30+ Movies that Rock
by drcjsnider | created - 30 Aug 2014 | updated - 29 Jul 2018 | PublicThe best movies about rock & roll.
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1. Rock Star (2001)
R | 105 min | Drama, Music
Lead singer of a tribute band becomes lead singer of the real band he idolizes.
Director: Stephen Herek | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Jennifer Aniston, Dominic West, Jason Bonham
Votes: 45,291 | Gross: $17.01M
The singer of a tribute band, ends up becoming the lead singer of the real band.
2. Almost Famous (2000)
R | 122 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A high-school boy in the early 1970s is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies them on their concert tour.
Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson, Frances McDormand
Votes: 293,269 | Gross: $32.53M
High School student is given an opportunity to tour with a rock group and their groupies and write about it for Rolling Stone magazine.
3. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
R | 82 min | Comedy, Music
Spinal Tap, one of England's loudest bands, is chronicled by film director Marty DiBergi on what proves to be a fateful tour.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Kimberly Stringer
Votes: 147,324 | Gross: $4.74M
A fake documentary that follows the tour of a rock group that is losing its popularity.
4. Losers Take All (2011)
Not Rated | 96 min | Comedy
Chosen by the man himself, the Kevin Smith Movie Club presents Losers Take All. A band is given the chance of committing the ultimate sin: selling out. They must decide if they'll stick to their roots or give in to corporate rock.
Director: Alex Steyermark | Stars: Kyle Gallner, Tania Raymonde, Allison Scagliotti, Aaron Himelstein
Votes: 441
Punk rock/heavy metal band works to get noticed on their first tour.
5. Dreamgirls (2006)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama, Music, Musical
A trio of black female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.
Director: Bill Condon | Stars: Beyoncé, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover
Votes: 77,271 | Gross: $103.37M
A trio of black female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s.
6. Walk the Line (2005)
PG-13 | 136 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick
Votes: 265,773 | Gross: $119.52M
Film about Rockabilly musician Johnny Cash's life.
7. The Buddy Holly Story (1978)
PG | 114 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of the life and career of the early rock and roll singer, from his meteoric rise to stardom, to his marriage and untimely death.
Director: Steve Rash | Stars: Gary Busey, Don Stroud, Charles Martin Smith, Conrad Janis
Votes: 9,979 | Gross: $14.36M
The story of Buddy Holly's short music career.
8. Nowhere Boy (2009)
R | 98 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A chronicle of John Lennon's first years, focused mainly in his adolescence and his relationship with his stern aunt Mimi, who raised him, and his absentee mother Julia, who re-entered his life at a crucial moment in his young life.
Director: Sam Taylor-Johnson | Stars: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Anne-Marie Duff, David Threlfall
Votes: 38,857 | Gross: $1.45M
John Lennon's early life and how he got started playing rock music.
9. 8 Mile (2002)
R | 110 min | Drama, Music
Follows a young rapper in the Detroit area, struggling with every aspect of his life; he wants to make it big but his friends and foes make this odyssey of rap harder than it may seem.
Director: Curtis Hanson | Stars: Eminem, Brittany Murphy, Kim Basinger, Mekhi Phifer
Votes: 320,681 | Gross: $116.72M
Young rapper with lots of personal problems has a chance to make it big.
10. Killing Bono (2011)
R | 114 min | Comedy, Music
Two brothers attempt to become global rock stars but can only look on as old school friends U2 become the biggest band in the world.
Director: Nick Hamm | Stars: Ben Barnes, Robert Sheehan, Krysten Ritter, Ralph Brown
Votes: 6,699
Irish band attempts to make it big while comparing their efforts to the success of their old school friends U2.
11. Eddie and the Cruisers (1983)
PG | 95 min | Drama, Music, Mystery
A television newswoman picks up the story of a 1960s rock band whose long-lost leader Eddie Wilson may still be alive, while searching for the missing tapes of the band's never-released album.
Director: Martin Davidson | Stars: Tom Berenger, Michael Paré, Joe Pantoliano, Matthew Laurance
Votes: 8,460 | Gross: $4.79M
A Montreal construction worker joins a band and turns out to be a long-lost rock star from 1960s.
12. Tonight You're Mine (2011)
R | 80 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Two feuding rock stars get handcuffed together for 24 hours at a music festival where they are both due to perform.
Director: David Mackenzie | Stars: Luke Treadaway, Natalia Tena, Rebecca Benson, Mathew Baynton
Votes: 4,822 | Gross: $0.01M
Two rock musicians get hand-cuffed together at a rock festival and in up falling in love.
13. Sing Street (2016)
PG-13 | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A young lad notices a beautiful girl who begins to occupy his thoughts. While struggling with poverty, personal relationships and life's woes, he starts a band, hoping to catch her attention.
Director: John Carney | Stars: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Aidan Gillen, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Jack Reynor
Votes: 100,890 | Gross: $3.24M
Young high school boy tries to impress older teenage girl by starting a band.
14. School of Rock (2003)
PG-13 | 109 min | Comedy, Music
After being kicked out of his rock band, Dewey Finn becomes a substitute teacher of an uptight elementary private school, only to try and turn his class into a rock band.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Jack Black, Mike White, Joan Cusack, Adam Pascal
Votes: 330,687 | Gross: $81.26M
Struggling heavy metal guitarist takes a job as substitute elementary school teacher.
15. A Hard Day's Night (1964)
G | 87 min | Comedy, Musical
Over two "typical" days in the life of The Beatles, the boys struggle to keep themselves and Sir Paul McCartney's mischievous grandfather in check while preparing for a live TV performance.
Director: Richard Lester | Stars: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr
Votes: 48,065 | Gross: $13.78M
Movie about Beatlemania in the U.S.
16. The Doors (1991)
R | 140 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band The Doors and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison, from his days as a UCLA film student in Los Angeles, to his untimely death in Paris, France at age 27 in 1971.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, Kyle MacLachlan, Frank Whaley
Votes: 99,033 | Gross: $35.18M
The story of Jim Morrison's time with the rock band The Doors.
17. The Rose (1979)
R | 125 min | Drama, Music, Romance
The tragic life of a self-destructive female rock star who struggles to deal with the constant pressures of her career and the demands of her ruthless business manager.
Director: Mark Rydell | Stars: Bette Midler, Alan Bates, Frederic Forrest, Harry Dean Stanton
Votes: 9,247 | Gross: $29.20M
Female rock star struggles with the pressure of her career.
18. Janie Jones (2010)
Not Rated | 114 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A young girl who has been abandoned by her former-groupie mother informs a fading rock star that she is his daughter.
Director: David M. Rosenthal | Stars: Abigail Breslin, Alessandro Nivola, Elisabeth Shue, Brittany Snow
Votes: 2,388
While on tour, a fading rock star is confronted with his 13 year old daughter he never knew existed.
19. Saturday Night Fever (1977)
R | 118 min | Drama, Music
Anxious about his future after high school, a 19-year-old Italian-American from Brooklyn tries to escape the harsh reality of his bleak family life by dominating the dance floor at the local disco.
Director: John Badham | Stars: John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller, Joseph Cali
Votes: 87,450 | Gross: $94.21M
Movie about the New York Disco scene.
20. Great Balls of Fire! (1989)
PG-13 | 108 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The life and career of wildly controversial rock 'n' roll star Jerry Lee Lewis.
Director: Jim McBride | Stars: Dennis Quaid, Winona Ryder, John Doe, Stephen Tobolowsky
Votes: 18,881 | Gross: $13.74M
Early musical career of Jerry Lee Lewis.
21. Love & Mercy (2014)
PG-13 | 121 min | Biography, Drama, Music
In the 60s, Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson struggles with emerging psychosis as he attempts to craft his avant-garde pop masterpiece. In the 80s, he's a broken, confused man under the 24-hour watch of shady therapist, Dr. Eugene Landy.
Director: Bill Pohlad | Stars: John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks, Paul Giamatti
Votes: 42,599 | Gross: $12.55M
Period of Brian Wilson's life when he was under the care of psychologist of Eugene Landry.
22. That Thing You Do! (1996)
PG | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A local Pennsylvania band scores a one-hit wonder in 1964 and rides the star-making machinery as long as they can, with lots of help from their manager.
Director: Tom Hanks | Stars: Tom Hanks, Liv Tyler, Charlize Theron, Tom Everett Scott
Votes: 73,545 | Gross: $25.81M
Early 1960s one hit wonder band enjoy fame while it lasts.
23. La Bamba (1987)
PG-13 | 108 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Biographical story of the rise from nowhere of early rock and roll singer Ritchie Valens who died at age 17 in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.
