining a glee club headed by a passionate Spanish teacher.
- DirectorValérie LemercierStarsValérie LemercierSylvain MarcelDanielle FichaudWith the support of her family and the man she loves, the 14th child of a modest family will become the most famous singer in the world.
- DirectorRaymond BernardEusebio Fernández ArdavínStarsLuis MarianoCarmen SevillaJean TissierA French cinema company is shooting a picture requiring real gypsies, so they hire a whole bunch and choose beautiful María Luisa to team with famed singer Carlos Molina. The plot includes a marriage and María Luisa believes it has been a real one.
- DirectorJérôme CornuauStarsAmbre BoukebzaPatrick Forster-DelmasOphélie WinterAlice is born to an unknown father. When her mom reveals to her that he is actually one of the biggest music producers, she decides to leave Marseille for Paris in hopes define him.
- DirectorFrancesco RosiStarsJulia MigenesPlácido DomingoRuggero RaimondiIn 1820s Spain the soldier Don José falls in love with the fiery and charismatic factory worker Carmen. Conflicts and grievances multiply, however, as it becomes apparent their views on love and commitment are fundamentally incompatible.
- DirectorFlorent-Emilio SiriStarsJérémie RenierBenoît MagimelMonica ScattiniA biopic of French pop star Claude François, most famous for co-writing the song 'My Way'. Tracing his life from childhood in Egypt through success in France to his untimely death in Paris in 1978.
- DirectorLisa AzuelosStarsSveva AlvitiRiccardo ScamarcioJean-Paul RouveThe story of the Egyptian-Italian singer Dalida and her story against life and how she dealt with her problems while she was the most successful artist in the history of France.
- DirectorJoyce BuñuelStarsSabrina FerilliCharles BerlingMichel JonaszThe life story of famous singer and actress of Egyptian and Italian ancestry Iolanda Gigliotti known by her stage name Dalida.
- DirectorJoann SfarStarsEric ElmosninoLucy GordonLaetitia CastaA glimpse at the life of French singer Serge Gainsbourg, from growing up in 1940s Nazi-occupied Paris through his successful song-writing years in the 1960s to his death in 1991 at the age of 62.
- DirectorSerge GainsbourgStarsCharlotte GainsbourgSerge GainsbourgMusic video for "Lemon Incest" Serge Gainsbourg and Charlotte Gainsbourg.
- DirectorChristophe BarratierStarsGérard JugnotFrançois BerléandJean-Baptiste MaunierPierre, a successful orchestra conductor, returns home when his mother dies. He stumbles upon an old diary and recollects the childhood school memories and his music teacher Clement Mathieu.
- DirectorXavier GiannoliStarsCatherine FrotAndré MarconMichel FauIt is party day at Marguerite Dumont's castle. She sings wholeheartedly, but terribly out of tune. Marguerite has been living her passion in her own bubble, and the hypocrite audience acts as if she was the diva she believes she is.
- DirectorOlivier DahanStarsMarion CotillardSylvie TestudPascal GreggoryBiopic of the iconic French singer Édith Piaf. Raised by her grandmother in a brothel, she was discovered while singing on a street corner at the age of 19. Despite her success, Piaf's life was filled with tragedy.
- DirectorLéa PoolStarsCéline BonnierLysandre MénardDiane LavalléeIn a small convent school in rural Quebec, Mother Augustine provides a musical education to young women no matter their socio-economic background. However, with the looming changes brought by Vatican II and Quebec's Quiet Revolution, the school's future is at peril.
- StarsAriane LabedSuzy BembaRaphaël PersonnazSet in the shrine of French dance, the Garnier Opera house, L'Opera follows three characters whose dreams clash with reality, whose ambitions collide with expectations, and whose purity faces corruption.
- DirectorD.A. PennebakerStarsBob DylanAlbert GrossmanBob NeuwirthDocumentary covering Bob Dylan's 1965 tour of England, which includes appearances by Joan Baez and Donovan.DA Pennebaker's 1967 documentary is significant because it may be the first serious attempt to show what was actually happening in rock'n'roll as it struggled to find maturity. The film follows Bob Dylan on his 1965 tour of England – just a year before the famous one, in which he affronted his traditional folk audience by plugging in his guitar – which proved to be a watershed period in his life, resulting in his being heckled at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester with the sanctimonious one-liner "Judas!".
By then, though, Dylan didn't much care, and, if nothing else, the film proves it. Pennebaker has said since that the title came from African-American baseball player Satchel Paige, who once said, "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you." This would appear to be Dylan's philosophy of the time: out was the fresh-faced folkie look, replaced by leather and shades and a spidery, speed-freak demeanour. Gone too were the camaraderies of the old folk scene; what shocked audiences when the film was first released was Dylan's bite-the-hand-that-feeds attitude, not simply to his audiences but also the press, whom he treated with arrogance and contempt.
