The Neville Brothers Movies

It's hard to overestimate the importance of the city of New Orleans in the history of American popular music; New Orleans was where jazz first took root, and the city's rich gumbo of musical influences (African, Caribbean, and French accents mingling with jazz, blues, gospel, and pop structures) helped to steep the creative melting pot that allowed rhythm and blues and rock & roll to grow. There's nothing like the sound of New Orleans jazz, funk, and R&B, and filmmaker Michael Murphy offers living proof in his documentary Make it Funky!, which examines the Crescent City's vibrant musical history while showing some of the city's greatest musicians on stage. Make it Funky! includes concert performances by Allen Toussaint, The Neville Brothers, Lloyd Price, The Meters, Snooks Eaglin, Walter "Wolfman" Washington, and many more. Bonnie Raitt and Keith Richards also make guest appearances and talk about how the New Orleans sound impacted their own music. Make it Funky! went into release in the fall of 2005, just as Hurricane Katrina was devastating New Orleans, making its portrait of the city all the more poignant. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The United States Congress named 2003 the "Year of the Blues" as part of an initiative by several musical education groups to make more Americans aware of the history and heritage of blues music, one of America's most important homegrown art forms. To kick off this celebration of the blues, a special concert was held at New York City's historic Radio City Music Hall, and Lightning in a Bottle documents a memorable evening of music from a star-studded roster of artists. Offering a glimpse at the rehearsals and preparations that went into putting the show together as well as the evening's best performances, Lightning in a Bottle includes appearances by B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Macy Gray, Buddy Guy, Chuck D., Solomon Burke, David Johansen, Jimmie Vaughan and Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Alison Krauss, and many more. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The familiar characters of the animated TV series Arthur are assembled together for this one-hour "back to school" special. Appearing as "themselves" (albeit redrawn as animals), the members of the popular singing group Backstreet Boys arrive in Ellwood City for a concert. Most of the kids in town, notably Arthur the Aardvark and his starstruck friend Muffy, are thrilled by the presence of the singers. Not so the youthful curmudgeon Francine, who to spite the BCB's many fans in general and Muffy in particular, organizes an "anti-cute" musical club. Ultimately, however, both bands bury the hatchet long enough to perform a tuneful set together. An engaging spoof of the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night, with a few clever digs at modern media marketing practices thrown in, Arthur: It's Only Rock 'N' Roll originally aired over PBS on September 1, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The original, full-length Red Hot and Blue album gets the royal treatment in this release that not only offers the best-selling release in its entirety, but some exciting extras as well. All of the artists are here, including David Byrne, Erasure, the Neville Brothers, Tom Waits, U2, and Annie Lennox, and in addition to offering 19 memorable music videos by such directors as Jim Jarmusch and Wim Wenders, special appearances by Richard Gere, Jean-Paul Gaultier, John Malkovich, and others ensure that the popular AIDS benefit and tribute to Cole Porter will be a noteworthy addition to the collection of any music fan. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This concert film presents the legendary Neville Brothers performing before a live audience a the Storyville Jazz Hall in their hometown of New Orleans, LA. Joined by such famous faces as Dennis Quaid, Bonnie Raitt, and Herbie Hancock, the group presents renditions of such songs as "Sixty Minute Man," "Closer to You," "Ya Ya," "Brother John/Iko Iko," "30 x 90," "Yellow Moon," "Midnight Rider," "Tell It Like It Is," "My Blood," and four others. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

A host of legendary reggae performers meet up in Fort Charles, Jamaica to stage a once in a lifetime musical event spanning two generations in an all-star reggae mega-concert featuring unforgettable performances by Bunny Waller, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, Chrissie Hynde, Toots Hibbert, Grace Jones, The Neville Brothers and Carlos Santana, Jimmy Cliff, and The I-Three. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Always for Pleasure is a plotless cinematic celebration of the Mardi Gras. Director Les Blank concentrates less on the parades and such that the tourists get to see, preferring to dwell on the sensual pleasures of the festival. There's music aplenty, modern rock blending effortlessly with jazz and Cajun tunes. Blank has an errant eye for the bizarre and beautiful, and offers us generous portions of both. The only drawback to Always for Pleasure is that's all over in a mere 58 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide