Steve Vai Movies

This musical release from guitarist and producer Steve Vai compiles a number of memorable performances by the artist, including over 20 tracks, like The Crying Machine, Shove the Sun Aside, Paint Me Your Face, Building the Crush, and more. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

The true story of one of Nashville's most innovative instrumentalists comes to the screen in this biographical drama based on the life of Hank Garland. Garland (played by Waylon Payne) was a gifted guitarist who rose among the ranks of aspiring country music stars to become one of Music City's busiest session players. Garland performed and recorded with the likes of Patsy Cline (Mandy Barnett), Roy Orbison (Brian Jones) and Elvis Presley (Jason Alan Smith), and Garland's musical interests went beyond country and pop; he loved jazz, and inspired by Wes Montgomery, he intended to bridge the gap between country and jazz, forming a jazz combo and cutting a celebrated album called Jazz Winds From A New Direction. But Garland was also a deeply troubled man; his passion for music could seem obsessive to many who worked with him, he had a short fuse when it came to people he felt were taking advantage of his talents, and his womanizing ways led him into a ill-fated relationship with Evelyn (Ali Larter), who discovered too late that she had many rivals for his affections, with music at the top of the list. However, it was neither a sour relationship nor an unappreciative audience that caused the tragedy that ended Garland's career before its time. Crazy was the first feature film from director Rick Bieber. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Fans of rock guitar playing will tell you that Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Yngwie Malmsteen are three of the most technically gifted pickers on the face of the Earth. Boasting digital dexterity and blazing speed, all three gentlemen have expanded the sonic boundaries of hard rock with their innovative styles, and this performance video finds them joining forces for a concert on the 2003 G3 Tour. G3 Live in Denver features solo sets from the three guitarists, as well as a closing jam in which they attempt to match each other, riff for riff. Satriani's set includes "Satch Boogie" and "The Extremist", Vai performs "Triple Neck Piece" and "I'm the Hell Outta Here," while Malmsteen rips through "Baroque and Roll" and "Far Beyond the Sun." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Many rock guitar aficionados cite Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, and Steve Vai as among the most gifted fret-handlers on Earth, and their fans got a triple treat in 1996 when these three players joined forces to tour under the moniker G3. This live concert video (recorded November 2, 1996, at Minneapolis' Northrop Auditorium) features stellar performances from each of the individual musicians, as well as a grand finale where they join forces for a trio of supercharged covers -- Freddie King's "Going Down," Frank Zappa's "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama," and Jimi Hendrix's "Red House." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A passion for blues music is evident in this drama based on a contest-winning script by former blues musician John Fusco -- and featuring one of the decade's best-received motion picture soundtracks, written and performed by Ry Cooder. Eugene Martone Ralph Macchio is a classically trained guitarist who desperately wants to locate a long-lost blues song. At a Harlem nursing home, Eugene finds Willie Brown (Joe Seneca), a legendary blues man who may be able to help him. Eugene becomes part of the master guitarist's scheme to reclaim his soul from the Devil, which he sold in exchange for musical greatness at a rural crossroads many decades before. Making their way across the Mississippi Delta, the duo meets Frances (Jami Gertz), a runaway who becomes a love interest for Eugene. After launching his career with the sale of his script for Crossroads (1986), which is loosely based on the mythical character of Faust and a fable involving real-life blues legend Robert Johnson (played in the film by Tim Russ), Fusco went on to write the highly successful Young Guns (1988). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide