Rock On Film: The Movies That Rocked The Big Screen (2022) Book Review

Music plays an important role in most films, and in some, it is integral to the story. In his new book, Rock On Film: The Movies That Rocked The Big Screen, author Fred Goodman profiles fifty such films. The book covers a fairly wide range of movies, from popular biopics and documentaries to cult favorites, from the 1950s to the present. Music fans will likely have seen many of the movies discussed here, and will enjoy picking up some interesting tidbits about the films’ productions and impact. And chances are there are at least a few gems in here that even the more ardent music enthusiasts haven’t seen but will be eager to after reading the book. There are plenty of photos, and also a few interviews with film directors who have made music an essential element of their work.

The book contains a foreword written by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who recounts some of his work with The Beatles (he directed Let It Be), The Rolling Stones, and other rock artists. Fred Goodman then begins with an anecdote about going to see 200 Motels when he was seventeen, delivering a personal anecdote to give us a sense of where he’s coming from before going into a brief history of rock on film. He also lets us know in that section that he approaches the subject with a bit of humor, as when mentioning the denigrating reference to The Beatles in Goldfinger, he adds, “Oh, James” (p. 13). Also in that section, he touches on the habit of casting rock stars in movies, drawing a connection to earlier singers who acted, such as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Doris Day.

While the brief history of rock on film goes largely in chronological order, the fifty films chosen for a closer look do not. Instead, Fred Goodman begins with some of the most influential films, including A Hard Day’s Night and Don’t Look Back. There are some interesting anecdotes about the shooting of A Hard Day’s Night. Did you know Charlotte Rampling and Phil Collins were extras in that movie? Other influential films covered early in the book include Jailhouse Rock and The T.A.M.I Show. And while the idea is to write about fifty movies, that number is actually doubled by Goodman adding short pieces titled “Make It A Double Feature,” with suggestions for a second film to go with each of the fifty main movies covered in the book. The movie he recommends watching with The T.A.M.I. Show is The Big T.N.T. Show, and interestingly, those two movies were released together as a two-disc Blu-ray package several years ago. (Click here for my review of that release.) Strangely, the movie he recommends to follow The Rocky Horror Picture Show is Phantom Of The Paradise, directed by the most successful hack of all time, Brian De Palma. He skipped the obvious, and possibly better, choice of Shock Treatment, the actual sequel to Rocky Horror (which I think is actually a better film than the original in many ways). By the way, there is an error in the caption to one of the photos from Rocky Horror, mixing up Barry Bostwick and Peter Hinwood.) Some of the other suggested second features are movies that I somehow missed and now am going to make a point of watching, including Mavis! and Amazing Grace.

It’s always fun to read about movies that one loves, so I had a great time reading the sections about This Is Spinal Tap, The Blues Brothers, American Graffiti and The Decline Of Western Civilization. But I actually got more from the sections on the films that I wasn’t as familiar with. Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster and 8 Mile are two I had deliberately avoided because I don’t care for the music, but now definitely want to watch. Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster in particular sounds like a great film. I had also avoided the most recent version of A Star Is Born because I figured that the three versions I had already seen were more than enough, but this book has sparked some curiosity about that film as well. This book isn’t just a love letter to rock movies; there is a critical eye (and ear) too, as when he points out some of the shortcomings of High Fidelity. Of course, as someone who has collected records (and tapes and CDs) all my life, I couldn’t help but fall in love with High Fidelity (the book and the film).

As I mentioned, this book contains interviews with the directors of a few of the films discussed in its pages, including Jim Jarmusch, Penelope Spheeris, and Cameron Crowe. Cameron Crowe directed Almost Famous, which tells a fictionalized tale of his own youth as a music journalist. I worked as an extra on that movie, by the way, and one day on the set the crew was treated to a short concert by Peter Frampton. It was fantastic, but I was baffled by the fact that many of the other extras had absolutely no idea who he was. The two interviews that were most interesting to me were those with Taylor Hackford, who directed Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘N’ Roll, and John Waters, who directed Hairspray (the original version, not that awful musical that was made later). While the interviews do focus on the music, that is not the only topic discussed.

Other movies profiled in this book include The Last Waltz, The Harder They Come, Purple Rain, Mystery Train, Smithereens, Alice’s Restaurant, Beware Of Mr. Baker, and 20 Feet From Stardom. It might be fun to watch all the films in this book, in the order in which they are presented (and, yes, as double features). My friend Ryan loves movie projects. He recently watched all the Elvis Presley movies in order. I think I’m going to pitch this book as the next movie-watching project. And let me just add one recommendation of my own, a movie that is not mentioned in this book. And that is Still Crazy, a 1998 film about the fictional band Strange Fruit. It has an incredible cast, including Bill Nighy, Billy Connolly, Jimmy Nail, Timothy Spall, Bruce Robinson, Stephen Rea, Juliet Aubrey and Helena Bergstrom. It can stand on its own, or it could make a nice third feature after This Is Spinal Tap and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (which is the book’s recommended second feature after Spinal Tap).

Rock On Film: The Movies That Rocked The Big Screen was published on July 26, 2022 by Running Press.