
These biographical drama documentaries explore the lives and careers of Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninov and Chaliapin.

These biographical drama documentaries explore the lives and careers of Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninov and Chaliapin.
1993-01-11
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6.8Experience the iconic rock band's legacy in the first major documentary to tell their story. Directed with the era’s avant-garde spirit by Todd Haynes, this kaleidoscopic oral history combines exclusive interviews with dazzling archival footage.
6.9A musical study of Los Angeles in the late 90s, where homeless teens roam the streets and profess to live a punk lifestyle of music, drugs, and flouting authority.
7.2Giving fans unprecedented access to the real life of the music sensation, Katy Perry: Part of Me exposes the hard work, dedication and phenomenal talent of a girl who remained true to herself and her vision in order to achieve her dreams. Featuring rare behind-the-scenes interviews, personal moments between Katy and her friends, and all-access footage of rehearsals, choreography, Katy’s signature style and more, Katy Perry: Part of Me reveals the singer’s unwavering belief that if you can be yourself, then you can be anything.
8.5After years in the limelight, Selena Gomez achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness. This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light.
7.0A backstage and on-stage look at Justin Bieber during his rise to super stardom.
7.8Featuring never before seen footage uncovered from the archives and interviews with Paul McCartney, Tommy Lee and others, God Bless Ozzy Osbourne is the first documentary to take viewers inside the complex mind of rock's great icon.
7.6A chronological account of the influential late 1970s English rock band.
7.9See Michael Jackson, one of the most recognizable and popular entertainers of all time, like never before in the feature-length tribute Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon. Known to millions of fans worldwide for his record-breaking albums, groundbreaking music videos, mesmerizing dance moves and humanitarian efforts, his true story has never really been told...until now. This unprecedented look into the King of Pop's fascinating life includes all-new interviews with his mother Katherine Jackson as well as siblings Tito and Rebbie Jackson, family, friends and music legends such as Smokey Robinson, Dionne Warwick and many more.
8.2"One Direction: This Is Us" is a captivating and intimate all-access look at life on the road for the global music phenomenon. Weaved with stunning live concert footage, this inspiring feature film tells the remarkable story of Niall, Zayn, Liam, Harry and Louis' meteoric rise to fame, from their humble hometown beginnings and competing on the X-Factor, to conquering the world and performing at London’s famed O2 Arena. Hear it from the boys themselves and see through their own eyes what it's really like to be One Direction.
7.2Christopher Wallace, AKA The Notorious B.I.G., remains one of Hip-Hop’s icons, renowned for his distinctive flow and autobiographical lyrics. This documentary celebrates his life via rare behind-the-scenes footage and the testimonies of his closest friends and family.
7.6A years-in-the-making documentary on the legendary punk band the Ramones. Through a mixture of archival footage, archival and new interviews with all members of the band's various lineups, and new interviews with a number of their contemporaries, the film traces the peaks and valleys the band experienced over the course of its 20-plus year career before disbanding in 1995.
6.8While crafting his Grammy-nominated album "Astroworld," Travis Scott juggles controversy, fatherhood and career highs in this intimate documentary.
7.6An intimate, all-access documentary that will chronicle Lewis Capaldi's journey from a scrappy teen with a viral performance to a Grammy-nominated pop star.
7.7Martin Scorsese's documentary intertwines footage from The Band's incredible farewell tour with probing backstage interviews and featured performances by Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, and other rock legends.
5.9In this concert film, 'Hannah Montana' star Miley Cyrus performs a slew of hit songs, including 'Just Like You' and 'Life's What You Make It.'
7.3Through concert performances and interviews, this film offers us a comprehensive look at the British pioneer rock group, The Who. It captures their zany craziness and outrageous antics from the initial formation of the group in 1964 to 1978. It notably features the band's last performance with long-term drummer Keith Moon, filmed at Shepperton Studios in May 1978, three months before his death.
6.9Global superstar Jennifer Lopez reflects on her multifaceted career and the pressure of life in the spotlight in this intimate documentary.
8.2A portrait of singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes' life, chronicling the past few years of his rise and journey.
7.0Part documentary, part concert film, part fever dream, this film captures the troubled spirit of America in 1975 and the joyous music that Dylan performed during the fall of that year.
7.5The Beatles stormed through Europe's music scene in 1963, and, in 1964, they conquered America. Their groundbreaking world tours changed global youth culture forever and, arguably, invented mass entertainment as we know it today. All the while, the group were composing and recording a series of extraordinarily successful singles and albums. However the relentless pressure of such unprecedented fame, that in 1966 became uncontrollable turmoil, led to the decision to stop touring. In the ensuing years The Beatles were then free to focus on a series of albums that changed the face of recorded music.
0.0During his birthday’s celebration, Prince Siegfried must choose a bride. Trying to escape reality, he dreams of a perfect love. His tutor tries to bring him down to Earth and reminds him of his duties. On a dreamlike getaway, the prince meets Odette, a princess who has been transformed into a swan by the powerful sorcerer Rothbart. Only true love can break the spell. Captivated, Siegfried promises Odette to save her and invites her to his party. To trap the prince, the sorcerer sends his daughter Odile, disguised as Odette, to seduce him.
6.2The film covers a hundred years in the lives of the Ricordi family, the Milan publishing house of the title, and the various composers and other historic personalities, whose careers intersected with the growth of the Ricordi house. It beautifully draws the parallel between the great music of the composers, the historic and social upheavals of their times, as well as the "smaller stories" of the successive generations of Ricordi.
5.1A documentary that explores the challenges that a life in music can bring.
8.0Documentary about an emblematic institution of the Spanish Arts, Madrid's Teatro Real, or Royal Theatre, released to celebrate it's 2nd centenary anniversary.
