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Weird10 Best Music Documentaries on Netflix January 2019
By Meghan O'Keefe
@megsokay
Published
Dec. 31, 2018, 9:00 p.m. ET
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Photos: NETFLIX ; Illustration: Dillen Phelps
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Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
Justin Timberlake's immersive live concert film is considered the apex of the form. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Jonathan Demme, Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids not only shows off JT's tremendous skills as a showman, but also finds inventive ways to illustrate how much work goes into a world tour...without stripping the final product of its magic.
[Stream Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
Justin Timberlake's immersive live concert film is considered the apex of the form. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Jonathan Demme, Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids not only shows off JT's tremendous skills as a showman, but also finds inventive ways to illustrate how much work goes into a world tour...without stripping the final product of its magic.
[Stream Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids]
Photo: Netflix
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Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
Directed by Alex Gibney, Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown is an accomplished and compassionate look at the life of one of the greatest performers of the 20th century. The film takes particular care in tracing Brown's steps from the Famous Flames to the tipping point of his career in the '70s. Not just a great study of a life, this film also brings us glorious footage of James Brown in his prime.
[Stream Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
Directed by Alex Gibney, Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown is an accomplished and compassionate look at the life of one of the greatest performers of the 20th century. The film takes particular care in tracing Brown's steps from the Famous Flames to the tipping point of his career in the '70s. Not just a great study of a life, this film also brings us glorious footage of James Brown in his prime.
[Stream Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown]
Photo: HBO Films
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Highly Strung
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
Highly Strung is one of those legendary "hidden gems" that's buried in the background of Netflix's overwhelmingly vast content library. The film is supposedly about the Adelaide String Quartet, but really it's about the passion musicians have for their instruments, the pressure to integrate classical music with modern life, and the big unanswerable questions about art and meaning.
[Stream Highly Strung]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
Highly Strung is one of those legendary "hidden gems" that's buried in the background of Netflix's overwhelmingly vast content library. The film is supposedly about the Adelaide String Quartet, but really it's about the passion musicians have for their instruments, the pressure to integrate classical music with modern life, and the big unanswerable questions about art and meaning.
[Stream Highly Strung]
Photo: Kino Films
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Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%
Anvil is one of the most influential rock bands you may have never heard of. Anvil! The Story of Anvil traces how the Canadian heavy metal band rose to glory and then fell off the face of the earth -- though not before first influencing the young musicians who would go on to conquer the world in bands such as Anthrax and Metallica.
[Stream Anvil! The Story of Anvil]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%
Anvil is one of the most influential rock bands you may have never heard of. Anvil! The Story of Anvil traces how the Canadian heavy metal band rose to glory and then fell off the face of the earth -- though not before first influencing the young musicians who would go on to conquer the world in bands such as Anthrax and Metallica.
[Stream Anvil! The Story of Anvil]
Photo: Abramorama
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I Called Him Morgan
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
I Called Him Morgan is half music doc, half true crime documentary, and a total tragedy. The film focuses on the volatile relationship between jazz genius Lee Morgan and his common-law wife Helen. After nursing Lee through heroin addiction, Helen later shot him. An insane tale that rips through the heart of jazz, I Called Him Morgan reframes the story by letting Helen reflect on all that went down.
[Stream I Called Him Morgan]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
I Called Him Morgan is half music doc, half true crime documentary, and a total tragedy. The film focuses on the volatile relationship between jazz genius Lee Morgan and his common-law wife Helen. After nursing Lee through heroin addiction, Helen later shot him. An insane tale that rips through the heart of jazz, I Called Him Morgan reframes the story by letting Helen reflect on all that went down.
[Stream I Called Him Morgan]
Photo: Everett Collection
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Amy
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%
Amy Winehouse was one of the most talented chanteuses to ever strike the music world. Unfortunately, she was also one of the most haunted. Amy is the Oscar-winning look at the singer's troubled past, rise to glory, and horrific fall. Intimate, kind, troubling, and haunting, this film is definitely a must-see.
[Stream Amy]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%
Amy Winehouse was one of the most talented chanteuses to ever strike the music world. Unfortunately, she was also one of the most haunted. Amy is the Oscar-winning look at the singer's troubled past, rise to glory, and horrific fall. Intimate, kind, troubling, and haunting, this film is definitely a must-see.
[Stream Amy]
Photo: Everett Collection
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Springsteen on Broadway
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
Netflix's latest and greatest musical coup was nabbing the exclusive streaming rights to Bruce Springsteen's celebrated run on the Broadway stage. Springsteen on Broadway isn't your typical concert film, though. Sparse, intimate, and pared down, it lets the Boss show off his immaculate storytelling skills.
[Stream Springsteen on Broadway]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
Netflix's latest and greatest musical coup was nabbing the exclusive streaming rights to Bruce Springsteen's celebrated run on the Broadway stage. Springsteen on Broadway isn't your typical concert film, though. Sparse, intimate, and pared down, it lets the Boss show off his immaculate storytelling skills.
[Stream Springsteen on Broadway]
Photo: Netflix
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Sample This
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%
Sample This takes a deep, academic, and loving dive into the roots of hip hop. Instead of looking at the rappers and emcees who made the genre great, Sample This celebrates the impact one forgotten track, "Apache" by the Incredible Bongo Band, had on hip hop. This film is fascinating, fun, and hella informative.
[Stream Sample This]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%
Sample This takes a deep, academic, and loving dive into the roots of hip hop. Instead of looking at the rappers and emcees who made the genre great, Sample This celebrates the impact one forgotten track, "Apache" by the Incredible Bongo Band, had on hip hop. This film is fascinating, fun, and hella informative.
[Stream Sample This]
Photo: Everett Collection
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Miss Sharon Jones!
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%
Miss Sharon Jones! is an infectious feel-good story with a tragic off-screen twist. The film follows the incredible soul singer Sharon Jones as she deals with a cancer diagnosis, just as she's found success with the Dap-Kings. We see her persevere through the ordeal, but in real life, Jones wound up succumbing to the illness in 2016, the year after the film was released.
[Stream Miss Sharon Jones!]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%
Miss Sharon Jones! is an infectious feel-good story with a tragic off-screen twist. The film follows the incredible soul singer Sharon Jones as she deals with a cancer diagnosis, just as she's found success with the Dap-Kings. We see her persevere through the ordeal, but in real life, Jones wound up succumbing to the illness in 2016, the year after the film was released.
[Stream Miss Sharon Jones!]
Photo: Everett Collection
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What Happened, Miss Simone?
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90%
What Happened, Miss Simone? was arguably one of Netflix's first great music hits. The heart-breaking documentary, directed by Liz Garbus, brings us inside the inner world of one of music's most enigmatic and influential figures. What Happened, Miss Simone? would go on to nab an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature.
[Stream Miss Sharon Jones!]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90%
What Happened, Miss Simone? was arguably one of Netflix's first great music hits. The heart-breaking documentary, directed by Liz Garbus, brings us inside the inner world of one of music's most enigmatic and influential figures. What Happened, Miss Simone? would go on to nab an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature.
[Stream Miss Sharon Jones!]
Photo: Netflix
