Music Movies
Smithereens (1982)
A narcissistic runaway engages in a number of parasitic relationships amongst members of New York’s waning punk scene.
The Pirate Movie (1982)
A comedy/musical utilizing both new songs and parodies from the original (Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance), as well as references to popular films of the time, including Star Wars…
Wild Style (1982)
Legendary New York graffiti artist Lee Quinones plays the part of Zoro, the city’s hottest and most elusive graffiti writer. The actual story of the movie concerns the tension between…
Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)
A troubled rock star descends into madness in the midst of his physical and social isolation from everyone.
Grease 2 (1982)
It’s 1961, two years after the original Grease gang graduated, and there’s a new crop of seniors and new members of the coolest cliques on campus, the Pink Ladies and…
The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat (1982)
The Cat in the Hat is all set for a lovely picnic, but the evil Grinch changes his plans by inventing a contraption that captures noise and makes it sound…
Big Meat Eater (1982)
After killing the crooked mayor a homicidal janitor named Abdullah goes to work for a butcher who has invented a new language for the town’s planned futuristic theme park. In…
Victor/Victoria (1982)
A struggling female soprano finds work playing a male female impersonator, but it complicates her personal life.
Burst City (1982)
Set in a barren, futuristic Tokyo of highways and wastelands, a rowdy group of punk bands and their fans gather to protest slow, boring, Japanese living.
Baal (1982)
Baal is an amoral poetic genius who, after a life of debauchery, betrayal and violence, is about to cut his ties to the world and meet his doom. A high…
Trances (1982)
A portrait of the groundbreaking Moroccan band Nass El Ghiwane, documenting a series of electrifying live performances in Tunisia, Morocco, and France; on the streets of Casablanca; and in intimate…
The Police: Around The World (1982)
During 1977-1981 The Police went on a truly global tour which took them through more than a dozen countries, including many that most Rock bands of the period would fail…
T.G.: Psychic Rally in Heaven (1981)
An experimental film of the group Throbbing Gristle in concert.
The Leprechauns’ Christmas Gold (1981)
Sent in search of a Christmas tree, cabin boy Dinty Doyle lands on a mysterious, uncharted Irish island where he accidentally releases a bad-tempered banshee from her pine tree prison….
Pennies from Heaven (1981)
During the Great Depression, a sheet music salesman seeks to escape his dreary life through popular music and a love affair with an innocent school teacher.
The Ondekoza (1981)
A documentary profiling a Japanese taiko drumming group based in the remote Sado Island, Japan. The film blurs the line between real-life documentary footage of the troupe’s training and practice…
Genesis | Three Sides Live (1981)
Three Sides Live is a 1981 concert film of the Abacab tour by British rock band Genesis. It tied in with the double live album of the same name. The…
The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (1981)
Bugs Bunny hosts an award show featuring several classic Looney Tunes shorts and characters.
Zoot Suit (1981)
Part fact and part fiction, Zoot Suit is the film version of Luis Valdez’s critically acclaimed play, based on the actual Sleepy Lagoon murder case and the zoot suit riots…
Shock Treatment (1981)
Brad and Janet are now married and on the rocks. Ostensibly to fix their marriage, the couple goes on the game show ‘Marriage Maze’ with the eccentric Bert Schnick, who…
Death in Venice (1981)
Gustav Von Aschenbach, a passionate composer, arrives in Venice as a result of wanderlust and there meets a young man by whose beauty he becomes obsessed.
Heavy Metal (1981)
The embodiment of ultimate evil, a glowing orb terrorizes a young girl with bizarre stories of dark fantasy, eroticism and horror.
The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)
The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X.
The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
Kermit and Fozzie are newspaper reporters sent to London to interview Lady Holiday, a wealthy fashion designer whose priceless diamond necklace is stolen. Kermit meets and falls in love with…
The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (1981)
An aspiring country singer and his feisty younger sister/manager struggle to reach their dreams of Nashville stardom-as long as she can keep her brother out of trouble with the ladies…
This Is Elvis (1981)
Though several actors portray Elvis Presley at different stages of his life, this documentary is comprised mostly of actual performance footage and interviews with Elvis, his fans and those close…
American Pop (1981)
The history of American popular music runs parallel with the history of a Russian Jewish immigrant family, with each male descendant possessing different musical abilities.
In the Shadow of the Sun (1981)
‘The Shadow of the Sun’ draws upon Derek Jarman’s interest with alchemical processes as a metaphor for reprocessing Super-8 film. Jarman once described film’s union of light and matter as…
Pippin (1981)
A mysterious performance troupe led by a Leading Player tells the story of Pippin, a young prince on his search for meaning and significance. Taped at Hamilton Place in Hamilton,…
Mr. Krueger’s Christmas (1980)
Willy Krueger, a lonely and aging widower, lives in a basement apartment with only his cat George for company. Finishing his work for the day as the custodian for the…
The Jazz Singer (1980)
A young Jewish man is torn between tradition and individuality when his old-fashioned family objects to his career as a jazz singer.
The Competition (1980)
The movie centers on a piano competition whose winner is assured of success. It is Paul’s last chance to compete, but newcomer Heidi may be a better pianist. Can romance…
The Apple (1980)
In a pseudo-futuristic 1994, a square couple enter the corrupt world of the music industry, and subsequently a maze of drugs, sex, and temptation.
The Idolmaker (1980)
Based on the life of rock promoter/producer Bob Marucci, who discovered, among others, Frankie Avalon and Fabian.
Blank Generation (1980)
Nada, a beautiful French journalist on assignment in New York, records the life and work of an up and coming punk rock star, Billy. Soon she enters into a volatile…