Frank Zappa: Peefeeyatko (1991)

Classic Albums: Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - Freak Out! (2021)

This programme tells the story behind the conception, recording and release of this groundbreaking album. By use of interviews, musical demonstration, performance, archive footage and returning to the multi tracks with Ahmet Zappa and Joe Travers we discover how Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention created the album with the help of legendary African- American producer Tom Wilson.

• Documentary
• Music

Night Lunch (1975)

This is Poe and Král's first effort, shot on small-gauge stock, before their more well-known endeavor The Blank Generation (1976) came to be. A "DIY" portrait of the New York music scene, the film is a patchwork of footage of numerous rock acts performing live, at venues like Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the dive bars of Greenwich Village and, of course, CBGB.

• Music
• Documentary

Hail Bop! A Portrait of John Adams (2006)

Shot over the course of a year, this intimate portrait of provocative composer John Adams presents scenes of the artist at work and at play against the backdrop of dramatic American landscapes that reflect the themes of his music. Though he has a number of credits to his name, Adams is best known for his unconventional opera "Nixon in China," which explores the former U.S. president's meeting with Mao Zedong in 1972.

• Documentary

Frank Zappa: The Freak Out List (2010)

On the liner notes to Freak Out!, the 1967 debut album by Zappa's original band the Mothers of Invention, Zappa listed some seventy-two names on the liner notes and cited them as influences. The Freak Out List intends to explore who these artists are and what influence they had on Zappa's music. This listing encompasses all sorts of music, from classical composer Edgar Varese to R&B star Johnny "Guitar" Watson to jazzman Eric Dolphy to flamenco guitarist Sabicas. You can hear for instance, how the esoteric classical influence of Varese shaped Zappa's long-form epics like "Lumpy Gravy" or how Dolphy's instrumental prowess led Zappa to incorporate jazz-fusion on albums like Weasels Ripped My Flesh! (1970), which even included a song titled "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue." Interviews with various Zappa biographers and music historians as well as musicians George Duke, Ian Underwood, and Don Preston, all of whom played in the Mothers at one time or another, help add additional context.

• Documentary
• Music

Deep Purple – Doing Their Thing (1970)

Caught here at their performing peak, Deep Purple were five virituoso rockers combining to form a legend - improvising, jamming, creating a unique sound that will live forever. This ain't just metal ... it's precious metal! Live Set filmed at Granada T.V. Studios, Manchester, England, Friday, August 21st, 1970.

• Music

Royalty Free: The Music of Kevin MacLeod (2020)

A documentary on how composer Kevin MacLeod unwittingly became one of the most heard composers in the world by releasing thousands of songs for free.

• Documentary
• Music

Romantic Mysticism: The Music of Billy Goldenberg (2022)

A career overview of tv/film composer Billy Goldenberg.

• Documentary

Nile Rodgers: Secrets of a Hitmaker (2015)

King of disco in the 70s with the band Chic, producer of Bowie, Mick Jagger, Madonna, Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams and many others... Nile Rodgers is today pursuing his fascinating career. We take a behind-the-scenes look at the genesis of some of the greatest hits, and at the complex alchemy between Nile Rodgers and the biggest stars of the last 35 years: Madonna, David Bowie, Diana Ross, Duran Duran, Bryan Ferry, Grace Jones, Michael Jackson, INXS, Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart and David Guetta. What are the secrets of this genius of the music world, who has succeeded in transcending successive eras, reinventing himself every time?

• Documentary
• Music

Scorpions - Live in Munich (2012)

Live In Munich 2012 captures the final concert on the Scorpions Sting In The Tale world tour at the Olympiahalle in Munich on December 17th, 2012. Scorpions are one of the all-time great live rock bands and this concert is no exception with the band producing a high octane performance in front of a wildly enthusiastic crowd.

• Music

Kosmische Brocken - Frank Zappa und die Deutschen (2018)

• Music
• Documentary

Listen (2009)

"A soundscape is any collection of sounds, almost like a painting is a collection of visual attractions," says composer R. Murray Schafer. "When you listen carefully to the soundscape it becomes quite miraculous." David New's portrait of the renowned composer becomes a lesson unto itself, gracing viewers (and listeners) with a singular moment of interactive subjectivity. This film was produced for the 2009 Governor General's Performing Arts Award.

• Documentary

Khamsin (2019)

Lebanon today. The traces of the civil war are all too tangible as government corruption becomes unbearable. In a country where conflict and peace are caught in an endless cycle, musicians from different backgrounds pool their talents to create an underground music scene. Each evokes his or her representation of Lebanon: its shifting geographical, political, historical and social borders, its painful passage through conflict and instability. A touching portrait of a young generation trying to build an oasis in a hostile environment where the forces of destruction continue to wreak havoc.

• Documentary

How to Get Out of the Cage (A year with John Cage) (2012)

2012 documentary on John Cage celebrating his 100th birthday in the form of a re-edit of partially unused film material shot for the film 'Time is Music’ in 1987. Includes interviews and recordings of performances with the influential zen composer.

• Documentary

Jimi Hendrix: Trapped in Amber (2019)

Enter the life of one of the greatest guitarists of all time Jimi Hendrix. Despite his mainstream career only sadly only spanning four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music, and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century.

• Documentary

Women Composers (2018)

When Leipzig pianist Kyra Steckeweh realized that her repertoire almost exclusively consisted of music composed by men, she began searching for pieces written by female composers. Her research in archives, libraries, and publishing houses quickly brought to light a variety of remarkable piano pieces that have been buried in history and rarely performed.

• Documentary
• Music

The First Motion of the Immovable (2019)

It all begins with a childhood memory: that day when the father of the future filmmaker Sebastiano d'Ayala Valva forces him to listen to certain music that initially terrifies him; a distant echo from the past that leads him to follow the trail of his mysterious ancestor, the Italian composer Giacinto Scelsi (1905-1988), who claimed that his music was directly inspired by the gods.

• Documentary
• History
• Music

Tokyo Melody: A Film About Ryuichi Sakamoto (1985)

Documentary about the eclectic Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto during the recording sessions for his 1984 album "Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia".

• Documentary
• Music

What Is Sex? (2024)

A multimedia sex-ed video about life and love in a world where humans have corkscrew penises and corkscrew vaginas.

• Comedy
• Music
• Animation
• Romance

At the Haunted End of the Day (1981)

A documentary by Tony Palmer on English composer Sir William Walton (1902–1983), made shortly before his death. The film includes the only full-length interview ever recorded with Walton. Filmed at his home on Ischia and in Oxford, London & Oldham, it includes contributions from Laurence Olivier, Sacheverell Sitwell and Lady Susana Walton. Specially performed extracts of his music are conducted by Simon Rattle in his first substantial contribution to television when he was in his early 20s, with Simon Preston, Julian Bream, Yvonne Kenny, Yehudi Menuhin, Iona Brown, John Shirley-Quirk, Elgar Howarth & Ralph Kirshbaum, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford & Los Paraguayos.

• Documentary

Frank Zappa (1971)

The Documentary centers around Zappa at home, and on Tour. The amazing thing is that Zappa allowed a guy with a camera to film the band at the Fillmore West w/ Flo and Eddie. There are times when the camera man seems to be on the stage. The performance is recorded from only one camera angle. There are only 4-5 songs presented here.....and Zappa referring to the Fillmore West as the ‘Psychedelic Dungeon’ is priceless………..It is a great piece of history.

• Documentary
• Music