The Best Music Movies and TV Shows on Fandor

What it's about: A semi-fictionalized documentary about a day in the life of Australian musician Nick Cave's persona.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu, Fandor, Kanopy & 1 other) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Bruce Macdonald follows punk bank Hard Core Logo on a harrowing last-gasp reunion tour throughout Western Canada. As magnetic lead-singer Joe Dick holds the whole magilla together through sheer force of will, all the tensions and pitfalls of life on the road come bubbling to the surface.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Fandor & Hoopla) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 1 service (iTunes).

What it's about: Ivanhoe Martin arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, looking for work and, after some initial struggles, lands a recording contract as a reggae singer. He records his first song, "The Harder They Come," but after a bitter dispute with a manipulative producer named Hilton, soon finds himself resorting to petty crime in order to pay the bills. He deals marijuana, kills some abusive cops and earns local folk hero status. Meanwhile, his record is topping the charts.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Fandor, Hoopla, Kanopy & 1 other) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Chronicles the history, ideology and aesthetic of Norwegian black metal, a musical subculture infamous as much for a series of murders and church arsons as it is for its unique musical and visual aesthetics. This is the first film to truly shed light on a movement that has heretofore been shrouded by rumor and obscured by inaccurate and shallow depictions. Featuring exclusive interviews with the musicians themselves, Until the Light Takes Us explores every aspect of the controversial movement that has captured the attention of the world.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Fandor, Kanopy & Docurama) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: 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.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Fandor, Hoopla & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Frankie is an emotional train wreck, careening around the East Los Angeles music scene drinking and meeting strangers. Lev is a taciturn and tormented soul. He drives a limo and wants to work in the music business. They begin a relationship after they connect with each other one night at a party.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu), stream on a subscription service (Fandor & Hoopla) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Google Play & Microsoft).

What it's about: Jimmy, the owner of a failed music shop, goes to work with his uncle, the owner of a food factory. Before he gets there, he befriends an Irish family who happens to be his uncle's worst enemy because of their love for music and in-house band who constantly practices. Soon, Jimmy finds himself trying to help the band by getting them gigs and trying to reconcile the family with his uncle.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, PlutoTV & The Roku Channel), stream on a subscription service (Paramount+, Epix, Fandor & 1 other), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Sarah and Isolde share an interest in the traditional music and dance of the Balkans, but it turns out that shared interests don’t always unite them. Their trip, initially a fun bonding experience, takes a southward turn when Sarah becomes interested in handsome fellow camper Steph. A seemingly innocent romantic overture touches off an abrupt shift in the dynamic between the two girlfriends, steering a previously ecstatic camp outing down a psychological rabbit hole.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (The Criterion Channel, Fandor & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: James Cagney has a rare chance to show his song-and-dance-man roots in this low-budget tale of a New York bandleader struggling with a Hollywood studio boss.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & PlutoTV), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Paramount+, Epix & 3 others), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: When Gabriel and Emilie meet by chance, he offers her a ride, and they spend the evening talking, laughing and getting along famously. At the end of the night, Emilie declines Gabriel's offer of "a kiss without consequences". Emilie admonishes him that the kiss could have unexpected consequences, and tells him a story, unfolding in flashbacks, about the impossibility of indulging your desires without affecting someone else's life.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Fandor, Hoopla & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: All-girl school Mar Brynn tries to get more pupils and publicity by making fun of the Quincton college. For revenge, the boys there sent Bob Sheppard to Mar Brynn, dressed as a girl, to give them a slight scandal. But he falls in love with Virginia, the girl who is putting on a show there. Now Bob has the problem of getting revenge for Quinceton and not loosing his girl, especially when Quinceton hears about his relationship and decides to sent him support...

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & PlutoTV), stream on a subscription service (Paramount+, Epix & Fandor), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $7.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: The comedic tale of two minions of the devil who crash a Harlem party thrown by Miss Maybell with high hopes of destroying its festive atmosphere. The first of the imps to arrive, Trinity, loses sight of his mission and consequently falls in love with Miss Maybell's impressionable young niece Earnestine. Trinity is later joined by Brother Dave, his older, more jaded partner. But as Dave pulls out all the stops to dampen the mood, he serves only to enhance the partygoers' good spirits.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Fandor).

