10 Amazing Music Movies You Must See Before You Die

2. Amy

Ten minutes in and the usual cast of characters has assembled before the camera. Mitch Winehouse, the doting father turned tabloid magnet; Blake Fielder-Civil, the sulky ex-husband boasting ten years' worth of tattoos and track marks; the battalion of celebrity associates creepily eager to play their bit-part in the aftermath of the great tragedy. Even this soon into Amy, the Asif Kapadia documentary detailing the rise and fall of one of Britain's most fascinating modern icons, it's easy to see what this Dickensian coterie of villains and half-wits have in common: their utter failure to intervene in the star's downfall. During this two-hour movie we see Amy Winehouse, the shy schoolgirl who blushes as she plays piano on camera for the first time, ascend to the summit of international fame before losing her footing on the edge. Cut to a mound of mourning flowers being placed outside her Camden home as the star's death is announced. While making for extremely uncomfortable viewing, such a raw depiction of Winehouse's turbulent world also makes for an immensely powerful movie, and one that perfectly represents what it must have been like for the fragile young singer as she was foisted onto front covers and subjected to the media's microscope. Going way beyond merely paying tribute to the star, Amy's opinionated realism set a new standard for the music documentary.