Research Guides: Music: Film

Search for films and videos

Films on Demand (Shasta College Library)
Moving Image Archive This library of arts and music videos features This or That (a burlesque game show), the Coffee House TV arts program, punk bands from Punkcast and live performances from Groove TV. Many of these movies are available for free download.

Streaming videos on individual composers and other topics

Downloaded What is Napster?, Napster as Strange Idea, Early Internet, Shawn Fanning, Downloading Music, Dropping College, Work on Napster, Napster's Technical Achievement, Social Importance of Music, Napster's Achievement, History of Music Industry, Digital Music, Spread of Napster, Napster Atmosphere, Scaling Servers, Legal Position, Negotiations with Music Industry, Colleges Ban Napster, Musicians' Views of Napster, Boosting Independent Bands, Adulation, Legal Battle, Perspectives on Napster, Metallica and Napster, Accusation of Hypocrisy, Judiciary Committee Hearing, Gene Kan, Senate Committee's Outlook, Power Struggle, Legal Setback, Sean Parker's Memo, Stay of Injunction, Appeals Court Hearing, Bertelsmann, Debating Sincerity, Court Defeat, Napster Loses Heart, Inadequate Filters, Bankruptcy, Piracy Fight Backfires, Music Industry Declines, iTunes, Snocap Failure, Fanning and Parker, Culture, Technology and Change, Cofounders Reflect on Napster, Epilogue: Downloaded.
History of Electronic Music Artists and fans talk about how this DJ driven genre started in the "Disco Fever" era.
Last Shop Standing: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of the Independent Record Shop - Music Retailer Reflections, Rise of the Independent Record Shop, Punk Rock Movement, Decline of the Independent Record Shop, Illegal Downloading Revolution, Closing Doors, Rebirth, Record Store Day, Vinyl Revival, Future of Independent Record Stores, Resource for Music Aficionados.
Music. Film Option, 1993. Films on Demand. 23 minutes.

Streaming videos: Series

Early Musical Instruments Series. 6 episodes. The ancestors to modern instruments are described and demonstrated by the Early Music Consort of London. Narrated by David Munrow. 6-part series, 30 minutes each. Brass, Keyboard and Percussion, Bowed, Plucked, Flutes and Whistles, and Reed Instruments.
The History of Musical Instruments. 13 episodes. This outstanding 13-part series discusses modern musical instruments in elaborate detail. Each program focuses on a different instrument—its origin, history, how it is made, how it works. Viewers visit factories and watch as expert craftsmen construct each instrument. Performances on both the original version of the instrument and its modern counterpart illustrate its use by composers over time. 13-part series, 28 minutes each.
Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns. PBS, 2000. Films on Demand. 10 episodes
Making Moonshine: Country Music—All You Need Is Love: A History of Popular Music This film features the establishment of country music and its bluegrass and folk roots. The following artists are featured: Jimmie Rodgers; Minnie Pearl; Ernest Tubb; Roy Acuff; Roy Rogers; Tex Ritter; Bill Anderson; Doug Kershaw; William Ivey.
Music in Time. 16 episodes. From pre-Gregorian to postmodern, this series covers the major periods, styles, forms, composers, and works in the entire span of Western music with superb performances and authoritative narration. Ever unhurried, viewers are permitted to relish entire compositions and generous excerpts from representative period music performed by world-acclaimed artists, orchestras, conductors, operas, and ballet companies around the world. James Galway is the series host. 16-part series, 58–61 minutes each.
Music of the World. VEA, 2015. Films on Demand. 3 episodes.
Opera Easy. HG Distribution, 2006. Films on Demand. 25 episodes.
The Score: Classical Music Appreciation Through Listening. Scottish Television, 1996. Films on Demand. 5 episodes.

Stream media via Films on Demand

DVDs on library shelves

8 mile by Grazer, Brian Jimmy, known to his friends as Rabbit, is a young man trying to make his way out of the burned-out shell of inner-city Detroit. Rabbit is a white kid trying to make music in a predominantly African-American community and culture. After Rabbit freezes up in the midst of an MC battle, he's convinced he's missed his chance and that he's doomed to lead a marginal life as a factory rat for the rest of his days. With the help of his friends, and his new girlfriend Alex, Rabbit struggles to work up the courage and the confidence to take one more shot at making his dream a reality.
Hallelujah by Vidor, King Infused with spirituals, folk songs, blues, and jazz, Hallelujah follows the fortunes of Zeke, a poor cotton farmer. Love, loss, passion, redemption, make this cinematic milestone the first all-black feature from a major studio.
A hard day's night by Lester, Richard A lively, good-natured spoof of "Beatlemania" portraying a frantic 36 hours in the lives of the rock group.
Low down by Preiss, Jeff Based on the memoir by Amy-Jo Albany, it is a compassionate, tender look at the complex relationship between Amy-Jo and her father, legendary jazz musician Joe Albany, a man torn between his musical ambition, his devotion to his teenage daughter, and his suffocating heroin addiction. Set against a sensuously textured 1970s Hollywood, the film beautifully evokes a colorful, seedy world of struggling musicians, artists, and vagabonds.
The Phantom of the Opera by Lloyd Webber, Andrew Tells the story of a disfigured musical genius who haunts the catacombs beneath the Paris Opera, waging a reign of terror over its occupants. When he falls fatally in love with Christine, the Phantom devotes himself to creating a new star for the Opera, exerting a strange sense of control over the young soprano as he nurtures her extraordinary talents.
Rent: filmed live on Broadway by Warren, Michael John. A year in the life of a group of friends who love, fight, and laugh together as they face important social issues such as AIDS, homosexuality, drug abuse, and homelessness.
The soloist by Foster, Gary In 2005, the only thing hurting Los Angeles Times columnist and recent bike accident victim Steve Lopez more than his banged-up face, was his pressing need for story ideas. He soon discovers Nathaniel Ayers, a skid row schizophrenic street musician, who possesses extraordinary talent - even though he only has half-broken instruments to play. Inspired by Nathaniel's story, Lopez writes an acclaimed series of articles about him and attempts to do more to help both him, and the rest of the underclass of L.A. have a better life. Lopez's good intentions run headlong into Nathaniel's personal demons and the larger issues of social injustice facing the homeless. Regardless, Lopez and Nathaniel find a way to conquer their deepest anxieties and frustrations.
Whiplash by Chazelle, Damien, 1985- Andrew Neyman is an ambitious young jazz drummer, single-minded in his pursuit to rise to the top of his elite East coast music conservatory. Plagued by the failed writing career of his father, Andrew hungers day and night to become one of the greats. Terence Fletcher, an instructor equally known for his teaching talents as for his terrifying methods, leads the top jazz ensemble in the school. Fletcher discovers Andrew and transfers the aspiring drummer into his band.

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Search for films and videos

Streaming videos on individual composers and other topics

Streaming videos: Series

Stream media via Films on Demand

DVDs on library shelves