10 Best Hard Rock Documentaries You've Never Seen
The hard rock stories that need to be told...
When you want to get a little closer to the musicians that you love, there isn't many better ways then sticking on a good documentary about them.
These days, music documentaries seem to be finely curated pieces of cinematic mastery, and these can be great. Slick cinematography and finely edited interviews, all contribute to cohesive and strong narratives that get you from A to Z.
But, many times the most illuminating rock docs are those produced on a shoe-string budget, with shaky, fly-on-the wall camera work, capturing those moments that all the planning in the world cant hope to.
There's an abundance of content out there about the most celebrated rockers and musicians, but often really great and uniques pieces of work slip under the radar. This list has pulled together some of the best hard rock documentaries, that even the most enthusiastic of music scholars might have missed.
10. Hated: GG Allin And The Murder Junkies
This 1993 student documentary was the first film by Todd Phillips, known for the Hangover trilogy and Joker.
It's a fascinating and disturbing insight into punk rocks most controversial and troubled figure. Hated is an accomplished piece of filmmaking for a first year student, and the access Phillips managed to obtain is impressive; capturing moments of pure debauchery and mayhem during GG Allin's 1993 New York tour.
It examines the ethos of Allin, a man who thought society was so ugly, his only answer was to give the people what (in his mind) they deserved and wanted: violence and acts of lewd, taboo-breaking horror. Sound familiar? After watching this, there's no doubt where Phillips drew inspiration from for his Arthur Fleck character in Joker.
Towards the end of the film, Phillips captures one of Allin's hectic onstage performances, and it's an incredibly disturbing experience. The naked punk rocker is seen antagonising the crowd before getting into a brawl. He then pretty much empties the venue by defecating on the floor. Shortly after, Allin is shown making his escape before the police can arrest him.
During post-production, GG Allin died of a heroin overdose, and Phillips subsequently included footage of the funeral. This is a truly disturbing rock doc and shows the darkest side of punk subculture.