Director Sergio Leone once said that music makes up 40% of a movie. That is certainly true for his films in which his composer the legendary Ennio Morricone created a unique musical landscape of sound that would take film scores to entirely new level and inspire generations of musicians both in film and in pop music.
The art of film scoring and the use of soundtracks have become such an integral part of cinema over the decades. By taking the dramatic elements of a scene and adding specific music over that whether it be a melancholy piano solo, a rowdy rock and roll guitar instrumental or a funky bass jam, it’s a furious combination that heightens the overall effect a scene or sequence has and almost always exhillerates the viewer in that special way the director wants.
This Furious 50 list is dedicated to all the works of film from the 1950s to the present that revolve around popular music. The films represented cover several genres such as classic rock and roll, hip hop, folk, funk, blues and reggae. We’ve also mixed in different cinematic subgenres like documentaries, genre stories and musicals to give readers a richer variety of forms in which music can be integrated into film. All of these titles celebrate a medium of art that we all love and they do it in their own unique, exciting ways.
Jailhouse Rock (1957, Dir: Richard Thorpe/rock n’ roll-drama)
A Hard Days Night (1964, Dir: Richard Lester/rock n’ roll-comedy)
Tommy (1975, Dir: Ken Russell/conceptual-rock n’ roll-musical)
The Song Remains the Same (1976, Dir: Peter Clifton & Joe Massot/conceptual-rock n’ roll-concert)
Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982, Dir: Alan Parker/conceptual-rock n’ roll)
Krush Groove (1985, Dir: Michael Schultz/hip hop-drama)
Purple Rain (1985, Dir: Albert Magnoli/rock n’ roll-funk-drama)
Beat Street (1984, Dir: Stan Lathan/hip hop-drama)
La Bamba (1987, Dir: Luis Valdez/biographical- rock n’roll)
Coal Miners Daughter (1980, Dir: Michael Apted/biographical-country music-drama)
Honkytonk Man (1982, Dir: Clint Eastwood/country music-drama)
The Last Waltz (1976, Dir: Martin Scorsese/documentary-concert, rock n roll)
Woodstock (1970, Dir: Michael Wadleigh/documentary-concert-rock n’ roll)
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004, Dir: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky/documentary-heavy metal)
The Story of Anvil (2008, Dir: Sascha Gervasi/documentary-heavy metal)
This Is Spinal Tap (1984, Dir: Rob Reiner/rock n roll-comedy-mockumentary)
Phantom of The Paradise (1974, Dir: Brian DePalma/horror-rock-comedy-thriller)
Ladies and Gentleman, The Fabulous Stains (1982, Dir: Lou Adler/punk rock-drama)
Sid and Nancy (1986, Dir: Alex Cox/biographical-punk rock-drama)
The Great Rock N’ Roll Swindle (1980, Dir: Julien Temple/conceptual-punk rock)
The Decline of Western Civilization (1981, Dir: Penelope Spheeris/documentary-punk rock)
200 Motels (1971, Dir: Tony Palmer & Frank Zappa/conceptual-fantasy-comedy)
The Doors (1991, Dir: Oliver Stone/biographical-drama-rock n roll)
The Rose (1979, Dir: Mark Rydell/semi-biographical-drama, rock n’ roll)
Don’t Look Back (1967, Dir: D.A. Pennebaker/documentary-folk-rock)
Wild Style (1983, Dir: Charlie Ahearn/hip hop-documentary)
Control (2007, Dir: Anton Corbijn/biographical-new wave-drama)
Crazy Heart (2009, Dir: Scott Cooper/country-drama)
We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen (2005, Dir: Tim Irwin/documentary-punk rock)
The Harder They Come (1972, Dir: Perry Henzell/reggae-crime-drama)
Gimme Shelter (1970, Dir: Albert & David Maysles/rock n’ roll – documentary-concert)
Tougher Than Leather (1988, Dir: Rick Rubin/hip hop-crime-drama)
End of the Century (2003, Dir: Jim Fields & Michael Gramaglia/documentary-punk rock)
Lady Sings the Blues (1972, Dir: Sidney J. Furie/biographical-drama-blues)
Ray (2004, Dir: Taylor Hackford/biographical-R&B-Soul-drama)
All Dolled Up (2005, Dir: Bob Gruen & Nadya Beck/glam rock-documentary)
Bird (1988, Dir: Clint Eastwood/biographical-jazz-drama)
A Face in the Crowd (1957, Dir: Elia Kazan/country-drama)
Leadbelly (1976, Dir: Gordon Parks/biographical-blues-drama)
Backbeat (1994, Dir: Iain Softley/biographical-drama-rock n’ roll)
The Blues Brothers (1980, Dir: John Landis/comedy-adventure-soul-rock n’ roll)
Head (1968, Dir: Bob Rafelson/conceptual-rock n’ roll)
Beyond The Valley of The Dolls (1970, Dir: Russ Meyer/fantasy-drama-rock n’ roll)
Wattstax (1973, Dir: Mel Stuart/funk-soul-documentary-concert)
The Buddy Holly Story (1978, Dir: Steve Rash/biographical- drama-rock n’ roll)
Crossroads (1986, Dir: Walter Hill/adventure-rock n’ roll- blues-drama)
Bob Dylan: No Direction Home (2005, Dir: Martin Scorsese/documentary-folk-rock)
Scratch (2001, Dir: Doug Pray/documentary-hip hop)
Neil Young: Heart of Gold (2006, Dir: Jonathan Demme/performance-documentary)
Bound For Glory (1976, Dir: Hal Ashby/biopic)
4 thoughts on “50 FURIOUS FILMS THAT ROCK”
No Velvet Goldmine? Shame
American Hot Wax