Seen now, the film is a perfect time capsule, practically the big bang of modern rock. Through Pennebaker's film we see for the first time the machinations of an artist who knows he has to destroy his past to create a future – something the Beatles did in a more passive-aggressive way by refusing to tour – but we also see the start of the bemused media's attempt to co-opt and contain a youth movement that is growing and evolving by the minute. The proto-music video clip that shows Dylan dismissively holding up the lyrics to Subterranean Homesick Blues behind the Savoy hotel has become its MTV legacy, but in reality Don't Look Back is about much more than that – it is about the making of a modern rock star, a role Dylan obligingly played to perfection. Damon Wise - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobbie RobertsonMuddy WatersNeil YoungA film account and presentation of the final concert of The Band.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsElvis PresleyJudy TylerMickey ShaughnessyAfter serving time for manslaughter, young Vince Everett becomes a teenage rock star.The spoiling of a raw but provincial and naive talent – fleeced by cheating managers and ruined by the toxic side-effects of fame – has been the backbone of the rock'n'roll movie ever since, but Jailhouse Rock, only Elvis Presley's third movie as an actor, after the soporific Love Me Tender and Loving You, still gives a jolt. Starring Presley as Vince Everett, a short-fused construction worker jailed for manslaughter after defending himself in a bar brawl, the film is a particular favourite of Quentin Tarantino, who penned the ultimate tribute to it in his script for True Romance. "In Jailhouse Rock," says Clarence Worley, "[Elvis] was everything rockabilly's about. I mean, he is rockabilly. Mean, surly, nasty, rude. In that movie he couldn't give a *beep* about nothing except rockin' and rollin', living fast, dying young and leaving a good-looking corpse."
That the film was made by 61-year-old Richard Thorpe, a mostly unremarkable director for hire since the silent era, is especially fascinating, since the film not only nails the dangerous allure of rock'n'roll – Vince frequently loses his temper in self-destructive situations – it completely captures the generation gap that it caused. On the one hand there is Hank Houghton (Mickey Shaughnessy), Vince's prison mentor who sings clapped-out country and western, and on the other there is the sophisticated social circle of the film's love interest, Peggy Van Alden (Judy Tyler). One incredible scene finds Peggy taking Vince to a middle-class party, where the talk is of jazz and a lady who lunches describes atonality as a passing phase. "What do you think, Mr Everett?" Presley's dead-eyed retort is the film in a nutshell: "Lady, I don't know what the hell you talkin' about." DW - DirectorCurtis HansonStarsEminemBrittany MurphyKim BasingerFollows a young rapper in the Detroit area, struggling with every aspect of his life; he wants to make it big but his friends and foes make this odyssey of rap harder than it may seem.John Ford once opined that it was easier to teach an actor to ride than a cowboy to act. He never made a musical and thus remained silent on the issue of whether it is easier to teach an actor to sing than a singer to act. Rap artists, like opera singers, are engaged in a kind of dramatic performance and have made the transition quite naturally in movies that reflect the conflicts of the black ghettos that inspire their numbers - one thinks of Ice Cube in in Boyz N the Hood and and the late Tupac Shakur in Gridlock'd. Eminem is fortunate to make his movie debut in 8 Mile.
The film was shot in Eminem's native Detroit, the most rundown of America's great cities, in steady decline since the appalling riots of 36 years ago. The title refers to the Eight Mile Road, the perimeter that divides the dangerous, neglected inner city, home to poor whites and deprived blacks where Eminem was reared, from the relatively well-off suburbs where the middle classes reside in closely guarded estates. Rodrigo Prieto, the brilliant Mexican photographer who shot Amores Perros, turns a remorseless eye on the decaying Detroit where Eminem's character, Jimmy "Rabbit" Smith, lives with his feckless, low-life mother (Kim Basinger), her four-year-old daughter, and her seedy lover Greg, a high-school contemporary of Jimmy's.
Almost everything in the film points towards semi-autobiography: the absent father, the uneasy relationships with a wayward mother, a rejected girlfriend and a new lover; his hanging out with a multiracial crew (presumably forged in high school) dedicated to each other's welfare and, above all, the expressive gifts as a rap performer that arise from his specific social situation the way that the blues came out of slavery and its aftermath, and country music arose from the condition of poor Southern whites.
