Music, Musicians and Musicals

I've been thinking lately about some of my favorite movies about music, bands or musicians. That ear worm kinda crossed over to concerts and musicals. The movies "category" tend to cross over to video and documentaries. As I started jotting down my favorites the list got longer.... and longer. So without preference to category or ranking I present my "TOP 10" movies/videos/documentaries about music/musicians/musicals/concerts. In no particular order, tomorrow I may pick a whole different list. Please reply with some of your favorites!

• Amadeus: (1984) The story of Mozart like you've never seen before. You're gonna love classical music when this is over! Similar biography types (with liberties) Walk The Line, Ray, La Bamba, Lady Sings The Blues

• Yellow Submarine: (1968) I love animation. I love the Beatles. Not a huge fan of Hard Days Night, Help! or Magical Mystery Tour (except for the music). The Beatles had a commitment to make 3 films and this was a way to fulfil that. They only appeared at the very end of the movie. The voices were actors. But I've always loved the story, the animation and of course the music! Another great animation is Walt Disney's Fantasia, which might be my choice on any other day.

• West Side Story: (1961) One of the earliest musicals that I really loved. Based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It was originally going to be about a Catholic boy and a Jewish girl. But with the influx of Puerto Ricans (and tensions) in New York, West Side Story was born. "When you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way!". Another favorite here would be Jesus Christ Superstar, or Bye Bye Birdie.

• Almost Famous: (2000) Cute story of a young journalist following a rock band. Just a good fun story. Across The Universe is similar with all Beatle cover songs. High Fidelity might also fit into here.

• Crossroads: (1986) A film about a fictitious musician, but his very real road to fame. This bluesman wanna-be will do just about anything to be the best. It might be a little slow going for some, but in the end... well, you gotta see the end! Music by Ry Cooder, and Steve Vai! Other movies along these lines would be The Commitments, Blues Brothers (I and II).

• Woodstock: (1970) A concert film extraordinaire. It's a miracle it came together. The artist lineups and licensing were a big issue. The event drew massive crowds no one was prepared for. The filming was a mix of adhoc camera and sound engineers along with pros. The final mix had so much footage they used the 2 or 3 panel multi-shot throughout much of the film. Others in this genre might include Concert for Bangledesh, The Last Waltz, Monterey Pop, Gimmie Shelter.

OK, yeah, like I said in the beginning... the list just keeps getting longer. We'll leave it here... please give me some feedback on YOUR favorites.