This So-Called Disaster (2003), Breath Made Visible (2009), Stop Making Sense (1984), Trust Us, This Is All Made Up (2009), The Life of Reilly (2006), Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009), Venus Boyz (2002), Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present (2012) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Performance Art movies.
Storyline: An awkward teenager hopelessly in love with her elder sister's boyfriend tries to make him notice her.
Plot Keywords: comedy, silent film, black and white film, american film, classic film, slapstick, 1920s ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Directed by Andreas Neumann and Joshua Homme, American Valhalla tells the story of an unlikely musical collaboration between two mavericks of American rock: Joshua Homme, frontman of Queens of the Stone Age and Iggy Pop, the Godfather of Punk. The film, co-directed by Homme, follows the recording of Iggy's final album 'Post Pop Depression' in the California desert, with his band comprising of Homme, his QOTSA bandmate Dean Fertita and Arctic Monkeys' drummer, Matt Helders, as well as the explosive tour that builds to a crowning performance at London's iconic Royal Albert Hall. Featuring stunning cinematography and intimate access, American Valhalla reveals the growth of an intense bond between the musicians who have taken to heart the mantra: "you risk nothing you gain nothing".
Plot Keywords: music documentary, rock music, music composition, artistic expression, behind the scenes, music industry, experimental music ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Angela,a striptease artist, wants to have a baby and tries to persuade her boyfriend Emile to go along with the idea. Emile will have none of it so she goes after Emile's friend Alfred.
Plot Keywords: comedy, romance, musical, color film, paris, marriage, satire ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: A biographical film on the late comedian Andy Kaufman. Kaufman, along with his role on Taxi (1978), was famous for being the self-declared Intergender Wrestling Champion of the world. After beating women time and time again, Jerry Lawler (who plays himself in the movie), a professional wrestler, got tired of seeing all of this and decided to challenge Kaufman to a match. In most of the matches the two had, Lawler prevailed with the piledriver, which is a move by spiking an opponent head-first into the mat. One of the most famous moments in this feud was in the early 80s when Kaufman threw coffee on Lawler on Late Night with David Letterman (1982), got into fisticuffs with Lawler, and proceeded to sue NBC.
Plot Keywords: biography, comedy, drama, jim carrey, based on a true story, actor's life, performance art ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: This is the story of Spalding Gray and his attempt to write a novel. It is a first person account about writing and living, and dealing with success while trying to be successful.—Robbie Smith <robsmith@u.washington.edu>
Plot Keywords: monologue, autobiographical, theater, performance art, minimalist, experimental, new york ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Having failed to break into professional opera in his native Germany (where, as an usher in West Berlin's Deutsche Oper, he would serenade the staff after the 'real' performances were over) the diminutive Klaus Nomi headed for NYC in 1972. The vibrant New Wave/avant-garde gestalt of the mid/late '70's East Village proved to be fertile ground for the development of his unique talents. Working by day as a high-end pastry chef, Nomi began to stage his outlandish performances, first launching himself upon an unsuspecting public at the New Wave Vaudeville in 1978. The hip and cynical young audience was stunned by this weird combination of falsetto arias, booming classical orchestration, Kraftwerk-style electronica, futuristic costumes and outer space imagery. An odd assortment of artists, choreographers, designers, songwriters and musicians jumped on to the Nomi bandwagon and the phenomenon began to take off - first attracting thousands to South Manhattan events (including performances at the legendary Max's Kansas City) and culminating in a recording contract with the French division of RCA. With the release 'Klaus Nomi' in 1981 and 'Simple Man' in 1982, it looked as if Nomi was on the verge of superstardom. Having established himself in Europe, he made a triumphant return to New York City. But Nomi's moment of glory proved to be his swansong. Within only a few months Nomi had succumbed to the ravages of AIDS. One of the first celebrities to be killed by this mysterious new disease, Nomi died a lonely death, largely abandoned by those who had seen him as a passport to their own success. Today, the otherworldliness of 'The Cold Song' and 'Dido's Lament' is like an ethereal voice calling from beyond the grave.—George Darley
Plot Keywords: music, biography, documentary, opera, counterculture, 1980s, experimental music ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: In 2004, Las Vegas promoters planning a review starring Jahna Steele invite trans women to participate in "The World's Most Beautiful Transsexual Pageant," a two-day contest from which eight women would be offered jobs in the review. About 20 women arrive for all-night rehearsals and the pageant itself: swimsuit, evening gown, and talent competition, the selection of eight finalists and three prize winners. We follow the women backstage and get in-depth profiles of six: two from Chicago and one each from LA, San Francisco, San Antonio, and Columbia, South Carolina. We meet their families, and we learn about their lives and their journeys of self-discovery and acceptance.—<jhailey@hotmail.com>
Plot Keywords: documentary, beauty pageant, lgbtq+, performance art, culture, fashion, music ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Dave Chappelle presents a Brooklyn neighborhood with its very own once-in-a-lifetime free block party. In addition to Chappelle, the roster of artists includes Kanye West, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, Dead Prez, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, the Roots, Cody ChesnuTT, Big Daddy Kane, and - reunited for their first performance in over seven years - the Fugees. Includes private rehearsals footage and Chappelle in the small Ohio town he calls home, where he wanders through town handing out golden tickets to invite several dozen citizens to join the party, providing transportation and lodging for their visit to Brooklyn. Ohio's Central State University marching band makes the trip and kicks off the festivities at the intersection of Quincy and Downing Streets. A diverse crowd and Chappelle's freestyle wit guides them (and us) through a celebration of music and comedy, history and community.—Focus Features
Plot Keywords: comedy, music, documentary, live performance, hip hop, improvisation, social commentary ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Christian is the respected curator of a contemporary art museum, a divorced but devoted father of two who drives an electric car and supports good causes. His next show is "The Square", an installation which invites passersby to altruism, reminding them of their role as responsible fellow human beings. But sometimes, it is difficult to live up to your own ideals: Christian's foolish response to the theft of his phone drags him into shameful situations. Meanwhile, the museum's PR agency has created an unexpected campaign for "The Square". The response is overblown and sends Christian, as well as the museum, into an existential crisis.
Plot Keywords: satire, black comedy, art world, social class, moral dilemma, hypocrisy, middle class ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: In 1974, music producers, Hugh Masekela and Stewart Levine worked with the boxing promoter, Don King, to create a music festival in Africa to run concurrently with his championship boxing match he arranged with Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, aka "The Rumble in the Jungle," in Kinshasa, Zaire. However, due to an unforeseen delay due to Foreman injuring himself in training, it was decided that the music festival must still go on as scheduled. This film covers the preparation of that festival with both stage construction and the arrival of the participating musicians. When all is ready, the people of Zaire got to experience a musical event that Africa had never seen before with great African-American and local artists performing with verve and purpose, with the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, just the biggest star of this musical extravaganza.—Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)
Plot Keywords: music documentary, concert, black culture, historical archive, live performance, music history, african american ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Reveals a groundbreaking dance phenomenon that's exploding on the streets of South Central, Los Angeles. Taking advantage of unprecedented access, this documentary film bring to first light a revolutionary form of artistic expression borne from oppression. The aggressive and visually stunning dance modernizes moves indigenous to African tribal rituals and features mind-blowing, athletic movement sped up to impossible speeds. We meet Tommy Johnson (Tommy the Clown), who first created the style as a response to the 1992 Rodney King riots and named it Clowning, as well as the kids who developed the movement into what they now call Krumping. The kids use dance as an alternative to gangs and hustling: they form their own troupe and paint their faces like warriors, meeting to outperform rival gangs of dancers or just to hone their skills. For the dancers, Krumping becomes a way of life--and, because it's authentic expression (in complete opposition to the bling-bling hip-hop culture), the dance becomes a vital part of who they are.—Sujit R. Varma
Plot Keywords: documentary, dance, los angeles, street dance, performance, youth culture, music ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: In a dark movie theater filled with people watching a film. A man is sleeping on a bed with a sleeping dog next to another empty twin bed with the same sheets. He gets up and looks out the window and we see he is the man whose name is Mr. Oscar.
Plot Keywords: surrealism, absurd, existentialism, identity, performance art, postmodern, dreamlike ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: In 1974, a hot-headed 19 year old named Michael Peterson decided he wanted to make a name for himself and so, with a homemade sawn-off shotgun and a head full of dreams he attempted to rob a post office. Swiftly apprehended and originally sentenced to seven years in jail, Peterson has subsequently been behind bars for 34 years, 30 of which have been spent in solitary confinement. During that time, Michael Petersen, the boy, faded away and 'Charles Bronson,' his superstar alter ego, took center stage. Inside the mind of Bronson - a scathing indictment of celebrity culture.
Plot Keywords: violence, crime, biography, prison, british, true story, psychological ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: This documentary follows composer Max Richter and his creative partner Yulia Mahr as they prepare to stage an ambitious open-air, overnight performance of his celebrated eight-hour magnum opus Sleep in Los Angeles, while also exploring the origins and impact of this groundbreaking composition.—yusufpiskin
Plot Keywords: documentary, music, experimental film, classical music, live performance, art film, meditation ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial in a case that has gripped the nation and the world beyond, three young artists or the society they live in?—Anonymous
Plot Keywords: documentary, music, politics, protest, punk, russia, women ...
Movie Details Click Here !