The film 8 Mile most obviously brings to mind is Saturday Night Fever, a tough movie written by an old-time socialist, Norman Wexler, and resembling in tone and texture Hubert Selby Jr's Last Exit to Brooklyn until it was bowdlerised and reissued in a version that John Travolta's teenybopper fans could see. Philip French - DirectorDavis GuggenheimStarsJimmy PageThe EdgeJack WhiteA documentary on the electric guitar from the point of view of three significant rock musicians: The Edge, Jimmy Page, and Jack White.
- DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsMiles TellerJ.K. SimmonsMelissa BenoistA promising young drummer enrolls at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student's potential.
- DirectorWim WendersStarsCompay SegundoIbrahim FerrerRubén GonzálezAging Cuban musicians whose talents had been virtually forgotten following Castro's takeover of Cuba, are brought out of retirement by Ry Cooder, who travelled to Havana in order to bring the musicians together, resulting in triumphant performances of extraordinary music, and resurrecting the musicians' careers.It could be convincingly argued that this documentary about elderly Cuban musicians whom composer-performer Ry Cooder assembled into a super-group in 1997 still represents the best thing German director Wim Wenders has made since his New German Cinema glory days in the 1970s; or, if you're feeling more generous, his last truly good feature film, Wings of Desire (1987). It's certainly one of his most influential films. Shot on digital, a massive novelty at the time, its jittery handheld aesthetic, bleached-out-in-post colour range, and understated mix of atmospheric observational anecdotes intercut with slabs of unmediated concert and performance footage have become such music-doc clichés it's easy to forget that they were fresh once. This is the film that invented them.
What's more, this in many ways is also the movie, a huge unexpected arthouse hit, that first introduced many people to world music, enticed thousands of tourists to Cuba in search of vintage cars, charming old Communist duffers and swinging parties, and launched scads of follow-up albums. No doubt many a middle-class dinner party was soundtracked by its sultry mix of mambos, boleros and cha-chas.
But, man, the music really is great. The sequence where Ibrahim Ferrer, the once-famous bolero singer whom Cooder found shining shoes in the street, sings Silencio with Omara Portuondo, is a neck-shiverer of the highest order, a moment made all the more tender by their almost-fragile voices, showing off a mastery of phrasing that only comes with age and experience. Ruben Gonzalez's darting, elegant piano solo represents another showstopper.
Meanwhile, it's impossible not to be seduced by the laid-back, amused vibe as the camera follows cigar-puffing Compay Segundo around town in search of the titular dancehall, or be charmed by his hopes to father, as a nonagenarian, a sixth child. The scene where the members wander around New York awestruck by capitalism feels a little staged and gimcrack, but it's but a fleeting duff moment in an otherwise enchanting work. LF - DirectorJohn LandisStarsJohn BelushiDan AykroydCab CallowayJake Blues rejoins with his brother Elwood after being released from prison, but the duo has just days to reunite their old R&B band and save the Catholic home where the two were raised, outrunning the police as they tear through Chicago.Featuring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd in their alternate blues-playing identities, brothers Jake and Elwood Blues, 1980's The Blues Brothers has plenty of musical goodness, not to mention one of the greatest car chase scenes in the history of movies. Directed by John Landis, the film centers around newly reunited brothers Jake and Elwood Blues who are inspired to get their band back together. It's full of Belushi and Aykroyd's trademark deadpan humor, slapstick goodness and stylized musical numbers. The Blues Brothers boasts appearances by music legends Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Cab Calloway, Gary U.S. Bonds, Ray Charles and John Lee Hooker. -IGN
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsNeil YoungEmmylou HarrisPegi YoungA film shot over during a two-night performance by Neil Young at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium.In the fall of 2005, Neil Young returned to the sound and style of his iconic 1972 album Harvest with Prairie Wind, a set of ten songs which look to America's past and future accompanied by sweet but rough-hewn country-rock. The album was written and recorded after Young was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm, and shortly before he went into the hospital for surgery for the condition, Young played a pair of special concerts at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry, where he performed the Prairie Wind album in full along with a set of old favorites. Filmmaker Jonathan Demme was on hand to film the shows, and Neil Young: Heart of Gold was culled from the best moments of those two concerts, as well as interviews in which Young talks about his life and music. Emmylou Harris appears as a guest vocalist, and Young's band includes long time accompanists Ben Keith on pedal steel, pianist Spooner Oldham and Pegi Young (Neil's wife) on acoustic guitar and backing vocals. By the way, Neil Young enjoyed a full recovery after his surgery. mrqe.com
- DirectorScott CooperStarsJeff BridgesMaggie GyllenhaalColin FarrellA faded country music musician is forced to reassess his dysfunctional life during a doomed romance that also inspires him.
