The best Donovan’s music movies
We present our ranking of the best Donovan’s movies. Do you love cinema? Or are you looking for a movie of your favorite actor to watch tonight? Surely you have some to see or that you did not know yet about Donovan.
My Generation
7.1/10
The vivid and inspiring story of British film icon Michael Caine's personal journey through 1960s swinging London.
Dont Look Back
7.9/10
In this wildly entertaining vision of one of the twentieth century’s greatest artists, Bob Dylan is surrounded by teen fans, gets into heated philosophical jousts with journalists, and kicks back with fellow musicians Joan Baez, Donovan, and Alan Price.
Festival
7.5/10
Black and white footage of performances, interviews, and conversations at the Newport Folk Festival, from 1963 to 1966. The headliners are Peter, Paul and Mary, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, and Bob Dylan, who's acoustic and electric. Son House and Mike Bloomfield talk about the blues; John Hurt, Howlin' Wolf, and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee show its range. The Osborne Brothers perform bluegrass. Donovan, Johnny Cash, Judy Collins, Mimi and Dick Farina, and others less well known also perform. Several talk musical philosophy, and there's a running commentary about the nature and appeal of folk music. The crowd looks clean cut.
The Battle of the Mods
5/10
In Liverpool there's a gang war between the Mods (who dress in the latest fashions and styles) and the Rockers (who are more into the '50s "greaser" look). Ricky, the son of a wealthy businessman, is a Mod guitar player, and in a gang fight with some Rockers, his girlfriend is killed. He leaves Liverpool for the continent and winds up in Rome, where he becomes involved with his father's mistress.
The Big T.N.T. Show
7.6/10
Live performances by some of the top rock-and-roll acts of the mid 60s. Includes Ray Charles, The Byrds, Joan Baez, Ike and Tina Turner, Donovan, The Lovin' Spoonful, and several more.
Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival
7.6/10
In August 1970, 600,000 fans flocked to the Isle of Wight to witness the third and final festival to be held on the island. Besides the music, they also got a look at the greed, cynicism and corruption that would plague the music industry for years to come. They also witnessed the final, drugged out performance of Jimi Hendrix in England just two weeks before he would meet a tragic death. When it all was over, the fans view of rock and roll was never the same.
Acoustic At The BBC
A journey through some of the finest moments of acoustic guitar performances from the BBC archives, from Jimmy Page's television debut in 1958 to Noel Gallagher and Biffy Clyro.
Les Chemins perdus
Series of three short 'Pop Films' directed between 1966 - 67 for French television by Philippe Garrel. Includes footage of The Living Theater in rehearsal, interviews with Julian Beck and Judith Malina, Donovan in concert and The Who in the studio recording 'Pictures of Lily'. Re-broadcast on INA in 1984.
The Old Fashioned Picture Book
Co-directed by Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera veteran Tony Benedict and Donovan himself, this live-action/animated short film was released in 1971 to promote Donovan's self-produced children's album "HMS Donovan". Comprised of a live-action seaside picnic framing device and three of the album's songs animated in the style of Scottish artist John 'Patrick' Byrne.
Genius of Bert Jansch: Folk, Blues & Beyond
Interviews and rare archive footage weave together performances from a landmark multi-artist concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London, celebrating the songs and artistry of the great folk-blues troubadour Bert Jansch.
New Musical Express Poll Winners Concert
8.8/10
The U.K.'s New Musical Express poll winners concert. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Searchers, the Moody Blues, Freddie and the Dreamers, Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, the Seekers, Herman's Hermits, the Ivy League and Division Two, Sounds Incorporated, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Cilla Black, Donovan, Them, the Animals, the Kinks.
