The Best Music Documentaries Ever: Michael Rapaport Picks His Favorites

By CHRISTY LEMIRE, The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Michael Rapaport clearly loves music. It's evident in every moment of his documentary, "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest," the actor's directing debut about the influential hip-hop group. The film includes the rift that divided the Tribe as well as the tensions that linger today, but a deep admiration for the music itself shines through.

So with the Grammy Awards on Sunday, where "Beats, Rhymes & Life" is nominated for best long form music video, we asked Rapaport to take over the Five Most space to pick his favorite music documentaries. (The film, which came out theatrically last summer, also won top documentary honors from the Producers Guild of America this year.) But since he's so enthusiastic – and was so nice to join us this week – we let him pick six, in order of preference and in his own words:

Comments

[Worrierking]

07:41 AM on 02/14/2012

I'd add "Be Here To Love Me" the Townes Van Zandt story and "If I Should Fall from Grace: The Shane MacGowan Story".

[the taoist]

08:07 PM on 02/13/2012

NO DIRECTION HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!............................?????????????????????????

[Koali]

03:11 AM on 02/13/2012

Jimi Hendrix The Last 24 Hours Available through Netflix. I DARE YOU!

[Eden Godsoe]

12:23 PM on 02/11/2012

I can't wait to check some of these out. I'm a big fan of documentaries. I've created a whole list of ones that I love including a few music documentaries. One you may want to add to this slideshow is "It Might Get Loud" by Davis Guggenheim (who also did An Inconvenient Truth and Waiting for Superman.)

It Might Get Loud & Other Documentaries I Have Loved
http://www.skinnyscoop.com/list/eden/documentaries-i-have-loved?listitem_id=10567#list-item

[stravingus]

12:51 AM on 02/11/2012

That Thelonious Monk doc is amazing. Thank you for putting it on the list! Thank you for that Tribe doc too!!!

[bulldogmi]

04:05 AM on 02/11/2012

The Thelonious Monk film is called Bob and the Monster.

[stravingus]

08:39 PM on 03/01/2012

HAHAHA...I actually meant Thelonious Monk ("Straight, No Chaser"), not Thelonious Monster. I do love Bob Forrest though.

[bulldogmi]

03:23 PM on 02/10/2012

Michael Rapaport just provided the Best Hip Hop Documentaries of All Time!!!!

http://www.musicfilmweb.com/2012/02/michael-rapaport-hip-hop-documentary/

[Annette Hammond]

01:22 PM on 02/10/2012

So where is RUSH? They have some of the best.

[american-dolt]

10:45 AM on 02/10/2012

I'd love to see "Soul Power". I saw "When they were Kings" about Ali's fight and it featured a bit of this Concert.

[american-dolt]

10:42 AM on 02/10/2012

Gimmee Shelter is an amazing film. It marked the end of the Hippy era. When Mic Jagger hopped out of a Helicopter for the Love Feast he was met with a punch in the face.

[bblueskye]

05:36 AM on 02/10/2012

"Beats, Rhymes & Life" was impressive. The cinematography was better than most documentaries I've seen, the interviews were great, and he caught Tribe during a chaotic and pivotal time in their career. When I checked to see who directed it and saw that it was Michael Rapaport, I was speechless.

[Myles Davies]

05:34 AM on 02/10/2012

DiG, Shut Up & Sing, The Last Waltz, to name just a few...I think Mr Rappaport needs to check out a few more music docos.

[bulldogmi]

04:29 AM on 02/10/2012

Great list, but what about DiG!? It should be on any best music film list.

Also, Rapaport's A Tribe Called Quest movie is excellent. It made MusicFilmWeb's best of 2011

http://www.musicfilmweb.com/2011/12/the-year-in-music-documentary/

You can check out a lot more music docs on their site.

[bulldogmi]

04:11 AM on 02/10/2012

Good list. Some classics, but not DiG?!?!? Also, you didn't put your own film thought? It made MusicFilmWeb's top music film list for 2011 as consolation.

http://www.musicfilmweb.com/2011/12/the-year-in-music-documentary/

In fact, if you're a music nut you can find anything and everything music film related on the site.

[Malia Ma]

02:44 AM on 02/10/2012

Great list, to which I would add a new doc, yet to be released, called Hip Hop Maestro, about LA's underground musical heroes daKAH Hip Hop Orchestra. An impressive roster of musicians, a family, a community, led by fearless and humble conductor and composer, Geoff "Double G" Gallegos. Hope their story gets seen by more folks and this films gets the airplay it deserves.

[thisNewFoundLand]

01:27 AM on 02/10/2012

...The Last Waltz is the best concert film ever produced; it has elements of a documentary, but isn't one.