What it's about: Heavy Metal Parking Lot documents heavy metal music fans tailgating in the parking lot outside the Capital Centre (since demolished) in Landover, Maryland, on May 31, 1986, before a Judas Priest concert (with opening act Dokken).

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Fandor) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 2 services (Google Play & Prime Video).

What it's about: This documentary on the effect the talent competition "Afghan Star" has on the incredibly diverse inhabitants of Afghanistan affords a glimpse into a country rarely seen. Contestants risk their lives to appear on the television show that is a raging success with the public and also monitored closely by the government.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Fandor, Hoopla & 1 other) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 1 service (iTunes).

What it's about: Burlesque queen Doll Face Carroll is dismissed from an audition for a legitimate Broadway show because she lacks culture. Her boss/manager Mike decides that she can get both culture and plenty of publicity by writing her autobiography. He hires a ghost writer to do all the work, but doesn't count on the possibility that Doll Face and her collaborator might have more than a book on their minds.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Paramount+, Epix & 1 other), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Filmed in Chicago & finished in 1959, The Cry of Jazz is filmmaker, composer and arranger Edward O. Bland's polemical essay on the politics of music and race - a forecast of what he called "the death of jazz." A landmark moment in black film, foreseeing the civil unrest of subsequent decades, it also features the only known footage of visionary pianist Sun Ra from his beloved Chicago period. Featured are ample images of tenor saxophonist John Gilmore and the rest of Ra's Arkestra in Windy City nightclubs, all shot in glorious black & white.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Fandor).

What it's about: A jazz pianist is haunted by his dead ex-lover's crawling hand and floating head.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Paramount+, Epix & Fandor), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 1 service (Vudu).

What it's about: For the ventriloquist Gabbo his wooden dummy Otto is the only means of expression. When he starts relying more and more on Otto, he starts going mad.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Paramount+, Epix, Shudder & 2 others), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: The first testament says "an eye for an eye." - The second testament says "love thy neighbour." - The third testament ... Kicks Ass!!!

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Fandor) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: In Panama, Maggie King meets soldier Skid Johnson on his last day in the army and reluctantly agrees to a date to celebrate. The two become involved in a nightclub brawl which causes Maggie to miss her ship back to the States. Now stranded, she's forced to move in with Skid and his pal Harry. She soon falls in love with Skid. Skid gets a job playing the trumpet at a local club and becomes a big success. Fame and fortune go to his head which eventually destroys his relationship Maggie and his career.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Paramount+, Epix & Fandor), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.00 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Deputies Gene Autry and Frog go up against modern cattle rustlers. These rustlers use technology such as, airplanes, radios and refrigerated trucks to steal the cows, butcher them in the field and ship them out before getting caught. This causes the town to bring in a modern NYC detective to catch the crooks, but will Autry and Frog be permanently out of a job?

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, PlutoTV, Plex & 1 other), stream on a subscription service (Paramount+, Philo, fuboTV & 3 others), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: After Pat Garrett kills Billy the Kid, Billy's look-alike Roy Rogers arrives and is mistaken for him. Although a murderer, Billy was on the side of the homesteaders against the large ranchers. As Billy's death is unknown, Roy gets Garrett to let him pose as Billy to continue the fight, but without the killing.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Plex), stream on a subscription service (Paramount+, Epix & Fandor) & stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix).

What it's about: In the feature documentary, Summer 82 - When Zappa Came to Sicily, filmmaker and Zappa fan Salvo Cuccia tells the behind-the-scenes story of Frank Zappa's star-crossed concert in Palermo, Sicily, the wrap-up to a European tour that ended in public disturbances and police intervention. Cuccia had a ticket to the concert but never made it. Thirty years later, collaborating with Zappa's family, he re-creates the events through a combination of rare concert and backstage footage; photographs; anecdotes from family, band members, and concertgoers; and insights from Zappa biographer and friend Massimo Bassoli. The story is also a personal one, as Cuccia interweaves the story of Zappa's trip to Sicily with his own memories from that summer.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Fandor) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: When the bride's mother is supposedly swindled out of her money by a spurned suitor, the groom's father orchestrates a scheme of his own to set things right. He is aided by a cabaret singer, while placating a jealous wife.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Paramount+, Epix & Fandor), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: In his starring debut, Roy gets elected to Congress in order to bring water to the ranchers in his district. In Washington, he learns he needs the backing of a key congressman and gets that man to go west for an inspection trip. When the congressman is initially unimpressed, Roy gets the inspection party stranded without water to show the true conditions.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PlutoTV & Plex), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Paramount+, Epix & 1 other), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Cab Calloway plays himself in a plot about jealousy, night clubs, and gangsters. Ends with a series of musical numbers.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Epix & Fandor), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 2 services (Prime Video & Vudu).

What it's about: The story of Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey from their boyhood in Pennsylvania through their rise, their breakup, and their personal reunion.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & PlutoTV), stream on a subscription service (Paramount+, Epix & Fandor), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Danny O'Neill and Hank Taylor are rival trumpeters with the Perennials, a college band, and both men are still attending college by failing their exams seven years in a row. In the midst of a performance, Danny spies Ellen Miller who ends up being made band manager. Both men compete for her affections while trying to get the other one fired.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Paramount+, Epix & Fandor), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: A high schooler from suburbia gets in touch with her sexuality while working at a dingy movie theater in the city.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi) & stream on a subscription service (Fandor).

What it's about: A theatrical producer puts aside his own success to boost the career of a talented singer.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & PlutoTV), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Paramount+, Epix & 1 other), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: On the edge of the 30th anniversary of punk rock, Punk's Not Dead takes you into the sweaty underground clubs, backyard parties, recording studios, and yes, shopping malls and stadium shows where punk rock music and culture continue to thrive. Thirty years after bands like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols infamously shocked the system with their hard, fast, status-quo-killing rock, the longest-running punk band in history is drawing bigger crowds than ever, "pop-punk" bands have found success on MTV, and kids too young to drive are forming bands that carry the torch for punk's raw, immediate sound. Meanwhile, "punk" has become a marketing concept to sell everything from cars to vodka, and dyed hair and piercings mark a rite of passage for thousands of kids.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Fandor) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: When Thomas Overby mistakenly believes Aya is his assigned driver, she spontaneously decides to go along with the charade and drives him to Jerusalem. A stiff and guarded pianist, Overby is intrigued by the impulsive though melancholy Aya. As they slowly begin to connect, the film takes us on a journey we hope will never end.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Fandor & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: When a prominent abortion clinic owner goes missing along with a string of other black community leaders, her singing daughter and her fellow female biker gang members investigate.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Fandor) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: After connecting with the shy Madeline, a jazz trumpeter embarks on a quest for a more gregarious paramour, but through a series of twists and turns punctuated by an original score, the two lovers seem destined to be together.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Mubi & Fandor).

What it's about: In the early 70’s, Rock photographer Bob Gruen and his wife Nadya purchased a portable Video Recorder. In a period of three years they shot over 40 hours of New York Dolls footage. Now for the first time ever this footage is unveiled. This feature length documentary captures the band during early performances in New York at Kenny’s Castaways and Max’s Kansas City, then follows the Dolls on their tour of the West Coast, including footage from the Whisky A Go Go, the Real Don Steele Show, Rodney Bingenheimer’s E Club and much more. Intercut with revealing interviews, backstage banter and late night debauchery, this is THE definitive document of the New York Dolls.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Fandor) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Ten years in the making, Strange Powers is an intimate documentary portrait of songwriter Stephin Merritt and his band the Magnetic Fields. With his unique gift for memorable melodies, lovelorn lyrics and wry musical stylings that blend classic Tin Pan Alley with modern sounds, Stephin Merritt has distinguished himself as one of contemporary pop's most beloved and influential artists.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Fandor & Kanopy).

What it's about: A documentary about the band X. Includes live and studio performances and interviews with the band members.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu), stream on a subscription service (Fandor) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Prime Video & Vudu).

What it's about: Here comes DEATH's probing and pulsing rock doc, DEATH BY METAL, pulling back the palm fronds of DEATH's origins in Altamonte Springs, Florida, and latching a narrative hook into the headstrong Chuck Schuldiner juggernaut for fifteen gratifying if sometimes frustrating years. As the baby steps become giant leaps, the stable of supporting players grows and continually shines in its own devious light.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & IMDb TV), stream on a subscription service (Fandor, ConTV & Docurama) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Bad guys plot to trick a newly arrived Eastern girl out of a ranch which belongs to her infant ward. Roy, of course, saves the ranch for the girl. Songs include "I'm Headin's for the Home Corral," "He's a No Good Son of a Gun," "Sandman Lullaby," "Song of the San Joaquin," and "I'm a Cowboy Rockefeller."

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Paramount+, Epix & Fandor), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: A voodoo priestess sends out zombies to bring back live victims for her sacrificial rituals.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Fandor).

What it's about: Roy is a newspaper reporter. He goes to Cheyenne to cover the activities of supposed bad guy Arapahoe Brown. Roy, of course, discovers who the real bad guy is.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, PlutoTV & Plex), stream on a subscription service (Paramount+, Epix & Fandor), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Roy and Gabby fight bad guys to save the town of Deadwood.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & PlutoTV), stream on a subscription service (Paramount+, Epix & Fandor), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Guerilla filmmaker Brendan Toller unleashes I NEED THAT RECORD! THE DEATH (OR POSSIBLE SURVIVAL) OF THE INDEPENDENT RECORD STORE, "an elegy for a vanishing subculture...a lively, bittersweet film that examines - with caustic humor, brutal candor, and, ultimately, great affection - why roughly 3,000 indie record stores have closed across the nation over the past decade," (Johnathan Perry, Boston Globe). A tour-de-force tale of greed, media consolidation, homogenized radio, big box stores, downloading, and technological shifts in the music industry told through candid interviews, crestfallen record store owners, startling statistics, and eye-popping animation. Fat cats or our favorite record stores? You decide. Featuring- IAN MACKAYE, NOAM CHOMSKY, MIKE WATT, THURSTON MOORE, LENNY KAYE (Patti Smith), CHRIS FRANTZ (Talking Heads), GLENN BRANCA, PATTERSON HOOD (Drive By Truckers), PAT CARNEY (Black Keys) , LEGS MCNEIL, BOB GRUEN, BP HELIUM, and many indie record stores across the U.S.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Fandor) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 2 services (Google Play & Prime Video).

What it's about: NOT A PHOTOGRAPH documents the resurrection of the seminal post-punk band Mission of Burma, beginning in 2002 and continuing to the present. For a band deemed 'too ahead-of-their-time' during their initial existence, NOT A PHOTOGRAPH follows Mission of Burma's struggle to breathe new life into a tale that's already been recorded in rock's history books -- one that's placed them under the bright lights of acclaim, influence and legend.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Fandor) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (Google Play, Prime Video & YouTube).

What it's about: Wiley is a gay virgin who spends his nights with a large collection of porno. Johnny's his best friend but he's straight, though does admit to a little experimenting. What to do? what to do?

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Fandor).

What it's about: Captain Hunt of the cavalry is trying to promote good relations with the Indian chief Acoma. But Hunt's superiors in the military insist on pursuing policies that will provoke a conflict, and Chief Acoma is not willing to let himself be insulted.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Paramount+, Epix, Fandor & 1 other), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: American Artifact chronicles the rise of American rock poster art since it's birth in the'60s. Award-winning director, Merle Becker crosses the country interviewing the rock poster artists from the different eras to discover that America is currently in the midst of a 21st century "rock poster art movement", where thousands of artists around the country are doing silk screened rock poster art inspired by their local scene, the music of our time, and the spirit of our era.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi) & stream on a subscription service (Fandor).

What it's about: Indie rock icons the Archers of Loaf reunited in 2011, and during the course of their reunion tour played two legendary concerts at Cat’s Cradle in Chapel Hill, NC. Combining in-your-face concert footage along with rare interviews of the band, this film by director Gorman Bechard documents those concerts, and captures the excitement and explosive energy of what its like to see this extraordinary band perform live.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Fandor) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Google Play & Prime Video).

What it's about: The film tells the story of army recruits following basic training, with the Andrew Sisters attending USO dances. The film is a mixture of comedy and songs.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Paramount+, Epix & Fandor), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: John Wayne portrays Singin' Sandy Saunders and has a reputation as the most notorious gunman since Billy the Kid. That's somewhat ironic though, since it's later revealed that he's a special Secret Service agent sent from Washington to investigate a land swindle scheme under the direction of town boss James Kincaid (Forrest Taylor).

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, PlutoTV & Vudu), stream on a subscription service (Paramount+, Starz, Epix & 2 others), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz & Epix) & rent or buy from $2.00 on 1 service (Prime Video).