Mythomania, also called nostalgia, is one of the big businesses of our time.
And it is a gold mine for on-demand television platforms that compete for our attention.
The great rock, blues and jazz stars of the 20th century are the subject of documentaries, concert footage and biographical films available just a few clicks from your sofa.
Some productions surrender to the legends, and seem to be blinded by their brilliance: they are made for the
fans
.
Others, the best, have no qualms about approaching its darkest side, or its contradictions, because music lovers will know how to accept that without trauma.
We compiled 16 reviews of recent films published in the last two years.
And, in case you want more, at the end we will mention some classics of the genre.
And, in addition, all this:
The critic would need several lives to review everything that the platforms offer about the stars of popular music in recent history.
Some more or less classic titles are essential.
Above all, these four from Martin Scorsese:
Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story
,
on Netflix (about the singer-songwriter's tour in the mid-'70s; this inspired a very pandemic-influenced column for me);
Shine a Light
(a 2006 Rolling Stones performance, on Prime Video),
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
(the life of the most mysterious
beatle
, on Filmin) and
The Last Waltz
(The Band's farewell concert, on Filmin and Prime).
About this last group, another attractive documentary is
Once Were Brothers: the history of The Band,
on Filmin and Prime.
And it turns dazzling
Amazing Grace,
Sydney Pollack's filming of Aretha Franklin's historic gospel concert at a Los Angeles Baptist church in 1972, at Filmin.
In addition, two documentaries about capital figures:
Janis
(Joplin, the great voice of the
hippies
turned off at 27 years old), in Filmin;
and
Marley
(about the king of reggae), on Netflix.
He was less convinced by the
biopic
about Jim Morrison:
The Doors
, although it was directed by Oliver Stone, in Filmin.
More Biopics: On Prime,
Rocketman
is the Elton John story;
Freddie Mercury's
Bohemian Rhapsody
is on Disney+ and Netflix.
And two documentaries about iconic and combative female voices: Nina Simone and Patti Smith:
What Happend Miss Simone
, on Netflix, and
Patti Smith: Dream of life,
on Filmin.
Disney+ has just released
Pistol
, a series about the short career of the Sex Pistols (I wrote here about the controversy surrounding the series, rejected by singer Johnny Rotten, and about the regained popularity of his
God Save The Queen
at the jubilee of the recently deceased Elizabeth II).
We have to wait, but Netflix is preparing a series directed by JJ Abrams about the history of U2.
About the Beatles there are many more productions than those reviewed.
His first film,
What a night that day!
from 1964
,
it's on Prime;
the documentary
John Lennon: Love Is All You Need,
on Netflix;
and
The Beatles and India,
on Filmin and HBO Max;
Paul McCartney's Get Back: the concert
, from his 1989-90 tour, on Movistar Plus+.
On Disney+, the miniseries
McCartney 3, 2, 1
reunites the
Beatle
with producer Rick Rubin to dissect how his songs were created.
The Rolling Stones are offered a multitude of live shows on Prime Video:
Totally Strippped;
Sticky Fingers Live at The Fonda Theatre;
No Security San Jose... It's a shame that
Havana Moon,
his performance in Cuba in 2016,
has disappeared from the platforms , due to its documentary value.
A great live show by Queen is
The Budapest Concert
(from 1986), on Movistar Plus+;
the same platform offers
Freddie Mercury: the final show,
Queen's tribute and guest artists to the late singer in 1992. On Led Zeppelin,
Down The Tracks.
The Music That Influenced
(Filmin)
analyze the music that inspired them.
The influential Who films
Quadrophenia
and
Tommy
are available on Movistar and Filmin, respectively.
The Oscar-winning film
Woodstock,
which established the myth of the 1969 festival, is on Movistar+;
a documentary about that same macro-concert from a more current perspective is
Three days that marked a generation,
on RTVE Play.
The documentary about its disastrous reissue 30 years later,
Total Fiasco: Woodstock 99,
can be seen on Netflix.
About Glastonbury, it is interesting to review its long history in
50 years of Glastonbury
(Movistar).
I miss the 1970 Isle of Wright festival film on the platforms, which is only available for rent.
Filmin has a catalog full of live performances by figures such as David Bowie (with very valuable performances from different eras), The Doors, Joni Mitchell, David Gilmour (with the Pink Floyd repertoire) or Marianne Faithfull.
On that same platform, the priceless
Jazz Concerts
collection provides for dozens of hours of sublime music by names like Sarah Vaughan, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald or Chet Baker: I haven't been able (yet) to do it all, but Fernando Navarro could and counted here.
We look forward to more recommendations in the comments.
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