Best Music Movies of 1982

Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and the exceptional music by Philip Glass.

A widowed field mouse must move her family -- including an ailing son -- to escape a farmer's plow. Aided by a crow and a pack of superintelligent, escaped lab rats, the brave mother struggles to transplant her home to firmer ground.

A struggling female soprano finds work playing a male female impersonator, but it complicates her personal life.

In 1846, Anthony Hope sails into London with the mysterious Sweeney Todd, a once-naive barber whose life and marriage was uprooted by a corrupt justice system. Todd confides in Nellie Lovett, the owner of a local meat pie shop, and the two become partners, as Todd swears revenge on those that have wronged him and decides to take up his old profession.

Now, for the first time, you can re-live the Beatles legends with this stunning 2-hour musical “Rockumentary”. It’s all there from the wild exuberance of the early Cavern Club days through eight incredible years, to the grim finality of “Let It Be”. See John, Paul, George and Ringo in performance, on tour, in films, recording with George Martin and in rare footage never before seen. Narrated by Malcom McDowell.

During the Great Depression, a young boy leaves his family's Oklahoma farm to travel with his country musician uncle who is trying out for the Grand Ole Opry.

Ain't Misbehavin' is the televised version of the 1978 Tony Award-winning Broadway sensation celebrating the music, life and times of Thomas "Fats" Waller — featuring 29 songs written or inspired by him. The telecast won Emmy Awards for Nell Carter and André De Shields.

Hank and Frannie don't seem to be able to live together anymore. After a five-year relationship, lustful and dreamy Frannie leaves down-to-earth Hank on the anniversary of their relationship. Each one of them meets their dream mate, but as bright as they may seem, they are but a stage of lights and colors. Will true love prevail over a seemingly glamorous passion?

The Concerts in China was a concert tour by Jean Michel Jarre, notable for marking the opening of post-Mao Zedong China to live Western music, in 1981. Five concerts were held in the two biggest cities, for an estimated audience of 120,000 spectators, on October 21 and 22 in Beijing, and on October 26 through 28 in Shanghai.

Freddie and co perform a blistering set of hits, including We Will Rock You and Bohemian Rhapsody, in front of an 18,000 strong crowd at Montreal's Forum, in this stunning concert film.

Exit...Stage Left was filmed in Montreal Canada during Rush's 1981 World Tour that encompassed Canada, the United States and Europe and reached a total audience in excess of one million people. The footage incorporated the output of five separate 16mm cameras, both hand-held and stationary, which operated in front of the stage behind a barricade, and in various strategic onstage locations. During the performance at the Montreal forum, the audio was recorded by Le Mobile, with Terry Brown and Guy Charbonneau at the controls. The audio was then digitally mixed at Le Studio in Morin Heights, Quebec, where Moving Pictures, Permanent Waves, and Signals were recorded and mixed. The result, the Exit...Stage Left movie (a different performance than that found on the live Exit...Stage Left album), represents one hour of highlights from Rush's two hour stage show, visualizing material from their albums Moving Pictures, Permanent Waves, Hemispheres, and A Farewell to Kings.

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 T-Birds. Michael Carrington is the new kid in school - but he's been branded a brainiac. Can he fix up an old motorcycle, don a leather jacket, avoid a rumble with the leader of the T-Birds, and win the heart of Pink Lady Stephanie?

A raw and unparalleled DIY documentary about the West Coast Punk scene made by a group of young fans/filmmakers about the bands they loved.

A narcissistic runaway engages in a number of parasitic relationships amongst members of New York's waning punk scene.

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 Zoro's passion for his art and his personal life, particularly his strained relationship with fellow artist Rose.

The Concert in Central Park is a live album by Simon & Garfunkel. On September 19, 1981 the folk-rock duo reunited for a free concert on the Great Lawn of New York's Central Park attended by more than 500,000 people. They released a live album from the concert the following March (Warner Brothers LP 2BSK 3654; CD 3654). It was arranged by Paul Simon and Dave Grusin, and produced by Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Phil Ramone and Roy Halee. The concert was also shot on videotape, televised by HBO in 1982, and subsequently released on various home video formats. The VHS and DVD contain two songs that were omitted from the live album: "The Late Great Johnny Ace" and "Late in the Evening (Reprise)". "Johnny Ace" was disrupted by a fan rushing the stage who came very close to attacking Paul. This incident was both frightening and coincidental, as the song is an elegy upon the murder of John Lennon just one year earlier.

Corrine Burns retreats far into plans for her band, The Fabulous Stains, after her mother's death.

Concert For The Americas This 1st-ever U.S. release of this spectacular 1982 concert proves that even at age 66, Francis Albert Sinatra was still the undisputed Chairman Of The Board. This 90-minute performance features a memorable rendition of "Send In The Clowns" with guitarist Tony Mottola.

