10 Best Hard Rock Documentaries You've Never Seen

The confusingly named The Band got their big break as Bob Dylan’s backing group when he first went electric. This 1978 documentary is part concert film, part account of The Band's origin story, and is packed full of amusing anecdotes from their past. This was also Martin Scorsese’s first venture into the realm of music documentary.

The concert taking centre-stage here featured a huge number of special guests, and exemplified the rich abundance of musical talent the 1960s and '70s were host to. With Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, and Ringo Star (to name a few), the concert spanned every genre from folk, to blues, to country, and hard rock.

Often many of these musicians were sharing the stage together, and Scorsese had to coordinate his seven camera operators to effectively cover each of them. The documentary showcased Scorsese's talent as a director, even in the early days, with some delicious, gliding camera moves that swept around the musicians, perfectly capturing the nuance of their performances.

Bob Dylan also made an appearance, albeit after some frantic negotiating that might have left the whole film in jeopardy. Just before Dylan was due to appear on stage, he supposedly asked not to be filmed, leaving Scorsese in a panic.

Eventually Dylan agreed that two of his songs could be filmed, and the movie was saved.