What are the best rock and roll movies?

Inspired by this thread...

I'll start - "The Last Waltz."

 

The Kids Are Alright

 

Does The Blues Brothers count?

 

Some favorites:

Don't Look Back; Gimme Shelter; Rude Boy; Festival Express; MC5: A True Testimonial; The Decline Of Western Civilization I;The Filth And The Fury;X-The Unheard Music;End Of The Century; 1991-The Year That Punk Broke;Hail Hail Rock'n'Roll;Rolling Stones 25 x 5...

 

MC5 - A True Testimonial
Velvet Goldmine
Gimme Shelter
The Kids Are Alright
Privilege

 

gimme shelter
woodstock
the kids are alright
the last waltz
monterey pop
d.o.a
the filth and the fury
meeting people is easy
the devil and daniel johnston
don't look back
when you're strange
20,000 days on earth
let it be

that'll be the day
stardust
privilege
beyond the valley of the dolls
almost famous
phantom of the paradise
the blues brothers
rude boy
johnny suede

 

The Girl Can't Help it!

 

Jesus Christ Superstar

 

Agree with all except Velvet Goldmine, which is total wank.

Extra props, though, for including Peter Watkins’s Privilege on your list. Surely one of the key inspirations for Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust character, and just an all-around brilliant social satire.

 

It really is brilliant, a must see in my opinion. Patti Smith used to cover "Set Me Free" in the early days and included it on Easter.
Have to disagree about Velvet Goldmine, I've always loved it. Haynes did pretty well considering Bowie didn't allow any of his music to be used.

 

Heavy Metal Parking Lot
The Kids are Alright
Stop Making Sense
The Decline of Western Civilization
A Hard Day's Night
Yellow Submarine
That Thing You Do
Quadrophenia
School of Rock
The Harder They Come (if we count reggae as rock-adjacent)
American Graffiti

And while I hesitate to call it one of the best, Rock Star will always occupy a special place in my heart.

 

We shall have to respectfully disagree. I’ve hated every Haynes film I’ve seen, and, as a long-time Bowie fan, this one is particularly egregious to my sensibilities, as I’m painfully aware of all its factual shortcomings. Like many of Haynes’s projects, it’s a personal rock-sex fantasy that is grounded in no reality whatsoever.

I’m a big fan of Peter Watkins’s paranoid vision of the world, however. Yep, well aware that Patti Smith was an early fan of his work.

 

Sidebar on Privilege:
The 2008 New Yorker films DVD is the one to buy, all prints were missing for years which is why it always looked so crap on television, then this one turned up, it has the following, and it's really well done:
Special Features:
- New High Definition video transfer
- 26 minute short film Lonely Boy (1962) featuring Paul Anka in his prime (supposedly the inspiration for Watkins)
- Optional English and French subtitles
- Original PRIVILEGE trailer
- Stills and poster gallery
- Peter Watkins filmography
- Collector's booklet.

 

I'd separate it into scripted movies vs. concert and festival films vs. documentaries.

For me, Monterey Pop is my favorite.

 

That's cool. I've also been a huge Bowie fan since Ziggy, but I also love Todd Hayne's work, and I think Safe , Carol and Far From Heaven are pretty amazing films.. No big deal, really.

 

If you’re region-free, I would highly recommend the BFI dual-format BD-DVD set instead:

Privilege Blu-ray

 

Seriously, do you guys have this sort of conspiracy going on "let's make LeBon Bush spend all his money on british blu ray releases"?

 

Well, I am British, but, being a film nut, and being region-free as well, means most of my disposable income goes on BDs.

Here’s a link to my collection, if you’re interested:

Blu-ray.com - Blu-ray Movie collection

This is just the BDs, btw. I have several hundred DVDs that haven’t been scanned.

 

I've gone through the first five pages now and wow, some of those titles aren't even available on DVD here in austria! Try getting Frau Im Mond or Diary of a Lost Girl here... yikes!

Great collection already - many of those titles are high on my wishlist, too!

 

Great film. A wonderful snapshot of the punk scene on both sides of the Atlantic.

I can highly recommend this Region B BD release:

D.O.A.: A Rite of Passage Blu-ray

 

@stepeanut Just saw you have Silent Running on blu ray - gratefully, this very edition by Eureka was licensed by a german label in 2015, so I could get it at a local shop just as well. Fantastic reissue!

Okay, back to rock 'n' roll movies. I really enjoyed Stop Making Sense and Pink Floyd's Pompeii recording.

 

Also, The Temptations


and
Some Kind of Monster

 

Are we talking documentaries, biopics, fictional band/music films, fictional films starring real artists/bands, concert films, and all of the above and more?

Or are we talking a more narrow range?

 

The T.A.M.I. Show