A collection of Olivia's videos mainly from her 1981 album Physical. Brian Grant directed these innovative musical videos, this was pre-MTV and won the 1982 Grammy for best video. Said to cost half a million dollars to produce, it was filmed in California (at Olivia's house), London and Hawaii. It boasted 35 per cent of the US viewing audience when it first aired. Tracklist 1 Intro 2 Rolling 3 Landslide 4 Magic 5 Physical 6 Carried Away 7 A Little More Love 8 Recovery 9 The Promise (The Dolphin Song) 10 Love Make Me Strong 11 Stranger's Touch 12 Make A Move On Me 13 Falling 14 Silvery Rain 15 Hopelessly Devoted

Taped in Toronto between August 9-24, 1982, Miss Piggy hosts her own variety show, with special guests John Ritter, George Hamilton and Tony Clifton (Andy Kaufman). Under the direction of Kermit the Frog, the Muppets work in the control room and, amidst chaos, manage to keep the show on the air. Throughout the show, a romantic triangle develops among Piggy, Ritter (who is smitten with the pig) and Hamilton (who is deeply uncomfortable with the star's romantic inclinations).

Intrigue...comedy...adventure...unforgettable characters and exotic settings - the legendary story of Treasure Island comes to life in this colourful adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's masterpiece. Join these timeless travellers in this wonderful and immortal tale of treasure and treachery!

A new-wave extravaganza in which a young woman wants to become the next big singer with the help of her friends and despite the wishes of her working class family.

Documentary about the blacklisted folk group, "The Weavers," and the events leading up to their triumphant return to Carnegie Hall.

The Who’s 1982 tour, which was all in North America apart from two warm-up dates at the Birmingham NEC in England, was their last to feature Kenney Jones on drums and the band did not tour again until 1989. The tour promoted the recent IT’S HARD album, which had been released in June 1982, and the set list included a number of tracks from that album, some of which the band would only play live on this tour. This concert film features the show from the second of their two nights at New York’s Shea Stadium and was filmed on 13 October 1982.

Documents the post-punk period between 1978 and 1981, featuring the looks, the poses, the rucks, the riots and the slaggings of bands and their fans. Includes footage of the Wasted Festival and some of the original bands 25 years on. Also has performances from exponents of Punk, Mod, Oi and Ska - all filmed in the same DIY ethic that spawned punk itself.

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 the butcher shop is a septic tank where scraps of meat are dumped which has produced "balonium" a radioactive fuel source sought after by space aliens. The aliens revive the mayor, who's body is hanging in the meat locker of the butcher shop, in an attempt to gain access to the balonium.

The D'Oyly Carte production of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. Love blossoms between members of different social classes among a general lampooning of the British class system.

The musical uses the premise of a mysterious performance troupe, led by a Leading Player, to tell the story of Pippin, a young prince on his search for meaning and significance. In 1981, a stage production of Pippin was videotaped for Canadian television. The stage production was directed by Kathryn Doby, Bob Fosse's dance captain for the original Broadway production, and David Sheehan directed the video adaptation, with Roger O. Hirson in charge of the music. Ben Vereen returned for the role of Leading Player, while William Katt played the role of Pippin. However, this version was a truncated adaptation and several sections of the play were cut. An extended version running 135 minutes is also available.

Earth, Wind & Fire: In Concert was recorded at the Oakland Coliseum on December 30-31, 1981 for broadcast on HBO. This brilliant performance by the Grammy-winning flamboyant funk group captures the hard-driving rhythms, the soothing melodies, the scintillating horns and the special effects that have dazzled concertgoers around the world. Included are "Sing a Song," "Fantasy," "Shining Star," "Kalimba Tree," "Let Your Feelings Show," "In the Stone" and "Phoenix Intro."

In the Moss Side, Manchester "race riots" of 1981 a struggling punk band are tempted by a sinister entrepreneur to perform at a major gig in support of British extreme Right political organizations.

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 to reach. This film features highlights of the tour which include stops in Japan, Hong Kong, India, Egypt, Australia and Latin America. Recorded live during the tour are 16 songs featured in this film, However this is more than a video rock concert - including many humourous off-stage shots that show the band sampling some of the sights, customs and culture of the lands their fans call home

Produced by Frank Zappa in 1982, The Dub Room Special combines footage from a performance at the KCET studios in Los Angeles on August 27, 1974, a concert performed at The Palladium, NYC on October 31, 1981, some clay animation by Bruce Bickford, and several interviews. Previously only available through mail-order, it was made widely available on DVD on October 17, 2005.

In Ballet Robotique, the graceful movements of giant assembly line robots are perfectly synchronized to classical music recorded by London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.

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 ferocious. The Cat has to save the world from the clutches of the Grinch and the only way to do it is to reach Grinch's soft spot.

