It shows what the underground soul scene was really like back in the late 70’s.
Social & External
The people behind it
Danny John-Jules
Self
Grant Santino
From Jimi Hendrix to Patrick Hernandez and even Madonna, everybody crossed the path of Jean Vanloo. Who is this mysterious character from Moeskroen in Belgium? From the 60’s to the 80’s, this documentary tells the story of this improbable music producer, creator of the unforgettable hit “Born to be Alive”.
Documentary by the music label Defected and its brand Glitterbox about electronic music, its beginning in New York and its importance for minorities all around the world.
The War on Disco explores the culture war that erupted over the spectacular rise of disco music. Originating in underground Black and gay clubs, disco had unseated rock as America’s most popular music by the late 1970s. But many diehard rock fans viewed disco, with its repetitive beat and culture that emphasized pleasure, as shallow and superficial. A story that’s about much more than music, The War on Disco explores how the powerful anti-disco backlash revealed a cultural divide that to some seemed to be driven by racism and homophobia. The hostility came to a head on July 12, 1979, when a riot broke out at “Disco Demolition Night” during a baseball game in Chicago.
This documentary traces the lives of Gibb brothers and takes a look through their memories, creating some of the greatest hits in the world as the Bee Gees. Including interviews, archive footage, and new versions of classic songs - all recorded in the lead up to the release of their 'Still Waters' album in 1997.
Chronicles the rise and fall of 1970s New York City nightclub Plato's Retreat.
Hosted by the one and only Disco Diva, Gloria Gaynor, "Disco: Spinning the Story" takes a comprehensive look at the evolution of the music that defined the 70's. From the recording studios to the dance floors, "Disco: Spinning the Story" examines the phenomenon in a way it has never been told before. Hear funk pioneer George Clinton, Donna Summer producer Giorgio Moroder, Nile Rodgers of Chic, Earl Young of the Trammps, hip-hop icon Kurtis Blow, remix legend Tom Moulton, "Saturday Night Fever" actress, Karen Lynn Gorney and even Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead talk about the roots of Disco, how it emerged, and how it has influenced music ever since. Included are vintage performance highlights from Donna Summer, KC & The Sunshine Band, Bee Gees, Chic, Gloria Gaynor, Rose Royce, Labelle, Hues Corporation and many more.
Something strange and unpredictable takes inthe mysteriously vacant rooms of Berlin’s infamous Techno club Berghain. A group of wild animals occupy the monumental spaces of the former power station. We explore the building together with the animals and experience its dimensions from a new, nonhuman perspective. The brutality of the industrial architecture is confronted with the beauty of these shy creatures.
Shock jock pioneer, Steve Dahl declared that July 14, 1979 would be the end of disco when he blew up thousands of disco records in the outfield at Comisky Park in Chicago. Ten thousand Loop fans stormed the field in the middle of a White Sox/Tigers doubleheader, rioting, setting fires and the event made national headlines...and made Dahl a household name...and a Chicago legend. Combining new interviews with archival footage, this 2004 documentary offers viewers an unprecedented inside look at the night that disco died.
For 23 straight Saturday nights of 1982, The Chicago Party dance show assaulted Chicagoland UHF eyeballs with Spandex, Southside fly guys, tender tenderonies, magicians, contortionists, prismatic video gimmickry, and lip-synched singles by a rising regime of local post-disco casualties. Unfettered nightlife and outlandish humor poured out of oddball outpost The CopHerBox II and onto TV screens. Pooling business acumen with music scene prominence, James Christopher and Willie Woods opened the CopHerBox II in 1979 at 117th and Halsted on Chicago’s Southside. To promote their venture, they purchased airtime on Chicago’s WCIU-TV Channel 26 for weekly installments of The Chicago Party. Each Saturday, the club’s adult clientele filled the illuminated dance floor, providing vibrant B-roll between tapings of breakdancing magicians and Jheri curled ventriloquists, giving an audience to a rising regime of Chicago Soul heavyweights.
Sex Fashion and Disco is a documentary film concerning Antonio Lopez (1943-1987), the most influential fashion illustrator of 1970s Paris and New York, and his colorful and sometimes outrageous milieu.
From the sweaty basement bars of 70s New York to the glittering peak of the global charts, how disco conquered the world - its origins, its triumphs, its fall and its legacy.
After overcoming traumatic events, Gloria Gaynor rebuilt her life by earning a degree in psychology and investing her own resources to produce the gospel record Testimony, which earned her second Grammy 40 years later.
The most popular breakdancer in ex-Yugoslavia, Hamit Djogani, better known as Djole Djogani, made a documentary about his life and collaboration with the biggest stars of regional music scene. With rich documentary material and recordings from private archives, Djogani gathers close associates again and creates an interesting story that testifies to a specific time in the 1990s.
Mr. Supernature AKA Marc Cerrone or simply Cerrone has been a pillar of glittery four-to-the-floor disco anthems for nearly 40 years now. If you’re not familiar with the drummer, producer, composer, francofunkateer amongst countless other titles and roles, he’s kind of a god, on par with Giorgio Moroder, Nile Rodgers and the like. Pitchfork has gathered raw concert footage and interview with Rodgers, Bob Sinclar, Dave Haslam and the man himself (who chalks-up his fascination with electric music numbers to seeing Jimi Hendrix perform live in Paris as a teenager) to delve into the mans incalculable contribution to the DNAs of dance floor freakers and pop music alike (sampling years before it was adopted as hip-hop’s hammer and nail) and how he came to be so cherished by the greater funk cannon.
The portrait of a woman who remembers. Sheila tells the story of Sheila, without concessions or evasions. Her childhood, her parents, her beginnings, the rumors, her love affairs, her marriage, her son, her successes, her farewells, her return, her mourning. The journey of an extraordinary popular icon who never stopped fighting. The courage of an artist who never gives up. "Sheila, toutes ces vies-là" is also a journey through time. 60 years of pop music, punctuated by numerous archives, personal films, timeless hits and illustrations by Marc-Antoine Coulon. But also 60 years of fashion, through a legendary wardrobe (her TV show outfits) that Sheila invites us to rediscover.
Studio 54 was the epicenter of 70s hedonism - a place that not only redefined the nightclub, but also came to symbolize an entire era. Its co-owners, Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell, two friends from Brooklyn, seemed to come out of nowhere to suddenly preside over a new kind of New York society. Now, 39 years after the velvet rope was first slung across the club's hallowed threshold, a feature documentary tells the real story behind the greatest club of all time.
The life of the magnetic Jamaican musician, actress, model and party queen Grace Jones featuring concert performances and intimate, personal footage.
On stage since she was a toddler, Googoosh has been an icon of Iranian pop culture since the 1970s. Her progressive style and raw singing talent attracted worldwide acclaim and saw her performing alongside the likes of Tina Turner and Ray Charles. But the star's career came to an abrupt halt after the Islamic Revolution, which banned women from singing in public. Googoosh was placed under house arrest, where she remained for the next two decades. Niloufar Taghizadeh's documentary, which includes interviews with the charismatic singer (now in her seventies, but still performing and advocating for women and girls) and arresting archival footage, offers both a loving portrait of a national icon and a fascinating historical and cultural record of Iran.
The James Brown Story
After years in the limelight, Selena Gomez achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness. This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light.
With unprecedented access to the official archives and intimate recollections from the band, both current and past, Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition invites fans to experience one of the most iconic journeys in music history. Spanning five decades, this electrifying documentary charts the band’s rise from the pubs of East London to the world’s biggest stadiums. Featuring exclusive interviews with band members and contributors such as Javier Bardem, Lars Ulrich and Chuck D, as well as all-new animated sequences of the band's legendary mascot, Eddie, the film offers a rare and intimate look at Iron Maiden’s uncompromising vision and unwavering connection with their truly global army of fans.
Martin Scorsese's documentary intertwines footage from The Band's incredible farewell tour with probing backstage interviews and featured performances by Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, and other rock legends.
A documentary examining the decade of the 1970s as a turning point in American cinema. Some of today's best filmmakers interview the influential directors of that time.
A concert film documenting Talking Heads at the height of their popularity, on tour for their 1983 album "Speaking in Tongues." The band takes the stage one by one and is joined by a cadre of guest musicians for a career-spanning and cinematic performance that features creative choreography and visuals.
Documentary about the arena-packing Swedish DJ, chronicling his explosive rise to fame and surprising decision to retire from live performances in 2016.
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
A look at the origins, history and conspiracies behind the "Majestic 12", a clandestine group of military and corporate figureheads charged with reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.
A backstage and on-stage look at Justin Bieber during his rise to super stardom.
Here's a little story they're about to tell... Mike Diamond and Adam Horovitz share the story of their band and 40 years of friendship in a live documentary experience directed by friend, collaborator, and their former grandfather, Spike Jonze.
A night of drunken chaos rocks a quiet Dutch town in this shocking documentary about a teen's birthday invite that accidentally went viral on Facebook.
In a crime-plagued neighborhood near Miami, brutal, bare-knuckled backyard fights give young men a chance to earn money -- and self-respect.
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
The individual journeys of the four members of the band, as they move through the music scene of the 1960s, playing small clubs throughout Britain and performing some of the biggest hits of the era, until their meeting in the summer of 1968 for a rehearsal that changes their lives forever.
Just two years away from turning 30, participants in Michael Apted's documentary series are facing serious questions of identity and purpose, wondering whether they've found their place in the world.
SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.
Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.
Global superstar Jennifer Lopez reflects on her multifaceted career and the pressure of life in the spotlight in this intimate documentary.
