NorioDS
Alan Ratcliffe wrote:I've seen/got most movies that have music as a theme - everything from Spinal Tap, through De-Lovely and Ishtar to Amadeus.
I challenge you to list them all with a 1-sentence review on each of why someone who's never heard of should check it out ?
Any one else know a bunch? I only know of Crossroads.
NorioDS
Might as well set the standard here...
Crossroads - Watch this for the killer duel with Steve Vai at the end. Nice movie. Ralph (from Karate Kid) fakes it pretty good.
AlanRatcliffe
August Rush - Wonderful playing from Kaki King. Good story too.
Sweet and Lowdown - Woody Allen film with Sean Penn as the "second greatest jazz guitarist in the world" (Django being first, of course).
School Of Rock - Brilliant!
The Pick of Destiny - Silly but good
This Is Spinal Tap - Hilarious spoof of a rock band. "These ones are better, they go up to 11"
Other essential movies for musicians:
Amadeus - The life of Mozart. Largely fictionalised, but a top movie.
Shine - True story of the life of pianist David Helfgott. Starring Geoffrey Rush. The scene where the "madman" shuffles into the bar and sits down at the piano while people around are laughing - and then he rips into a raging version of Flight of the Bumblebee - absolute goosebumps.
The Legend of 1900 - Tim Roth plays orphan born on a ship, who never goes ashore, but is a piano genius. More goosebumps.
The Red Violin - the "life story" of a violin. Brilliant from a number of perspectives.
Songcatcher - About a musicologist who takes a huge recorder into the Appalachian mountains to record a lot of the folk music there. Some electrifying music, as interesting musically as it is simple.
Ishtar - Warren Beattey and Dustin Hoffman are two terrible lounge singers get booked to play a gig in a Moroccan hotel but become pawns in an international power play between the CIA, an Emir, and a group of rebels. Quite funny.
Honourable mentions:
Stranger Than Fiction - The scene where he goes to buy a guitar and describes what each type says about the person would play it is brilliant - as is the rest of the movie.
Back to the Future - What guitarist didn't want that amp after seing this movie? The scene where he plays with a 50's rock 'n Roll band and cuts loose a solo which is a cross between Van Halen and Hendrix - classic.
Walk the Line - The life of Johnny Cash.
De-Lovely - The life of Cole Porter. I didn't realise just how many popular songs he wrote until I saw this.
O Brother Where Art Thou? - Coen Brothers movie - as usual - brilliant.
La Bamba - The life of Ritchie Valens.
I suppose you could add in the Bill & Ted movies, as well as the Wayne's World ones too.
Renesongs
Once Upon A Time in Mexico - El Mariachi is recruited by CIA Agent to kill General Marquez, who murdered El Mariachi's wife and child and has been hired by Mexican drug lord to assassinate the Mexican President, El Mariachi recruits his two friends, who wield weapon guitar cases, in rescuing the President, El Mariachi kills Marquez by shooting both his kneecaps and then shooting him in the head, avenging his lost wife and daughter. (Does that count as one sentence ?)
Directed by Robert Rodriguez, it is the final film in the "Mariachi Trilogy", starring Antonio Banderas,(El Mariachi), Johnny Depp, Salma Hayek, Willem Dafoe, Enrique Iglesias, and Mickey Rourke, and Cheech Marin.
The score includes songs composed by director Robert Rodriguez and performed by a group of musicians gathered specifically for the soundtrack recording. Tracks performed by the group includes "Malagueña" with vocal by Brian Setzer and "Siente Mi Amor", with singing by Salma Hayek. Track 9, "Sands' Theme," is credited to "Tonto's Giant Nuts" but was in fact written by Johnny Depp. Robert Rodriguez states that he requested that each of the main actors give him four or eight notes of a melody for their character, but Depp presented him with the entire track.
Antonio Banderas does actually play some of the guitar pieces in the movie (not dubbed) and Johnny, well he went to San Francisco to become a rock guitarist.
Two Other movies I have enjoyed lately are Across the Universe and Sweeny Todd.
sepheritoh
Great theme. Crossroads & school of rock is amongst my favourites too. I suppose musicals like Tommy does not count? I think you missed Rock star somewhere in your list. Does Prince's Purple Rain count?
