Known for his mournful "Adagio for Strings," Samuel Barber was never quite fashionable. This acclaimed film is a probing exploration of his music and melancholia. Performance, oral history, musicology, and biography combine to explore the life and music of one of America’s greatest composers. Features Thomas Hampson, Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop and many more of the world's leading experts on Barber's music, with tributes from composers Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson and William Schuman. The film was broadcast on PBS, and screened at nine film festivals internationally, with three best-of awards. It was named a Recording of the Year 2017 by MusicWeb International.

Music by John Williams

2024

English

8.2

♡ 25

100%

portrait of an artist

Laurent Bouzereau Director

Ron Howard as Self

Steven Spielberg as Self

John Williams as Self

Chris Columbus as Self

Jonathan Ke Quan as Self

His unforgettable scores are an essential part of some of the most beloved movies of our time, over a career that spans decades. See and hear maestro John Williams' own story, with insights from filmmakers, musicians, and others he has inspired, complete with rare behind-the-scenes looks at the making of movie history.

The Bohemian Life

1992

French

7.5

♡ 12

Aki Kaurismäki Director

Kenneth Colley as Balayeur de rues

Jean-Pierre Léaud as Blancheron

Samuel Fuller as Gassot

Louis Malle as Gentleman

Three penniless artists become friends in modern-day Paris: Rodolfo, an Albanian painter with no visa, Marcel, a playwright and magazine editor with no publisher, and Schaunard, a post-modernist composer of execrable noise.

The Red Shoes

1948

English

8.1

♡ 50

98%

Michael Powell Director

Leslie Phillips as Audience member

Peter Bayliss as Evans - Lord Oldham's Chauffeur

Robert Helpmann as Ivan Boleslawsky

Austin Trevor as Prof. Palmer

In this classic drama, Vicky Page is an aspiring ballerina torn between her dedication to dance and her desire to love. While her imperious instructor, Boris Lermontov, urges to her to forget anything but ballet, Vicky begins to fall for the charming young composer Julian Craster. Eventually Vicky, under great emotional stress, must choose to pursue either her art or her romance, a decision that carries serious consequences.

Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life

2010

French

6.9

♡ 1

73%

parent child relationship

pop star

seduction

Joann Sfar Director

Laetitia Casta as Brigitte Bardot

Lucy Gordon as Jane Birkin

Doug Jones as La Gueule

Franc Bruneau as La Planton Brochaut

A glimpse at the life of French singer Serge Gainsbourg, from growing up in 1940s Nazi-occupied Paris through his successful song-writing years in the 1960s to his death in 1991 at the age of 62.

Tár

2022

English

7.4

♡ 87

91%

Todd Field Director

Cate Blanchett as Lydia Tár

Johann von Bülow as Male Board Member #1

Alec Baldwin as Self

Nina Hoss as Sharon Goodnow

As celebrated conductor Lydia Tár starts rehearsals for a career-defining symphony, the consequences of her past choices begin to echo in the present.

Rewind & Play

2022

French

6.6

♡ 2

100%

portrait of an artist

Alain Gomis Director

Thelonious Monk as Self

The lack of respect with which the Black musician Thelonious Monk was treated in Autumn, 1969. At the end of his European tour, legendary jazz musician Thelonious Monk appears on an interview show in Paris for French state television.

A Life in Waves

2017

English

6.9

95%

Brett Whitcomb Director

Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe as Self

Suzanne Ciani as Self

Peter Baumann as Self

Don Buchla as Self

Explores the life and innovations of composer and electronic music pioneer Suzanne Ciani.

Youth

2015

Italian

7.3

♡ 167

72%

Paolo Sorrentino Director

Emilia Jones as Frances

Michael Caine as Fred Ballinger

Paul Dano as Jimmy Tree

Rachel Weisz as Lena Ballinger

Two lifelong friends bond whilst vacationing in a luxury Swiss Alps lodge as they ponder retirement. While Fred has no plans to resume his musical career despite the urging of his loving daughter Lena, Mick is intent on finishing the screenplay for what may be his last important film for his muse Brenda. And where will inspiration lead their younger friend Jimmy, an actor grasping to make sense of his next performance?

Hans Zimmer & Friends: Diamond in the Desert

2025

English

8.5

♡ 4

97%

Paul Dugdale Director

Timothée Chalamet as Self Zendaya

Zendaya as Self

Christopher Nolan as Self

Billie Eilish as Self

An extraordinary live performance of Hans Zimmer's most beloved and renowned movie soundtracks, including music from Dune, Gladiator, Interstellar, and The Lion King. Featuring conversations with creative collaborators Billie Eilish, Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve, Finneas, Jerry Bruckheimer, Pharrell Williams, Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and more.

Miss Boots

2024

French

7.1

♡ 2

Yan Lanouette Turgeon Director

Marilyn Castonguay as Alice

Lyne Fortin as Claire

Lenie Scoffié as Femme avec sacoche

Benoît Gouin as Ménard

Philippe, an opera composer in search of inspiration, is forced to take in Simone, his rebellious, eccentric niece whose best friend is a skunk. Despite their diametrically opposed personalities, Philippe and Simone quickly discover that they may need each other more than they first thought.

Amadeus

1984

English

8.4

♡ 171

90%

Milos Forman Director

Douglas Seale as Count Arco

Charles Kay as Count Orsini-Rosenberg

John Tomlinson as Dr. Bartolo in 'The Marriage of Figaro' / Commendatore in 'Don Giovanni'

Jeffrey Jones as Emperor Joseph II

Christine Ebersole as Katerina Cavalieri

Disciplined Italian composer Antonio Salieri becomes consumed by jealousy and resentment towards the hedonistic and remarkably talented young Salzburger composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.