My Top 10 All-Time Favourite Concert Films

Monday is about movies and/or TV. Today it’s about concert films - and a list. My Top 10 All-Time Favourite Concert Films. Enjoy. Argue. Etc…

My Top 10 All-Time Concert Films

Over on My Letterboxd account (where I am cataloguing every film I’ve ever seen, trying my best to remember films from the past as well as updating what I see when I see it now) I have also created a couple of lists. There’s one of all the films I own on DVD. And and another I made a wee while back, a ranked list of the 40 greatest concert films. Not documentaries, but live concert showcases.

From about the age of 10 or 11, I became obsessed with the concert film. I’ve watched recorded concerts by bands I couldn’t care less about, as well as the ones by artists I love.

I tried my best to make this list an actual reflection of the impact these films had on me. Feel free to check out the whole list, but I thought I’d use it as a starter to walk you through my top 10:

1. The Last Waltz

The Band’s final stand, recorded over a series of nights after some 15 years of being a road-band, after a decade of releasing albums, and to diminishing returns. Here, one of the greatest live bands of all time sprawls out in messy, wondrous fashion with the biggest Who’s Who guest list, all winningly captured in his rock-doc way by Marty Scorsese. I love this film. I watch it all the time – still. Once I flew to Sydney for a weekend and this was on the plane’s inflight system, so I watched once and a half there. And back. It’s just the very best.

2. Stop Making Sense

I was such a huge Talking Heads fan from the earliest age – I still am. So this film was one of the first concert films I ever knew about. It was mind blowing to me, the way they artfully told a story through the staging of the songs. Plus, it’s just an absolute banger of a set list.

3. Elvis: That’s The Way It Is

I mentioned this recently, in my rant about biopics, this is the film that really – truly – sold me on Elvis. Before that he was just a big of a ham to me. Some great greatest hits, but so what. This film showed his passion and true talent, as song conduit, as arranger, conductor, cheerleader, as musician. People delight in considering Elvis just a singer, but he developed into a very musical being. And the stage is packed on this night with some incredible talent.

4. Jazz On A Summer’s Day

Jazz has been with me my whole life (thanks mum!) But this was my first chance to really see some of the greats in live footage. It’s just so beautifully, casually observed, it’s such an amazing lineup – and there are some all-time great moments for me. Worth the price of admission for the Anita O’Day sequence alone. This was my proper introduction to her and I’ve been besotted and intrigued ever since.

5. Michael Jackson’s This Is Its

This film impacted me way more than I expected. I didn’t rush to see it, but eventually caught it at the cinema, and I wasn’t thinking it would mean all that much. But the enormity of Michael Jackson as a stage entertainer (I had seen his 1996 gig in Auckland) was really the thing I took from watching this. That and the amount of work that goes into something this big.

6. The Who: The Kids Are Alright

Maybe this is more of a doco – but the energy and madness is there, and as an explainer of what The Who was about there is nothing better. It’s one of the great Turn Up Loud rock films for me. There’s an irony that it’s most famous performances are staged in a studio and made to look live – but it still captures an essential vibe, the very essence of great rock’n’roll.

7. Buena Vista Social Club

I love everything Ry Cooder has done. That’s how I got to Buena Vista Social Club – the album and film. The players on here, the story, the magic – that’s all just beautiful. And it introduced me to so much in the world of music.

8. Joni Mitchell: Painting With Words and Music

This was the film that convinced me of Joni’s talent. Well, I was already a card-carrying, album-collecting fan, but this is such a wonderful and warm show, with a brilliant band and perfect set list. What a musician. What songs. This is just the best.

9. Bjork: MTV Unplugged & Live

I should probably make a list of the Unplugged episodes – I loved so many of them – but this Bjork one is the one that really shows what you could do with the form. A percussionist rubbing glassware, a lone harpsichord to convey both rhythm and melody, so many clever choices beyond just an acoustic guitar and a toned-down version of a rock band. Bjork is a genius, and I reckon I first truly learned that by watching this.

10. Phil Collins: Seriously Live in Berlin

I’ve been a Phil Collins fan forever. His work in Genesis, his guest appearances, his solo material. It was often justified by focussing on his drumming, but I like his voice, the best of his songs, and the incredible bands he took on tour. And this concert film is him at his solo peak. All the hits. And just the most amazing band. I have watched this so often. It’s just the best.

So, there you go. My Top 10. From a full list of 40. See anything you also like? Wanna argue the absurdity of having any of these on a Top 10 list? Want to add your own memories. Go to it in the comments below…