Jeff Beck Movies

On the 30th Anniversary of the original Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Ball, event producer\co-founder Martin Lewis compiles some of the finest moments from the annual concert event that inspired rock and rollers to get actively involved with their favorite causes. In the aftermath of Pete Townshend's unforgettable acoustic performance at the June 1979 Secret Policeman's Ball in London, rockers from Sting to Phil Collins became convinced that their music could be used to do something more than simply sell records. Since then, some of the biggest names in music have performed at the annual Secret Policeman's Ball. In addition to performances by Kate Bush, Bob Geldof, and Peter Gabriel, this compilation also features Townshend's memorable of "Pinball Wizard", and finds Eric Clapton teaming with Jeff Beck to perform "Farther Up the Road". ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Part of The Blues documentary film series on PBS, Red, White & Blues is directed by British filmmaker Mike Figgis. This installment explores the impact of black American blues music on mostly white audiences in the U.K., who then reintroduced the style to mainstream America during the British invasion of the early '60s. Kids from London, Birmingham, Manchester, and other parts of England were heavily influenced by the "race music" that middle-class white America largely ignored. Figgis himself was involved in the British blues music scene in one of Bryan Ferry's early bands. Tom Jones, Jeff Beck, Van Morrison, and Lulu come together for a live improvised recording session at Abbey Road Studios. Eric Clapton, John Mayall, Mick Fleetwood, and Steve Winwood offer commentary in interview segments. Red, White & Blues was originally broadcast by PBS on October 3, 2003. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Blue Chips examines greed, cheating, and "winning at all costs" in the world of college basketball. Nick Nolte plays the stressed-out coach on the verge of his first losing season, who hits the road in search of new players not already signed by a bigger school. He finds three prospects: a precision Chicago shooter (Anfernee Hardaway), a giant farmboy (Matt Nover), and a talented troublemaker (Shaquille O'Neal). All three, wise to the ways of college basketball recruitment, make excessive financial and lifestyle demands before they can be persuaded to come to the school; the coach, already haunted by accusations of underhanded dealings, doesn't want to dig himself a deeper hole but has no choice. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

The mock heavy-metal band Spinal Tap (actually comedians Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer) return to duty in this made-for-TV sequel to Rob Reiner's 1984 mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, filmed to promote the group's album Break Like the Wind. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

A priest discovers that being the leader of the Catholic Church can be hazardous to your health in this satiric comedy. Cardinal Rocco (Alex Rocco) and Monsignor Vitchie (Paul Bartel) are two high-ranking Vatican officials who have been using the church's business dealings to launder funds for Vittorio Corelli (Herbert Lom), a crime boss involved in illegal arms trading. After the death of the aging and infirm Pope, Rocco and Vitchie plan to nominate a successor who will go along with Corelli's schemes, but quite by accident, small town priest Giuseppe Albinizi (Robbie Coltrane) is named the new Pontiff. Albinizi is a reluctant spiritual leader who prefers cars, women, and rock & roll to church business, but when he discovers the level of Rocco's corruption, he has him removed from the Vatican. Rocco and Vitchie are not taking Albinizi's plans to clean up Vatican finances lying down, and they discover that the new Pope's has a not-so-little secret. Before he joined the priesthood, Albinizi fathered a son out of wedlock with Veronica Dante (Beverly D'Angelo); the boy grew up to be Joe Don Dante (Balthazar Getty), a rock star who's romancing Corelli's daughter. After complaints from Catholic groups in the U.S., the distributors of The Pope Must Die changed the title to The Pope Must Diet. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This British concert documentary follows that country's very popular standup comedian and television performer Lenny Henry, who is largely unknown in the U.S. It was filmed in 1989 at London's Hackney Empire Theatre. In order to add interest to what might otherwise be a pedestrian performance show, there are backstage scenes in which Lenny impersonates such luminaries as Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and Steve Martin, who all have advice for Lenny. ($Lenny Henry is best known for lampooning musicians and the British music world, and his humor particularly addresses the situation of blacks in contemporary British society. In one skit, he plays a Lou Rawls-type crooner of sexually stimulating ballads by the name of "Theophilus P. Wildebeeste." In others, he plays the reggae star "Fred Dread," blues singer "Smith," and the small-time DJ "Delbert Wilkins." In character as "Smith," Lenny performs a duet with the legendary rock guitarist Jeff Beck. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

"Greed is Good." This is the credo of the aptly named Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), the antihero of Oliver Stone's Wall Street. Gekko, a high-rolling corporate raider, is idolized by young-and-hungry broker Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen). Inveigling himself into Gekko's inner circle, Fox quickly learns to rape, murder and bury his sense of ethics. Only when Gekko's wheeling and dealing causes a near-tragedy on a personal level does Fox "reform"-though his means of destroying Gekko are every bit as underhanded as his previous activities on the trading floor. Director Stone, who cowrote Wall Street with Stanley Weiser, has claimed that the film was prompted by the callous treatment afforded his stockbroker father after 50 years in the business; this may be why the film's most compelling scenes are those between Bud Fox and his airline mechanic father (played by Charlie Sheen's real-life dad Martin). Ironically, Wall Street was released just before the October, 1987 stock market crash. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The A.R.M.S. (Action for Research Into Multiple Sclerosis) concert was videotaped live at the Royal Albert Hall, in London on September 20, 1983. An ensemble of superstar musicians paid tribute to former Faces guitarist Ronnie Lane, who was diagnosed with MS. In part two of this two-video set, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Ray Cooper, Simon Phillips, Fernandso Saunders, James Hooker, Tony Hymas, Chris Stainton, Kenny Jones, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Lane, Steve Winwood, Andy Fairweather, and Bill Wyman provide the music. Songs performed are "Everybody Oughta Make a Change," "Star Cycle," "Pump," "Led Boots Intro," "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," "Hi Ho Silver Lining," "Who's to Blame," "City Sirens," "Stairway to Heaven," "Slowdown Sundown," "Tulsa Time," "Layla," and "Goodnight Irene." ~ Karla Baker, All Movie Guide

The highlights of two benefit concerts staged in support of Amnesty International are collected in this British performance film, which features ample helpings of both music and comedy. The members of the Monty Python comedy troupe serve as headliners, performing live variations on some of their most famous sketches. Additional humor is provided by such luminaries as Peter Cook, while the musical segments include performances by Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, and Sting, amongst others. While all of the performers deliver the goods, the film's overall effectiveness is unfortunately limited by the purely functional direction and often poor image quality. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

This instructional video offers lessons in how to play guitar like some of the most respected musicians in rock history. This program teaches by utilizing such songs as The Allman Brothers' "Stormy Monday Blues," Santana's "Winning," and Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Change It.' ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide