Recommended Films for Reading List
X
X: The Unheard Music
1986
Director: W. T. Morgan
Documentary filmed between 1980 - 1985 in Los Angeles
The Decline of Western Civilization
1981
Director: Penelope Spheeris
Documentary on the L.A. punk music scene around 1980
Frank Zappa
200 Motels
1971
Directors: Tony Palmer, Frank Zappa
From Straight to Bizarre: Zappa, Beefheart, Alice Cooper, and Los Angeles' Lunatic Fringe
2011
Director: Tom O'Dell
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention in the 1960s
UK, 2008
Brian Jones
Charlie Is My Darling
1966, released 2012
Directors: Mich Gochanour and Peter Whitehead
Documentary, shot on Rolling Stones tour of Ireland
Altamont
Gimme Shelter
1970
Directors: Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin
Documentary on the Rolling Stones' 1969 tour, with much of the focus on the tragic
Altamont concert
Syd Barrett
The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story
Director: John Edginton
BBC documentary
Peter Hook
24 Hour Party People (UK, 2002)
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Biography, comedy, drama
In 1976, Tony Wilson sets up Factory Records and brings Manchester music to the world.
Control (USA, 2007)
Director: Anton Corbijn
Music composed by New Order
Biographical film about the life of Ian Curtis, singer of the late-1970s English post-punk band Joy Division.
Joy Division (UK, 2007)
Director: Grant Gee / Writer: Jon Savage
Documentary
The film assembles TV clips, newsreel, pictures of modern Manchester and Manchester in the late 1970s, and interviews.
Tony Visconti
T. Rex: Born to Boogie (UK, 1973)
Director: Ringo Starr
T. Rex documentary with concert footage. Special edition release in 2005 includes extras with Rolan Bolan and Tony Visconti, outtakes, and the full live concert.
The Monks / Eddie Shaw
Monks: Transatlantic Feedback (2006)
MC5
MC5: A True Testimonial (2002 unreleased documentary)
Director: David C. Thomas
Louder Than Love: The Grande Ballroom Story
Director: Karl Rausch (2016)
