Miles Davis Movies

The feature-film debut of famed director Louis Malle is an interesting, modern film noir with the classic theme of lovers plotting to kill the husband and make it look like suicide (reminiscent of The Postman Always Rings Twice). Jeanne Moreau, as Florence Carala, gives an astonishing performance, perverse but naive as she leads her young lover down a path that can only lead to doom for both of them. Malle and his cinematographer Henri Decae make extensive use of Paris at night, giving the film the feel of claustrophobia and desperation reminiscent of the classic noir films. The excellent score by Miles Davis adds to the entire effect of this mystery thriller. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Brock Peters narrates and Miles Davis provides the musical score of the feature-length documentary Jack Johnson. Using stills, rare film clips and the occasional interview, director William Cayton fashions a commanding, poignant portrait of the black boxing champion who held the heavyweight title from 1908 and 1915. Also examined are the efforts by the racist press of the period to promote a "white hope" who would topple the "uppity" Johnson from his throne. Though Johnson's white tormentors are depicted as the knuckle-draggers that they were, the film is careful to point out that Johnson was often his own worst enemy. Jack Johnson would make an excellent companion piece with the 1970 film a clef based on Johnson's career, The Great White Hope. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"Masters of American Music" brings you three decades of music from Miles Davis. Features film of his performances and his work with musicians including Gil Evans, John Coltrane, Tony Williams and Herbie Hancock. ~ All Movie Guide

For about a year after the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969, it seemed as though everyone wanted to stage a rock festival. However, The Rolling Stones' disastrous Altamont free concert (documented in the film Gimme Shelter) forever tarnished the image of the rock festival in the U.S., while in Europe, the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival was fortunately less deadly than Altamont, but nearly as controversial. Staged by two men with greater ambitions than practical experience (not unlike Woodstock), the festival was held on a small island off the British coast, where some of the finest rock talent of the day -- Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Who, Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, Donovan, Jethro Tull, Joan Baez, Leonard Cohen, and Kris Kristofferson, among many others -- were scheduled to play over the course of five days. But while at Woodstock no one had given much thought about keeping gatecrashers out, at the Isle of Wight those without tickets were greeted with corrugated steel fences that sealed off the festival grounds. Huge numbers of visitors simply camped on hills surrounding the grounds, while others broke down the fences by force after refusing to pay the three pounds admission. This led to heated conflicts between the promoters (who railed bitterly against the audience from the stage), the festival's security staff (who had to deal with the many gatecrashers), the concert-goers (who were upset with both the admission price and the site's facilities, one spectator calling it "a psychedelic concentration camp"), and the performers (who had to deal with unruly audiences and the prospect of not being paid). It was estimated that 600,000 people attended the festival, but less than 50,000 actually paid to get in, spelling financial ruin for the promoters. American documentary filmmaker Murray Lerner brought a crew to record the festival on film, but thanks to the festival's bad publicity and uneven reviews, he was not able to obtain completion funds for the project until 1995, hence the presence of many musicians who had since passed away, such as Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Miles Davis. Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival examines the concert both on-stage and behind-the-scenes, capturing performances from many of the artists who appeared. We see Joni Mitchell and Kris Kristofferson angrily confronting the rowdy crowd, and The Who at the peak of their form (their full set was released as a separate film), alongside the numerous catastrophes and conflicts that dominated the festival's five days. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Miles and friends get together and play some tunes. ~ All Movie Guide

One of the single most influential figures in the history of modern jazz, Miles Davis was an artist who staked out his own sonic territory from the first note he played to the last moment of his life, and this video finds Miles and his group in stellar form during a 1988 visit to Europe. Miles Davis: Live In Munich features Miles and his septet performing sixteen songs, including "Tutu", "Human Nature", "Time After Time", "Perfect Way", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Carnival Time", and "Portia". ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This concert program by legendary jazzman Miles Davis captures a live performance by the horn player, recorded in Munich in 1987, as well as interview footage with the artist. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

Widely considered one of the landmark albums in history and the starting point for jazz-rock fusion, Miles Davis' Bitches Brew ranked as one of the one hundred greatest albums of all time in a Rolling Stone magazine poll published in 1987. Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue captures Davis performing the album at the 1970 Isle of Weight Music Festival. Along with the music, interviews with performers as varied as Carlos Santana and Joni Mitchell are included. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Take a voyage through the history of European jazz in this musical meditation on the origins, growth, and exciting shifts in direction that came to define the endless search for that ever-elusive "voice of one's own." As musicians from both sides of the Atlantic began working in unison, jazz lovers around the world would bear witness to a fascinating form of evolution in their favorite freeform musical style. Rare footage of Ben Webster, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, and en entire host of jazz legends make this a musical journey that is sure to fascinate and educate. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide