Movies like Wattstax (1973)
The best movies like Wattstax (1973) are Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1970), Ryuichi Sakamoto: async at the Park Avenue Armory (2018) and Bob Marley and the Wailers - Live at the Rainbow (1991). If Wattstax hooked you with its music and documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedStop Making Sense (1984)8.3/10 from 405 votes
- NewestRite Here Rite Now (2024)Released 2024
Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1970)
On July 31, 1970, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Elvis Presley staged a triumphant return to the concert stage from which he had been absent for almost a decade. His series of concerts broke all box office records and completely reenergized the career of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRyuichi Sakamoto: async at the Park Avenue Armory (2018)
A live performance film capturing an intimate concert by composer, pianist and music producer Ryuichi Sakamoto in New York City. The performance marked the first public unveiling of Sakamoto’s new opus, async, hailed as one of the best albums of 2017 by Rolling Stone and Pitchfork.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Bob Marley and the Wailers - Live at the Rainbow (1991)
Unparalleled as a live act, Bob Marley and the Wailers perform their world-famous reggae hits in this 1977 concert from London's Rainbow Theatre. The show was filmed during the band's tour to promote their "Exodus" album. Thirteen tracks include favorites such as "No Woman, No Cry," "I Shot the Sheriff," "Lively Up Yourself" and "Get Up, Stand Up." Also featured are interviews with Marley's wife, Rita, and his mother, Cedella Booker.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music
The Beatles at Shea Stadium (1977)
The Beatles at Shea Stadium is a fifty-minute-long documentary of the Beatles' 1965 concert at Shea Stadium in New York, the highlight of the group's 1965 tour.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
Jimi Plays Berkeley (2003)
This rousing world-famous concert is regarded by critics to be one of Jimi Hendrix's finest performances ever. Taking footage from two separate performances at the Berkeley Community Theater on May 30th, 1970, these incendiary shows help illustrate the student uprisings in Berkeley, by setting footage to the stunning backdrop of some awe-inspiring Hendrix material. Tracks include "Purple Haze," "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," "Star Spangled Banner," "Hey Joe," and many others. This is a never-to-be-forgotten musical experience you will enjoy over and over again.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration (1993)
On October 16, 1992, an impressive and eclectic group of artists gathered at Madison Square Garden in New York City for the purpose of celebrating the music of Bob Dylan on the occasion of his 30th anniversary of recording. Bringing together musical greats as far-flung as Johnny Cash and Eddie Vedder, The Clancy Brothers and Lou Reed, the four-hour show celebrated a truly remarkable lifetime of songs in front of a sold-out audience of over 18,000. Warmly dubbed the Bobfest by participant Neil Young, the show was broadcast around the world and featured a cast of musical notables performing carefully chosen and often surprising selections from the incomparable Dylan songbook. At evening's end, the man of honor himself appeared on stage and gracefully brought it all back home again. In a world where all-star celebrity gatherings have become commonplace, the Bob Dylan celebration stood out as, first and foremost, a legitimately memorable musical event.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music
Eminem Presents: The Anger Management Tour (2005)
The inaugural Anger Management Tour was founded and started in the fall 2000 by Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, and after the release of The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem. Originally targeted at both rap and rock fans, the first "Anger Management" outing took place in 2000. It had two separate legs. The second tour took place in the summer of 2002. The third tour took place in the summer of 2005. 50 Cent missed the tour's first two stops because of a scheduling conflict; he was tied up shooting his film debut. Ludacris filled in on those dates. The European part of the tour was cut short due to the exhaustion of tour founder Eminem and his addiction to sleeping pills.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
Eagles: Live At The Capital Centre March 1977 (2013)
Eagles Live At The Capital Centre - March 1977, featuring never-before-released performances from the Eagles’ two-night stand at Washington, D.C.’s Capital Center during the legendary Hotel California tour.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music
Shine a Light (2008)
Martin Scorsese’s electrifying concert documentary captures The Rolling Stones live at New York’s Beacon Theatre during their A Bigger Bang tour. Filmed over two nights in 2006 with an all-star team of cinematographers, the film combines dynamic performances with archival footage and rare glimpses behind the scenes, offering a vibrant portrait of the band’s enduring energy and legacy.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
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: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLed Zeppelin - The Song Remains the Same (1976)
The best of Led Zeppelin's legendary 1973 appearances at Madison Square Garden. Interspersed throughout the concert footage are behind-the-scenes moments with the band. The Song Remains the Same is Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden in NYC concert footage colorfully enhanced by sequences which are supposed to reflect each band member's individual fantasies and hallucinations. Includes blistering live renditions of "Black Dog," "Dazed and Confused," "Stairway to Heaven," "Whole Lotta Love," "The Song Remains the Same," and "Rain Song" among others.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRammstein in Amerika (2015)
The concert film celebrates the band’s legendary show in New York’s Madison Square Garden – Rammstein’s return to the US after a ten-year absence. In HD and 5.1 surround sound. For the documentary, Rammstein provided extensive, previously unreleased footage and photos from the band archive. In numerous interviews from various periods in the band’s history, the band members speak about their experiences across the Atlantic.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBob Dylan – Don't Look Back (1967)
In this wildly entertaining vision of one of the twentieth century’s greatest artists, Bob Dylan is surrounded by teen fans, gets into heated philosophical jousts with journalists, and kicks back with fellow musicians Joan Baez, Donovan, and Alan Price.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Doors: Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 (2018)
Filmed on August 1970, 2AM, in front of 600,000 people, with Jim Morrison’s ongoing Miami obscenity trial still weighing heavily on the band, they traverse such staples as “Roadhouse Blues”, “Break On Through (To The Other Side)”, and “Light My Fire”.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music
Black Woodstock (1969)
The Harlem Cultural Festival, also known as "Black Woodstock", was a series of music concerts held in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City during the summer of 1969 to celebrate African American music and culture and to promote the continued politics of black pride. The concerts took place in Harlem's Mount Morris Park on Sundays at 3PM from June 29, 1969 to August 24, 1969. The manifestation came soon after the Watts Riots, and the assassinations of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
