Granting unprecedented access, Joan Armatrading tells her life story, both as a songwriter and as a performer. Features key performances from Joan and many of the musicians she has influenced.
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Heaven Adores You is an intimate, meditative inquiry into the life and music of Elliott Smith. By threading the music of Elliott Smith through the dense, yet often isolating landscapes of the three major cities he lived in -- Portland, New York City, Los Angeles -- Heaven Adores You presents a visual journey and an earnest review of the singer's prolific songwriting and the impact it continues to have on fans, friends, and fellow musicians.
A chronicle of Bob Dylan's strange evolution between 1961 and 1966 from folk singer to protest singer to "voice of a generation" to rock star.
Chicago blues great Buddy Guy never was the same after he heard John Lee Hooker’s seminal “Boogie Chillun’” while growing up in his rural stomping grounds of Lettswork, Louisiana. In 1957 he set out for the Windy City and its vibrant blues scene, where he played his way into the clubs, cut records, befriended and gigged with other greats (Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Otis Rush), forged his skillful, intense, wild persona, hit the road, influenced new generations of musicians (Mick, Keith, Eric, Stevie Ray Vaughan), performed at the Obama White House and collected nine Grammys along the way. Supported by a sumptuous assemblage of performance footage, testimonials from those he’s inspired (including Clapton, Carlos Santana, Gary Clark Jr., and John Mayer) and some classic blues licks, Buddy Guy: The Blues Chase the Blues Away finds Guy (now a young 84) looking back at his life, providing valuable insight into his music while leaving room for some memorable anecdotes.
The 1920s saw a revolution in technology, the advent of the recording industry, that created the first class of African-American women to sing their way to fame and fortune. Blues divas such as Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Alberta Hunter created and promoted a working-class vision of blues life that provided an alternative to the Victorian gentility of middle-class manners. In their lives and music, blues women presented themselves as strong, independent women who lived hard lives and were unapologetic about their unconventional choices in clothes, recreational activities, and bed partners. Blues singers disseminated a Black feminism that celebrated emotional resilience and sexual pleasure, no matter the source.
This television special is a first for the reclusive singer with the BBC documentary gaining new interviews with Young, nine months apart in New York and California. The documentary also looks back over the singer's archives, with some never-seen-before material.
Prince and the Revolution perform live at the Summit in Houston, TX on 12/29/1982
The never-before-told story of folk-rock icon Judee Sill, who in just two years went from living in a car to appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone. The documentary charts her troubled adolescence through her meteoric rise in the music world and early tragic death. Featuring Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Fleet Foxes, David Geffen, and more.
A feature length documentary about extraordinary Canadian singer songwriter, Ron Hynes... an insightful and entertaining exploration of the creative process, the genesis of song, the meaning of performance and the vulnerability of an artist compelled to bare his soul through his music. The film is comprised of Ron performing his music (distinct and live for the camera), interwoven with very intimate black box 'interviews' with Ron (shot tightly and directly addressed to the camera), in which he discusses the songs and the life that informed them: late nights, dark alleys, marriage, children, divorce, his near death and recovery from drug addiction... and punctuated with back stage moments, insight from the street, and Ron's nephew author Joel Thomas Hynes, taking the role of 'chorus of the people'.
Blues Story presents an impressionistic history of one of the most lasting art forms America has ever produced - as told for the first time through the eyes of the artists who lived it. Combining exclusive interview and performance footage with vintage clips and the music of many Blues legends long gone, the history of this richly felt music is illuminated - from its African roots to its American urban expression - along with its profound place in our cultural heritage. The result is a rare, first-hand glimpse into the lives of these vanishing artists, and a moving, insightful and informative look into a music that continues to be loved by millions throughout the world.
Documentary film about the legendary blues club in Austin, Texas. The film is filled with historical and dynamic blues performances from the earliest days of the club in the 1970s. Stars David Adelson, Clifford Antone.
Blind blues musician Paul Pena is perhaps best known for his song "Jet Airliner". In 1993, Pena heard Tuvan throat singing over his shortwave radio and subsequently taught himself how to reproduce these extraordinary sounds. This documentary follows him to Tuva, where he takes part in a throat singing competition. Languages featured in the film include English, Russian and Tuvan.
Mariem Hassan, Sahrawi refugee, composer and Western Sahara's most emblematic singer, died of cancer in 2015. Soon before her passing, Mariem returned to the liberated territories of her homeland, where she had spent her childhood. There, she told us her story and sang for the last time. This film pays tribute to her last testimony and her art.
Iconic Welsh rock musician Mike Peters' rise to fame, battle with cancer and inspiring return, featuring one-of-a-kind performances from other legendary musicians.
Following folk musician Joan Baez on her extensive 2008-2009 tour, this film commemorates her career, which has spanned five decades. It includes concert and archival footage as well as interviews with such disparate colleagues, friends and admirers as Bob Dylan, Jesse Jackson and David Crosby. In addition to the music, it also touchs upon Baez's long history of global social activism.
Boogie Man is a comprehensive look at political strategist, racist, and former Republican National Convention Committee chairman, Lee Atwater, who reinvigorated the Republican Party’s Southern Strategy to increase political support among white voters in the South by appealing to racism against African Americans. He mentored Karl Rove and George W. Bush and played a key role in the elections of Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
Taken from the European tours organised for American blues musicians between 1962 and 1969, this release features performances by several popular blues artists, including: Big Mama Thornton, Roosevelt Sykes, Buddy Guy, Dr. Isaiah Ross, Big Joe Turner, Skip James, Bukka White, Son House, Hound Dog Taylor and Little Walter, Koko Taylor and Little Walter, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Helen Humes, Earl Hooker, and Muddy Waters.
Live, intimate, and raw, Sessions For Robert J is the essential audio/video companion to Eric Clapton's 2004 gold, Top 10 Me And Mr. Johnson, tribute to blues legend Robert Johnson. Filmed during tour rehearsals in London and Dallas plus a Los Angeles hotel room and the Dallas warehouse where Johnson made some of his final recordings, Sessions for Robert J finds Clapton performing all Robert Johnson songs with his touring band, acoustically with Doyle Bramhall II and solo-as well as discussing Johnson and his influence. A performance/documentary DVD with 14 tracks (from which the 11 CD selections are taken), Sessions for Robert J is blues heaven.
Steely Dan has not had a new studio album in twenty years--"Two Against Nature" was worth the wait! This concert, recorded live in New York at the Sony Studios, contains new songs as well as classic hits from the minds of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. Together, they deliver a unique music experience that is truly unforgettable. Songs: Green Earrings, Cousin Dupree, Bad Sneakers, Janie Runaway, Josie, FM, Gaslighting Abbie, Black Friday, Babylon Sisters, Kid Charlemagne, Jack of Speed, Peg, What a Shame About Me, Pretzel Logic.
A portrait of Keith Richards that takes us on a journey to discover the genesis of his sound as a songwriter, guitarist and performer.
The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.
Examines the life and career of singer Whitney Houston. Features never-before-seen archival footage, exclusive recordings, rare performances and interviews with the people who knew her best.
In March 2005, Neil Young was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. Four days before he was scheduled for a lifesaving operation, he headed to Nashville, where he wrote and recorded the country folk album Prairie Wind with old friends and family members. After the successful operation and recovery period, he returned to Nashville that August to play at the famed Ryman Auditorium, once again gathering together friends and family for this special performance.
Musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother and her beloved dog.
The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
The life and tragic death of Whitney Houston.
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
This compelling Documentary moves beyond the spotlight and past the attention-grabbing headlines to give pop superstar Chris Brown a chance to tell his own story. New interviews with the international phenomenon reveal long-awaited answers about his passion for making music, his tumultuous and much publicized relationships, and the pitfalls of coming of age in the public eye. Also included is new concert footage, behind-the-scenes access, and special interviews from Usher, Jennifer Lopez, DJ Khaled, Mike Tyson, Jamie Foxx and others.
The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.
A celebration of the musical work of a group of session musicians known as "The Wrecking Crew." a band that provided back-up instrumentals to such legendary recording artists as Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, and Bing Crosby.
Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Hollywood veteran Bing Russell creates the only independent baseball team in the country—alarming the baseball establishment and sparking the meteoric rise of the 1970s Portland Mavericks.
An impressionistic portrait of the iconic actor Harry Dean Stanton comprised of intimate moments, film clips from some of his 250 films and his renditions of American folk songs.
The troubled fraternal relationship between songwriters Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman, the Oscar and Grammy-winning Sherman Brothers, famous for the iconic hits they wrote for Disney.
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
Go behind the scenes with stars, puppeteers and creators as they bring Jim Henson's magical world of Thra back to life in a sweeping fantasy series.
A 1993 documentary film about Bruce Lee. The film includes interviews from some of his fellow students and opponents who worked alongside him in his movies.