The 100 Greatest Rock & Roll Movies of All Time
Hanks for the Memories100. That Thing You Do! [1996]
Tom Hanks’s directorial debut about a one-hit-wonder band in the post-Beatles ’60s is so amiably obvious, the group is called the Wonders! Get it? But what the film lacks in subtlety it more than makes up for in dead-accurate period musical detail.
Best musical moment: The band’s “eureka!” moment when “That Thing You Do!” mutates from a turgid ballad into sunny pop. (12:50)
Did you know? The maddeningly catchy, Oscar-nominated title song was written by Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne.
Hang the DJ
99. Pump Up the Volume [1990]
Dweeb by day, insurrectionist pirate DJ by night, Mark Hunter (Christian Slater) captivates Arizona high school kids with his blend of nihilistic advice and an eclectic playlist including the Beastie Boys and Leonard Cohen. One of the few occasions that Slater’s twitchy Jack Nicholson shtick actually improved a movie.
Best musical moment: The MC5’s “Kick Out the Jams” prompts teen malcontents to go on the rampage brandishing a gigantic model penis. (00:45)
Did you know? Slater’s all-time favorite song is Elvis Presley’s “A Little Less Conversation.”
Beatlemaniacs
98. I Wanna Hold Your Hand[1978]
In Forrest Gump, director Robert Zemeckis recast modern history through the eyes of a retarded hick. But before that, he recast the Beatles’ 1964 appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show through the eyes of retarded-seeming Jersey teens. Improbable and even cloying, the movie still succeeds in personalizing a watershed moment.
Best musical moment: “Love Me Do” seen from the perspective of hysterical audience members. (1:32:00)
Did you know? Earning $1.9 million, this was the lowest-grossing film in Universal’s history.
Monkee Business
97. Head [1968]
The Monkees’ plan to obliterate their image as cuddly, made-for-TV clowns with a self-deprecating, anti-consumerism screed proved to be the band’s death knell. Come for the plotless collection of sketches that can generously be called “experimental filmmaking” — the Prefab Four play dandruff flakes in Victor Mature’s hair in one skit — but stay for the sophisticated musical numbers.
Best musical moment: Mickey leaps to his death — figuratively and commercially — to “Porpoise Song.” (00:01)
Did you know? Jack Nicholson (who, like Sonny Liston, makes a cameo) co-wrote the script.
American Idol
96. Bye Bye Birdie [1963]
Sweet Apple, Ohio, wouldn’t make anyone’s list of rock & roll hotspots. But when Conrad Birdie — a pelvis-shaking crooner who strongly resembles another ’50s idol — descends on the town for one last show before shipping off to the Army, all heck breaks loose. This adaptation of the Broadway satire stars Swedish bombshell Ann-Margaret, the Lindsay Lohan of 1963.
Best musical moment: Conrad sings about sowing his wild oats in “A Lot of Livin’ to Do.” (1:12:00)
Did you know? Birdie’s name was allegedly inspired by country star Conway Twitty.
New Wave New York
95. Smithereens [1982]
The debut film from Susan “Desperately Seeking Susan” Seidelman follows New York scenester-loser Wren (Susan Berman) as she vacillates between boyfriends. Blessed with a superb new wave soundtrack, the film offers an extensive tour of the East Village's apocalyptic moonscape.
Best musical moment: A clanging Feelies track cranks up the audience's discomfort as Wren discovers just how many bridges she's burned. (1:23:00)
Did you know? In his first movie appearance, Chris Noth — Sex and the City's “Mr Big” — has a tiny role as a transvestite prostitute.
Get Your Motor Runnin’
94. Easy Rider [1969]
Light on plot, heavy on symbolism and long on style, Easy Rider also has a soundtrack as legendary as its stars. In fact, you can almost pinpoint the exact moment the ’70s began: Captain America (Peter Fonda) kick-starting his stars-and-stripes chopper to the strains of Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild.”
Best musical moment: Fonda, Dennis Hopper and a hitchhiker cruising to The Band’s “The Weight.” (20:00)
Did you know? The LSD sequence got its look because someone accidentally exposed a reel of film to sunlight.
