Rock n' roll (rock) is a music genre based on the resistance to social order and taboos of the older generation, and the longing for freedom. The genre was created in the early 20th century under the influence of various genres such as blues, country, and gospel. It became a flow of music that enjoyed its heyday from the 1950s to 90s and has now established its own field. Great rock musicians have left a good enough legacy: their music; but films that reinterpret their lives make us more immersed in them. In fact, the films based on the aesthetic of resistance and youth also rank among masterpieces and are recognized as a separate work of art. Here are three rock n’ roll movies that are good even if you don't know about rock music, and even better if you do know it.
A Hard Day’s Night of The Beatles, the Legend of Rock
A Hard Day's Night (1964) is a juke box musical comedy named after the band’s album released in the same year. Director Richard Lester captured the busy day of the early Beatles, who had just risen to stardom with the British Invasion[1], in the form of a mocumentary[2] featuring the actual band members (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr). The title of the movie was made by Starr, when he said, "It's been a hard day…”, looked around at the already dark night and added, "...’s Night!”
In the movie, the Beatles run away from the countless fans chasing them, go on stage to sing, often make jokes and accidents in betweenwhiles of busy schedules, and move on to the next schedule. As such, the film shows the personal and sincere daily life behind the achievements of the early Beatles. It also reflected the members' real personalities. For example, Lennon, who was called Smart Beatle was in fact a bookworm, and Harrison, known as the Quiet Beatle, was the quietest in interviews. Unable to bear the short waiting time before the broadcast, they run out to sing out loud and roll on the grass, and give witty answers to heavy and hard interview questions. The members to each other were both musical comrades and friends, who had the vigor and playfulness of those in their early 20s. Meanwhile, the film also sends a self-mocking satire about the Beatles in their busy days and the "Beatlemania" who followed them. Influenced by the British film industry's New Wave (Nouvelle Vague) boom at the time, the film creates a somewhat hectic and bustling feeling with fast screen changes, inconsistent messages, and improvised ad-libs that match the exciting soundtrack. Along with the popularity of the band and the movie’s excellent production, the album inserted as the soundtrack is also considered a masterpiece as the epitome of power pop[3] and jangle pop[4].
Remaining as the greatest band in rock history, the Beatles later broke away from their image as idol stars in pursuit of experimental and profound music. However, the early Beatles, who had just emerged, excited the world with the brightness and wit of fresh young people, and the movie A Hard Day's Night captures a moment of their youth.
Leto (Summer) of Viktor Tsoi, the Founder of Russian Rock
"There was the Beatles in the capitalist camp, and Kino(Кино) in the communist camp." Kirill Serebrennikov's Leto (2018) is a film about the wandering youth of Viktor Tsoi, the frontman of Russia’s national rock band Kino. During the Cold War in 1981, Leningrad of the Russian SFSR regarded rock as taboo just because it was the music of a hostile nation. Mike Naumenko, leader of the reigning rock band Zoopark, was living his happy days with his beloved wife and muse Natalia, complying with those restrictions. However, the music of Viktor Tsoi (played by Teo Yoo), a young man rebelling against the age of repression, arose a feeling in Mike of musical inferiority complex and a desire for free rock at the same time. Moreover, as the two get closer with Viktor regarding Mike as his mentor and receiving help, Natalia starts to warm up to Viktor.
Leto is a story of the beautiful youth, which retains the boldness to resist the oppression of the times, and yet the viridity of being irresistible to the attraction of love. The movie shows the theme through the plot of the protagonists’ longing for rock music and their love triangle. In terms of style, the film also chose a monotonous black and white tone to reflect the gloomy times. But at the end of each chapter, it inserts illustrations and streams of colors in a collage form reminiscent of a music video. It also shows the desire for freedom and the spirit of resistance throughout the film by formal destruction, through narration that goes back-and-forth between past and present, and by intersecting real scenes with scenes where the young musicians freely imagine the eccentricities they can't do in real life.
Viktor Tsoi represented young people at the time when resistance to the communist regime exploded, hence his fame as the legend of Russian rock. Until today, Kino's song <Changement> resounds among government protesters in the East-European bloc and the former Soviet Union. Viktor Tsoi died in a sudden traffic accident at the age of 28 just in his prime, and the only Kino song in the movie, <Summer (Will Be Over Soon)>, is the music he made just before his death. The film of the same name depicts the moment just before his heyday which is like a “movie” (“Кино” in Russian), and the passion of the era blooming like midsummer. The movie is a tribute to the music, love, and youth of the people living that era, and above all, Viktor Tsoi.
The Velvet Underground of the Velvet Underground, the Godfather of Alternative Rock
The Velvet Underground (2021), directed by Todd Haynes, is a documentary about the life of the rock band the Velvet Underground. The Velvet Underground is a band that reinterpreted rock with the artistic experimental spirit of New York, in the 1960s. As a result, they exchanged influences with many avant-garde artists of that time, including Andy Warhol and Nico[5].
The film mixes interviews with artists who interacted with the band, their performance videos and music. The band denied the message of love and peace, and the utopian optimism of the mainstream hippie culture (represented by Lennon's <Imagine> after the breakup of the Beatles) originated by the western U.S. Such aversion stemmed from the philosophy of the band’s lead singer Lou Reed, the last generation of the beatnik[6]. Instead, he focused on the underlying depression and decadence of the human mind, calmly and straightly portraying the real-life subjects of his own, such as the tough life in the back alley of Manhattan, drugs, and homosexuality. He made daring attempts in borrowing other genres of music, such as classical music and free jazz, and threw the public into confusion by experimental techniques such as rough guitar bursts and compulsive repetition of simple riffs. Meanwhile, the film itself shows an avant-garde artistic spirit. Unlike his previous film Velvet Goldmine (1998), which depicts the extravagance of Glam Rock, Hayes chose somber colors and sensuous picture divisions for The Velvet Underground to follow the band's minimalism-oriented musicality, and thus created a film that feels like one of their music videos.
The Velvet Underground, which ruled out commerciality, received little attention during its career of three years. However, after disbanding, albums such as 《The Velvet Underground & Nico》 (1967) received great attention and are evaluated to have pioneered the trend of experimental music in later generations. The film sheds light on avant-garde art and the dark side of the society that the era of optimism overlooked, and the Velvet Underground, at the center of it all, is belatedly raving the times.
Rock retains the nostalgia of the rundown past century. Rock, based on resistance to the repressive society, sang about the youth's resurgence, desire for freedom, and avant-garde experimental spirit. Whether it led to a new mainstream culture, resisted it, or advocated anti-culture, rock in common praised the energy of youth. And these films add stories and visual expressions that maximize the drama and passion of the rock music itself. They will help you better understand and immerse yourself in the lives and philosophy of the musicians, and the times and spirit reflected in the songs. Why don't you fall into rock n’ roll movies, and deeper into the music?
[1] the craze for British music and culture in the United States in the 1960s (and since the 80s)
[2] fake documentary. To film a directed situational play with documentary techniques to make it look like a real documentary
[3] a style of pop music characterized by a strong melody line, heavy use of guitars, and simple rhythm
[4] a style of pop music that emphasizes the sound of jangly guitars and 1960s-style pop melodies
[5] German model and singer. Her real name is Christa Päffgen.
[6] a culture that refused the uniformization and homogenization of individuals as parts to the huge social structure in the 1950s, amid the economic affluence of the U.S.