Movies like Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen (2013)
The best movies like Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen (2013) are The Last Waltz (1978), The Velvet Underground (2021) and Foo Fighters: Back and Forth (2011). If Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen
Quick picks
- Highest ratedStop Making Sense (1984)8.4/10 from 407 votes
- NewestThe Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel (2026)Released 2026
The Last Waltz (1978)
Martin Scorsese's documentary intertwines footage from The Band's incredible farewell tour with probing backstage interviews and featured performances by Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, and other rock legends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Velvet Underground (2021)
Experience the iconic rock band's legacy in the first major documentary to tell their story. Directed with the era’s avant-garde spirit by Todd Haynes, this kaleidoscopic oral history combines exclusive interviews with dazzling archival footage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFoo Fighters: Back and Forth (2011)
FOO FIGHTERS BACK AND FORTH chronicles the 16 year history of the Foo Fighters: from the band's very first songs created as cassette demos Dave Grohl recorded during his tenure as Nirvana's drummer, through its ascent to their Grammy-winning, multi-platinum, arena and stadium headlining status as one of the biggest rock bands on the planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBad Reputation (2018)
The life and career of rock n' roll icon Joan Jett from her early years ripping it up onstage as the founder and backbone of hard-rock legends The Runaways, to her long time collaboration with Kenny Laguna as Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, and her enduring presence in pop culture as a rock pioneer and mentor. With her inimitable singles "I Love Rock n Roll," and "Bad Reputation" Joan Jett inspired a generation of young women to rock.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStop Making Sense (1984)
A concert film documenting Talking Heads at the height of their popularity, on tour for their 1983 album "Speaking in Tongues." The band takes the stage one by one and is joined by a cadre of guest musicians for a career-spanning and cinematic performance that features creative choreography and visuals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHow the Beatles Changed the World (2017)
The fascinating story of the cultural, social, spiritual, and musical revolution ignited by the coming of the Beatles. Tracing the impact that these four band members had, first in their native Britain and soon after worldwide, it reappraises the band and follows their path from young subversives to countercultural heroes. Featuring fresh, revealing interviews with key collaborators as well as a wealth of rarely-seen archival footage, this is a bold new take on the most significant band in the history of music and their enduring impact on popular culture.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEnd of the Century: The Story of the Ramones (2003)
A years-in-the-making documentary on the legendary punk band the Ramones. Through a mixture of archival footage, archival and new interviews with all members of the band's various lineups, and new interviews with a number of their contemporaries, the film traces the peaks and valleys the band experienced over the course of its 20-plus year career before disbanding in 1995.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBecoming Led Zeppelin (2025)
The individual journeys of the four members of the band, as they move through the music scene of the 1960s, playing small clubs throughout Britain and performing some of the biggest hits of the era, until their meeting in the summer of 1968 for a rehearsal that changes their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Decline of Western Civilization (1981)
The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGimme Danger (2016)
No other band in rock'n'roll history has rivaled The Stooges' combination of heavy primal throb, spiked psychedelia, blues-a-billy grind, complete with succinct angst-ridden lyrics, and a snarling, preening leopard of a frontman who somehow embodies Nijinsky, Bruce Lee, Harpo Marx, and Arthur Rimbaud all rolled into one. There is no precedent for The Stooges, while those inspired by them are now legion. The film will present the context of their emergence musically, culturally, politically, historically, and relate their adventures and misadventures while charting their inspirations and the reasons behind their initial commercial challenges, as well as their long-lasting legacy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLemmy (2010)
Over four decades, Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister has registered an immeasurable impact on music history. Nearly 65, he remains the living embodiment of the rock and roll lifestyle, and this feature-length documentary tells his story, one of a hard-living rock icon who continues to enjoy the life of a man half his age.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Filth and the Fury (2000)
Julien Temple's second documentary profiling punk rock pioneers the Sex Pistols is an enlightening, entertaining trip back to a time when the punk movement was just discovering itself. Featuring archival footage, never-before-seen performances, rehearsals, and recording sessions as well as interviews with group members who lived to tell the tale--including the one and only John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAC/DC: Live at River Plate (2009)
A definitive live concert film documenting AC/DC’s massive Black Ice World Tour. Shot in December of 2009, AC/DC Live at River Plate marks AC/DC’s triumphant return to Buenos Aires where nearly 200,000 fans, and 3 sold-out shows, welcomed the band back after a 13 year absence from Argentina. This stunning live footage of AC/DC underscores what Argentina’s Pagina 12 newspaper reported by saying “no one is on the same level when it comes to pure and clear Rock ‘n Roll.”
