Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
On April 5, 1994, the world lost Nirvana frontman and revolutionary rocker Kurt Cobain. In that time, numerous documentaries have examined his life, his influence on fans and music as a whole, and what exactly lead to his death. Friends, bandmates, experts, and even private investigators have all weighed in, and it is in the following documentaries where you can hear what they all have to say.
We’ve compiled a list of in-depth docs that range from good to bad to unbelievable, so you can spend the day honoring the rock star by remembering him through the words of others (and even his own). Each highlights his brilliance and his importance. Some focus on his relationship and how he spent his last days on the planet. All are a fascinating take on an even more interesting man.
From Sundance Now to Netflix, you can find a documentary about Kurt Cobain on nearly every streaming service available. Depending on how deep you want to go, you can pick and choose your faves to watch today, but you can’t go wrong with these thoughtful, scandalous, and necessary music films.
'Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck'
Montage of Heck premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2015, and then hit HBO in April of that year. Directed by Brett Morgen, the intimate and intense film has been hailed as one of the best documentaries to take a look at Cobain’s life, from his troubled childhood and tumultuous teen years all the way through to his death at age 27. It’s significant because it’s the first film to be made with cooperation from his family and Courtney Love, and even lists their daughter Francis Bean Cobain as a co-producer on the project. Plus, the doc features unreleased materials including journals, songs, and artwork from Kurt, so this one is not to be missed by music fans.
'Foo Fighters: Back and Forth'
As you can tell from the title, this film focuses on the Foo Fighters quite a bit (like, the whole time), but Dave Grohl gives his perspective on the Nirvana days that would then lead to FF times. His take on Kurt Cobain is an important one, and one of many truly captivating moments in this documentary that isn’t afraid to be super fun, even during some of the bummer moments.
'Kurt Cobain: About a Son'
Premiering at the Toronto Film Festival in 2006, About a Son features audio interviews with Cobain and journalist Michael Azerrad that were conducted for the Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana book. It’s chilling, insightful, and thoroughly entertaining to hear him speaking throughout the film, and will leave you feeling touched long after it’s over.
'Soaked in Bleach'
Honestly, Soaked in Bleach is an interesting and somewhat alternative look at what happened to Cobain, but is to be watched with a grain of salt. The film works very hard to prove that Cobain did not in fact die of suicide, and features PI Tom Grant making his case throughout the 2015 doc. It makes some valid points, but is much darker and less fun than other films that focus on remembering him fondly.
'Kurt & Courtney'
One of the first docs to take a deep look at the musician, 1998’s Kurt & Courtney is probably not among Courtney Love’s favorite films of all time. This one is best paired with Soaked in Bleach and is for the detectives out there intent on solving his death and all the circumstances surrounding it.
