Patti Smith

“Nothing is typical for Werner, only the atypical is typical for him.” This is just one of many attempts to characterize Werner Herzog. Documentary filmmaker Thomas von Steinaecker spoke to actors, directors, directors of photography and producers who have worked with Herzog over his long career—including directors Chloé Zhao, Joshua Oppenheimer and Wim Wenders, singer Patti Smith and actors Nicole Kidman, Christian Bale and Robert Pattinson. We also hear from Herzog himself, with extraordinary anecdotes about film locations and shoots, his admiration for Lotte Eisner, and his eternal search for beauty. The interviews are carefully punctuated by archive footage of Herzog never seen before, iconic excerpts from his feature films and documentaries, and his cameos in cartoon series such as The Simpsons. Together they create a kaleidoscopic image of a radical visionary and dreamer, and of his very own “Werner World.”

7.5/10

A documentary that shows how young activists from around the globe such as Felix Finkbeiner (Plant for the Planet), Luisa Neubauer, Greta Thunberg (Fridays for Future) and Vic Barrett (Youth v. Gov) are currently challenging the status quo and pushing for social and political change. The film focuses on these young protagonists, addressing the question of what it feels like and what is at stake when you engage in such a life. Experienced activists, as well as experts in a wide variety of topics, will provide background information and forecasts for future developments.

Born in 1941, Eric Burdon was – along with his band The Animals – one of the most important standard-bearers of the British Invasion of America, right after The Beatles and ahead of The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Kinks. Their 1964 interpretation of House of the Rising Sun was a global hit and inspired Bob Dylan (who recorded an acoustic version on his first album) to go electric and hit the stage from then on backed by a rock band.

Part documentary, part concert film, part fever dream, this film captures the troubled spirit of America in 1975 and the joyous music that Dylan performed during the fall of that year.

7.6/10
9.2%

Patti Smith's final concerts at the Wiltern Theater, Los Angeles, celebrating the fortieth anniversary of her album "Horses".

In this modern love story set against the Austin, Texas music scene, two entangled couples — struggling songwriters Faye and BV, and music mogul Cook and the waitress whom he ensnares — chase success through a rock ‘n’ roll landscape of seduction and betrayal.

5.7/10
4.3%

A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.

7.4/10
9.7%

When Howard Brookner lost his life to AIDS in 1989, the 35-year-old director had completed two feature documentaries and was in post-production on his narrative debut, Bloodhounds of Broadway. Twenty-five years later, his nephew, Aaron, sets out on a quest to find the lost negative of Burroughs: The Movie, his uncle's critically-acclaimed portrait of legendary author William S. Burroughs. When Aaron uncovers Howard's extensive archive in Burroughs’ bunker, it not only revives the film for a new generation, but also opens a vibrant window on New York City’s creative culture from the 1970s and ‘80s, and inspires a wide-ranging exploration of his beloved uncle's legacy.

6.8/10
9.1%

The life and successes of iconic music executive Clive Davis, from his miraculous start at Columbia Records through his trailblazing work at Arista Records and J Records, with a heavy dose of outstanding music sprinkled in between.

7.4/10
7.8%

About the poet C.A.Conrad, an eccentric Elvis worshiping poet and tarot card reader, who confronts his violent past and the suspicious death of his boyfriend, Earth. The film attempts to unravel the mystery of Earth's death, while Conrad wrestles with his inner demons through a series of unconventional rituals and a tour of the deep South.

The 200-year-old story of Milan’s illustrious opera house, La Scala, home to the great tenor Placido Domingo, conductor Arturo Toscanini and acclaimed soprano Maria Callas.

Nude men in rubber suits, close-ups of erections, objects shoved in the most intimate of places—these are photographs taken by Robert Mapplethorpe, known by many as the most controversial photographer of the twentieth century. Openly gay, Mapplethorpe took images of male sex, nudity, and fetish to extremes that resulted in his work still being labelled by some as pornography masquerading as art. But less talked about are the more serene, yet striking portraits of flowers, sculptures, and perfectly framed human forms that are equally pioneering and powerful.

7.5/10
9.7%

Compilation celebrating some guitar band performances at the BBC that feature some of the best female musicians in rock. Beginning with the oft-forgotten American group Fanny performing You're the One, it's a journey along rock's spectrum from the 1970s to now. The selection includes the powerful vocals of Elkie Brooks on Vinegar Joe's Proud to Be a Honky Woman, the mesmerising poetry of Patti Smith's Horses and the upbeat energy of the Go-Go's on We Got the Beat. Mighty basslines come courtesy of Tina Weymouth on Psycho Killer and Kim Gordon on Sugar Kane, whilst we trace the line of indie rock from the Au Pairs through Lush, Elastica and Garbage to current band Savages.

