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25 Must-See Music Movies

25 Must-See Music Movies

8 Mile

Release Date 2002
Rating : 7.2 Production Companies: Imagine Entertainment, Mikona Productions Director: David K. Riebel, Curtis Hanson, Michael J. Moore Stars: Eminem, Kim Basinger, Mekhi Phifer

Summary: For Jimmy Smith, Jr., life is a daily fight just to keep hope alive. Feeding his dreams in Detroit's vibrant music scene, Jimmy wages an extraordinary personal struggle to find his own voice - and earn a place in a world where rhymes rule, legends are born and every moment… is another chance.

Almost Famous

Release Date 2000
Rating : 7.9 Production Companies: Columbia Pictures, Vinyl Films Director: Cameron Crowe, David Kelley, Jill Southern Stars: Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson

Summary: In 1973, 15-year-old William Miller's unabashed love of music and aspiration to become a rock journalist lands him an assignment from Rolling Stone magazine to interview and tour with the up-and-coming band, Stillwater.

Amadeus

Release Date 1984
Rating : 8.4 Production Companies: Warner Bros., AMLF Director: Miloš Forman, Michael Hausman, Anne Gyory Stars: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge

Summary: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a remarkably talented young Viennese composer who unwittingly finds a fierce rival in the disciplined and determined Antonio Salieri. Resenting Mozart for both his hedonistic lifestyle and his undeniable talent, the highly religious Salieri is gradually consumed by his jealousy and becomes obsessed with Mozart's downfall, leading to a devious scheme that has dire consequences for both men.

The Blues Brothers

Release Date 1980
Rating : 7.9 Production Companies: Universal Pictures Director: John Landis, Katherine Wooten Stars: Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, James Brown

Summary: Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised.

Chicago

Release Date 2002
Rating : 7.2 Production Companies: Miramax, The Producer Circle Co. Director: Rob Marshall, Tom Quinn, Tyler Delben Stars: Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere

Summary: Murderesses Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s Chicago.

Dirty Dancing

Release Date 1987
Rating : 7 Production Companies: Great American Films Limited Partnership, Vestron Pictures Director: Nathalie Vadim, Marilyn Bailey, Herb Gains Stars: Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze, Jerry Orbach

Summary: Expecting the usual tedium that accompanies a summer in the Catskills with her family, 17-year-old Frances 'Baby' Houseman is surprised to find herself stepping into the shoes of a professional hoofer—and unexpectedly falling in love.

Dreamgirls

Release Date 2006
Rating : 6.6 Production Companies: Paramount, DreamWorks SKG Director: Carolyn Tolley, Kerry Lyn McKissick, Bill Condon Stars: Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé, Eddie Murphy

Summary: A trio of female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.

Grease

Release Date 1998
Rating : 7.2 Production Companies: Paramount, Robert Stigwood Organization Director: Lynn M. Morgan, Paula Marcus, Jerry Grandey Stars: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing

Summary: Australian good girl Sandy and greaser Danny fell in love over the summer. But when they unexpectedly discover they're now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance despite their eccentric friends?

High Fidelity

Release Date 2000
Rating : 7.4 Production Companies: Buena Vista Pictures, Touchstone Pictures Director: Stephen Frears, Chiemi Karasawa, Jeffrey Wetzel Stars: John Cusack, Iben Hjejle, Todd Louiso

Summary: When record store owner and compulsive list-compiler Rob Gordon gets dumped by his long-time girlfriend, Laura, because he hasn't changed since they met, he revisits his top five breakups of all time in order to figure out what went wrong. As he examines his failed attempts at romance and happiness, the process finds him being dragged, kicking and screaming, into adulthood.

The Last Waltz

Release Date 1978
Rating : 8.1 Production Companies: FM Productions, Last Waltz Inc. Director: Linda McMurray, James Quinn, Martin Scorsese Stars: Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Levon Helm

Summary: Martin 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.

La Bamba

Release Date 1987
Rating : 6.9 Production Companies: New Visions Pictures, Columbia Pictures Corporation Director: Luis Valdez, Kerry Lyn McKissick Stars: Lou Diamond Phillips, Danielle von Zerneck, Elizabeth Peña

Summary: Los Angeles teenager Ritchie Valens becomes an overnight rock 'n' roll success in 1958, thanks to a love ballad called "Donna" that he wrote for his girlfriend. But as his star rises, Valens has conflicts with his jealous brother, Bob, and becomes haunted by a recurring nightmare of a plane crash just as he begins his first national tour alongside Buddy Holly.

