The best Pete Seeger’s movies
We present our ranking of the best Pete Seeger’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 Pete Seeger.
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan
8.4/10
A chronicle of Bob Dylan's strange evolution between 1961 and 1966 from folk singer to protest singer to "voice of a generation" to rock star.
Alice's Restaurant
6.2/10
After getting kicked out of college, Arlo decides to visit his friend Alice for Thanksgiving dinner. After dinner is over, Arlo volunteers to take the trash to the dump, but finds it closed for the holiday, so he just dumps the trash in the bottom of a ravine. This act of littering gets him arrested, and sends him on a bizarre journey that ends with him in front of the draft board.
We Are One With President-Elect Barack Obama
5.8/10
A public celebration of the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America at the Lincoln Memorial and the National Mall in Washington DC, on January 18, 2009.
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.
ReMastered: The Lion's Share
6.9/10
After discovering the family of Solomon Linda, the writer of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," a reporter tries to help them fight for fair compensation.
The Winding Stream
7.7/10
The story of the American music dynasty, the Carters and Cashes, and their decades-long influence on popular music.
Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon
6.1/10
Junie Moon is in the hospital after her face has been disfigured by her deranged boyfriend. There she meets two other patients — Arthur, an epileptic, and Warren, who is gay and uses a wheelchair. The unlikely trio of outcasts decides to move in together and manages to enjoy a series of adventures as they endure various forms of prejudice and struggle with their own issues.
Woody Guthrie: Hard Travelin'
8.2/10
A warmhearted memorial to the folk singer whose songs galvanized organizers and guitar-pickers across the United States. Part biography, part travelogue and part hootenanny, it follows the singer's son, Arlo Guthrie, as he retraces his father's steps and collects reminiscences from his father's family, friends and musical partners.
To Hear Your Banjo Play
7.2/10
A short film about Pete Seeger and the birth of banjo music throughout the Southern United States.
The Internationale
7.3/10
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand
7.8/10
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand presents the life and achievements of an extraordinary man. Athlete, singer, and scholar, Robeson was also a charismatic champion of the rights of the poor working man, the disfranchised and people of color. He led a life in the vanguard of many movements, achieved international acclaim for his music and suffered tremendous personal sacrifice. His story is one of the great dramas of the 20th century, spanning an international canvas of social upheaval and ideological controversy.
Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
7.9/10
The history of the irreverent "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" and the content battles it fought with its television network.
The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time
8.3/10
Documentary about the blacklisted folk group, "The Weavers," and the events leading up to their triumphant return to Carnegie Hall.
The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack
7.8/10
With the help of her mother, family, friends, and fellow musicians, Aiyana Elliott reaches for her father, legendary cowboy troubadour, Ramblin' Jack Elliott. She explores who he is and how he got there, working back and forth between archival and contemporary footage. Born in 1932 in Brooklyn, busking through the South and West in the early 50s, a year with Woody Guthrie, six years flatpicking in Europe, a triumphant return to Greenwich Village in the early 60s, mentoring Bob Dylan, then life on the road, from gig to gig, singing and telling stories. A Grammy and the National Medal of Arts await Jack near the end of a long trail. What will Aiyana find for herself?
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
8.4/10
Interviews, archival footage and home movies are used to illustrate a social history of folk artists Pete Seeger.
Isn't This a Time! A Tribute Concert for Harold Leventhal
9.2/10
In September of 2004 at the Toronto Film Festival, the Weavers sang together for possibly the last time.
Big Bill Broonzy: The Man who Brought the Blues to Britain
Big Bill Broonzy would inspire a generation of musicians, yet he was not the man they believed him to be. This first, very intimate, biography of the pioneering bluesman uncovers the mystery of who Broonzy really was and follows his remarkable and colorful journey from the racist Deep South to the clubs of Chicago and all across the world. With contributions from Pete Seeger, Ray Davies, Keith Richards, Martin Carthy, John Renbourn, and members of the Broonzy family. Broonzy's own words are read by Clarke Peters.
Phil Ochs Memorial Celebration
A tribute concert honoring the life of legendary folksinger Phil Ochs recorded at the Madison Square Garden's Felt Forum in 1976.
Seeing Red: Stories of American Communists
7.4/10
A unique documentary that looks at the political activities of the American Communist Party in the early to mid-twentieth century.
Down the Tracks: The Music That Influenced Bob Dylan
This fascinating program tells the story of the music and artists that have influenced Bob Dylan throughout his career. Although his reputation as a songwriter stands supreme, Dylan has often covered tracks from vintage blues, folk and country performers or incorporated elements from them into his own material. "Down The Tracks" explores the lives and work of many of these artists and how Dylan interacted with them through archive performance and interview footage alongside new interviews and documentary material.