Killer Cameo
93. High School Confidential! [1958]
Though its hep slang may be cringe-worthy — the movie is 47 years old — the film holds up because its true “just say no” agenda isn’t revealed until the end. Until then, Russ Tamblyn’s pusher is cinema’s least sympathetic teen protagonist, hitting on his teacher and “blasting a joint” in the principal’s office.
Best musical moment: Jerry Lee Lewis’s title song. (00:01)
Did you know? Tamblyn is the father of Joan of Arcadia cutie Amber Tamblyn, while co-star John Drew Barrymore is the father of — that’s right! — Drew Barrymore.
Leave it to Beaver
92. Eddie and the Cruisers [1983]
A “cult classic” (read: bomb), Cruisers is better known for John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band’s hit single “On the Dark Side” than for its actual plot. Which is a good thing.
Best musical moment: “Dark Side” evolves from awkward ballad to the Cruisers’ signature song to cheap Atlantic City revue number. The entire lifespan of a song played out in minutes. (31:00)
Did you know? The heroin-addicted sax player is played by one of the Beaver Brown Band.
Star and Bars
91. Jailhouse Rock [1957]
After killing a guy in a bar with two punches, Elvis is sent to prison, where he passes time singing rather than, say, being brutally raped. Released, he signs a recording contract, hits it big, screws over his friends, bottoms out and, yes, finds redemption. Edgier than all his subsequent 28 movies.
Best musical moment: Not the title song, but the lawyer supplying handclaps during “Treat Her Right.” (51:00)
Did you know? Judy Tyler, who plays Elvis’s manager-love interest, died in a car crash soon after wrapping the film.
Everybody Must Get Stoned
90. Cocksucker Blues [1972]
Shot by Beat photographer Robert Frank during the Rolling Stones’ debauched ’72 U.S. tour, this bootleg-only doc features a masturbating Mick Jagger, a groupie orgy at 30,000 feet and the title song (“Where can I get my cock sucked/Where can I get my ass fucked”) — all in the first 15 minutes. Shockingly, the Stones were not pleased, and sued to prevent its release.
Best musical moment: Jagger and opening act Stevie Wonder duet on “Satisfaction.” (54:00)
Did you know? Frank is still permitted to show the film publicly once a year — so long as he is in attendance.
Valley Vixens
89. Foxes [1980]
Despite opening with the ominous words “Starring Scott Baio,” Foxes is a raw drama of four teenage Valley girls (among them, Jodie Foster) looking for cheap thrills in the shadow of the ’70s, where divorce is high and morality low. Most damaged is Annie (ex-Runaway Cherie Curry), a wild child running with Hollywood street trash.
Best musical moment: A solo on the guitar-synth “keytar” hybrid at a show by hair metallers Angel. (35:00)
Did you know? Foster was the first choice to play Princess Leia in Star Wars but was under contract to Disney at the time.
All Dolled Up
88. Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story [1987]
The tragedy of anorexic soft-rock princess Karen Carpenter, reenacted by Barbie dolls. Though it sounds like a proto–Team America romp, it’s a sober commentary on body image. After director Todd Haynes received cease-and-desist letters from Richard Carpenter and A&M Records, he could no longer show the film.
Best musical moment: A Vietnam and Holocaust montage is soundtracked by “We’ve Only Just Begun.” (39:00)
Did you know? Haynes made “Karen” appear even thinner by whittling away at the doll.
Priest Rules!
87. Heavy Metal Parking Lot [1986]
A scant 16 minutes long, John Heyn and Jeff Krulik's collection of interviews with tailgaters outside a Judas Priest/ Dokken concert in Maryland is as sublime as it is simple. The joy with which these heshers pledge their devotion to rawk evokes nostalgia — if not for the music, then at least for this magical time before irony.
Best musical moment: One mulleted teen rages against “that punk shit.” (08:30)
Did you know? Though bootleg tapes circulated for years, the movie wasn't screened theatrically until 2000.
Holy Rock & Rollers
86. Jesus Christ Superstar [1991]
Dear Mel Gibson: Loved your Jesus flick, but why so glum? This adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber rock opera also covered Christ’s busy last week, but with more guitar solos and less scourging. Harder-edged and more musically credible than Webber’s usual fare, this is, truly, better than Cats.
