Back to Black

Back to Black 2024

6.67

The extraordinary story of Amy Winehouse’s early rise to fame from her early days in Camden through the making of her groundbreaking album, Back to Black that catapulted Winehouse to global fame. Told through Amy’s eyes and inspired by her deeply personal lyrics, the film explores and embraces the many layers of the iconic artist and the tumultuous love story at the center of one of the most legendary albums of all time.

2024

The Color Purple

The Color Purple 2023

7.10

A decades-spanning tale of love and resilience and of one woman's journey to independence. Celie faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.

2023

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody 2022

7.10

The joyous, emotional, heartbreaking celebration of the life and music of Whitney Houston, the greatest female R&B pop vocalist of all time. Tracking her journey from obscurity to musical superstardom.

2022

The Commitments

The Commitments 1991

7.30

Jimmy Rabbitte, just a thick-ya out of school, gets a brilliant idea: to put a soul band together in Barrytown, his slum home in north Dublin. First he needs musicians and singers: things slowly start to click when he finds three fine-voiced females virtually in his back yard, a lead singer (Deco) at a wedding, and, responding to his ad, an aging trumpet player, Joey "The Lips" Fagan.

1991

Get on Up

Get on Up 2014

6.76

A chronicle of James Brown's rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history.

2014

When We Were Kings

When We Were Kings 1996

7.70

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.

1996

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) 2021

7.70

During the same summer as Woodstock, over 300,000 people attended the Harlem Cultural Festival, celebrating African American music and culture, and promoting Black pride and unity. The footage from the festival sat in a basement, unseen for over 50 years, keeping this incredible event in America's history lost — until now.

2021

TINA

TINA 2021

7.70

Tina Turner overcame impossible odds to become one of the first female Black artists to reach a mainstream international audience. Her road to superstardom is an undeniable story of triumph over adversity. It’s the ultimate story of survival – and an inspirational story of our times.

2021

The Sapphires

The Sapphires 2012

6.80

It's 1968, and four young, talented Australian Aboriginal girls learn about love, friendship and war when they entertain the US troops in Vietnam as singing group The Sapphires.

2012

Quincy

Quincy 2018

7.30

An intimate look into the life of icon Quincy Jones. A unique force in music and popular culture for 70 years, Jones has transcended racial and cultural boundaries; his story is inextricably woven into the fabric of America. Jones came to prominence in the 1950s as a jazz arranger and conductor before working on pop music and film scores. He moved easily between musical genres, producing major pop hits of the early 1960s and serving as an arranger and conductor for several collaborations in the same time period.

2018

Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown

Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown 2014

6.87

James Brown changed the face of American music forever. Abandoned by his parents at an early age, James Brown was a self-made man who became one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, not just through his music, but also as a social activist. Charting his journey from rhythm and blues to funk, MR. DYNAMITE: THE RISE OF JAMES BROWN features rare and previously unseen footage, photographs and interviews, chronicling the musical ascension of “the hardest working man in show business,” from his first hit, “Please, Please, Please,” in 1956, to his iconic performances at the Apollo Theater, the T.A.M.I. Show, the Paris Olympia and more.

2014

King of the Hill: A 70th Anniversary Retrospective of Cincinnati’s King Records

King of the Hill: A 70th Anniversary Retrospective of Cincinnati’s King Records 2014

4.60

James Brown was the jewel in the crown, but the throne of Cincinnati’s King Records always belonged to its irascible founder, Syd Nathan. This is the 70th anniversary of the legendary record label and studio. It closed shop nearly 40 years ago, in a now long-neglected warehouse on the neighborhood border of Evanston and Walnut Hills, but its impact still reverberates across today’s music.

2014

Northern Soul

Northern Soul 2014

5.60

Set in 1974, an authentic and uplifting tale of two friends whose horizons are opened up by the discovery of black American soul music.

2014

Cincinnati's Rock 'N Roll Legends

Cincinnati's Rock 'N Roll Legends 1995

5.60

An excellent comprehensive look at all the music that came out of Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati "Rock Legends" "James Brown" "King Records" "Pure Prairie League" "Lemon Pipers" "Syd Nathan" WEBN "Bootsy Collins" "Lonnie Mack" "The Who concert 1979" "Rick Derringer"

1995

Take Me to the River

Take Me to the River 2014

6.00

Take Me to the River is a film about the soul of American music. The film follows the recording of a new album featuring legends from Stax records and Memphis mentoring and passing on their musical magic to stars and artists of today.

2014

A Tale of James Brown

A Tale of James Brown 2016

1

Comedian/filmmaker Camille Solari spends the last year interviewing the legendary musical icon James Brown before his untimely death on Christmas 2006. The documentary includes interviews with his band members and many celebrity musicians who have been influenced by James Brown, including Patti Labelle, Chuck D (Public Enemy), Doug E Fresh, Emcee Lyte, Bobby Brown, Fergie, Wil.I.Am.

2016

Shake! Otis at Monterey

Shake! Otis at Monterey 1987

7.09

Renowned documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker captures Otis Redding in his ascendancy, singing at the historic Monterey International Pop Festival in June 1967. Comedian Tom Smothers introduces Redding to a crowd that is leaving -- until Redding grabs them with his charged rendition of "Shake." Redding's performance also includes "Respect" (which he wrote), "I've Been Loving You Too Long," "Satisfaction," and "Try a Little Tenderness." Tragically, Redding died in a plane crash six months later. An innovative filmmaker who started in the 1950s making experimental films, Pennebaker garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature in 1993 for The War Room, his behind-the-scenes look at Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign. His other subjects have included Norman Mailer, Bob Dylan, and David Bowie.

1987

The History of Rock 'n' Roll

The History of Rock 'n' Roll 1995

10.00

The history of rock n' roll and pop music are explored are explored via interviews and footage of well-known music stars.

1995

I Go to the Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston

I Go to the Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston 2023

10.00

The unmistakable voice of Whitney Houston is powerful and timeless. She reached the pinnacle of pop success becoming one of the most accomplished recording artists of all time. But her heart was always in Gospel music, and it profoundly influenced her life and career. From her first public performance to her best-selling Gospel album of all time, The Preacher's Wife, experience how profoundly Gospel music influenced her personal life and helped shape her career.

2023

Jesus Is King

Jesus Is King 2019

4.80

Filmed during summer 2019, Jesus Is King brings Kanye West’s famed Sunday Service to life in the Roden Crater, visionary artist James Turrell’s never-before-seen installation in Arizona’s Painted Desert. This one-of-a-kind experience features songs arranged by West in the gospel tradition along with new music from his forthcoming album.

2019

Stax: Soulsville USA

Stax: Soulsville USA 2024

9.50

The story of an underdog, interracial record label that ushered in groundbreaking music.

2024

James Brown: Say It Loud

James Brown: Say It Loud 2024

8.00

Traces the incredible trajectory of Brown’s life and career from a 7th grade drop-out arrested and jailed at the age of 16 for breaking into a car in the Jim Crow-era South, to an entertainment legend whose groundbreaking talent and unique perspective catapulted him to become a cultural force.

2024

Soul America

Soul America 2020

1

A three-part docuseries chronicling the journey of soul music, from its birth out of gospel and R&B in the 1960s, when it delivered an assertive, integrated vision of black America, and produced its first generation of stars including Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin.

2020