The best Pete Townshend’s music movies
If you love cinema, you will share this ranking of the best Pete Townshend’s movies, although you may have ordered them differently. In any case, we hope you love it and with a little luck discovering a movie that you still don’t know about Pete Townshend.
Tommy
6.6/10
A psychosomatically deaf, dumb and blind boy becomes a master pinball player and the object of a religious cult.
Live Aid
8.5/10
Live Aid was held on 13 July 1985, held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, and the John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, United States. It was one of the largest-scale satellite link-ups and television broadcasts of all time: an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion, across 150 nations, watched the live broadcast. It's twelve noon in London, seven AM in Philadelphia, and around the world it's time for: Live Aid...
Woodstock
8.1/10
An intimate look at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, NY in 1969, from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, blistering concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers; negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes to the surreal arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of 500,000.
Monterey Pop
8/10
Featuring performances by popular artists of the 1960s, this concert film highlights the music of the 1967 California festival. Although not all musicians who performed at the Monterey Pop Festival are on film, some of the notable acts include the Mamas and the Papas, Simon & Garfunkel, Jefferson Airplane, the Who, Otis Redding, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Hendrix's post-performance antics -- lighting a guitar on fire, breaking it and tossing a part into the audience -- are captured.
Jimi Hendrix
7.7/10
Made shortly after his death, this documentary explores the brief life and remarkable legacy of guitarist Jimi Hendrix. After finding fame in the U.K., Hendrix brought his act to the U.S., where his influential playing style left a blazing imprint on a whole generation of musicians. Employing interviews with family and contemporaries, such as Eric Clapton, as well as scorching live performances from Woodstock and Isle of Wight, the film paints an indelible portrait of a rock 'n' roll legend.
Lennon or McCartney
5.3/10
550 artists were interviewed over ten years. At some point during those interviews, they were asked a question and told to answer with one word only. Some stuck to one, some said more, some answered quickly, some thought it through, and some didn't answer at all. That question… Lennon or McCartney?
The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus
7.6/10
A 1968 event put together by The Rolling Stones. The film is comprised of two concerts on a circus stage and included such acts as The Who, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, and Jethro Tull. John Lennon and his fiancee Yoko Ono performed as part of a supergroup called The Dirty Mac, along with Eric Clapton, Mitch Mitchell, and Keith Richards.
Live Aid
4 × DVD, The broadcast of the biggest benefit concert in history, organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief. This entry is for the compilation box set released in 2004.
12-12-12 The Concert for Sandy Relief
7.6/10
“12-12-12” was a fundraising concert to aid the victims of Hurricane Sandy, it took place on December 12, 2012 at Madison Square Garden. The concert featured Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Dave Grohl, Billy Joel, Alicia Keys, Chris Martin, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Eddie Vedder, Roger Waters, Kanye West, The Who, Paul McCartney as well as other artists.
The Kids Are Alright
8/10
Through concert performances and interviews, this film offers us an "inside look" at this famous rock group, "The Who". It captures their zany craziness and outrageous antics from the initial formation of the group to its major hit "Who Are You", and features the last performance of drummer Keith Moon just prior to his death.
Mayor of the Sunset Strip
7/10
A look at the history of fame in the world through the eyes of pop star impresario, Rodney Bingenheimer
Lambert & Stamp
6.7/10
In this crazy, chaotic gospel of chance, aspiring filmmakers Chris Stamp and Kit Lambert set out to search for a subject for their underground movie, leading them to discover, mentor, and manage the iconic band known as The Who and create rock 'n' roll history.
Bad Reputation
7.3/10
The life and career of rock n' roll icon Joan Jett from her early years ripping it up onstage as the founder and backbone of hard-rock legends The Runaways, to her long time collaboration with Kenny Laguna as Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, and her enduring presence in pop culture as a rock pioneer and mentor. With her inimitable singles "I Love Rock n Roll," and "Bad Reputation" Joan Jett inspired a generation of young women to rock.
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.
Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who
8.2/10
A documentary on The Who, featuring interviews with the band's two surviving members, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey.
The Who: Tommy and Quadrophenia Live
8.2/10
Rhino Records is proud to present a 3-DVD boxed set showcasing one of the greatest live bands ever-The Who. Disc one features a live rendition of their full-blown rock opera about a deaf, dumb, and blind boy. Tommy was performed live in 1989 at The Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, with special guests Elton John, Phil Collins, Billy Idol, Patti LaBelle, and Steve Winwood. Disc two contains the band's second rock opus, this time built around the story of a young mod's struggle to come of age in the mid-60s. This live version of Quadrophenia, from the 1996/1997 U.S. Tour was the first time it was performed as Townshend and Daltrey had visualized it, with live action and featuring a then-unknown Alex Langdon in a spellbinding performance as Jimmy, the disillusioned Mod.
Best of the 60s: The Story of Ready, Steady, Go!
Best of the 60s is a documentary and a compilation from across the years of the iconic music series. More More. Best of the 60s is a compilation from across the years of the iconic music series and features performances by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Martha & the Vandellas, Dusty Springfield, The Animals, Otis Redding, The Temptations, The Walker Brothers, Them, Marvin Gaye and more.
Mick Fleetwood and Friends Celebrate the Music of Peter Green
8.4/10
Legendary drummer Mick Fleetwood enlisted an all-star cast for a one-of-a-kind concert honouring the early years of Fleetwood Mac and its founder, Peter Green. The concert was held on 25th February 2020 at the London, Palladium. The bill included Billy Gibbons, David Gilmour, Jonny Lang, Andy Fairweather Low, John Mayall, Christine McVie, Zak Starkey, Steven Tyler, Bill Wyman, Noel Gallagher, Pete Townshend, Neil Finn, Kirk Hammett and many more. Legendary producer Glyn Johns joined as the executive sound producer and the house band featured Fleetwood himself along with Rick Vito, Andy Fairweather Low, Dave Bronze and Ricky Peterson.
Sound of the City: London 1964-73
6.4/10
Vintage film footage from the hey-day of the London's rock and roll scene. Interviews with rock artists and London's hippies and flower children.
The Secret Policeman's Ball
6.8/10
Amnesty decided not to present a benefit show in 1978 in order to consider how to make better use of the performing talent so favourably disposed to assist it in raising funds. Peter Luff left Amnesty in 1978 and the organisation's new fund-raising officer, Peter Walker, was deputed to work with Lewis on reconfiguring the show to raise more money and greater awareness of Amnesty. Lewis proposed to Cleese that in addition to the comedy performances the show should feature some contemporary rock musicians. Cleese delegated this responsibility to Lewis who recruited Who guitarist Pete Townshend to perform, as well as New Wave singer-songwriter Tom Robinson.