Director: Luis Valdez | Stars: Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales, Rosanna DeSoto, Elizabeth Peña
Votes: 36,427 | Gross: $54.22M
Follows Ritchie Valens career as a early rock star until he dies at age 17 in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper.
24. House Party (1990)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Music, Romance
Kid decides to go to his friend Play's house party, but neither of them can predict what's in store for them on what could be the wildest night of their lives.
Director: Reginald Hudlin | Stars: Christopher Reid, Robin Harris, Christopher Martin, Martin Lawrence
Votes: 16,715 | Gross: $26.39M
Kid attends his friend Play's House Party where a freestyle rap battle ensues.
25. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
R | 104 min | Drama, Music
A week in the life of a young singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961.
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen | Stars: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund
Votes: 163,422 | Gross: $13.24M
Folk singer tries to find success in Greenwich Village.
26. Electrick Children (2012)
R | 96 min | Drama
Rachel, a teenager born and raised in her Mormon community, believes that she has been inpregnated by listening to music and must get to Vegas to find the "father" of her miracle baby.
Director: Rebecca Thomas | Stars: Julia Garner, Liam Aiken, Billy Zane, Cynthia Watros
Votes: 6,153
27. Wayne's World 2 (1993)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Music
The inseparable duo try to organize a rock concert while Wayne must fend off a record producer who has an eye for his girlfriend.
Director: Stephen Surjik | Stars: Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Christopher Walken, Tia Carrere
Votes: 88,094 | Gross: $48.20M
Two friends with a local cable tv show attempt to put on a big time rock festival in Aurora, Illinois.
28. Fat Kid Rules the World (2012)
R | 98 min | Comedy, Drama
A dropout comes to the aid of a chubby and suicidal high-school kid by recruiting him as the drummer for his upstart punk-rock band.
Director: Matthew Lillard | Stars: Jacob Wysocki, Matt O'Leary, Billy Campbell, Lili Simmons
Votes: 3,402
A fat high school student agrees to start a band with a homeless drug addict who saves his life.
29. Not Fade Away (2012)
R | 112 min | Drama
Set in suburban New Jersey in the 1960s, a group of friends form a rock band and try to make it big.
Director: David Chase | Stars: John Magaro, Jack Huston, Will Brill, Brahm Vaccarella
Votes: 4,950 | Gross: $0.61M
A group of white middle class kids in the northeast struggle to start a blues band while growing up in the 1960s.
30. Stoned (2005)
R | 102 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A chronicle of the sordid life and suspicious death of Rolling Stones co-founder Brian Jones, who was found in the bottom of his swimming pool weeks after being let go from the band.
Director: Stephen Woolley | Stars: Leo Gregory, Paddy Considine, David Morrissey, Ben Whishaw
Votes: 4,163
Follows the life and death of Brian Jones one of the founders of the Rolling Stones.
31. Velvet Goldmine (1998)
R | 118 min | Drama, Music
In 1984, British journalist Arthur Stuart investigates the career of 1970s glam superstar Brian Slade, who was heavily influenced in his early years by hard-living and rebellious American singer Curt Wild.
Director: Todd Haynes | Stars: Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Christian Bale, Toni Collette
Votes: 38,292 | Gross: $1.05M
Reporter tries to track down a former glam rock star who faked his own death 10 years earlier.
32. Airheads (1994)
PG-13 | 92 min | Comedy, Crime, Music
Three band members hoping for a big break head to a radio station to play their demo tape and wind up holding everyone hostage with plastic guns when the head D.J. refuses to play them.
Director: Michael Lehmann | Stars: Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley
Votes: 56,361 | Gross: $5.37M
A band takes a radio station and its staff hostage in an attempt to get a record deal.
33. Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Music
Ramones fanatic and delinquent Riff Randell battles it out with the strict new principal of Vince Lombardi High School, Miss Togar, with help from the Ramones.
Directors: Allan Arkush, Joe Dante | Stars: P.J. Soles, Vincent Van Patten, Clint Howard, Dey Young
Votes: 11,201
Follows the efforts of a high school student who tries to get a song she wrote to the Ramones when they come to town to give a concert.
34. Song One (2014)
PG-13 | 86 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A young woman strikes up a relationship with her ailing brother's favorite musician.
Director: Kate Barker-Froyland | Stars: Anne Hathaway, Johnny Flynn, Ben Rosenfield, Faiza Mouha Abbazi
Votes: 10,267 | Gross: $0.03M
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