Music documentary
Dance Craze review – thrilling documentary captures the explosive energy of 2 Tone
Joe Massot’s vivid 1981 film about the British ska scene brims with life, sweat and the faces of ecstatic fans
Peter Bradshaw
22, Mar, 2023 @1:00 PM
Christopher Nupen obituary
Maker of classical music documentaries who sought to capture the magic of live performance and the aspirations of the performers
Barry Millington
05, Mar, 2023 @8:34 PM
I Get Knocked Down review – enjoyable blast of pop history from Chumbawamba frontman
With a streak of humility utterly foreign to most music documentaries, Dunstan Bruce recounts the band’s successes – and failures – as pop stars and political activists
Cath Clarke
01, Feb, 2023 @9:00 AM
Heading West: A Story About a Band Called Shooglenifty review – fond tribute to a charismatic fiddler
The talent and sex appeal of the Scottish folk band’s late frontman Angus G Grant remembered in meandering documentary
Cath Clarke
31, Jan, 2023 @11:00 AM
Oscar Peterson: Black + White review – profile of pianist lets the music do the talking
A somewhat reverent look at the jazz piano virtuoso includes many famous contributors
Peter Bradshaw
24, Jan, 2023 @11:00 AM
If These Walls Could Sing review – mystery tour of Abbey Road Studios
Mary McCartney’s documentary about the legendary home to the Beatles’ and many other stars’ recordings is an enjoyable diversion
Peter Bradshaw
03, Jan, 2023 @9:00 AM
Anonymous Club review – bruisingly candid portrait of singer Courtney Barnett
Creative crises and the exhaustion of touring take their toll on the feted Australian indie artist in Danny Cohen’s revealing documentary
Wendy Ide
11, Dec, 2022 @1:00 PM
25 Years of UK Garage review – roll-call of electronic music genre’s glory days
Most of the scene’s stars are here for documentary which follows its emergence from ‘wild west’ parties to chart success and moral panic
Phil Hoad
05, Dec, 2022 @9:00 AM
Monsters of doc: Mark Kermode’s top 20 music documentaries
For our festival-averse film critic, movies about concerts and musicians are essential viewing – and he believes we are living through a golden age for the form
Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
27, Nov, 2022 @9:00 AM
Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues review – swinging doc is a stirring tribute
Freewheeling across the trumpeter’s pathbreaking career, Sacha Jenkins’ immensely enjoyable study speeds through giddyingly rich source material
Leslie Felperin
26, Oct, 2022 @8:00 AM
This Is National Wake review – the story of South Africa’s multiracial punk rockers
The rise and fall of the apartheid-era band is unspooled in this occasionally dazzling but often lacklustre documentary
Sammy Gecsoyler
25, Oct, 2022 @8:00 AM
In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50 review – a rollicking workplace comedy
This unflinching portrait of the prog rock band is like an episode of The Office but with huge drum kits, grizzled roadies and rapturous fans
Leslie Felperin
19, Oct, 2022 @8:00 AM
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