Bruce Springsteen Movies

Also known as The Muse Concert: No Nukes, this rock-concert film offers a good representative cross-section of old-line show business liberalism. Bruce Springsteen and Bonnie Raitt are the "newest" members of the aggregation by default. They're okay if not brilliant, which can also be said for their fellow troubadours Jackson Browne, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, James Taylor and the Doobie Brothers. The anti-nuke theme of the concert isn't as overbearing as it might have been under the circumstances (even "special guest" Jane Fonda is comparatively benign). The best sequences in the film are comprised of misleading government-propaganda clips from the old TV series "The Big Picture" (love those uniformed piglets!) The graininess of the film stock is the only real detriment of No Nukes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rock 'n' roll legend Chuck Berry's 60th birthday party (October 18, 1986) in his home town of St. Louis forms the nucleus of Taylor Hackford's lively musical documentary. In addition to Berry, we are treated to interviews with Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers, and comparative youngsters Eric Clapton, Linda Ronstadt, Keith Richards, and Bruce Springsteen. Whenever he goes on the radio interview circuit, Berry insists upon answering pre-set questions. A few moments into this film, it's easy to see why: Berry suffers neither fools nor unpleasant surprises very well at all. Once all the words are spent, however, we are left with blue-ribbon concert footage lensed at St. Louis' Fox theatre, showing off Berry at his indefatigable best. Highlights include such Berry standards as "Maybelline," "Johnny B. Goode," "Nadine," and "Roll Over Beethoven," as well as the contributions of the above-mentioned guest stars. ~ Hal Erickson, 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

See Springsteen with friends John Cafferty, Southside Johnny, George Thorogood, Jackson Browne and the Fabulous T-Birds. ~ All Movie Guide

This 1992 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Tom Hanks and features musical guest Bruce Springsteen. ~ Skyler Miller, 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

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

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

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

A man discovers that there's more to love than a good mixed tape in this dramatic comedy about music and relationships. Rob (John Cusack), an obsessive record collector in his mid-thirties, is struggling to reconcile his adolescent enthusiasm for pop music with adult responsibilities and a more mature outlook. He runs a record shop with his friends Barry (Jack Black) and Dick (Todd Louiso), who are known to drive away customers whose taste in music doesn't match their exacting standards -- which may have something to do with why the shop is losing money. But Rob's biggest problem is his failing relationship with Laura (Iben Hjejle), a lawyer who needs more out of the relationship than Rob is capable of giving. To Rob's horror, Laura starts dating Ian (Tim Robbins), his upstairs neighbor, known throughout the building for his long and noisy sex sessions. Rob, on the other hand, finds himself catching the attention of singer/songwriter Marie DeSalle (Lisa Bonet), as he tries to deal with his breakup by tracking down his previous ex-girlfriends and taking a fresh look at what he's been doing wrong. Based on the acclaimed novel by Nick Hornby, High Fidelity also features Catherine Zeta-Jones, Lili Taylor, and Joelle Carter as three of Rob's ex-lovers, and Sara Gilbert as Dick's new girlfriend, who gets a crash course in U.K. punk bands that influenced Green Day. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide