Springsteen, Dylan, Cash – 13 music films you absolutely have to see

Music has always been a part of cinema; every film is, in some way, a musical. In the silent beginnings of cinema, pianos, organs, or—depending on the size of the auditorium—sometimes orchestras accompanied the moving images. And with the advent of sound films, film scores became an integral part of the film—accompanying and often enhancing the mood of the film.

The first talkie was a (fictional) biopic – in Alan Crosland's "The Jazz Singer" (1927), Al Jolson plays the poor Jewish singer Jakie Rabinowitz, who becomes a Broadway hero. Since then, music has repeatedly been the subject of films (not referring to musicals that tell stories through musical means).

Most recently, Robbie Williams appeared in ape form in "Better Man" (2024) (actor Jonno Davies was filmed using motion capture for this role), Angelina Jolie played Maria Callas, the legendary opera diva, in "Maria" (2025), and Timothée Chalamet starred as a young Bob Dylan in "Like A Complete Unknown" (2024). And "The Bear" star Jeremy Allen White has been appearing as Bruce Springsteen in "Deliver Me From Nowhere" since October 23rd. Want to see more music? Our tips go beyond biopics and also recommend comedies, but for now, we'll stick with Bob Dylan.

Director: Todd Haynes

What it's about: Bob Dylan creates a magnetic pull, and not just when Timothée Chalamet plays him. Anyone who takes a serious interest in popular music will eventually end up with the king of songwriters and Nobel Prize winner in literature. Todd Haynes tells Dylan's life in "I'm Not There" in a unique way – by splitting the poet and bard into six fictional characters and having him played by six actors.

The songs, all famous Dylan compositions, prevent the audience from becoming confused. Following these Dylans (the Golden Globe-winning Cate Blanchett is magnificent, but also Marcus Carl Franklin, Christian Bale, and Heath Ledger) is almost breathless, and through this film, rock 'n' roll, often described as dead or dead tired, is brought back to life.

Where I can watch it: on Prime Video (flat rate), on Apple TV, MagentaTV, Maxdome, freenet Video and Rakuten TV (for a fee); on DVD and Blu-ray

Director: Stephen Frears

What it's about: The RCA Victrola record is a soft mint green, featuring a black-and-white image of a confident Valkyrie with wings and a helmet. The album is titled "The Glory Of The Human Voice," and features a woman who, despite her severe vocal deficiencies, continues to sing as if she can hear something different, something far purer, than her audience. Stephen Frears tells the story of "the world's worst opera singer," as the New York Times called Florence Foster Jenkins (1868–1944), as a sad comedy about a woman who contracted syphilis at a young age and was likely left with neurological damage as a result.

Meryl Streep plays the patron and founder of her devoted "Verdi Club," which, like her husband and manager (Hugh Grant), kindly applauds her meager performances and encourages her belief in her exceptional talent. He also occasionally gives the impression that he hears with similar ears to the spitefully honest "Times" critic.

An almost unbelievable, but true story, in which Streep is once again at her best when she fearlessly tackles Mozart's "Queen of the Night", crows and screeches pitifully in triumph and is first laughed at by the audience at her first public appearance in Carnegie Hall, then misunderstood as a parodist.

Where I can watch it: on Prime Video (flat rate), on Apple TV, Sky Store, Magenta TV, Videobuster, Maxdome, freenet Video and YouTube Store (for a fee); on DVD and Blu-ray

Director: Richard Linklater

What it's about: Richard Linklater's "School of Rock" is a rock 'n' roll rescue film. Jack Black, who previously played the fat little record frog in "High Fidelity," plays Dewey Finn, a nerve-wracking newbie who's been kicked out of his band. He swindles his way into an elite school as a substitute teacher under the name of his now-bourgeois former bandmate Ned Shneebly (Mike White, also known as the series creator of "The White Lotus"). When he overhears the ten-year-olds in music class, he has an idea: He forms a band of dwarves, the "School of Rock," to beat his old band.

Black is captivatingly explosive in the role of the lazy, ugly Rumpelstiltskin, who accepts nothing but rock. And who soon finds himself on a mission, armed with a flaming sword, to banish Christina Aguilera and Puff Daddy from the hearts of rich kids. Like Beavis and Butt-Head once did, he knows how to separate the real stuff from the fake and believes that rock has a purifying power when lived correctly.

Where I can watch it: on Paramount+ and Magenta TV (flat rate), on Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube Store, Rakuten TV, Sky Store and Chili (for a fee); on DVD and Blu-ray

Director: Oliver Stone

What it's about: He rests in an unmarked grave in Père Lachaise Cemetery, always littered with cigarettes and bottles, sometimes even condoms. When the 1960s heroes The Doors were in danger of fading into obscurity, Oliver Stone, the director of "Platoon," wanted to bring us back Jim Morrison, who died in 1971. In the 1991 film "The Doors," he showed us a golden-mouthed Narcissus played by Van Kilmer, a drunk, a thug, a self-promoter, and a misogynist. One who was a leader for many boys and apparently couldn't read the map himself.

Stone wanted to create both myth and truth, a dark angel or something similar. Leaving the cinema, you thought, "Asshole!" But despite the honest approach, Morrison's powerful metaphors and his lascivious vocals also enveloped you. In early 2025, allegations surfaced from his ex-girlfriend Judy Huddleston that Morrison had raped her during their four-year relationship. It would fit Jimbo à la Stone.

Where I can watch it: at Filmlegenden (flat rate), at Prime Video, Videobuster, Maxdome, freenet Video, YouTube Store and Apple TV (for a fee); on DVD and Blu-ray

Director: Damien Chazelle

What it's about: You have to see JK Simmons ("Oz," "Burn after Reading") as he lets young drummer Andrew (Miles Teller) soar and fall. Just when you think Damien Chazelle's "Whiplash" (a fictional musician's story) is over, the thrilling duel between student and teacher begins in the middle of a concert. The triumph comes with Duke Ellington's "Caravan"—what an all-consuming drum solo! Wow!

Where I can watch it: at CNMA Arthouse (flat rate); Prime Video, Magenta TV, Apple TV, Maxdome, Rakuten TV and YouTube Store (for a fee); on DVD and Blu-ray

Director: James Mangold

What it's about: Joaquin Phoenix delivers a vocal and visual take on the great Johnny Cash, portraying the shyness and cocky poses of the country music king who died in 2003. And Reese Witherspoon is stunning as his lifelong love, June Carter Cash. James Mangold's "Walk the Line," a formally rather simple account of Cash's life from 1944 to 1968, presents the best acting, which also contains one of the most touching declarations of love in film history.

The Cash concerts you saw live resurface in your mind's eye when watching the film. And you're glad to have been so close to him back then. Mangold has since turned to a good friend of Cash's and made the equally worthwhile film "Like a Complete Unknown" (2024) about Bob Dylan.

Where I can watch it: on Disney+ (flat rate), Prime Video, Apple TV, Magenta TV, Sky Store, Maxdome, YouTube Store, freenet Video, Rakuten TV (for a fee); on DVD and Blu-ray

Director: Taylor Hackford

What it's about: Jamie Foxx, recently returned after a long hiatus with Cameron Diaz in the Netflix spy drama "Back in Action," makes Taylor Hackford's "Ray" truly magnificent. Previously known primarily as a comedian, Foxx is always aware of the seriousness of his role here and never distorts the blind Ray Charles, who is very active behind his keyboards, into a caricature—which was certainly a danger given Charles's body language.

Foxx is so similar to his character in his aimless, broad laughter, his rocking self-embrace, and his becoming one with the piano and organ that you repeatedly rub your eyes in disbelief. The R&B genius Ray Charles, who died in June 2003, lives on.

Where I can watch it: on Prime Video, Sky Store, Apple TV, MagentaTV, YouTube Store, Chili, Rakuten TV, maxdome (for a fee); on DVD and Blu-ray

Director: Olivier Dahan

What it's about: Marion Cotillard has Bette Davis-like eyes, filled with wonder and anger. Her laugh is masculine and bitter, her Edith Piaf voice is coarse, and the words are broad in Olivier Dahan's "La Vie en Rose." Cotillard lays bare her character's fears and longings as well as her flaws and malice. And she transforms into an old woman, arthritic, suffering from cancer, crooked, and broken.

The film is superbly staged cinema. Director Dahan uses exuberant sets. At some point, his wild pop-video editing loses track of the many supporting characters. But Cotillard turns this biopic into a feast.

Where I can see it: currently not streamable; on DVD and Blu-ray

Director: Darnell Martin

What it's about: At the beginning of the film, Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright) is toiling in the fields. He will become a great blues hero, his guitar resonating with fervor and fury. And in 1950, label head Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody, recently Oscar-winning for his role in "The Brutalist") makes him and his crazy harmonica tornado, Little Walter (Columbus Short), stars of the race music scene. We see charts, circling singles, and hear great songs like Waters' "Hoochie Coochie Man." We see Leonard Chess paying his stars in Cadillacs and shoving dollars across the turntables of the hottest DJs so they can play Chess 45s on the airwaves. It's a payola system – paid hits.

Director Darnell Martin has staged a meeting with the forefathers of rock and pop music. Eamonn Walker terrifies the audience as the hoarse, pistol-waving Howlin' Wolf. Rapper Mos Def shines as Chuck Berry, who hops across the stage in the legendary duckwalk. But the Oscar-worthy performance—wow!—is Beyoncé Knowles, who recently won the Grammy for Best Album, as Etta James, the black blonde who carves huge hits out of her personal misfortune for Chess.