Best musical moment: Shaggy disciples chorus “What’s the buzz?” looking in need of baths and gainful employment. (11:30)
Did you know? The scene in which Judas is chased by tanks was directed by Jesus himself, actor Ted Neeley.
Up Chuck
85. Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll [1987]
Through much of his illustrious career, Chuck Berry toured alone, hopping onstage with anonymous bands. For this concert to mark Berry’s 60th birthday, though, Keith Richards gave him the gift of an all-star band of devotees. Taylor Hackford (Ray) captures not only the show in Berry’s hometown of St. Louis but also the contentious rehearsals that preceded it.
Best musical moment: Chuck and Keef bicker as they work out the intro to “Carol.” (29:50)
Did you know? A pre-fame Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band once backed Berry.
What a Feeling!
84. Flashdance [1983]
The first movie from Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, the production team who mastered the art of making the soundtrack album a lucrative ad for their films by marrying potential hits with showy action sequences tailor-made for MTV (see also Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop). Flashdance has exotic dancing welder Alex (Jennifer Beals) trying to make it as a ballerina in a fiesta of straining leotards revisited by J. Lo in her video for “I’m Glad” in 2003.
Best musical moment: Alex rips through an extreme ballet workout to Michael Sembello’s “Maniac.” (12:00)
Did you know? As a teenager, Jennifer Beals babysat for Regis Philbin’s kids.
Toon-full
83. Yellow Submarine [1968]
While some Beatles movies have aged horribly, the animated Submarine remains a free-spirited romp. That’s partly because of its brilliant Peter Max – inspired color schemes, but it’s also thanks to its storybook-simple plot: The Beatles (voiced by actors) battle the music-bashing Blue Meanies with songs and dry wit.
Best musical moment: The Pythonesque photo-animation of “Eleanor Rigby” (11:00)
Did you know? George’s original “vocalist” was discovered to be an army deserter during filming and had to be replaced.
MTV Morons
82. Tapeheads [1988]
A pre-fame John Cusack and Tim Robbins play idiot music video directors in this offbeat, quotable ’80s relic. Also on hand are Ted Nugent, Doug E. Fresh and soul greats Sam Moore and Junior Walker. But our favorite is Dead Boy Stiv Bators as the lead singer of the doomed but excellently named metal band Blender Children.
Best musical moment: Ska-rock kings Fishbone perform as Ranchbone … at a country and western bar. (43:00)
Did you know? Tapeheads was produced by former Monkee Michael Nesmith, no stranger to weird rock movies (see No. 97).
Fab Faux
81. The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash [1978]
This mockumentary, following the career of the fictitious “Prefab Four,” is as much a slavish Beatles tribute as it is an absurdist spoof. Written by and starring Monty Python’s Eric Idle, it also features inspired ad libs from Mick Jagger, John Belushi and Bill Murray.
Best musical moment: Singer Ron Nasty and his girlfriend announce their engagement in a running shower, fully clothed — a jab at John and Yoko. (57:55)
Did you know? In 1996, the Rutles “re-formed” sans Idle and recorded Archaeology.
Rap Party
80. Krush Groove [1985]
Proof rappers were dreadful actors long before Soul Plane, this charmingly old-school flick chronicles the rise of Krush Groove Records, a fictional facsimile of Def Jam. The plot’s so thin it’s nearly invisible, but the musical performances — including Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys — make it an essential document of hip-hop history.
Best musical moment: A 17-year-old LL Cool J wows the Krush Groove suits with “I Can’t Live Without My Radio.” (48:00)
Did you know: LAX star Blair Underwood’s turn as “Russell Walker” (a.k.a. Simmons) marked his big-screen debut.
Reels of Steel
79. Scratch [2001]
Acclaimed rockumentarian Doug Pray (see also Hype!) directs this fast-paced portrait of competitive DJs — or “turntablists,” as the geekier among them prefer to be known. From hearing Grand Wizard Theodore describe his accidental innovation to crate-digging with DJ Shadow, it’s the only DJ doc you’ll ever need.
Best musical moment: The Beastie Boys’ Mix Master Mike cuts and scratches while his dog Francesca spins around on the turntable. (52:00)
Did you know: Pray made Scratch with equipment borrowed from Menace II Society directors the Hughes brothers.
