"50 years. 25 albums. 345 songs. Unlimited genius."

2021

2h 20m

7.3(89 votes)

Documentary

Music

Overview

Take a musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with brothers Ron & Russell Mael, celebrating the inspiring legacy of Sparks: your favorite band’s favorite band.

Where to Watch

Rent

Links & Resources

Website IMDbView

Social & External

IMDb

Production Companies

Videos & Trailers

5 videos

Cast & Crew

83 members

Acting

Ron Mael

Self

Acting

Russell Mael

Self

Acting

Beck

Self

Acting

Gary Stewart

Self

No Image

Acting

Mike Berns

Self

No Image

Acting

Jane Wiedlin

Self

Acting

Sal Maida

Self

Acting

Christi Haydon

Self

No Image

Sound

Dean Menta

Self

Acting

Harley Feinstein

Self

Acting

Tony Visconti

Self

No Image

Acting

Mike Myers

Self

Acting

Fred Armisen

Self

Acting

Tammy Glover

Self

Acting

John Hewlett

Self

No Image

Sound

Giorgio Moroder

Self

Acting

'Weird Al' Yankovic

Self

Acting

Muff Winwood

Self

No Image

Acting

Nick Rhodes

Self

Acting

John Taylor

Self

Acting

Todd Rundgren

Self

Acting

Flea

Self

Acting

Hilly Michaels

Self

No Image

Acting

Jason Schwartzman

Self

Acting

Jonathan Ross

Self

Creator

Amy Sherman-Palladino

Self

Acting

Mark Crowther

Self

No Image

Acting

Vera Hegarty

Self

No Image

Writing

Neil Gaiman

Self

Acting

Stephen Morris

Self

Acting

Gillian Gilbert

Self

Acting

Katie Puckrik

Self

No Image

Acting

Patton Oswalt

Self

Acting

Steve Jones

Self

Acting

James Lowe

Self

No Image

Acting

Bernard Butler

Self

No Image

Acting

Scott Aukerman

Self

Acting

David Kendrick

Self

Acting

Stevie Nistor

Self

No Image

Acting

Chris Difford

Self

No Image

Acting

Martyn Ware

Self

No Image

Acting

Alex Kapranos

Self

No Image

Acting

Paul Morley

Self

Acting

Julia Marcus

Self

No Image

Acting

Pamela Des Barres

Self

No Image

Acting

Roddy Bottum

Self

No Image

Writing

Leslie Bohem

Self

Acting

April Richardson

Self

No Image

Acting

Lance Robertson

Self

No Image

Acting

Jack Antonoff

Self

Acting

John Congleton

Self

No Image

Acting

Earle Mankey

Self

Acting

Larry DuPont

Self

No Image

Acting

Patricia Lowe

Self

No Image

Acting

Vince Clarke

Self

Acting

Andy Bell

Self

No Image

Acting

Björk

Self (voice)

Acting

Mark Gatiss

Self

Acting

Richard Coble

Self

No Image

Acting

Nick Heyward

Self

No Image

Acting

Ian Hampton

Self

Acting

Thurston Moore

Self

Acting

Peter Knego

Self

No Image

Acting

Michael Silverblatt

Self

No Image

Acting

Adam Buxton

Self

Acting

Tosh Berman

Self

No Image

Directing

Edgar Wright

Self

Acting

Rusty Egan

Self

No Image

Writing

Jake Fogelnest

Self

No Image

Acting

Dave Weigel

Self

No Image

Acting

Madeline Bocchiaro

Self

No Image

Acting

Sue Harris

Self

No Image

Acting

Ben House

Self

No Image

Acting

Evan Weiss

Self

No Image

Acting

Alex Casnoff

Self

No Image

Acting

Patrick Kelly

Self

Sound

Eli Pearl

Self

No Image

Writing

Daniel Palladino

Self

Acting

Simon Pegg

John Lennon (voice)

Acting

Nick Frost

Ringo Starr (voice)

Directing

Leos Carax

Self (uncredited)

Acting

Adam Driver

Self (uncredited)

Acting

Steve McDonald

Self (archive footage)

No Image

Similar Movies

Tales From a Golden Age: Bob Dylan 1941-1966

8.5

2004

Tales From a Golden Age: Bob Dylan 1941-1966

Documentary - Tracing his career up to the point of his 1966 motorcycle accident and subsequent disappearance from the spotlight, this unauthorized documentary uncovers a side of Bob Dylan never revealed before. Includes extensive interviews and rare footage. - Mickey Jones

Movie

5.5

2009

Nine

Arrogant, self-centered movie director Guido Contini finds himself struggling to find meaning, purpose, and a script for his latest film endeavor. With only a week left before shooting begins, he desperately searches for answers and inspiration from his wife, his mistress, his muse, and his mother.

Movie

7.6

2019

The Rise of the Synths

A documentary about the Synthwave scene, nostalgia and the universe of creating sounds. A love letter to human fascination and the collective memories of a universe, that never existed.

Movie

9.0

2021

Adam Jacobs - Behind the Curtain

Adam Jacobs was the original "Aladdin" in Disney's smash Broadway musical, with a list of other hits like Les Miserables and Something Rotten, but this docu-concert – filmed as a special one-night-only performance – explores his emotional personal journey, from growing up as a Filipino American in California to landing the role of a lifetime.

Movie

6.4

2005

Inside Deep Throat

In 1972, a seemingly typical shoestring budget pornographic film was made in a Florida hotel: "Deep Throat," starring Linda Lovelace. This film would surpass the wildest expectation of everyone involved to become one of the most successful independent films of all time. It caught the public imagination which met the spirit of the times, even as the self-appointed guardians of public morality struggled to suppress it, and created, for a brief moment, a possible future where sexuality in film had a bold artistic potential. This film covers the story of the making of this controversial film, its stunning success, its hysterical opposition along with its dark side of mob influence and allegations of the on set mistreatment of the film's star.

Movie

5.0

2021

Cal State Long Beach, CA, January 2020

A wordless portrait of sculptor Jessica Jackson Hutchins shows us the artist in the process of transforming clay into uncanny forms.

Movie

6.9

2019

Wild Session

A walk through the golden age of Spanish exploitation cinema, from the sixties to the eighties; a low-budget cinema and great popular acceptance that exploited cinematographic fashions: westerns, horror movies, erotic comedies and thrillers about petty criminals.

Movie

7.5

2017

Jane

Drawing from never-before-seen footage that has been tucked away in the National Geographic archives, director Brett Morgen tells the story of Jane Goodall, a woman whose chimpanzee research revolutionized our understanding of the natural world.

Movie

6.2

2009

Taking Woodstock

The story of Elliot Tiber and his family, who inadvertently played a pivotal role in making the famed Woodstock Music and Arts Festival into the happening that it was. When Elliot hears that a neighboring town has pulled the permit on a hippie music festival, he calls the producers thinking he could drum up some much-needed business for his parents' run-down motel. Three weeks later, half a million people are on their way to his neighbor’s farm in White Lake, New York, and Elliot finds himself swept up in a generation-defining experience that would change his life–and American culture–forever.

Movie

2023

We Are the Future

In the 1980s, the musical and futuristic teacher Clara Celeste arrives at a school surrounded by bullying problems driven by issues of ethnicity, sexuality, gender, physique, and behavior. With the teacher's help, a group of students are finally able to find their voice and experience empowerment, with the freedom to live as they wish. Despite this, prejudice still surrounds the school, always seeking to intimidate the students. To win this battle against intolerance and censorship, the group will need to stick together and believe in the power of change.

Movie

10.0

2021

Skating Polly: Ugly Pop

Peyton Bighorse and Kelli Mayo are stepsisters from Oklahoma who founded their band, Skating Polly, in 2009 at the ages of 14 and 9 respectively. They call their style of music "Ugly Pop": building on the sounds of 70s Punk, early Grunge, and Folk, resulting in infectious melodies, but with real-life blemishes still showing. This fascinating in-depth documentary explores the early years of Skating Polly as Peyton and Kelli get their first taste of success, and try to stay true to themselves and their love of music. We see the two grow as people and musicians, and hear how they became the band they are today. Their earnestness throughout is refreshing and inspiring. Featuring Donita Sparks (L7), Kate Nash, SoKo, Lori Barbero (Babes in Toyland), Kat Bjelland (Babes in Toyland), and many more…

Movie

7.6

2004

Riding Giants

Riding Giants is story about big wave surfers who have become heroes and legends in their sport. Directed by the skateboard guru Stacy Peralta.

Movie

10.0

2022

Flood in the Desert

Explore the 1928 collapse of the St. Francis Dam, the second deadliest disaster in California history. A colossal engineering and human failure, the dam was built by William Mulholland, a self-taught engineer who ensured the growth of Los Angeles by bringing the city water via aqueduct. The catastrophe killed more than 400 people and destroyed millions of dollars of property.

Movie

7.5

2005

Grizzly Man

Werner Herzog's documentary film about the "Grizzly Man" Timothy Treadwell and what the thirteen summers in a National Park in Alaska were like in one man's attempt to protect the grizzly bears. The film is full of unique images and a look into the spirit of a man who sacrificed himself for nature.

Movie

7.8

2017

In the Intense Now

A personal essay which analyses and compares images of the political upheavals of the 1960s. From the military coup in Brazil to China's Cultural Revolution, from the student uprisings in Paris to the end of the Prague Spring.

Movie

Catherine Deneuve, in the eye of the camera

7.3

2023

Catherine Deneuve, in the eye of the camera

She worked with the world’s greatest actors and directors: Buñuel, Mastroianni, Lellouche, Depardieu... The film guides us throughout her career with the filmmakers with whom she invented herself not to be a “cold blonde actress”, thanks to great interviews of many artists who crossed her path.

Movie

6.7

2021

Long Live Rock... Celebrate the Chaos

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.

Movie

7.7

2022

Laurent Garnier: Off the Record

A look into the life of Laurent Garnier, one of the godfathers of house music, from his emergence on the music scene in the 80's to now. The story of the last music revolution through the eyes of a pioneer.

Movie

5.9

1998

Welcome to Woop Woop

A con artist escapes a deal gone wrong in New York and winds up in the Aussie outback in a strange town whose inhabitants are an oddball collection of misfits.

Movie

6.6

2007

Old Thieves: The Legend of Artegio

Is the story of a generation of thieves who achieved their greatest victories in the sixties; their distinctive code of ethics, the various categories of delinquents inhabiting the citys streets, their alliances with high ranking police officials that allowed them to operate, the betrayals that followed, and the price they ended up paying.

Movie

Recommended Movies

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

7.6

2021

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

During the same summer as Woodstock, over 300,000 people attended the Harlem Cultural Festival, celebrating African American music and culture, and promoting Black pride and unity. The footage from the festival sat in a basement, unseen for over 50 years, keeping this incredible event in America's history lost — until now.

Movie

6.2

2021

The Minimalists: Less Is Now

They've built a movement out of minimalism. Longtime friends Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus share how our lives can be better with less.

Movie

6.9

2021

The Velvet Underground

Experience the iconic rock band's legacy in the first major documentary to tell their story. Directed with the era’s avant-garde spirit by Todd Haynes, this kaleidoscopic oral history combines exclusive interviews with dazzling archival footage.

Movie

6.8

1974

The Little Prince

After a pilot is forced to make an emergency landing in the Sahara Desert, he befriends a young prince from outer space; the friendship conjures up stories of journeys through the solar system for the stranded aviator.

Movie

7.0

2018

Iliza Shlesinger: Elder Millennial

Filmed February 23, 2018, aboard the USS Hornet, comedian Iliza Shlesinger brings an ‘elder millennial’ perspective to her audience. Recently engaged, she dives into undeniable truths about life at age 35. Looking back at the insanity of the road traveled and what’s to come, Iliza talks first apartments, a woman's inner she dragon, peacock mating calls, and her newfound urge to squeeze a chubby baby leg.

Movie

6.1

2002

Welcome to Collinwood

Five hapless inner-city low-lifes attempt to burgle a pawnbroker's safe, but end up being plagued by bad luck.

Movie

6.2

2022

Sissy

Cecilia is a successful social media influencer living the dream, until she runs into her ex-childhood best friend and is invited away on her bachelorette weekend. Suddenly, Sissy finds herself stuck in a remote cabin with her school bully... and a taste for revenge.

Movie

6.7

2021

Annette

The story of Henry, a stand-up comedian with a fierce sense of humour and Ann, a singer of international renown. In the spotlight, they are the perfect couple, healthy, happy, and glamourous. The birth of their first child, Annette, a mysterious girl with an exceptional destiny, will change their lives.

Movie

7.5

1974

Phantom of the Paradise

A gifted rock composer plots revenge after a devious record producer steals both his music and his girl.

Movie

6.7

1994

The Client

A street-wise kid, Mark Sway, sees the suicide of Jerome Clifford, a prominent Louisiana lawyer, whose current client is Barry 'The Blade' Muldano, a Mafia hit-man. Before Jerome shoots himself, he tells Mark where the body of a Senator is buried. Clifford shoots himself and Mark is found at the scene, and both the FBI and the Mafia quickly realize that Mark probably knows more than he says.

Movie

7.3

1972

Deliverance

Intent on seeing the Cahulawassee River before it's turned into one huge lake, outdoor fanatic Lewis Medlock takes his friends on a river-rafting trip they'll never forget into the dangerous American back-country.

Movie

7.3

1955

To Catch a Thief

An ex-thief is accused of enacting a new crime spree, so to clear his name he sets off to catch the new thief, who’s imitating his signature style.

Movie

7.5

2021

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf

Escaping from poverty to become a witcher, Vesemir slays monsters for coin and glory, but when a new menace rises, he must face the demons of his past.

Movie

7.2

1961

West Side Story

In the slums of the upper West Side of Manhattan, tensions are high as a gang of Polish-Americans compete against a gang of recently immigrated Puerto Ricans, but this doesn't stop two romantics from each gang falling in love.

Movie

6.3

2021

Titane

A woman with a metal plate in her head from a childhood car accident embarks on a bizarre journey, bringing her into contact with a firefighter who's reunited with his missing son after 10 years.

Movie

6.6

2013

Stoker

After India's father dies in an auto accident, her uncle Charlie, who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her emotionally unstable mother Evelyn. Soon after his arrival, she comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives, but instead of feeling outrage or horror, this friendless girl becomes increasingly infatuated with him.

Movie

7.3

1976

Carrie

Withdrawn and sensitive teen Carrie White faces taunting from classmates at school and abuse from her fanatically pious mother. When strange occurrences start happening around Carrie, she begins to suspect that she has supernatural powers.

Movie

6.4

2022

Death on the Nile

Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot's Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamer turns into a terrifying search for a murderer when a picture-perfect couple's idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut short.

Movie

6.6

1997

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Four years after Jurassic Park's genetically bred dinosaurs ran amok, multimillionaire John Hammond shocks chaos theorist Ian Malcolm by revealing that he has been breeding more beasties at a secret location. Malcolm, his paleontologist ladylove and a wildlife videographer join an expedition to document the lethal lizards' natural behavior in this action-packed thriller.

Movie

6.0

2025

Captain America: Brave New World

After meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross, Sam finds himself in the middle of an international incident. He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.

Movie