5.5/10

An associative collection of visual impressions across fifteen chapters: a seagull in Porto, political posters in New York, an abstract painting in St. Petersburg, an abandoned video shop in Cairo and cats everywhere you look.

5.7/10

In April of 2013, American singer Patti Smith travels to the grave of French writer Jean Genet in Larache, Morocco. She brings him three stones, which she collected for him over 30 years ago.

6.5/10

On the 8th floor of the Fondation Cartier in Paris, Raymond Depardon's film features a minute of silence with eight artists and scientists: David Lynch, Patti Smith, William Eggleston, Takeshi Kitano, Ron Mueck, Jean Michel Alberola, Agnès Varda and Misha Gromov.

A MusiCares Tribute to Bruce Springsteen is a concert video set to be released on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Download on March 25, 2014.[1] It was filmed in 2013 at the MusiCares Person of the Year ceremony to honor and pay tribute to musician Bruce Springsteen for his artistic achievement in the music industry and dedication to philanthropy. The ceremony was hosted by Jon Stewart and features many performance by musicians who have long been fans and admirers of Springsteen's body of work. Springsteen and the E Street Band concluded the ceremony with their own performance.

7.4/10

A concert inspired by the Coen Brothers' film, 'Inside Llewyn Davis,' which is set in the 1960s Greenwich Village folk music scene, featuring live performances of the film's music, as well as songs from the early 1960s. Performers include the Avett Brothers, Joan Baez, Dave Rawlings Machine, Rhiannon Giddens, Lake Street Dive, Colin Meloy, The Milk Carton Kids, Marcus Mumford, Punch Brothers, Patti Smith, Willie Watson, Gillian Welch, and Jack White, as well as the star of the film Oscar Isaac.

8.2/10

A symphony in three movements. Things such as a Mediterranean cruise, numerous conversations, in numerous languages, between the passengers, almost all of whom are on holiday... Our Europe. At night, a sister and her younger brother have summoned their parents to appear before the court of their childhood. The children demand serious explanations of the themes of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Our humanities. Visits to six sites of true or false myths: Egypt, Palestine, Odessa, Hellas, Naples and Barcelona.

5.7/10
5.8%

A documentary directed by Grammy- and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Thom Zimny. The ninety-minute film combines never-before-seen footage of Springsteen and the E Street Band shot between 1976 and 1978—including home rehearsals and studio sessions—with new interviews with Springsteen, E Street Band members, manager Jon Landau, former-manager Mike Appel, and others closely involved in the making of the record.

7.8/10

A riveting and emotional journey into the world of writer William S. Burroughs, a man considered as cold as an iceberg on a winter night.

7.2/10
8.8%

An East Village performance space fought against the Bowery homeless shelter who threatened to shut them down. Some of the most iconic figures in music have performed here.

7.8/10

A kaleidoscopic journey into the parallel musical universe of cult music festival All Tomorrow's Parties.

7.2/10

A short portrait of Patti Smith in the city where she lives. Patti recites the very first poem-song she ever wrote. We take a walk in her changing neighborhood, and I ask her what she saw.

Featuring performances from two groundbreaking concerts held at the Madison Square Garden to celebrate a quarter century of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The special is anchored by iconic musicians that include Jeff Beck Band, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Aretha Franklin, Metallica, Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, U2 and Stevie Wonder, among others.

8.7/10

After the wild lifestyle of a famous young German photographer almost gets him killed, he goes to Palermo, Sicily to take a break. Can the beautiful city and a beautiful local woman calm him down?

6.2/10

An intimate portrait of poet, painter, musician and singer Patti Smith that mirrors the essence of the artist herself.

7.1/10
6.7%

Crump directed the feature-length documentary film Black White + Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff + Robert Mapplethorpe, which premiered in North America at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival and in Europe at Art Basel. It explores the influence curator Sam Wagstaff, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and musician/poet Patti Smith had on the 1970s art scene in New York City.

6.8/10
8.5%

Documentary about rock pioneer Roky Erickson, detailing his rise as a psychedelic hero, his lengthy institutionalization, his descent into poverty and filth, and his brother's struggle with their religious mother to improve Roky's care.

7.6/10

New York City, 1977 - It was a time when the city had fallen into decay, with too few jobs, money, police, schools, and social services. There was a city wide blackout with major looting, a serial killer on the loose, and the Bronx was burning. And yet out of the chaos emerged one of the most creative times any city has ever encountered.

7.9/10

An account of the professional and personal life of renowned American photographer Annie Leibovitz, from her early artistic endeavors to her international success as a photojournalist, war reporter, and pop culture chronicler.

7.6/10

This 2-DVD set captures explosive live performances and revealing interviews on DVD for the first time ever from the forefathers of the punk and new wave movements, such as The Ramones, Elvis Costello, Iggy Pop, John Lydon (of The Sex Pistols and PiL), Joan Jett, The Jam, Patti Smith, The Plasmatics, and much more! Highlights Include The Ramones' fiery performance of "I Wanna Be Sedated" and "The KKK Took My Baby Away". An unforgettable verbal spat between John Lydon and Tom Snyder. Elvis Costello's frenzied performance of "Watch Your Step". Iggy Pop's offering of "TV Eye". Roundtable discussion between Joan Jett, Paul Weller (The Jam), Bill Graham, and others regarding the current state of punk rock and much much more!

Patti Smith was one of the key artists in the breakthrough of New York City punk rock with her 1975 album "Horses" being hugely influential on the entire New Wave genre. Her distinctive blend of rock, punk and poetry combined with her uncompromising style has ensured that she remains a credible artist throughout her career. This Montreux concert was part of the tour in support of her 2004 "Trampin'" album and the set list features tracks from her first album right through this release. This first-ever live concert is an overdue treat for all of her fans. This 2005 concert by rock icon Patti Smith finds the beloved singer and songwriter delivering a dozen songs from throughout her storied career including "Because the Night," a cover of "Like a Rolling Stone," and "Redondo Beach."

In View: The Best Of R.E.M. 1988–2003 is a DVD featuring videos by the rock band R.E.M. during 1988–2003, released as a companion to the Warner Bros. compilation In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003. All but two of the songs included on the audio CD made the DVD—the exceptions being "All the Right Friends" (which had no official music video) and "Animal" (the video not having been shot until early 2004.)

5.6/10

Legendary former Beach Boy, Brian Wilson toured America and Japan with a 10 piece band. Here he is captured performing 24 live tracks, and one that has never been issued before. Also included are interviews with Pete Townshend, Sheryl Crow, Neil Young and Patti Smith, a back-stage visit from Ronnie Spector, Paul McCartney's induction of Wilson to the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and a series of interviews with the man himself filmed over a 4 year period.

7.4/10

Retrospective look at the life and music of Jeff Buckley through the eyes of family, friends, and fans.

7.7/10

Music Video Distributors has been releasing the best in punk rock music videos for years. In compiling WHAT THE PUNK?!, the music experts over at MVD have poured through their vaults, handpicking the best excerpts from hundreds of hours of footage. The finished product is a diverse, comprehension collection of punk rock from 1970's New York to 1990's Europe. Bands making an appearance include L.A. revolutionaries the Dead Kennedy's, king of abjection GG Allin, seminal New York pop-punkers The Ramones, 1990's Epitaph Record heroes the Offspring, Seattle grunge rockers Nirvana, and many others.

Lou Reed narrates this Television special that takes a look back at the beginnings of the punk rock movements in New York & England, the underground punk scenes in the 70's & 80's, and the punk resurgence in the 90's. A collaboration between VH1 and Spin magazine.

7.6/10

BENJAMIN SMOKE is the highly acclaimed documentary by directors Jem Cohen (FUGAZI: INSTRUMENT) and Peter Sillen (SPEED RACER) on legendary underground musician Benjamin. BENJAMIN SMOKE follows the crooked path of this fringe-dweller, speed-freak, occasional drag-queen and all-around renegade living in the hidden Atlanta neighborhood called "Cabbagetown," and playing with his band Smoke. This moving, heart-breaking and often funny portrait premiered at the 2001 Berlin Film Festival, won the First Prize Juror's Award at the 2001 Doubletake Documentary Film Festival and had a national theatrical release by Cowboy Pictures, garnering acclaim from critics throughout the country. The DVD edition includes over forty minutes of outtakes and interviews with Benjamin, bonus live footage of Smoke, and performances of unreleased tribute songs by Cat Power and Vic Chesnutt.

7.5/10
6.7%

Arista's greatest recording artists of the last 25 years gather for this May 15th concert in honor of the record label's 25th anniversary. The highly significant place that Arista Records holds in rock history is highlighted here by the high quality of the music performances and the excitement of the celebrities who introduce each segment. Packed with celebrity guests and classic music, this is a once-in-a-lifetime concert.

Tommy faces responsibility when Dil, his new baby brother, is born. As with all newborns, the child becomes a bane to Tommy and the rest of his gang. They decide to return Dil to where he came from, the hospital, but they get lost along the way. Can they find their way home and can Tommy and Dil learn to get along?

5.9/10
5.9%

Follows John Cale, a Welsh musician and producer, who founded the legendary 60s and 70s NY rock band - the Velvet Underground, with Lou Reed. Cale delved into other mainstream and experimental music genres as well.

