I’m a total sucker for great music documentaries and biopics. The 2025 movie schedule provided plenty of both. There were a few I knew I would love, like DEVO and Becoming Led Zeppelin, and I few that really surprised me, especially Song Sung Blue. There are a couple I’ve not seen yet that I am excited about, like Depeche Mode: M on the documentary side, and Blue Moon on the biopic side, so hopefully I’ll be able to catch those soon.
As a disclaimer, this isn’t an exhaustive list of music-related projects in 2025. I’m not going to talk about O’Dessa, for example (though I did like that more than I thought I would), and K-Pop Demon Hunters isn’t here. I’m also not including the recent Taylor Swift docuseries or concert film, as plenty of words have been spilled on those lately.
Here are nine I loved, and five I didn’t love so much.
Becoming Led Zeppelin
I’m starting with Becoming Led Zeppelin because it was not only my favorite music-related release of 2025, but it was one of my favorite movies overall. Like so many others, I became a fan of Zeppelin pretty early on in my life, and they have been a…presence…ever since. I loved so much about this documentary, but mostly it was that it gave over long parts of it to complete live versions of songs very early in their career.
DEVO
Devo is another band that has been a near-constant presence in my life from a very early age. They are so unique and interesting, not just as a band, but as an art collective. This documentary, which you can watch with a Netflix subscription, is a fantastic deep dive into the band, with interviews from almost all the members, even those no longer with us. It’s great for fans, but it might even be better if you don’t know much about them. Check it out.
Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately?
As a Gen Xer, Counting Crows is one of those bands that you either love or hate. I’m actually in that latter category. They were never my jam in the 1990s. However, the new documentary that is available with an HBO Max subscription definitely made me appreciate the band, their fans, and everything lead singer Adam Duritz went through when they found fame so quickly.
Song Sung Blue
The first biopic on the list, Song Sung Blue, was not a movie I expected to love, but I did. I’m not, like, a huge Neil Diamond fan, so the idea of watching a biopic about a Neil Diamond tribute band didn’t exactly have me bursting with excitement. However, I really did love the movie. Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson (who was nominated for a Golden Globe) are fantastic in their roles as Lightning and Thunder, and I really can enthusiastically recommend this one.
Give Me a Word: The Collective Soul Story
Another Gen X-era band that I never got into in the ‘90s was Collective Soul. I have to admit, when I read the announcement that they had made a documentary about their history and the recording of their latest album, I wasn’t all that excited. Like the Counting Crows doc, though, I was very pleasantly surprised by Give Me a Word. It’s really well made and does a great job of connecting the past with the present, along with even a hint of the supernatural.
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
The next couple on this list fall somewhere in the middle. I didn’t love the Jeremy Allen White-led biopic Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, but I certainly didn’t hate it either. White is fantastic as Bruce Springsteen, and I love the structure of the movie. Building it around the recording of my favorite Springsteen record, Nebraska, was an inspired approach. Still, didn’t hit me quite like I expected it would.
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues
Of course, as a music fan, This is Spinal Tap has always been one of my favorite movies. For decades, like many others, I’ve been quoting the movie incessantly and rewatching it often. When the late Rob Reiner and the cast announced Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, I was skeptical of it. After watching it, I didn’t hate it by any means, but I wasn’t surprised by it; it was… fine. It has some laughs, it has some groans, and in the end, it was… fine.
Selena y Los Dinos: A Family's Legacy
Now we’re getting to the three I thought fell flat. They weren't bad by any means, but they left me wanting more. The first one here is Selena y Los Dinos: A Family's Legacy from Netflix. It’s a pretty straightforward documentary about the life and death of the Queen of Tejano Music. The interviews are interesting, but I don’t feel like I learned much new about the tragic life of Selena, and it felt very paint-by-numbers.
Bono: Stories Of Surrender
Okay, this was a tough one to rank. I’ve spent much of my life defending Bono and U2. I’ve been a fan since I first heard The Joshua Tree at summer camp in 1987. I’ve always pushed back on the argument that Bono’s ego is out of control. But I have to be honest here, Stories of Surrender doesn’t help my argument. There are times when all those arguments about the Irish legend being insufferable are impossible to deny. This is one of them. The stories are great, but the presentation is just too pretentious for me.
One To One: John And Yoko
Another documentary I had high hopes for but walked away disappointed was One To One: John And Yoko, about John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s early life after The Beatles in New York City. I did come away with a deeper understanding of Yoko, but overall, I didn’t like the style of the documentary, although the footage of Lennon’s concert at Madison Square Garden (much of which I’d seen before) did keep it at least somewhat interesting. Overall, though, I found it a little boring.
I could probably keep going with films I loved this year, I didn’t even get to Sly Lives! And Pavements, both of which were awesome. If you have the time, I highly recommend those as well. Plus, there is a lot to look forward to on the 2026 movie schedule, and at the upcoming music biopics like Michael.