Where I can watch it: on Prime Video, Apple TV, Maxdome, YouTube Store and Magenta TV (for a fee); on DVD and Blu-ray

Director: Dustin Hoffman

What it's about: "Being old is not for Sissies," is a quote from Bette Davis, already mentioned in this list. Yet the Beecham House retirement home for musicians is pure geriatric gold: a noble English manor house surrounded by greenery, bright rooms, magnificent furnishings. Verdi's "Brindisi" wafts through the house at the beginning of the film. Rehearsals, singing, and acting are going on everywhere, and in every room, opera stars of yesteryear are checking their faces in the mirror. There's, of course, a threatening background to all this activity. With the grand Verdi gala in six weeks, the goal is to preserve this last restless place for another year. If that doesn't work, they'll be sent, for better or for worse, to a completely ordinary retirement home.

Dustin Hoffman, who made his directorial debut here after an aborted attempt in 1978, tells us a simple fairy tale: a comedy in the tone of a late romance, a feel-good film. Wilf (Billy Connolly), Reg (Tom Courtenay), and Cissy (Pauline Collins) are best friends. Shortly before the gala, Jean Horton (Maggie Smith), to whom Reg was once married for a mere nine hours, also arrives.

With Jean, there would be the opportunity to revive the film's eponymous "quartet" from Verdi's "Rigoletto." But Reg still feels hurt by his great love. And Jean wants to be remembered as a great voice and therefore never sings again. "The gift," she says, "has deserted me." And—ahem—action!

Where I can watch it: Filmlegenden (Prime Video Channels) (flat rate); Prime Video, Sky Store, Apple TV, Magenta TV, Maxdome, freenet Video; on DVD and Blu-ray

Directed by Juuso Laatio and Jukka Vidgren

What it's about: During an incident at his father's reindeer slaughterhouse, the guitarist of the northern Finnish band Impale Rektum discovers the unmistakable sound of "symphonic post-apocalyptic, blasphemous, reindeer-crushing, extremely reprehensible pheno-Scandinavian heavy metal," with which a breakthrough seems within reach – a performance at the "Northern Damnation" festival. After a completely unsuccessful test concert in the village, the cancellation of the tour by the promoters, and a fatal accident, they nevertheless set out into the world. Something better than ridicule can be found anywhere.

This leap forward, however, has consequences. Directors Juuso Laatio and Jukka Vidgren's comedy is reminiscent of Aki Kaurismäki's "Leningrad Cowboys" and—see our next tip—Rob Reiner's "This is... Spinal Tap," delivering an arsenal of quirky and endearing rock 'n' rollers for a pleasant home movie night.

Where I can watch it: on Prime Video, Rakuten TV, Apple TV, Sky Store, YouTube Store and Magenta TV (for a fee); on DVD and Blu-ray

Director: Rob Reiner

What it's about: Rock 'n' roll is when you laugh anyway. Like when the band members of the heavy metal band Spinal Tap get their hands on the prudish US compromise to their sexist "Smell the Glove" album cover and talk themselves into it, declaring it to be "black as death." Or when completely sick, consciousness-expanding despairs are conjured up within a band history that leads from silly beat beginnings to psychedelic aberrations and ends up stuck in fat-ass 80s blow-dried-hair metal.

"This Is Spinal Tap" from 1984 is "When Harry Met Sally" director Rob Reiner's cult pseudo-documentary about a fictional band that's too stupid to even find its way on stage in Cleveland. Aluminum foil-wrapped cucumbers have to be removed from tight rocker penis-baring pants at the airport, and the drummers of Spinal Tap unfortunately die in series—exploding on stage, choking on (warning: other people's) vomit.

Where I can watch it: on Prime Video, Maghenta TV, YouTube Store (for a fee); on DVD and Blu-ray

Director: Robert Altman

What it's about: After 30 years on air, the "Last Radio Show" on WLT ("We Love Tomatoes") is about to air. The wrecking ball is already swinging, and the cultural venue is set to become a parking lot. In his last completed film, Robert Altman celebrated the decline of Americana in his own unique way. Sentimentality is countered by satire, and the country music temple is full of energy. Alongside top singing stars (Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, John C. Reilly, Woody Harrelson), there's a female angel with a Wim Wenders touch (Virginia Madsen), a detective with a film noir look (Kevin Kline), and Garrison Keillor as the unforgettable host.

The latter, who plays himself here, introduces his artists with a stoic expression and reads his sponsors' craziest commercials with wonderful equanimity. A light comedy about the grim death of Kult, it shines from the screen into the living room like the sun from the sky.

Where I can see it: currently not streamable; on DVD and Blu-ray