Karate Kid
78. Elvis: The Movie [1979]
As opposed to Elvis: The Postage Stamp or Elvis: The Gaudy Velvet Painting. This made-for-TV biopic, which mercifully spares the fat-E declining years, is a cut above the typical made-for-TV movie, if only for the talent involved — Kurt Russell is a dead ringer for Presley and John Carpenter took a break from helming schlock-horror classics to direct.
Best musical moment: Russell’s white-jumpsuited, karate-kicking “Burning Love.” (1:12:00)
Did you know? Russell’s film debut was in Elvis’s It Happened at the World’s Fair as a kid who kicks the King in the shins.
Brill-iant
77. Grace of my Heart [1996]
This Allison Anders flick aspires to be not only a veiled bio of Brill Building songwriter Carole King but also a history of pop music writ small. Though solid original songs are provided by Elvis Costello, Burt Bacharach and King herself, the real fun is in guessing each character's real-life doppelganger.
Best musical moment: Matt Dillon oversees Christendom's longest theremin solo. (1:17:21)
Did you know? In the lead role as an influential singer-songwriter, Illeana Douglas never actually sings a note.
Hip-hop Hilarity
76. CB4 [1993]
Chris Rock was a mere SNL scene-stealer when he starred in this hilarious Spinal Rap, playing a suburbanite who transforms himself into a jheri-curled gangsta. A messy collection of pop-culture spoofs, CB4’s best moments lampoon hip-hop’s big-medallion decadence and dumb vulgarity (the band’s biggest hit is “Sweat of My Balls”).
Best musical moment: The jailsuit-clad band’s performance of “Balls,” which invokes its titular testes more than 20 times. (54:30)
Did you know? Director Tamra Davis is married to Beastie Boy Mike D.
The Third White Stripe
75. Coal Miner’s Daughter [1980]
Fragile but never pathetic, Sissy Spacek nails the part of Loretta Lynn as the child bride progresses from Kentucky mines to the pantheon of country music. Avoiding country stereotypes and biopic clichés, the movie makes Lynn’s improbable life story an interesting and unpredictable reality.
Best musical moment: Lynn calms her nerves while recording her first album by having her rugrats sit in among studio musicians. (46:00)
Did you know? The Band drummer Levon Helm plays Lynn’s adoring father.
He’s the DJ
74. American Hot Wax [1978]
Slip on your shades for this mostly true, entirely cool biopic of Alan Freed, the charismatic radio DJ who introduced black R&B to white kids. Freed’s color-blind pioneering ultimately cost him his career, but as he tells one of the stuffy G-men assigned to bring him down, “You can stop me — but you’re never gonna stop rock & roll.”
Best musical moment: Chuck Berry duck-walks his way through a set at the climactic all-star concert. (1:08:00)
Did you know? Freed is credited by many with coining the term “rock & roll.”
Please Kilmer Me
73. The Doors [1991]
Native American spirit guides probably didn’t have as much influence on Jim Morrison (Val Kilmer) as Oliver Stone would have it, but the singer is otherwise well represented here in all his boozy, chaotic pomp. A great, grandiose biopic, though Meg Ryan plays Jim’s “old lady” like someone’s mom in a hippie wig.
Best musical moment: Ray Manzarek writes the intro to “Light My Fire” in a matter of seconds. (20:00)
Did you know? Comedian Denis Leary accurately sums up the movie as “I’m drunk, I’m nobody, I’m drunk, I’m famous, I’m drunk, I’m dead.”
Angry Management
72. The Idolmaker [1980]
You can make shlubs into teen idols — but it’s much harder to make them keep their dicks in their pants. That is the moral of this ’50s-set drama, based on the story of Frankie Avalon manager Bob Marcucci. In the lead role, the late Ray Sharkey is almost as outstanding as the 3-D eyebrows of his youthful protégé, The O.C.’s Peter Gallagher.
Best musical moment: Forced back onstage by Sharkey after being mobbed by rabid fans, Gallagher wows them with his signature song, “Baby,” and an idol is, indeed, made. (1:22:00)
Did you know? Director Taylor Hackford later brought us Ray.