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Wrecking Crew (2008)
A celebration of the musical work of a group of session musicians known as "The Wrecking Crew." a band that provided back-up instrumentals to such legendary recording artists as Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, and Bing Crosby.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDua Lipa: Studio 2054 (2020)
Dua Lipa's kaleidoscopic rocket fuelled journey through time, space, mirrorballs, roller discos, bucket hats, belting beats, throbbing basslines and an absolute slam dunk of the best of times in global club culture throughout the decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDaft Punk Unchained (2015)
Daft Punk Unchained is the first film about the pop culture phenomenon that is Daft Punk, the duo with 12 million albums sold worldwide and seven Grammy Awards. Throughout their career Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo have always resisted compromise and the established codes of show business. They have remained determined to maintain control of every link in the chain of their creative process. In the era of globalisation and social networks, they rarely speak in public and neither do they show their faces on TV. This documentary explores this unprecedented cultural revolution revealing a duo of artists on a permanent quest for creativity, independence and freedom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Sparks Brothers (2021)
Take a musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with brothers Ron & Russell Mael, celebrating the inspiring legacy of Sparks: your favorite band’s favorite band.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel (2026)
Explore the formative years of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the profound influence of original bandmate Hillel Slovak.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLed Zeppelin: Celebration Day (2012)
On 10th December 2007, Led Zeppelin took the stage at London's O2 Arena to headline a tribute concert for dear friend and Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. Founding members John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were joined by Jason Bonham, the son of their late drummer John Bonham, to perform 16 songs from their celebrated catalog.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAmerican Hardcore (2006)
Inspired by Steven Blush's book "American Hardcore: A tribal history" Paul Rachman's feature documentary debut is a chronicle of the underground hardcore punk years from 1979 to 1986. Interviews and rare live footage from artists such as Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, SS Decontrol and the Dead Kennedys.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStandard Operating Procedure (2008)
Investigating the infamous Abu Ghraib scandal, Errol Morris interviews American guards and Iraqi prisoners who were at the military jail before images of prisoner torture emerged in 2004. One female guard, who posed alongside fallen Iraqis in notorious images, tells Morris that her crimes were inspired by her love for another soldier, and another explains why she took photographs of her fellow troops. In the process, Morris suggests that the scandal resulted from systemic flaws in the military.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrass: The Sound of Free Speech (The Story of Reality Asylum) (2023)
The film dives into 1970's Britain; the birth of punk and the formation of Crass, with an in-depth look at their art, music and ethos.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
I Really Get Into It: The Underage Architects of Sioux Falls Punk (2020)
Largely ignored and left to their own devices, a group of unassuming teenagers in late 80s and early 90s Sioux Falls, South Dakota created their own culture, community, and economy. And when they moved out into the world at large, they brought what they learned along with them. I Really Get Into It: The Underage Architects of Sioux Falls Punk is a story about the tenacity and ingenuity of youth, finding and following your convictions, and how the kids you least expect often make the most noise. Shot on location in eight cities and assembled from dozens of hours of archival video and hundreds of photos, the documentary features interviews with Larry Livermore (Lookout. Records), Ian MacKaye (Fugazi), Mike Park (Skankin' Pickle), Rebecca Hanten (Cadillac Blindside), Terry Taylor (Hammerlord), and dozens of current and former members of the Sioux Falls all ages music scene.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Napalm - the sound of the industrial city (2013)
Directed by journalist Ricardo Alexandre, the documentary tells the story of the Napalm nightclub, responsible for the new wave and post-punk generation in Sao Paulo. Mixing live shows, cutting-edge DJing and videos in its "modern" internal television system, the venue quickly became a meeting point for young people who shaped the grayer side of Brazilian rock in the 80s.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Irina Ionesco - Nocturnes Porte Dorée (2003)
"Nocturnes at the Golden Gate" - invites us to discover the world and work of Irina Ionesco, a unique figure of contemporary photography. Since the early 70's, she photographer has been working in her apartment near the Porte Dorée, in Paris, principally with the female body. Scraps from the past and elements of the present come together to evoke the coherence and multiple meanings of Irina's baroque universe : the solitude of her Romanian childhood ; her youthful debut in the music hall ; her relationships with her models and her way of building images. Little by little, her work is illuminated and takes on different vibrations, though we have never left the apartment : her workspace, temple and museum.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Das Gefühl des Augenblicks (1989)
Photographer and documentary film director Schadt follows in the footsteps of his role model Robert Frank. The important photographer and director traveled through the United States in the mid-1950s and recorded his photographic impressions of this trip in the photo book "The Americans". Schadt visits some of the places where Frank had photographed 30 years earlier, talks to the people living there and interviews Frank himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Outlawed: A Punk Rock Uprising in the Basque Country (2021)
A sonic journey through Basque punk rock and the turbulent past that defined its sound, chronicling the rise of the gaztetxe movement.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Foreigner Story: Feels Like the Very First Time (1991)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Cincinnati's Rock 'N Roll Legends (1995)
An excellent comprehensive look at all the music that came out of Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati "Rock Legends" "James Brown" "King Records" "Pure Prairie League" "Lemon Pipers" "Syd Nathan" WEBN "Bootsy Collins" "Lonnie Mack" "The Who concert 1979" "Rick Derringer"
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Four Faces of the Moon (2016)
Follow the animated journey of an Indigenous photographer as she travels through time. The oral and written history of her family reveals the story — we witness the impact and legacy of the railways, the slaughter of the buffalo and colonial land policies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen?
The closest matches to Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen are The Last Waltz (1978), The Velvet Underground (2021) and Foo Fighters: Back and Forth (2011). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen?
Start with The Last Waltz (1978), the closest match to Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen.
What is the highest-rated movie like Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen?
Stop Making Sense (1984), rated 8.4/10 by 407 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen?
The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen?
Yes: The Last Waltz (1978), The Velvet Underground (2021) and Foo Fighters: Back and Forth (2011).
How are movies similar to Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.