1. Almost Famous (2000)
The reason this movie is number one, then? Firstly, it's not because this movie is the best film of the five. It's mainly because it's told from an outside perspective of a young journalist who follows a band around. It's the wide-eyed innocence of the young man that carries the film as such, then: the extraordinary wonder of being around a creative minefield, to the bitter disappointment that concludes with the idea that making music is the same as anything else in life. The music itself is magical and esoteric, yet the minds behind it are only human. This film simply delivers that human story behind the music. The creative masterstroke here is actually in the usage of the groupies as vehicles for the narrative. 'Stillwater' is a fictional 1970s rock band, but it is placed in the world of real rock giants, placed in a world of indulgent solos and mysterious lyrics wrapped up in a haze of narcotic splendour. To phrase the great Hendrix, it's all shown through the purple haze. The scene in which Phillip Seymour Hoffman describes a band's music using almost Roman-esque rhetoric highlights the idolism and faith we place in the creativity of others - and it perfectly sets up the successive disappointments of the humans and their artistic endeavours. The 'Tiny Dancer' scene marks one of the best in modern cinema - the simplicity of music carries away the animosity and for a brief moment, nothing else matters but the next lyric. This captures what being in a band is ultimately all about, the main reason why people do it in the first place: the music. Harvard medical students in the 1960s would categorise each patient by their 'story' - the 'story' being how sexy their illness was. We are defined by our weaknesses. Almost Famous is the musical progression of this idea, because it shows that guitar solos and drum grooves and screaming vocals all sound like they were conjured up out of Olympus, but each one is written with real human feeling. It adds a layer of humanity to something we use to define our lives, cultures and other people's perceptions of who we are.
Beethoven said: 'Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy'. Have a watch of these films, and you may agree with him. Like this list? Let us know in the comments section below.