Music For The Movies 

Page 2 of 5

Shapiro: Before there was MTV, there was Richard Lester ...

2. THE LAST WALTZ (1978; Martin Scorsese)

With the help of their musician friends, the members of The Band gather for one final concert.

Shukla: Visionary director Martin Scorsese rewrote the book on filming live concerts with The Last Waltz, which was the final performance of the rockers simply known as The Band. The lighting, the camerawork, the A-list musicians and The Band's flawless performance make this a work of art.

Crazy Horse: The Band's (and poor Richard Manuel's swan song) The Last Waltz is also the glorious beginning to -- and endless well of -- prime roots music, featuring angels and devils from Mavis Staples to Van Morrison.

Brunson: Camaraderie and respect among musicians -- I love the moment when a noticeably appreciative Neil Young thanks Robbie Robertson for allowing him to take part in their celebration, to which an incredulous (and grinning) Robertson replies, "Shit, are you kidding?"

3. THIS IS SPINAL TAP (1984; Rob Reiner)

In this "rockumentary," filmmaker Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner) interviews the members of a hard rock band that's seen better days.

Schacht: The crown jewel in the Christopher Guest/Michael McKean faux-documentary franchise (which also includes Best In Show, A Mighty Wind, etc.), this parody of the "loudest rock band on earth" manages to take the piss out of rock 'n' roll in general, and over-the-hill metal acts in particular. Classic satire like mini-Stonehenge, exploding drummers and amps that "go up to 11" are practically part of the lexicon today. It's pretty simple: If you don't think this movie's hilarious, you're probably not much fun to begin with.

Mills: Dozens of rock films spontaneously combust each year. But this "mockumentary" -- the spiritual granddaddy of VH1's Behind the Music, no less -- still blazes the brightest.

4. WOODSTOCK (1970; Michael Wadleigh)

The 1969 concert, held in Bethel, N.Y., and featuring "three days of peace and music," is the focus of this lengthy documentary crammed with performances by, among others, Joan Baez, Joe Cocker, The Who, and Country Joe and the Fish.

Wicker: Seeing Woodstock when I was in high school firmly fixed the notion in my mind that despite the mud and the brown acid, I wanted to have been there. I wanted to see and hear Janis and Jimi, to experience the soaring harmonies of Crosby, Stills and Nash in their very first show, to chant "No rain!" with the best of them. There's nothing like seeing the 1960s through psychedelic, rose-colored, round, mirrored glasses.

Farris: This film completely captures one of the greatest moments in the history of music. You are there, in that field in Bethel, with 500,000 of your brothers, sisters and fella music lovers. An unforgettable moment in music and an unforgettable movie that remarkably captures the beautiful insanity of it all. Dig it.

5. GIMME SHELTER (1970; David Maysles, Albert Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin)

The Rolling Stones' 1969 concert in Altamount, California, is marred by the murder of a concertgoer by one of the Hell's Angels charged with providing security for the event.

Schacht: This began as a documentary of The Rolling Stones' 1969 tour of the States, but wound up chronicling the nail in the coffin of the peace-and-love decade. You can practically see '60s idealism die as Mick Jagger and company watch playback of the Hell's Angels murdering a black man in front of the stage at the Altamont Speedway. That frightening scenario overshadows the Stones near their decadent peak (for that, see Cocksucker Blues).

Farris: This film captures the highest and lowest moments of one of the greatest rock 'n' roll acts of all time. You can't help but feel for Mick (Jagger) and Charlie (Watts) when you see their nervousness and unsettledness once they begin to comprehend the disaster they helped to create. In the end, we also learn the answer to one of music's most important questions. Could there ever really be another Woodstock? Not a chance ...

Grooms: The look on Jagger's face when he sees the fan with a gun being stabbed to death by a Hell's Angel is one of the most unnerving scenes in any film.

6. HAIR (1979; Milos Forman)

With only a couple of days to kill before he enlists in the Army, a Midwestern farm boy (John Savage) falls in with a group of Central Park hippies.

Brunson: A far more accomplished stage-to-screen translation than Jesus Christ Superstar, this superb musical is too vibrant to be dismissed as merely a "time capsule" piece. Milos Forman's direction is exhilarating (ditto Twyla Tharp's choreography), the Ragni-Rado-MacDermot score remains glorious, and Treat Williams' performance as lead hippie Berger is by turns playful, sensual and -- in that knockout final number ("The Flesh Failures/Let the Sun Shine In") -- heart wrenching.