La La Land

Release Date 2016
Rating : 8 Production Companies: Summit Entertainment, Lionsgate Director: Paula Case, Peter Kohn, Damien Chazelle Stars: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend

Summary: Mia, an aspiring actress, serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and Sebastian, a jazz musician, scrapes by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars, but as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.

Pink Floyd: The Wall

Release Date 1982
Rating : 8 Production Companies: Goldcrest, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Director: Alan Parker, Jenny Reid, Kieron Phipps Stars: Bob Geldof, Christine Hargreaves, James Laurenson

Summary: A troubled rock star descends into madness in the midst of his physical and social isolation from everyone.

Purple Rain

Release Date 1984
Rating : 6.5 Production Companies: Warner Bros., Water Director: Don Wilkerson, Kerry Lyn McKissick, Britt Lomond Stars: Prince, Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day

Summary: A victim of his own anger, the Kid is a Minneapolis musician on the rise with his band, the Revolution, escaping a tumultuous home life through music. While trying to avoid making the same mistakes as his truculent father, the Kid navigates the club scene and a rocky relationship with a captivating singer, Apollonia. But another musician, Morris, looks to steal the Kid's spotlight -- and his girl.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Release Date 1975
Rating : 7.4 Production Companies: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Michael White Productions Director: Susanna Merry, Mike Gowans, Bobby Howard Stars: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick

Summary: Sweethearts Brad and Janet, stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a transvestite scientist. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker and a creepy butler. Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named 'Rocky'. Harriet then spawns in and says hello and the credits roll!

Saturday Night Fever

Release Date 2002
Rating : 6.8 Production Companies: Paramount, Robert Stigwood Organization Director: John Badham, Joseph Ray, Renata Stoia Stars: John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller

Summary: Tony spends his Saturdays at a disco where his stylish moves raise his popularity among the patrons. But his life outside the disco is not easy and things change when he gets attracted to Stephanie.

School of Rock

Release Date 2003
Rating : 7.2 Production Companies: Scott Rudin Productions, Nickelodeon Movies Director: Richard Linklater, Julie Oppenheimer Stars: Jack Black, Joan Cusack, Mike White

Summary: Fired from his band and hard up for cash, guitarist and vocalist Dewey Finn finagles his way into a job as a fifth-grade substitute teacher at a private school, where he secretly begins teaching his students the finer points of rock 'n' roll. The school's hard-nosed principal is rightly suspicious of Finn's activities. But Finn's roommate remains in the dark about what he's doing.

Sing

Release Date 2016
Rating : 7.1 Production Companies: Universal Pictures, Illumination Director: Garth Jennings, Kelly Lake, Christophe Lourdelet Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane

Summary: A koala named Buster recruits his best friend to help him drum up business for his theater by hosting a singing competition.

Singin' in the Rain

Release Date 1952
Rating : 8.3 Production Companies: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Director: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen Stars: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds

Summary: In 1927 Hollywood, a silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound.

The Sound of Music

Release Date 1965
Rating : 8.1 Production Companies: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 20th Century Fox Director: Robert Wise, Ridgeway Callow Stars: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker

Summary: In the years before the Second World War, a tomboyish postulant at an Austrian abbey is hired as a governess in the home of a widowed naval captain with seven children, and brings a new love of life and music into the home.

This Is Spinal Tap

Release Date 1984
Rating : 7.9 Production Companies: Spinal Tap Prod., Embassy Films Associates Director: Irwin Marcus, Donald Newman, Anne Rapp Stars: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer

Summary: "This Is Spinal Tap" shines a light on the self-contained universe of a metal band struggling to get back on the charts, including everything from its complicated history of ups and downs, gold albums, name changes and undersold concert dates, along with the full host of requisite groupies, promoters, hangers-on and historians, sessions, release events and those special behind-the-scenes moments that keep it all real.

Walk the Line

Release Date 2005
Rating : 7.8 Production Companies: Tree Line Films, Konrad Pictures Director: John R. Saunders, Nicholas Mastandrea, Rosemary C. Cremona Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin

Summary: A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.

West Side Story

Release Date 1961
Rating : 7.6 Production Companies: Seven Arts, Mirisch Pictures Director: Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise, Jerome M. Siegel Stars: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn

Summary: In the slums of the upper West Side of Manhattan, New York, a gang of Polish-American teenagers called the Jets compete with a rival gang of recently immigrated Puerto Ricans, the Sharks, to "own" the neighborhood streets. Tensions are high between the gangs but two romantics, one from each gang, fall in love leading to tragedy.

Whiplash

Release Date 2014
Rating : 8.5 Production Companies: Bold Films, Blumhouse Productions Director: Nicolas Harvard, Damien Chazelle, Nicolas Duchemin Harvard Stars: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Paul Reiser

Summary: Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity.