The 100 Best Music Movies Of All Time....
by swankymos | created - 20 Jan 2013 | updated - 20 Jan 2013 | PublicThis is my list of the 100 Best Music Movies of All Time! Lord knows I've seen many in my years. These are my personal favorite picks....
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. The Five Heartbeats (1991)
R | 121 min | Drama, Music
The story of the rise and fall of an African American vocal group.
Director: Robert Townsend | Stars: Robert Townsend, Michael Wright, Leon, Harry Lennix
Votes: 4,891 | Gross: $8.75M
2. Eddie and the Cruisers (1983)
PG | 95 min | Drama, Music, Mystery
A television newswoman picks up the story of a 1960s rock band whose long-lost leader Eddie Wilson may still be alive, while searching for the missing tapes of the band's never-released album.
Director: Martin Davidson | Stars: Tom Berenger, Michael Paré, Joe Pantoliano, Matthew Laurance
Votes: 8,464 | Gross: $4.79M
3. Streets of Fire (1984)
PG | 93 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A mercenary is hired to rescue his ex-girlfriend, a singer who has been kidnapped by a motorcycle gang.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Michael Paré, Diane Lane, Rick Moranis, Amy Madigan
Votes: 24,242 | Gross: $8.09M
4. Dreamgirls (2006)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama, Music, Musical
A trio of black female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.
Director: Bill Condon | Stars: Beyoncé, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover
Votes: 77,293 | Gross: $103.37M
5. Saturday Night Fever (1977)
R | 118 min | Drama, Music
Anxious about his future after high school, a 19-year-old Italian-American from Brooklyn tries to escape the harsh reality of his bleak family life by dominating the dance floor at the local disco.
Director: John Badham | Stars: John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller, Joseph Cali
Votes: 87,499 | Gross: $94.21M
6. Grease (1978)
PG | 110 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Good girl Sandy Olsson and greaser Danny Zuko fell in love over the summer. When they unexpectedly discover they're now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance?
Director: Randal Kleiser | Stars: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway
Votes: 300,559 | Gross: $188.76M
7. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A gender-queer punk-rock singer from East Berlin tours the U.S. with her band as she tells her life story and follows the former lover/band-mate who stole her songs.
Director: John Cameron Mitchell | Stars: John Cameron Mitchell, Miriam Shor, Stephen Trask, Theodore Liscinski
Votes: 37,347 | Gross: $3.03M
8. Purple Rain (1984)
R | 111 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A young musician, tormented by an abusive situation at home, must contend with a rival singer, a burgeoning romance, and his own dissatisfied band, as his star begins to rise.
Director: Albert Magnoli | Stars: Prince, Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day, Olga Karlatos
Votes: 23,820 | Gross: $68.39M
9. Wattstax (1973)
R | 103 min | Documentary, Comedy, Music
Documentary covering a Stax Records-sponsored all-day concert at the 1972 Watts Summer Festival with performances by Stax Records artists such as Isaac Hayes, Rufus Thomas, The Staples Singers, and more.
Director: Mel Stuart | Stars: The Dramatics, The Staple Singers, Kim Weston, Jimmy Jones
Votes: 1,089
10. Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002)
PG | 108 min | Documentary, Music
Documentary about the Funk Brothers, a group of Detroit musicians who backed up dozens of Motown artists.
Director: Paul Justman | Stars: Joe Hunter, Jack Ashford, Uriel Jones, Richard 'Pistol' Allen
Votes: 3,847 | Gross: $1.60M
11. The Pirate Movie (1982)
PG | 98 min | Adventure, Comedy, Musical
A 1980s take-off of The Pirates of Penzance which centers on a noble pirate who leaves his profession and falls in love with a fiery young maiden.
Directors: Ken Annakin, Richard Franklin | Stars: Kristy McNichol, Christopher Atkins, Ted Hamilton, Bill Kerr
Votes: 4,802
12. The Blues Brothers (1980)
R | 133 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Jake 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.
Director: John Landis | Stars: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Cab Calloway, John Candy
Votes: 214,490 | Gross: $57.23M
13. Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)
G | 106 min | Drama, History, Musical
Film version of the musical stage play, presenting the last few weeks of Christ's life told in an anachronistic manner.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson, Yvonne Elliman, Barry Dennen
Votes: 29,914 | Gross: $24.48M
14. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)
PG | 113 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
A small-town band hits it big, but it must battle a nefarious plot in the music industry.
