The Sparks Brothers

Jun 18, 2021

2h 20m

★ 7.4

50 years. 25 albums. 345 songs. Unlimited genius.

Overview

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.

Genres

Documentary

Music

Production Companies

Complete Fiction

MRC Non-Fiction

The Sparks Brothers Trailers

Cast

Self

Ron Mael

Self

Russell Mael

Self

Beck

Self

Gary Stewart

Self

Mike Berns

Self

Jane Wiedlin

Self

Sal Maida

Self

Christi Haydon

Self

Dean Menta

Self

Harley Feinstein

Self

Tony Visconti

Self

Mike Myers

This documentary chronicles the rise, fall, and rise again of the soft rock epitomized by artists such as Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Steely Dan, and Toto in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Retroactively dubbed "Yacht Rock," the easy-listening genre came to be gently mocked and even dismissed by rock lovers and critics. However, it has since reclaimed its place in music history and is celebrated in this groove-infused film.

0.0

Harley Flanagan: Wired for Chaos

Jun 20, 2025

From his harsh childhood in the burnt-out Lower East Side, musician Harley Flanagan burst onto the punk music scene at age 11 as drummer for his aunt’s band, the Stimulators. The founder of the Cro-Mags tells his incredible story, while interviews with hard rockers and icons like Flea, Ice-T, Henry Rollins, and Anthony Bourdain add insights. Featuring gritty footage of NYC’s downtown 1970s and ?80s music scene, this passionate film showcases Harley’s against-the-odds transformation from chaos to peace, driven by music, family, and personal growth.

0.0

Between the Anvil and the Hammer

Jan 1, 1973

A 1973 documentary film from the Central Office of Information about the Liverpool and Bootle Constabulary.

0.0

Lio

Oct 10, 2025

No overview available.

10.0

Ludwig van Beethoven

Jul 2, 1954

Documentary on the master composer, from a GDR point of view.

5.9

54

Aug 28, 1998

When the mastermind behind New York's infamous Studio 54 disco plucks young Shane from the sea of faces clamoring to get inside his club, he not only gets his foot in the door, but lands a coveted job behind the bar — and a front-row ticket to the most legendary party on the planet!

7.0

Fulci Talks

Mar 8, 2021

Rome, Italy, June 1993. Antonietta De Lillo and Marcello Garofalo interview legendary Italian film director Lucio Fulci (1927-96).

7.3

Top Hat

Aug 29, 1935

Showman Jerry Travers is working for producer Horace Hardwick in London. Jerry demonstrates his new dance steps late one night in Horace's hotel room, much to the annoyance of sleeping Dale Tremont below. She goes upstairs to complain and the two are immediately attracted to each other. Complications arise when Dale mistakes Jerry for Horace.

0.0

TS Eliot: Into 'The Waste Land'

Oct 13, 2022

An exploration of TS Eliot's The Waste Land, in its centenary year, that for the first time uncovers the personal story behind Eliot's creation of his celebrated poem.

0.0

The Copper Kings

Nov 16, 2021

Through exploring the body as a landscape, 'The Copper Kings' plays with visual metaphors that connect the patriarchal philosophy and process of extraction to the dissection of our own bodies.

0.0

Take That play Baloise Session

Sep 18, 2025

The legendary British boy band of the 1990s, successfully reunited, delivers an exclusive performance in the intimate atmosphere of the Baloise Session. After Robbie Williams left, Take That, one of the most famous British boy bands of the 1990s, reunited in 2005, continuing their career with seven albums and numerous successful performances, occasionally welcoming back their star singer. In this live performance, which closed the opening night of the 2024 edition of the Basel festival, the three original members Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, and Mark Owen play their latest album This Life in an intimate and warm atmosphere, not forgetting, of course, the hits that made their millions of fans dance: "Pray," "Back for Good," and "Patience." Recorded on October 17, 2024, in Basel, Switzerland.

0.0

Living Inside the Speaker

Dec 6, 2006

Documentation of the Bristol dubstep scene circa 2006 capturing the musical genre in its infancy. Outside of London, Bristol is the UK's largest dubstep city and is a major player in the scene, with a network of local DJs, promoters, and producers pushing the sound. Features footage from Bristol's premiere dubstep nights and interviews with key individuals, providing a thrilling snapshot of the newest music scene to develop in Bristol.

5.2

There Is No Authority But Yourself

Jan 1, 2006

A Dutch documentary about the history of the anarchist punk band Crass. The film features archival footage of the band, and interviews with former members Steve Ignorant, Penny Rimbaud and Gee Vaucher.

7.5

Woodstock

Mar 26, 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.

1.0

Amazon Music Live: Ed Sheeran

Sep 22, 2023

Sheerios, get ready: GRAMMY-winning superstar, Ed Sheeran, kicks off the second season of Amazon Music Live. Tune in to watch him perform some of his biggest hits alongside brand new songs from the forthcoming album, Autumn Variations, out September 29.

7.8

Les Suppliques

Jul 11, 2022

Since the defeat, the Nazis, who were the masters of the occupied zone, and the French State, which had been ruling the so-called free zone since Vichy, ordered the Jews to take a census. From the spring of 1941, whether they had been French for several generations or naturalized for a few years, foreigners who had taken refuge in France or stateless people who had been driven out of their country, they were put on file, arrested or threatened at any time. Some wrote to the administration, or directly to Marshal Pétain, who seemed to them to be the last resort. These requests are called Suppliques. Men, women, sometimes children, tried as best they could, by all means, to loosen the trap. They address themselves to their executioners, but they do not know it.

6.9

That Thing You Do!

Oct 4, 1996

A Pennsylvania band scores a hit in 1964 and rides the star-making machinery as long as it can, with lots of help from its manager. But behind the scenes, the group’s sudden fame tests their strength, their maturity and responsibility, and their ability to resist the temptations that money and notoriety always make possible.