This is a video record of the Buddhist Wake ceremony at Allen Ginsberg's apartment. You see Allen, now asleep forever, in his bed; some of his close friends; and the wrapping up and removal of Allen's body from the apartment. You hear Jonas' description of his last conversation with Allen, three days earlier. You see the final farewell at the Buddhist temple, 118 West 22nd Street, New York City, and some of his close friends: Patti Smith, Gregory Corso, LeRoy Jones-Baraka, Hiro Yamagata, Anne Waldman, and many others.

6.4/10

Collecting highlights from the debut season of the acclaimed PBS series "Sessions at West 54th," this compilation video captures performances by musical greats such as trumpet maestro Wynton Marsalis and Grammy-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Other artists making appearances include Emmylou Harris, Ani DiFranco, Rickie Lee Jones, Shawn Colvin, Suzanne Vega, Sinéad O'Connor, Keb' Mo', Patti Smith and more.

In this 1995 made-for television biopic, see legendary musician and filmmaker Ivan Kral as he made music history. With guitar and camera in the 70s, playing with Iggy Pop, Blondie and Patti Smith Group, he triumphed, rising from refugee to rock icon.

6/10

An exploration of Burroughs’ life story, as told by Burroughs himself along with many of his contemporaries, including Allen Ginsberg, Brion Gysin, Francis Bacon, Herbert Huncke, Patti Smith, Terry Southern, and William Burroughs Jr.

7.1/10

Rock My Religion is a provocative thesis on the relation between religion and rock music in contemporary culture. Graham formulates a history that begins with the Shakers, an early religious community who practiced self-denial and ecstatic trance dances. With the "reeling and rocking" of religious revivals as his point of departure, Graham analyzes the emergence of rock music as religion with the teenage consumer in the isolated suburban milieu of the 1950s, locating rock's sexual and ideological context in post-World War II America. The music and philosophies of Patti Smith, who made explicit the trope that rock is religion, are his focus. This complex collage of text, film footage and performance forms a compelling theoretical essay on the ideological codes and historical contexts that inform the cultural phenomenon of rock 'n' roll music.

7/10

Harry Smith’s final film; an epic four-screen projection. Smith worked on this cinematic transformation of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (1929) for over ten years and considered it his magnum opus. The film was shot from 1970 to 1972 and edited for the next eight years. The “program” of the film is meticulous, with a complex structure and order. The Weill opera is transformed into a numerological and symbolic system. Images in the film are divided into categories— portraits, animation, symbols and nature— to form the palindrome P.A.S.A.N.A.S.A.P. The film contains invaluable cameos of important avant-garde figures such as Allen Ginsberg, Patti Smith, and Jonas Mekas, intercut with installation pieces from Robert Mapplethorpe’s studio, New York City landmarks of the era, and Smith’s visionary animation.

7.3/10

A career-spanning 1979 concert by Patti Smith and her band from Essen, Germany and broadcast on WDR's Rockpalast. Bonus interview after the concert.

Short film by photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. A portrait of Patti Smith.

7.6/10

Concert film and interview from Patti Smith Group's 1976 visit to Stockholm shot for Swedish television.

The cream of New York new wave/punk filmed live at CBGB's when the scene was just beginning. Includes performances by Patti Smith, Blondie, Television, the Ramones, Talking Heads, the Heartbreakers, the Shirts, Wayne County, the Marbles, the Dolls, Miamis, Harry Toledo, and the Tuff Darts (w/Robert Gordon).

6.4/10

This is Poe and Krall's first effort, filmed before the more well known Blank Generation. It is even grittier, shakier and more primitive than Blank Generation, and shows a nascent CBGB crowd well before anyone living beyond 14th Street knew anything about it. Worth seeing if it ever turns up at an art house or festival. Among other gems is a very early Blondie on film, before the introduction of a keyboardist, and well before their mega-success in the early 1980s. Most of the band has long hair. There is also a pan shot of the bar where devotees can spot early Talking Heads, Ramones, and other suspect characters nursing warm beer. A key to the time is the lack of any 'punk' insignia - safety pins, etc. - that would later spell doom for the NYC scene. A brief, nostalgic glimpse of a rare and under-documented meeting of rock and, well, art.

8.4/10

Robert Mapplethorpe gets his nipple pierced while his boyfriend lends his support in person. Patti Smith lends her support via voice over as she rambles on about her childhood, her transvestite brother, her breasts and Bob Dylan?

7.1/10

A Pilot For A Documentary Film About The Life In The Chelsea Hotel In The Early 1970s, That Was Never Made Because Of Budget Reasons. "A Regrettable Folly Of My Youth" Says Albert Scopin.

A three-part virtual reality experience offering an immersive journey through the cosmos, its origins and its songs.