Director: Michael Schultz | Stars: Peter Frampton, Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
Votes: 6,986 | Gross: $20.38M
15. Jailhouse Rock (1957)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Music, Musical
After serving time for manslaughter, young Vince Everett becomes a teenage rock star.
Director: Richard Thorpe | Stars: Elvis Presley, Judy Tyler, Mickey Shaughnessy, Vaughn Taylor
Votes: 9,832 | Gross: $4.00M
16. Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1970)
PG | 97 min | Documentary, Music
After years of making movies, the King made a triumphant return to the stage in 1970. Now, see the backstage footage from rehearsals to relaxing at the hotel and the performances in one of the most intimate looks at Elvis captured on film.
Director: Denis Sanders | Stars: Elvis Presley, James Burton, Glen D. Hardin, Charlie Hodge
Votes: 3,248
17. 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: 243,368 | Gross: $170.69M
18. Rent (2005)
PG-13 | 135 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
In New York City's gritty East Village, a group of bohemians strive for success and acceptance while enduring the obstacles of poverty, illness and the AIDS epidemic.
Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Rosario Dawson, Anthony Rapp
Votes: 55,920 | Gross: $29.08M
19. Grease 2 (1982)
PG | 115 min | Comedy, Music, Musical
A British student at a 1960s American high school must prove himself to the leader of a girls' gang whose members can only date greasers.
Director: Patricia Birch | Stars: Michelle Pfeiffer, Maxwell Caulfield, Lorna Luft, Maureen Teefy
Votes: 38,564 | Gross: $15.17M
20. What's Love Got to Do with It (1993)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of singer Tina Turner's rise to stardom and how she gained the courage to break free from her abusive husband, Ike Turner.
Director: Brian Gibson | Stars: Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, RaéVen Kelly, Virginia Capers
Votes: 24,580 | Gross: $39.10M
21. Bye Bye Birdie (1963)
Approved | 112 min | Comedy, Musical
A rock singer travels to a small Ohio town to make his "farewell" television performance and kiss his biggest fan before he is drafted.
Director: George Sidney | Stars: Dick Van Dyke, Ann-Margret, Janet Leigh, Maureen Stapleton
Votes: 9,331 | Gross: $13.13M
22. Godspell (1973)
G | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
An adaption of the musical, in a modern-day song-and-dance recreation of the Gospel of St. Matthew.
Director: David Greene | Stars: Victor Garber, Lynne Thigpen, Katie Hanley, David Haskell
Votes: 3,727 | Gross: $1.20M
23. West Side Story (1961)
Approved | 153 min | Crime, Drama, Musical
Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.
Directors: Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise | Stars: Natalie Wood, George Chakiris, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn
Votes: 121,192 | Gross: $43.66M
24. Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)
R | 95 min | Drama, Fantasy, Music
A confined but troubled rock star descends into madness in the midst of his physical and social isolation from everyone.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Bob Geldof, Christine Hargreaves, James Laurenson, Eleanor David
Votes: 85,384 | Gross: $22.24M
25. The Song Remains the Same (1976)
PG | 137 min | Documentary, Music
The line forms here for the world's greatest and possibly most influential band--Led Zeppelin. This mesmerizing movie built around Zep's famed 1973 concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden is convincing proof why.
Directors: Peter Clifton, Joe Massot | Stars: Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham
Votes: 9,030
26. Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night (1988 TV Special)
Not Rated | 64 min | Documentary, Music
Rock 'n' roll legend Roy Orbison and some friends, legends in their own right, get together and perform some of Orbison's songs.
Stars: Roy Orbison, Jackson Browne, T Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello
Votes: 1,186
27. The Black Moses of Soul (1973)
G | 78 min | Documentary, Biography
Director: Chuck Johnson | Star: Isaac Hayes
Votes: 17
28. Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1979)
PG | 90 min | Documentary, Music
The July 3rd, 1973 historic concert of the 'leper Messiah'. This was to be David Bowie's last concert with the Ziggy persona and the Spiders from Mars. A great medley of 'Wild Eyed Boy From... See full summary »
Director: D.A. Pennebaker | Stars: David Bowie, Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder, Mick Woodmansey
Votes: 2,992 | Gross: $0.16M
29. Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii (1973 TV Special)
87 min | Documentary, Music
A 1973 concert by Elvis Presley taped at the Convention Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. This was the first program to ever be beamed around the world by satellite.
Director: Marty Pasetta | Stars: Elvis Presley, James Burton, Jerry Scheff, Charlie Hodge
Votes: 1,656
30. Elvis: The Comeback Special (1968 TV Special)
Not Rated | 50 min | Documentary, Music, Musical
After making movies for many years, Elvis Presley makes a comeback tour in 1968.
Director: Steve Binder | Stars: Elvis Presley, D.J. Fontana, Charlie Hodge, Scotty Moore
Votes: 2,202
31. The Idolmaker (1980)
PG | 117 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Based on the life of rock promoter/producer Bob Marcucci, who discovered, among others, Frankie Avalon and Fabian.
Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Ray Sharkey, Tovah Feldshuh, Peter Gallagher, Paul Land
Votes: 1,504
32. The in Crowd (1988)
PG | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, History
In the mid-60s, a teenage 4.0 high-school student is drawn out of his element on a dare by his peers, to become a dancer on popular TV music show.
Director: Mark Rosenthal | Stars: Jennifer Runyon, Donovan Leitch Jr., Joe Pantoliano, Bruce Kirby
Votes: 989 | Gross: $0.12M
33. Trapped in the Closet: Chapters 1-12 (2005 Video)
R | 43 min | Short, Drama, Music
The first twelve chapters of R. Kelly's rap opera in which a one-night stand triggers a series of revelations about the sexual deceits of its characters.
Directors: R. Kelly, Jim Swaffield | Stars: R. Kelly, Cat Wilson, Rolando Boyce, LeShay N. Tomlinson
Votes: 2,183
34. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
R | 82 min | Comedy, Music
Spinal Tap, one of England's loudest bands, is chronicled by film director Marty DiBergi on what proves to be a fateful tour.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Kimberly Stringer
Votes: 147,365 | Gross: $4.74M
35. Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978 TV Movie)
PG | 96 min | Fantasy, Horror, Music
KISS, a rock band made up of superheroes, battles an evil inventor who has plans for destruction at a California amusement park.
Director: Gordon Hessler | Stars: Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley
Votes: 3,394
36. Fear of a Black Hat (1993)
R | 88 min | Comedy, Music
A mockumentary chronicling the rise and fall of NWH, a not particularly talented--or particularly bright but always controversial--hip-hop group.
Director: Rusty Cundieff | Stars: Larry B. Scott, Mark Christopher Lawrence, Rusty Cundieff, Kasi Lemmons
Votes: 4,589 | Gross: $0.24M
37. 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: 5,508 | Gross: $6.00M
38. That Thing You Do! (1996)
PG | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A local Pennsylvania band scores a one-hit wonder in 1964 and rides the star-making machinery as long as they can, with lots of help from their manager.
Director: Tom Hanks | Stars: Tom Hanks, Liv Tyler, Charlize Theron, Tom Everett Scott
Votes: 73,579 | Gross: $25.81M
39. Backbeat (1994)
R | 100 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A dramatization of the Hamburg, Germany phase of The Beatles' early history.
Director: Iain Softley | Stars: Stephen Dorff, Sheryl Lee, Ian Hart, Gary Bakewell
Votes: 6,582 | Gross: $2.39M
40. Hair (1979)
PG | 121 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
Claude Bukowski leaves the family ranch in Oklahoma for New York where he is rapidly embraced into the hippie group of youngsters led by Berger, yet he's already been drafted. He soon falls in love with Sheila Franklin, a rich girl but still a rebel inside.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: John Savage, Treat Williams, Beverly D'Angelo, Annie Golden
Votes: 40,878 | Gross: $15.28M
41. The Commitments (1991)
R | 118 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Jimmy Rabbitte, an unemployed Dublin boy, decides to put together a soul band made up entirely of the Irish working class.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Robert Arkins, Michael Aherne, Angeline Ball, Maria Doyle Kennedy
Votes: 38,793 | Gross: $14.92M
42. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
R | 81 min | Animation, Comedy, Fantasy
When Stan Marsh and his friends go see an R-rated movie, they start cursing and their parents think that Canada is to blame.
Director: Trey Parker | Stars: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Mary Kay Bergman, Isaac Hayes
Votes: 214,975 | Gross: $52.04M
43. Hard Rock Zombies (1984)
R | 98 min | Comedy, Horror, Music
A freshly-out-of-the-grave band of Hard Rock Zombies is thirsting to take their sweet revenge, as they give the performance of a lifetime.
Director: Krishna Shah | Stars: E.J. Curse, Geno Andrews, Sam Mann, Mick McMains
Votes: 1,775
44. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1982 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 140 min | Drama, Horror, Musical