Although it is not about guitar, Steven King's The stand (OST by W. G. Snuffy Walden) features the old lady playing guitar - or at least trying to act like she's playing it. Great soundtrack by the way.
I can list a few soundtracks that features guitar in the music, but not onscreen as well: Rush by Eric Clapton, Local Hero by Mark Knofler.
Renesongs
Yeah Come to think of it I wonder how movies like, Tommy, Rainbow Bridge, The Song Remains The Same, fit into this picture, or Pop Festival movies like Woodstock, Isle of White, Pop Corn (Brilliant piece of 60's memorabilia). How about movies that just feature great rock music like Eezy Rider or weird stuff like "Duelling Banjos" from Deliverance? ?
AlanRatcliffe
I think let's keep it to movies with a largely music-based, but story-driven plot rather than live concerts - that keeps it manageable. Otherwise there's a thousand music concert DVDs that would have to be added.
So Purple Rain would qualify (even though the movie itself was cringeworthy). Prince may be able to play 27 different instruments, but he sho' can't act.
The Three Amigos - Pretty funny Steve Martin film with three guitarists who are mistaken for Lone Ranger types, recruited to save a mexican village from the bad guys.
Black Snake Moan - Former blues guitarist (Samuel L. Jackson) nurses the badly beaten town nymphomaniac (Christina Ricci) back to health and typically cures his own demons alongside hers and gets back to playing.
I've always liked the fact that Depp originally was a struggling rock guitarist, acting just to pay the bills while he tried to get his music career off the ground. "Life's what happens while you're busy making plans" - John Lennon
Speaking of which, the movie Mr Holland's Opus was good too.
Across the Universe was a really good film, but more of a musical than having music as a theme.
Riaan
...and let's not forget Pink Floyd's The Wall!
AlanRatcliffe
Riaan wrote:
...and let's not forget Pink Floyd's The Wall!
Whoops! How did I forget that? Thanks for keeping me on the straight and narrow Riaan.
Riaan
...and I Walk The Line, the story of Johnny Cash. I actually have a Johnny Cash CD...it's behind the hinge of the door of my CD rack next to my Neil Diamond and Frank Sinatra, where my younger friends won't see it first thing... ?
AlanRatcliffe
Riaan wrote:
...and I Walk The Line, the story of Johnny Cash.
I had that listed under "Honourable Mentions". No Noddy badge for you. ?
I actually have a Johnny Cash CD...
So do I...
Bitter Tears, the one with all the Native American (First people... indigenous tribes... dammit... the Injuns) songs on. My mother was a big fan and some rubbed off (as it did with Django, Atkins, Bach and Tchaikovsky).
Riaan
Oops... I missed that :-[! Same here, still listen to a lot of the stuff my parents listen to. Only now beginning to appreciate it!
Wessel
Immortally Beloved - The story of beethoven's life (love).The scene where he plays moonlight sonata while he is going deaf.And the scene where he floats on a river in the moonlight as child running away from his father .My favorite scenes are when everybody thinks he is going mad by stil composing after he became totally deaf , and then he composes his 9th Symphony is also kinda funny.
arjunmenon
Check out Bill & Ted's bogus journey and the other one as well for some cool guitar sounds and a cameo by Les Claypool. Pretty wicked!!
Cheers
MiKeZilLA
The Buddy Holly Story was awesome as was Sweet dreams (the life of patsy Kline) and The Doors
Garth-S
Alan already metioned it, but August Rush is an awesome movie with some insane guitar playing. You have to see it ?
Reef
'I'm Not There' is a surreal trip of a movie. Six actors play characters based on Bob Dylan during different stages of his life. It's exactly the sort of film you'd expect Dylan to have written, produced and directed himself so kudos to director, Todd Haynes.
AlanRatcliffe
Six actors play characters based on Bob Dylan during different stages of his life.
...and one of them is
Cate Blanchett - who absolutely
nails every aspect of early Dylan's character, movement, speech, everything. Amazing performance.
FatBoy
OMG is I'm not there out yet? I thought they are still working on it!! Alan did you import it or is it out in video stores? I HAVE to see this!
Reef
Spot on Alan. Cate Blanchett really nails it!
Fritz Brand wrote:
OMG is I'm not there out yet?
I saw it on the big screen but it's dropped off circuit since. I'm not sure if that means you'll find it at the local video store though. So far I haven't found it for sale anywhere.