That'll Be the Movie
71. The Buddy Holly Story [1978]
It’s hard to believe that basic-cable crackpot Gary Busey once snared himself a Best Actor Oscar nod — until you see him drawling his way out of roller rinks in Lubbock, Texas, to help birth rock & roll. Busey’s Holly has a loose-limbed charm that’s only magnified by the proto– Rivers Cuomo glasses.
Best musical moment: Holly — with the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens — electrifies a crowd of Iowans with a string of hits in what would be their final performance. (1:34:00)
Did you know? Gary Busey and the actors portraying the Crickets played all the movie’s songs themselves.
Down ’cyde
70. What’s Up, Fatlip? [1999]
After the Pharcyde booted Derrick “Fatlip” Stewart for his cocaine habit, the L.A. MC sank into obscurity. In 1999, Spike Jonze filmed a video for his single “What’s Up Fatlip?,” then shot this brief documentary. Tender and funny, it also teaches viewers how to pee while wearing a clown suit.
Best musical moment: Fatlip explains how he got a blowjob from a transvestite — inspiring the Pharcyde’s “Oh Shit.” (18:21)
Did you know? Two members of the Pharcyde still tour. Once, Fatlip tried to climb onstage and join in, but they kicked him off.
Glamorama
69. Velvet Goldmine [1998]
The story of glam rock’s ’70s heyday — rewritten, fan-fiction style, to make the rumored Iggy Pop/David Bowie gay affair fact. Bowie analogue “Brian Slade” fakes his own death in a camp spectacle of lurid clothes, exhilarating music and characters who talk in Oscar Wilde epigrams.
Best musical moment: Ewan McGregor channels an Iggy stage performance, waving his penis at the audience. (34:00)
Did you know? When Slade sings Roxy Music’s “Ladytron” and “2HB,” it’s actually Radiohead’s Thom Yorke you hear.
Perfectly Suited
68. Stop Making Sense [1984]
Filmed over a three-night sold-out stint in Los Angeles, Sense finds the Talking Heads at the zenith of both their creative and commercial success — one of the great art-school bands putting on the biggest exhibit of their career. The show builds slowly, with David Byrne taking the stage by himself, eventually opening the stage up to his bandmates, multimedia visual displays, moving sets and, of course, the famous big suit.
Best musical moment: The joyous, nine-person rendition of “Burning Down the House.” (21:18)
Did you know? In a promotional clip for the film, Byrne, made up as a black journalist, interviews himself.
Death Cabaret for Cutie
67. Moulin Rouge [2001]
If you like your musicals garishly over-the-top and seemingly filtered through the aesthetic sensibility of a mad-genius drag queen, this is your Citizen Kane — a doomed romance set in turn-of-the-century Paris using radically rethought covers of pop hits to tell its story, to sometimes brilliant effect.
Best musical moment: The soaring “Heroes” and “I Will Always Love You” — quoting duet between Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman. (49:00)
Did you know? Cat Stevens refused permission to use “Father and Son” —he objected to the film’s sexual content.
Making Bacon
66. Footloose [1984]
In the town of Bomont, dancing has been banned for fear of “spiritual corruption.” Urbanite new boy Kevin Bacon rolls into school blasting Quiet Riot and is soon fooling around with the preacher’s daughter and organizing a big shindig. Entry-level anti-establishment material boosted by the Kenny Loggins title track.
Best musical moment: A game of chicken — in tractors! — goes down to Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero.” (28:00)
Did you know? Bacon nearly didn’t get the part because a female studio executive said he wasn’t “fuckable” enough.
Wigout!
65. Hairspray [1988]
John Waters’s first family-grade movie sees big-hearted, big-boned Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake) trying to end segregation in ’60s Baltimore through teen dances like the Roach and the Madison. Bursting with hormones and tooth-rotting rock & roll, it also features stage mom Debbie Harry in a wig taller than husband Sonny Bono.
Best musical moment: Tracy dances “The Bug” in a dress with cockroaches on it. (1:20:00)
Did you know? Lake rapidly lost weight because of dance training and had to “eat like crazy” to maintain her figure for the part.
To find out which rockin' movies made the rest of the countdown, pick up the November issue of Blender on newsstands now!
