Movies Similar to Standing in the Shadows of Motown

King of the Hill: A 70th Anniversary Retrospective of Cincinnati’s King Records(2014)

James Brown was the jewel in the crown, but the throne of Cincinnati’s King Records always belonged to its irascible founder, Syd Nathan. This is the 70th anniversary of the legendary record label and studio. It closed shop nearly 40 years ago, in a now long-neglected warehouse on the neighborhood border of Evanston and Walnut Hills, but its impact still reverberates across today’s music.

4.6

Lisbon Story(1994)

Lisbon Story is Wim Wenders' homage to Lisbon and films. A sound engineer obtains a mysterious postcard from a friend who at the moment is filming a film in Lisbon. He sets out across Europe to find him and help him.

7.1

Long Live Rock... Celebrate the Chaos(2021)

Featuring exclusive interviews with the leading titans of rock that include: Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Slipknot, Korn, Avenged Sevenfold, Rob Zombie, Five Finger Death Punch, Prophets Of Rage, Greta Van Fleet, Halestorm, and many, many more, "Long Live Rock" is a deep dive into the fandom of this often misunderstood but beloved genre of music.

6.7

Woodstock(1970)

An intimate look at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, NY in 1969, from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, blistering concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers; negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes to the surreal arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of 500,000.

7.5

Music and Lyrics(2007)

A washed-up '80s pop star gets a chance at a comeback when reigning pop diva Cora Corman invites him to write & record a duet with her, but there's a problem--Alex hasn't written a song in years; he's never written lyrics and he has to come up with a hit in a matter of days.

6.4

Women in Rock(1986)

All the legendary women of rock 'n' roll are brought together in this stunning collage of artists and their music. Through a music-driven mix of rare historical footage, music videos, riveting live performances and personal interviews, the lives and times of the greatest women in rock history are revealed.

0.0

Sarong Girl(1943)

A dancer in a girlie show plots revenge when a judge orders her show closed.

0.0

Sweet and Lowdown(1999)

In the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman.

6.8

Panic! at the Disco: Live in Denver(2006)

A concert documentary following Panic! at the Disco during their performance in Denver, Colorado for their headline tour after the release of their debut album, 'A Fever You Can't Sweat Out' in 2005.

7.0

Into Great Silence(2005)

An intimate portrayal of the everyday lives of Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse, high in the French Alps (Chartreuse Mountains). The idea for the film was proposed to the monks in 1984, but the Carthusians said they wanted time to think about it. The Carthusians finally contacted Gröning 16 years later to say they were now willing to permit Gröning to shoot the movie, if he was still interested.

7.0

Elton John: A Singular Man(2016)

An in-depth portrait of British composer, pianist and singer Elton John, pop star and myth of modern culture.

6.2

Trolls World Tour(2020)

Queen Poppy and Branch make a surprising discovery — there are other Troll worlds beyond their own, and their distinct differences create big clashes between these various tribes. When a mysterious threat puts all of the Trolls across the land in danger, Poppy, Branch, and their band of friends must embark on an epic quest to create harmony among the feuding Trolls to unite them against certain doom.

7.3

A World Without Beethoven?(2020)

"What would the world be like without Beethoven?" That’s the provocative question posed by this music documentary from Deutsche Welle. To answer it, the film explores how Ludwig van Beethoven's innovations continue to have an impact far beyond the boundaries of classical music, 250 years after his birth.

7.7

Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars(2018)

An unflinching and deeply personal journey into the life and work of guitarist Eric Clapton told through his own words and songs.

7.4

School of Rock(2003)

Fired from his band and hard up for cash, guitarist and vocalist Dewey Finn finagles his way into a job as a fifth-grade substitute teacher at a private school, where he secretly begins teaching his students the finer points of rock 'n' roll. The school's hard-nosed principal is rightly suspicious of Finn's activities. But Finn's roommate remains in the dark about what he's doing.

7.1

Still Crazy(1998)

In the 1970s, Strange Fruit were it. They lived the rock lifestyle to the max, groupies, drugs, internal tension and an ex front man dead from an overdose. Even their demise was glamorous; when lightning struck the stage during an outdoor festival. Twenty years on, these former rock gods they have now sunk deep into obscurity when the idea of a reunion tour is lodged in the head of Tony, former keyboard player of the Fruits. Tony sets out to find his former bandmates with the help of former manager Karen to see if they can recapture the magic and give themselves a second chance.

6.7

Night and Fog(1959)

Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.

8.2

Elvis(2022)

The life story of Elvis Presley as seen through the complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

7.5

Gifted and Challenged: The Making of 'Shortbus'(2007)

A look at the unusual process used in the making of the film Shortbus (2006) featuring interviews, behind the scenes footage and clips from the feature film. Director John Cameron Mitchell starts with the concept of using real sex in a film with a positive message. The cast of unknowns is selected from homemade audition tapes and then a callback audition workshop. More acting workshops are used to develop the characters and script. The project overcomes a number of obstacles and the rest of the film's development is followed up until its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

6.3

A Hard Day's Night(1964)

Capturing John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr in their electrifying element, 'A Hard Day's Night' is a wildly irreverent journey through this pastiche of a day in the life of The Beatles during 1964. The band have to use all their guile and wit to avoid the pursuing fans and press to reach their scheduled television performance, in spite of Paul's troublemaking grandfather and Ringo's arrest.

7.3