Documentaries have always been popular. Perhaps more popular with filmgoers than music biopics, as a documentary can get to the soul of its subject through their own words. The best music docs capture the essence that makes their subjects worthy.
Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back was the first to really get audiences interested and Woodstock took it to new successful heights. There have been many great ones over the years but they have had a true "boom" over the past decade. Here are 10 of the best from the last 15 years.
No Direction Home (2005)
Martin Scorsese was no stranger to music films. His 1978 The Last Waltz is one of the most successful "Rock Docs" ever. His Bob Dylan documentary No Direction Home was a well-reviewed look at the musician.
The amazingly in-depth film left no stone unturned and gave us the closest and most personal look at Dylan than any biopic about the musician could do.
Amy (2015)
The astonishingly talented singer Amy Winehouse was, sadly, a tragic figure, Winehouse was addicted to alcohol and drugs to help her cope with the fame she never wanted and the concerts she never wished to do.
Winehouse just wanted to sing, and sing she did. Her style harkened back to the great soul sounds of the mid-sixties. Amy, while not shying away from her troubles, Asif Kapadia's Amy showed her as a woman who loved to sing and explore her songwriting abilities. Through footage and her own words, we see Amy Winehouse as something much more than the tabloid headlines allowed her to be.
Searching For Sugarman (2012)
Searching For Sugarman(a favorite of Lady Gaga) is one of the most unique and inspiring films of its type. This music documentary was quite unique, as it is the true story of a South African musician who was popular in the 70s but completely vanished from the music scene. Sixto Diaz Rodriguez had a song that was a rallying cry for the oppressed population of South Africa in the 1970s. After being dropped from his label, he gave up music, worked construction, and raised a family. After being re-discovered 20 years later, he played to sold-out crowds in South Africa and around the world.
A true tale of career resurrection, this is a wonderful film about a "hidden" musical genius who finally gets his due after decades of obscurity. The film won the Oscar for Best Documentary of 2013.
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down A Dream (2007)
Peter Bogdonavich had already made well-received documentaries on filmmakers such as John Ford and Orson Welles and though his 1993 film The Thing Called Love tackled the Nashville music scene and starred heavy hitters such as River Phoenix and Sandra Bullock, Bogdonavich had never done a music documentary.
Bogdonavich certainly made up for lost time. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down A Dream was a 4 hour and 19-minute documentary that told Petty and his band's tale through interviews, behind the scenes footage, and massively entertaining concert footage. The filmmaker was granted full access into their lives and it produced a personal and entertaining film about one of America's finest Rock bands.
Echo In The Canyon (2018)
Andrew Slater's Echo in the Canyon was an entertaining look at the music scene of L.A.'s Laurel Canyon. The filmmaker examined some of the best music to come out of that period through a modern concert where the songs are performed by Jakob Dylan, Fiona Apple, Beck, and more.
The film includes many interviews with the musicians from that time period including David Crosby, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, and more and sets to the heart of the creativity and communal vibe of that time and place.
A Band Called Death (2012)
A wild and entertaining documentary about the 70s Punk band called Death and how they broke up in the early 80s and found a new popularity in the 2000s.
A Band Called Death is an in-depth look at one of the most unknown but influential bands of the Punk scene and sheds light on what it means to be loyal to your bandmates and your music. The film counts Quentin Tarantino amongst it biggest supporters.
What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015)
This is the ultimate documentary about "The High Priestess of Soul", Nina Simone. A tremendous amount of archival concert footage and interviews get to the heart of Simone's power as a songstress.
Simone's family was behind this film 100 percent and gave the filmmakers access to a wealth of footage and lost interviews. What Happened, Miss Simone? was well-received by critics. Her family was happy with the finished product and threw their support into its promotional campaign but tried to stop the offensively inaccurate Hollywood biopic one year later that starred Zoe Saldana.
Beats, Rhymes, And Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest (2011)
Actor Michael Rapaport (a long time fan of Hip-Hop) directed one of the best music documentaries ever made with his fascinating dive into the lives and music of the legendary group A Tribe Called Quest.
The film shows the drama and the camaraderie of the group, who were a real family. We see the love and the fights of these three men who were brothers in music.
The Devil And Devil Johnston (2005)
Daniel Johnston was a manic-depressive who overcame his disease to become one of the most influential songwriters in modern music. The Devil and Daniel Johnston tells his rather triumphant tale without sidestepping his troubles.
The film gets to the depth of his songwriting and his influence on artists as varied as Matt Groening and Freddie Mercury, through archival footage and interviews with his family and friends and the artists he enraptured.
Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics And Men (2019)
One of the biggest and most in-depth of all music documentaries, Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men is an amazingly researched and presented film about one of the most influential groups in Hip-Hop history.
Co-produced by The Rza and Method Man, the film covers all 10 members' lives and how they all let music save them from the streets on NYC and poverty.