ROCKING THE MOVIES THE 30 BEST ROCK AND ROLL MOVIES OF ALL TIME
by Michael Buffalo Smith Rock and roll movies are nothing new.
There have been rock and roll bands in film as fa back as 1956, when Jayne Mansfield starred in The Girl Can’t Help it as a blonde bombshell with no musical talent and the man who sets his goal at making her a star. Gene Vincent & the Blue Caps appear, as does Little Richard. Two years before that, in 1954, Judy
Garland starred alongside James Mason in the original A Star is Born. Over half a cen- tury later, that story has been told once again by actor/director Bradley Cooper and popstar Lady Gaga. And lest we forget, the movie was also made into a hit back in 1976 starring Kris Kristofferson and Barbara Streisand. The fan- tasy of being discovered and molded into a rock star has universal appeal, and the latest version pulls out all the stops to create a beautiful love story with very authentic looks into rock star excess, including a serious take on the disease that is alcoholism. Like many others, I was truly surprised by this one. I was not a fan of Lady Gaga before the movie, but I am now. I always liked Bradley Cooper, but had no idea he could sing so well. The movie is filled with good music, not the least of which is the hit song “Shallow,” which can easily get into your head and never leave. Per- haps that’s why it took home the Oscar for Best Song. Actually, A Star is Born is one of two
newer movies that did rock and roll right. The other is Bohemian Rhapsody, an outstanding biopic on Freddie Mercury and Queen, with Rami Malek stepping into the ballet shoes (and false teeth) of the iconic artist and earn-
19 Lady Gaga in A Star is Born.
ing the Best Actor Oscar in the process. Kudzoo is happy to present our list of
the Top 30 Rock Movies of All Time. Do you agree or disagree? Let us know!
30. Times Square (1980) was a fun movie about a New York disc jockey (Tim Curry as Johnny LaGuardia) and a punk rock street girl played by, Trini Alvarado. The sound track rocked from start to finish with the Pre- tenders, Roxy Music, Talking Heads, XTC, Joe Jackson, the Ramones, Lou Reed, the Cure, Patti Smith and many others. 29. The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus (filmed in 1968, released 1996) was a concert show that featured Jethro Tull, The Who. Marianne Faithfull, the Stones, with John Lennon and his fiancé Yoko Ono as a part of a one-shot supergroup called Dirty Mac, featuring Eric Clapton, Mitch Mitchell and Keith Richards. It’s an interesting film that was originally shelved by Jagger and the Stones due to their sub-standard perform- ances fueled by exhaustion and drugs. Still, it’s rock and roll history. 28. Jailhouse Rock (1957) Elvis Presley made a ton of movies during his day, but Jail-
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