Woodstock (1970)
An intimate look at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, NY in 1969, from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, blistering concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers; negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes to the surreal arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of 500,000.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRoy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night (1988)
Recorded live at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, Roy is joined by an eclectic ensemble of rock and roll superstars including Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, T-Bone Burnett, J.D. Souther, Jennifer Warnes, k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music
Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002)
In 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. gathered the best musicians from Detroit's thriving jazz and blues scene to begin cutting songs for his new record company. Over a fourteen year period they were the heartbeat on every hit from Motown's Detroit era. By the end of their phenomenal run, this unheralded group of musicians had played on more number ones hits than the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, Elvis and the Beatles combined - which makes them the greatest hit machine in the history of popular music. They called themselves the Funk Brothers. Forty-one years after they played their first note on a Motown record and three decades since they were all together, the Funk Brothers reunited back in Detroit to play their music and tell their unforgettable story, with the help of archival footage, still photos, narration, interviews, re-creation scenes, 20 Motown master tracks, and twelve new live performances of Motown classics with the Brothers backing up contemporary performers.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Concert for Bangladesh (1972)
A film about the first benefit rock concert when major musicians performed to raise relief funds for the poor of Bangladesh. The Concert for Bangladesh was a pair of benefit concerts organised by former Beatles guitarist George Harrison and Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar. The shows were held at 2:30 and 8:00 pm on Sunday, 1 August 1971, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, to raise international awareness of, and fund relief for refugees from East Pakistan, following the Bangladesh Liberation War-related genocide.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
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: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRite Here Rite Now (2024)
Whether you’re a devoted disciple looking to relive treasured memories of the GHOST live spectacle or among the curious uninitiated, RITE HERE RITE NOW will put you right there: putting your phones down and living in the moment—as a shadow of uncertainty looms—completely spellbound and in the thrall of this bombastic yet intimate cinematic portrait of GHOST.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWoodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage (2021)
Explore Woodstock 99, a three-day music festival promoted to echo unity and counterculture idealism of the original 1969 concert but instead devolved into riots, looting and sexual assaults.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUp From the Streets - New Orleans: The City of Music (2021)
A film looking at the culture of New Orleans thru the lens of music. Hosted by Oscar nominee and 6-time Grammy Winner Terence Blanchard, the film tells the story of how music and culture intersected to create a distinct form of expression.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise (1980)
Robert Mugge filmed jazz great Sun Ra on location in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. between 1978 and 1980. The resulting 60-minute film includes multiple public and private performances, poetry readings, a band rehearsal, interviews, and extensive improvisations. Transferred to HD from the original 16mm film and lovingly restored for the best possible viewing experience.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Space Is the Place (1974)
Sun Ra and his Solar Myth Arkestra return to Earth after several years in space. Ra proclaims himself "the alter-destiny", meets with inner-city youths and battles with the devil himself to save the black race.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Beatles: Get Back - The Rooftop Concert (2022)
On the 30th of January, 1969, the Beatles performed an unannounced concert from the rooftop of their Apple Corps headquarters at Savile Row, within central London's office and fashion district. Experience the final and unforgettable iconic performance of The Beatles in a special 60-minute presentation, digitally remastered into the image and sound quality of IMAX DMR technology.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisConcert for George (2003)
As a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his passing, The Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002 . Organized by Harrison's widow, Olivia, and son, Dhani, and arranged under the musical direction of Eric Clapton and Jeff Lynne. A benefit for Harrison's Material World Charitable Foundation, the all-star concert took place on the day of the first anniversary of his death. Proceeds from the film also went to the Material World Charitable Foundation. The film was shot using discreet cameras from over twelve locations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Last Repair Shop (2024)
In a warehouse in the heart of Los Angeles, a dwindling handful of devoted craftspeople maintain more than 80,000 student musical instruments, the largest remaining workshop in America of its kind. Meet four unforgettable characters whose broken-and-repaired lives have been dedicated to bringing so much more than music to the schoolchildren of this city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDavid Byrne's American Utopia (2020)
A filmed version of David Byrne's Broadway show, a unifying musical celebration that inspires audiences to connect to each other and to the global community.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRoger Waters: The Wall (2014)
A concert film that the former Pink Floyd singer-songwriter made on various tour dates between 2010 and 2013, when he was playing his former group's 1980 double-album in its entirety.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Wattstax?
The closest matches to Wattstax are Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1970), Ryuichi Sakamoto: async at the Park Avenue Armory (2018) and Bob Marley and the Wailers - Live at the Rainbow (1991). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Wattstax?
People who watched Wattstax most often go on to Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1970), Ryuichi Sakamoto: async at the Park Avenue Armory (2018) and Bob Marley and the Wailers - Live at the Rainbow (1991).
What is the highest-rated movie like Wattstax?
Stop Making Sense (1984), rated 8.3/10 by 405 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Wattstax?
Rite Here Rite Now (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Wattstax?
Yes: Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1970), Ryuichi Sakamoto: async at the Park Avenue Armory (2018) and Bob Marley and the Wailers - Live at the Rainbow (1991).
How are movies similar to Wattstax chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Wattstax, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.