0.0Musiques en fête has been held every summer since 2011 to kick off the Chorégies d'Orange season. This year, Musiques en fête pays tribute to cinema! Judith Chaine and Cyril Féraud will join 8,000 spectators at the Théâtre antique d'Orange for an unforgettable evening filled with the emotions and magic of the silver screen. Through the most beautiful film scores, as well as excerpts from operas, operettas, musicals, and French songs, this unique event will celebrate music with an eclectic program.
6.8Jenny is young. Her life is over. She killed someone. And she would do it again. When an 80-year-old piano teacher discovers the girl’s secret, her brutality and her dreams, she decides to transform her pupil into the musical wunderkind she once was.
9.0Experience what Zell Music Director Riccardo Muti calls “the work of a divine architect” in this special encore presentation of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Recorded live September 18, 2014, at Orchestra Hall during one of the opening programs of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s 2014/15 season, this performance features Muti leading the Orchestra and Chorus and distinguished soloists in one of history’s most powerful and inspiring artistic works. A masterpiece whose staggering influence can be seen across classical music, it concludes with the famous Ode to Joy, which calls for understanding, peace and universal goodwill. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is grateful to an anonymous donor for generously underwriting the recording of this concert in 2014.
7.0John Eliot Gardiner goes in search of Bach the man and the musician. The famous portrait of Bach portrays a grumpy 62-year-old man in a wig and formal coat, yet his greatest works were composed 20 years earlier in an almost unrivalled blaze of creativity. We reveal a complex and passionate artist; a warm and convivial family man at the same time a rebellious spirit struggling with the hierarchies of state and church who wrote timeless music that is today known world-wide. Gardiner undertakes a 'Bach Tour' of Germany, and sifts the relatively few clues we have - some newly-found. Most of all, he uses the music to reveal the real Bach.
7.0Letters, Riddles and Writs is a one act opera for television by Michael Nyman broadcast in 1991.
8.0Although he is unanimously credited with having democratised opera, making it accessible to the greatest number, focus is rarely put on the strategy he devised and implemented in order to carry out his actions, nor what his actions reveal of the man and artist, and of the resulting metamorphosis from opera singer to pop artist. Through this angle, this film sets out to pay tribute to the man who summed up his credo, obsession and life’s work, in the following way: “They led the public to believe that classical music belonged to a restricted elite. I was the way to prove to the world that was wrong.
0.0This is a full-length documentary honoring the life and work of American composer and artist John Cage. Cage is considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. This documentary features interviews with various personalities from different fields as they introduce us to the life and work of this great American artist.
8.0"Who plays me, hears my voices”, shows a recent moment in the life of Gaston Lafourcade, a classical pianist and harpsichordist who, at the age of 83, enters a recording studio for the first time in his life to record a solo album and to join his daughter, Natalia Lafourcade, who during a recess period in her career, decides to embark on this adventure as a love letter to her father and as a way to enjoy what brings them together, beyond blood ties: their deep love for music.
0.0At the beginning of 1964, the music world experiences something completely unexpected. Maria Callas returns to the opera stage as the prima donna. Her “Tosca” at the Royal Opera House becomes a sensation. Maria Callas wants to show everyone once again that she deserves the title of “prima donna assoluta.” On the condition that star director Franco Zeffirelli take over the direction, the exceptional singer agrees to sing the role of Tosca. The BBC recorded the 2nd act of the opera for television. It is one of the most dramatic acts in opera history: in order to free the painter Cavaradossi from the hands of torturers, Tosca ends up murdering the police chief Scarpia. The film footage is one of the rare opportunities to see Maria Callas in an opera performance and to experience her highly emotional performance art and vocal abilities...
A comic opera in two acts about the fickleness of women performed by HAMU students at the Disk... The alleged amorality of the story condemned Cosi fan tutte (They are all like that), Mozart's last opera to a libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, to numerous contemporary adaptations and even to oblivion during the 19th century. What was the outrage? Following a bet, two bachelors in exotic disguises successfully exchange their fiancées, who have sworn eternal fidelity to them before parting. It's an old-fashioned plot based on a judgment on female constancy and male boastfulness arising from exaggerated vanity...
7.0The grand scale and magnificent acoustics of the Roman arena in Verona are ideally suited to the pageantry of Verdi's Egyptian opera, presented here in a staging that is true to the original 1913 production, framed by obelisks and sphinxes and filled with chorus and dancers. Chinese soprano Hui He has won international acclaim for her portrayal of the eponymous slave girl whose forbidden love for the war hero Radamés (Marco Berti, the experienced Verdi tenor) brings death to them both.
0.0After the great success of his Beethoven cycle, Christian Thielemann now turns with his new orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden, to the symphonic work of Johannes Brahms. Bonus features include: an extensive 52 minute interview with Christian Thielemann on Brahms' Symphonies and provides and in-depth look into his interpretation of Brahms.
0.0Set amongst the unlikely backdrop of cowboy boots, rodeos, and global geopolitics, thirty of the world's most promising musicians travel to Fort Worth, Texas to compete in the renowned Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Vying for gold and their shot at classical piano stardom, the contestants must endure six grueling performances, multiple elimination rounds, and a discerning panel of jurists. Behind the scenes, we uncover the stories of adversity, sacrifice, and heartbreak driving the pianists to perform at the highest level. As fan favorites and early contenders are eliminated, one unassuming genius rises to the top.
7.1An enterprising producer believes he has hit upon a winning concept: a program of original animated shorts set to classical music. Undeterred by warnings that this has already been done by an American named 'Prisney,' he rallies an orchestra of geriatric women, a bullish conductor, and an animator that he keeps locked in the dungeon. What could go wrong?