- DirectorSam Taylor-JohnsonStarsAaron Taylor-JohnsonKristin Scott ThomasAnne-Marie DuffA chronicle of John Lennon's first years, focused mainly in his adolescence and his relationship with his stern aunt Mimi, who raised him, and his absentee mother Julia, who re-entered his life at a crucial moment in his young life.
- DirectorLaurent TuelStarsFabrice LuchiniJohnny HallydayGuilaine LondezFabrice is a big - perhaps the biggest - fan of Jean-Philippe Smet, better known as Johnny Hallyday, the greatest rocker France has ever produced.
- DirectorXavier GiannoliStarsGérard DepardieuCécile de FranceMathieu AmalricAlain Moreau sings for one of the few remaining dance-bands in Clermont-Ferrand. Though something of an idol amongst his female audience he has a melancholic awareness of the slow disappearance of that audience and of his advancing years. He is completely knocked off balance when he meets strikingly attractive and much younger businesswoman Marion. She seems distant and apparently otherwise involved but soon shows quiet signs of reciprocating his interest. A brief dalliance turns into something much more complicated and he starts to employ - indeed monopolise - her services as an estate agent by announcing he suddenly must move house.
- DirectorJames MangoldStarsJoaquin PhoenixReese WitherspoonGinnifer GoodwinA chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins.
- DirectorYann MoixStarsBenoît PoelvoordeJean-Paul RouveJulie DepardieuBernand Fréderic is a mediocre bank executive, married, with a son. He used to have another profession: look-a-like of French star Claude François. Now, with the Imitators Gala Night coming up, he must choose between his wife or the only thing that makes him fully happy: the applause.
- DirectorTaylor HackfordStarsJamie FoxxRegina KingKerry WashingtonThe 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.
- DirectorKevin SpaceyStarsKevin SpaceyKate BosworthJohn GoodmanA swooning study of "Mack the Knife" singer Bobby Darin and specifically his relationship with wife Sandra Dee.
- DirectorBruce PaltrowStarsHuey LewisGwyneth PaltrowPaul GiamattiA professional karaoke hustler reconnects with his daughter and a bored suburban businessman turns outlaw karaoke singer, among other plotlines.
- DirectorLuis ValdezStarsLou Diamond PhillipsEsai MoralesRosanna DeSotoBiographical story of the rise from nowhere of early rock and roll singer Ritchie Valens who died at age 17 in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.
- DirectorGérard CorbiauStarsJosé van DamAnne RousselPhilippe VolterAging opera singer Joachim Dallayrac retires from the stage and retreats to the countryside to school two young singers, Sophie and Jean. Although the rigorous training takes its toll on both teacher and students, there is plenty of time for relationships to develop between the three. Based on their teacher's reputation, Sophie and Jean are invited to participate in a singing contest staged by Prince Scotti. Scotti's protege is set up to get revenge for Scotti's defeat at the hands of Dallayrac in a similar competition many years ago. The young students overcome Scotti's trickery to win the competition.
- StarsSarah BiasiniPietro SermontiPierre ArditiAgnès Dormes, a famous opera singer, saves Julie, a baby girl who was about to be sacrificed during a black mass. Twenty years later, the baby has turned into a beautiful energetic twenty-year-old young lady determined to find out about her origins. In Avignon, Julie manages to meet Agnès and discovers on the occasion she is not her real mother. A series of adventures will ensue and at a time Julie is nearly burned on the stake. But she eventually achieves her end and can marry, a street performer close to her heart.
- StarsLawrence Hilton-JacobsAngela BassettHolly Robinson PeeteThe story of the Jackson family and their rise to success.
- DirectorJoseph VilsmaierStarsBen BeckerHeino FerchUlrich NoethenThe film chronicles the rise and fall of Germany's most famous a capella group, the Comedian Harmonists, in 1930s Germany.
- DirectorMichael GraceyStarsHugh JackmanMichelle WilliamsZac EfronCelebrates the birth of show business and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.
- DirectorDexter FletcherStarsTaron EgertonJamie BellRichard MaddenA musical fantasy about the fantastical human story of Elton John's breakthrough years.
- DirectorClaude Zidi Jr.StarsMichèle LaroqueMohamed BelkhirGuillaume DuhesmeAntoine, a young Parisian suburbanite, studies accounting without much conviction, dividing his time between the rap battles he practices with talent and his job as a sushi delivery boy. During an errand at the Garnier Opera, his path crosses that of Mrs LOYSEAU, a singing teacher in the venerable institution, who detects in Antoine a raw talent to be developed. Despite his lack of operatic culture, Antoine is fascinated by this form of expression and is convinced to follow Mrs Loyseau's teaching. Antoine has no choice but to lie to his family, his friends and the whole city, for whom opera is a bourgeois thing, far from their world.