This musical adaptation of the Studs Terkel book examines the average worker's viewpoint--showing that he or she is anything but average. Based on a series of interviews with real working people--construction workers, waitresses, firemen, secretaries, and cleaning women, Working is both an exploration of the individuals' occupations and a lament for lost hopes and dreams.

The Rolling Stones' record-breaking 1981 North American arena tour documented by director Hal Ashby. Featuring the biggest Rolling Stones songs from the first 20 years - in the words of Mick Jagger, "a feel of what it's like to be there", as 20 cameras take you onstage with the band in this groundbreaking, dynamic tour.

Saxophonist Art Pepper (1925-1982) lived the kind of jazz life only found in Hollywood movies. His prodigious talent led him to top gigs as a teenager, but drugs and attendant criminal activity knocked him out of commission for virtually all of the 1960s and early 1970s. This documentary, shot shortly after his searing memoir, {-Straight Life}, was published in 1979, shows Pepper in the full flower of a remarkable comeback. His third wife, Laurie, is featured prominently; they met in the drug treatment facility Synanon in 1969 and were married in 1974. She took over his business affairs and helped him write {-Straight Life}. Pepper tells his own story here, but the emphasis is on an evening's performance at a club in Malibu, with the musician in fine form, backed by a terrific trio. (Tom Wiener, Rovi)

Following the success of the 1979 show and the financial benefits accruing to Amnesty from the spin-off movie, TV special and record albums – Cleese, Lewis and Walker planned the next show to be a more spectacular event. Cleese focused on broadening the comedic talent to be presented at the show. In addition to the Amnesty show stalwarts drawn from the Oxbridge/Monty Python/Beyond The Fringe orbit, he invited newcomers such as Rowan Atkinson’s colleagues from the BBC TV show Not the Nine O'Clock News including Pamela Stephenson and Griff Rhys Jones; comedian Victoria Wood and regional comic Jasper Carrott. Lewis secured a return appearance by Billy Connolly and a debut appearance by "alternative" comedian Alexei Sayle who Lewis had recently discovered and was managing. Building on the success of Pete Townshend's 1979 appearance Lewis recruited other rock musicians to perform at the 1981 show including Sting, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Donovan and Bob Geldof.

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 and Raiders of the Lost Ark. In your typical boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy fights girl with swords plot, the story revolves around Mabel ...

There has never been a documentary like "Land of Look Behind". Relatively unknown due to poor distribution and New York Film Festival skullduggery, this breathtaking film presents a unique epic vision with quasi-dramatic elements and cinematographic wizardry. The non-reggae original soundtrack is outstanding, as is the reggae music of Bob Marley and Gregory Isaacs. The great documentary filmmaker Werner Herzog has called "Look Behind" the non-fiction film that has influenced him most over the last fifteen years. Indeed, this film's peers are the best of Herzog, Bunuel's "Land Without Bread", Flaherty's "Nanook" and Leacock-Pennebaker's "Louisiana Story". With thoughtful viewing, one will see this moving documentary actually end with a lovely little dream sequence. No American has come close to making a film this ingenious in the last thirty years.

Saxophonist Danny witnesses the murder of his band manager and a deaf-mute girl after a gig. Questioned by the police, he remembers only the orthopedic shoes of the killers’ leader. So begins his quest to avenge her.

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 society party is where the end begins.

Lynda Carter stars in her fourth musical TV special with guests George Benson, Tony Orlando, and Frank Stallone.

The Metropolitan Opera's performance of "Hansel and Gretel" features music by Engelbert Humperdinck and is conducted by Thomas Fulton. The Met's storybook production cheerfully evokes a magic world of woodland sprites and candy dreams and yet brings as well the entire apparatus of Wagnerian music and drama to bear on a German fairy tale. This production is sung in English, and features the Metropolitan Opera, Chorus, and Ballet.

Through interviews, archival footage, photos and classic tunes, learn about the remarkable career and troubled life of legendary jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, who influenced countless musicians before alcoholism lead to his premature death. Close friends and associates such as Hoagy Carmichael, Charlie David and Louis Armstrong share their memories of Bix's abilities, playing style and personality.

On December 13th, 1981, Stevie Nicks's "Live In Concert" Video was filmed at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, California. This video was also presented on television as an HBO special. Only a portion of the tracks filmed live appeared on the 60 minute video. They are: 1. Gold Dust Woman 2. Gold And Braid 3. I Need to Know 4. Dreams 5. Stop Draggin' My Heart Around 6. Sara 7. Edge of Seventeen 8. Outside the Rain 9. Rhiannon

Successful British band Japan filmed live in concert at the Hammersmith Odeon, London on 16th November 1982.

A famous opera singer, Giorgio Fini, loses his voice during an American tour. He goes to a female throat specialist, Pamela Taylor, whom he falls in love with.

Vladimir Horowitz's piano recital in 1982 at Royal Festival Hall in London.