Bruce Springsteen Movies

Television documentarian Leslie Cockburn makes her feature debut with American Casino, a documentary that examines the causes and repercussions of the American financial collapse of the late 2000s. Cockburn interviews bankers and former bankers about their roles and what they observed. The roots of the collapse are traced back to the December 2000 passage of the Commodities Futures Modernization Act, a deregulation bill proposed by then-senator Phil Gramm. The film details how the passage of that bill allowed financial institutions like Bear Stearns to make billions by repackaging mortgages into "esoteric products" like CDOs. In addition to looking at how these complex moneymaking schemes crippled the financial and insurance industries, Cockburn takes a hard look at the devastating impact of the mortgage crisis in both inner-city Baltimore and Stockton, CA. The film points out that African-Americans were four times as likely to obtain a subprime mortgage as whites, suggesting that they were specifically targeted by predatory lenders. Cockburn shows the devastation wreaked on individual lives and the community by evictions and bankruptcies. She also explores the environmental impact the crisis has had on upper-middle-class Stockton, where abandoned swimming pools have become a breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes and rodents, and where abandoned homes are broken into and converted into meth labs. American Casino had its world premiere at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, where it was shown in the Discovery section. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

When Jill (Janeane Garofalo), the sister of reformed womanizer and former high-profile fashion photographer Jack (Nestor Carbonell), leaves her 17-year-old son with his uncle in an unstable bid to find herself, her brother and sister face an increasingly uncertain future in this dark drama from director Bobby Roth. Bored of working an endless string of weddings and bar mitzvahs and longing to return to the success he experienced before his luck took a nosedive, Jack attempts to connect with both his teenage son and nephew while pulling his life into focus. To make matters even more complicated, Jill's jobless ex-husband, Eli (John Ritter), has also decided to move in with Jack. Will the hapless photographer be able to keep his sanity as his dysfunctional family forces itself into virtually every aspect of his increasingly chaotic life? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A 15-song opus recorded after the September 11th terrorist attacks, Bruce Springsteen's The Rising found the singer/songwriter telling stories of loss and hope, backed once again by his legendary E Street Band. This video record of the tour captures one of the most memorable stops on the subsequent Rising tour. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: Live in Barcelona clocks in at an impressive 180-minute length, covering songs new and old, including "Lonesome Day," "Incident on 57th Street," "Born to Run," and "Ramrod." ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

Rocker Bruce Springsteen was a relative latecomer to the music video medium -- his first promotional clip -- for the song "Atlantic City" -- didn't even show the singer, and it wasn't until he released his seventh album, 1984's Born in the U.S.A., that he began to make videos that not only featured himself and his band, but amplified the messages of his songs rather than merely illustrate their contents. But he certainly made up for lost time after Born in the U.S.A.'s success, and this collection of Springsteen's often intelligent and compelling music videos offers a comprehensive look at the audio-visual output from one of rock's most important artists. Songs include "Born in the U.S.A.," "Glory Days," "Rosalita," "I'm on Fire," "Brilliant Disguise," "Secret Garden," and more. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A very special benefit concert for Amnesty International, the human rights watchdog group, was held in Paris in December 1998 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Some of the most respected names in pop music were on hand, including Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Peter Gabriel, Alanis Morissette, Tracy Chapman, Radiohead, Youssou N'dour, Asian Dub Foundation and Shania Twain. This also features an appearance by the Dalai Lama. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In 1995, as Bruce Springsteen was compiling his Greatest Hits album, he decided to record a handful of new songs for the package, and chose the occasion to reunite his fabled backing group the E-Street Band for the first time since 1989. The reassembled band spent several days together recording several Springsteen classics that had never appeared on an album along with a few new tunes; filmmaker Ernie Fritz was on hand to capture the rehearsals and the recording sessions, and Bruce Springsteen: Blood Brothers offers a fly-on-the-wall look at one of rock's greatest songwriters (and finest live bands) at work. Songs featured include "Murder Incorporated," "Secret Garden," "This Hard Land," the title tune, and eight others. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This is the first volume of a ten video set on the complete history of Rock and Roll music. On this first tape the history of rock is profiled, featuring a number of superstars and legends, like Little Richard, Mick Jagger, Bono of U2, and Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen. Some of the groups featured on this video from those early days include Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry and Tina Turner. And of course what documentary on rock n' roll would be without a feature of the king himself, Elvis Presley, blazing a new trail in music and musical style. ~ Forrest Spencer, All Movie Guide

At the time of its release, Jonathan Demme's Philadelphia was the first big-budget Hollywood film to tackle the medical, political, and social issues of AIDS. Tom Hanks, in his first Academy Award-winning performance, plays Andrew Beckett, a talented lawyer at a stodgy Philadelphia law firm. The homosexual Andrew has contracted AIDS but fears informing his firm about the disease. The firm's senior partner, Charles Wheeler (Jason Robards), assigns Andrew a case involving their most important client. Andrew begins diligently working on the case, but soon the lesions associated with AIDS are visible on his face. Wheeler abruptly removes Andrew from the case and fires him from the firm. Andrew believes he has been fired because of his illness and plans to fight the firm in court. But because of the firm's reputation, no lawyer in Philadelphia will risk handling his case. In desperation, Andrew hires Joe Miller (Denzel Washington), a black lawyer who advertises on television, mainly handling personal injury cases. Miller dislikes homosexuals but agrees to take the case for the money and exposure. As Miller prepares for the courtroom battle against one of the law firm's key litigators, Belinda Conine (Mary Steenburgen), Miller begins to realize the discrimination practiced against Andrew is no different from the discrimination Miller himself has to battle against. The cast also includes Antonio Banderas as Andrew's partner, Joanne Woodward as Andrew's mother, and Stephanie Roth as Joe's wife. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Springsteen and the band play 18 songs. Featured numbers include "Born to Run," "Human Touch," "Red Headed Woman" and "Thunder Road." Although it is part of MTV's "Unplugged" Series, this is not actually an acoustic performance. ~ All Movie Guide

Narrated by Robbie Robertson, A Vision Shared documents the lives and influences of musical folk artists Woody Guthrie and Huddie Ledbetter ( or Leadbelly). Footage of their own personal stories is complemented by performances by fanatical popular stars, inspired still -- decades later -- by the original music of Guthrie and Leadbelly. Including performances by Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, U2 and more, this collection offers renditions of folk favorites by artists who have paved ground musically in their own rights. ~ Sarah Sloboda, All Movie Guide

A brother and sister grapple with family and lifestyle issues in this rock-n-roll drama. Real-life rocker Joan Jett stars as Patti Resnick, an unwed mother who sings and plays guitar in a Cleveland bar band with her brother Joe (Michael J. Fox). Estranged from her parents and struggling to make ends meet, Patti decides to dive headlong into a carefree rock-n-roll lifestyle. Good-guy Joe pulls away from music to provide some stability for her tiny son. It takes a family crisis to bring Patti back home and force her to face the prickly past with her devoutly Christian mother (Gena Rowlands). Despite a somewhat thin story, the film has solid performances all around, most especially from the refreshingly compelling Jett. Bruce Springsteen penned the title song. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

One of the most distinctive vocalists in the history of rock and roll, Roy Orbison was in the midst of a well-deserved comeback in 1987 when he performed this special concert for television, beautifully filmed in black and white and featuring some famous friends helping him out. Orbison is joined onstage by Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, k.d. lang, Jackson Browne, Tom Waits, and T.Bone Burnett as he sings "Oh, Pretty Woman," "Only the Lonely," "It's Over," "Blue Bayou," "Crying," "In Dreams," "Running Scared," and ten other classics. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide