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Sonic: Music in Movies
Pump up the volume for this selection of music-themed films; compiled in a long-player with copious sleeve-notes.
Music has been an essential part of the seventh art ever since The Jazz Singer first took a bow. The films here display many different sides to the collision of music and film; from rescored silent cinema to the latest cross-disciplinary collaborations.
Stop Making SenseStop Making Sense
Performance198488 minsDirector: Jonathan Demme
Widely acknowledged as among the best concert films ever, Jonathan Demme's inventive film of Talking Heads' thrilling live show remains the yardstick by which all other music films are measured by.
Black OrpheusBlack Orpheus
Romance1959107 minsDirector: Marcel Camus
Thrilling re-working of the Orpheus myth, incorporating the music, costume and dance of Brazil’s Rio Festival.
Sympathy for the DevilSympathy for the Devil
Drama1968101 minsDirector: Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard intercuts footage of The Rolling Stones composing their classic Sympathy for the Devil with punchy agitprop sketches on the global anti-imperialist struggle.
JubileeJubilee
Drama1977106 minsDirector: Derek Jarman
The mythological past and a soon-to-be bleak future converge on the sparse, grey streets of London in Jarman’s personal vision of the punk movement.
A Hard Day's NightA Hard Day's Night
Musical196488 minsDirector: Richard Lester
The Beatles’ freewheeling film debut remains the pinnacle of rock-n-roll cinema; still deliriously entertaining 50 years on.
HoneydripperHoneydripper
Drama2007124 minsDirector: John Sayles
Acclaimed writer-director John Sayles brings the birth of rock 'n' roll to life with electrifying effect, with Danny Glover heading up a stellar cast.
Chico & RitaChico & Rita
Animation & Artists Moving Image201094 minsDirector: Fernando Trueba
An evocative animated love story set in the jazz nightclubs of Havana and New York.
EdenEden
Drama2014131 minsDirector: Mia Hansen-Løve
Mia Hansen-Løve’s stylish and transcendent story of house music is one of the great films about dance culture.
The Harder They ComeThe Harder They Come
Drama1972103 minsDirector: Perry Henzell
The cult classic, acknowledged as the catalyst for the popularisation of reggae in the US, sees Jimmy Cliff traversing the underbelly of Jamaican shanty-town life.
The Valley (Obscured by Clouds)The Valley (Obscured by Clouds)
Drama1972105 minsDirector: Barbet Schroeder
Different worlds collide when a chic young diplomat's wife meets an intriguing adventurer and his hippy friends in Barbet Schroeder's striking second feature.
You and the NightYou and the Night
Drama201389 minsDirector: Yann Gonzalez
Eric Cantona and Beatrice Dalle star in an outrageous erotic fever dream about a couple who invite four diverse guests to their midnight orgy.
MoreMore
Drama1969116 minsDirector: Barbet Schroeder
The first feature by Barbet Schroeder (Maîtresse, The Valley), More created a sensation when it was released in 1969, quickly becoming a cult classic and famed for its Pink Floyd soundtrack.
Last and First MenLast and First Men
Animation & Artists Moving Image202070 minsDirector: Jóhann Jóhannsson
Two billion years ahead of us, a future race of humans finds itself on the verge of extinction. Tilda Swinton narrates this visually stunning lament for humanity by acclaimed composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (Sicario, Arrival).
ArcadiaArcadia
Documentary201779 minsDirector: Paul Wright
A folk horror wrapped up in an archive film, set to a soundtrack by Adrian Utley (Portishead) and Will Gregory (Goldfrapp).
Radio OnRadio On
Road movie1979100 minsDirector: Chris Petit
Chris Petit's cult classic is one of the most striking feature debuts in British cinema – a haunting blend of edgy mystery story and existential road movie.
OnceOnce
Musical200787 minsDirector: John Carney
The unique, charming musical about the whirlwind romance between an Irish street musician and a Czech immigrant; winner of an Oscar® and a major prize at Sundance Film Festival.
Paris, TexasParis, Texas
Drama1984145 minsDirector: Wim Wenders
The late, great Harry Dean Stanton's finest role came as the near-mute Travis, on a journey across America to reunite his family, in Wim Wenders' moving tale of loss and redemption.
Leave It on the FloorLeave It on the Floor
Drama2011106 minsDirector: Sheldon Larry
Sheldon Larry’s audacious, raunchy and big-hearted voguing musical, set in downtown LA.
Buena Vista Social ClubBuena Vista Social Club
Documentary1999101 minsDirector: Wim Wenders
Cuba’s rich and colourful past comes vividly to life in this legendary, Oscar-nominated documentary from director Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas, Wings of Desire).
More music films in our Rentals collection: Sonic.