10 WE ARE FUGAZI FROM WASHINGTON, DC
Directors: Joe Gross, Jeff Krulik and Joseph Pattisall
This smart, original live film was pieced together from footage recorded by fans at shows throughout Fugazi’s career. The result was a different take on the concert film, with the raw footage embellished by interviews with the fan-filmmakers; a celebration of Fugazi’s live power as well as the collegiate, democratic spirit that fired their music.
9 S/HE IS STILL HER/E: THE OFFICIAL GENESIS P-ORRIDGE FILM
Director: David Charles Rodrigues
The life of the avant-garde provocateur is fertile material for biography thanks to P-Orridge’s dabbling in numerous disciplines alongside the music they made with Throbbing Gristle. The film was made in the final year of P-Orridge’s life as they confronted their impending death and is an absorbing study of an artist who devoted their life to pushing boundaries.
8 OZZY OSBOURNE: NO ESCAPE FROM NOW
Director: Tania Alexander
A moving celebration of an icon on the edge of death, as Ozzy battled numerous overlapping ailments in his determination to push through to his final hurrah with Sabbath at Villa Park. Viewers were shown the full extent of Ozzy’s suffering in an often painful look at illness and ageing, with an inevitable but bittersweet finale.
7 THE SESSION MAN
Director: Mike Treen
A suitably old-fashioned look at Nicky Hopkins, one of British music’s great session men and the pianist whose distinctive style decorated most of the great Rolling Stones albums as well as landmark records by The Who, The Beatles and more. As well as contributing to some of the best music of the ’60s and ’70s, Hopkins spent his life battling Crohn’s disease and the film explored how his career was affected by his constant pain.
6 BECOMING LED ZEPPELIN
Director: Bernard MacMahon
All three surviving members – plus John Bonham from the archive – gave in-depth interviews that provided the structure for this long- in-the-making biography of Zeppelin’s early years. The first half covered the lives and early careers of the four musicians before the formation of the band; the second half dealt with Zep’s explosive birth and conquering of the US. The interviews were first-rate and the performance footage glorious.
5 ONE TO ONE: JOHN AND YOKO
Directors: Kevin MacDonald and Sam Rice-Edwards
Lennon’s early New York years were ripe for dissection, as John and Yoko immersed themselves in a colourful political scene while trying to bring aspects of the counterculture into the mainstream. The narrative centred on the One To One benefit concert Lennon played at Madison Square Garden in 1972, his only full show after leaving The Beatles, along with plenty of terrific unseen footage presented in a kaleidoscopic manner that reflected Lennon’s TV habits and whipsmart internal monologue. A companion piece of sorts to the People Have The Power boxset.
4 SLY LIVES! THE BURDEN OF BLACK GENIUS
Director: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Following the success of Summer Of Soul, Questlove turned his energy and inquisitive eye to the enigma of Sly Stone, celebrating his extravagant imagination while examining the very particular challenge of being black and brilliant in ’60s/’70s America. These two narrative elements didn’t always gel, but the film was thought-provoking and deeply felt, as well as packed with some incredible archive footage of Sly on and off the stage.
3 BROKEN ENGLISH
Directors: Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard
An unconventional and intense film about Marianne Faithfull, due for a wider release in 2026. Tilda Swinton starred as a curator of Faithfull’s history, sifting fact from fiction in a bid to reclaim the singer’s real story from the legend of her life. Nick Cave was among those who made appearances, while the game Faithfull gave a brave final appearance recorded shortly before her death earlier this year.
2 IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY
Director: Amy Berg
By focusing on the people who knew Buckley – family, friends, partners –Berg presented a human portrait of an artist who sometimes seemed too brilliant to be real. A central theme came from Buckley’s struggle with legacy, initially that of his famous father – and then with the acclaim and success of Grace – while illuminating live footage allowed Buckley’s talent to shine once more.
1 SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D’ETAT
Director: Johan Grimonprez
Oscar-nominated study of how the CIA used the soft power of musicians like Louis Armstrong and Nina Simone to win support in Africa during the Cold War, even as they plotted the assassination of Congo’s Patrice Lumumba. Ornette Coleman, Max Roach and Charles Mingus were among those providing the soundtrack. The best film you’ll ever see about the Congo, the CIA and jazz.
10 WE ARE FUGAZI FROM WASHINGTON, DC
Directors: Joe Gross, Jeff Krulik and Joseph Pattisall
This smart, original live film was pieced together from footage recorded by fans at shows throughout Fugazi’s career. The result was a different take on the concert film, with the raw footage embellished by interviews with the fan-filmmakers; a celebration of Fugazi’s live power as well as the collegiate, democratic spirit that fired their music.
9 S/HE IS STILL HER/E: THE OFFICIAL GENESIS P-ORRIDGE FILM
Director: David Charles Rodrigues
The life of the avant-garde provocateur is fertile material for biography thanks to P-Orridge’s dabbling in numerous disciplines alongside the music they made with Throbbing Gristle. The film was made in the final year of P-Orridge’s life as they confronted their impending death and is an absorbing study of an artist who devoted their life to pushing boundaries.
8 OZZY OSBOURNE: NO ESCAPE FROM NOW
Director: Tania Alexander
A moving celebration of an icon on the edge of death, as Ozzy battled numerous overlapping ailments in his determination to push through to his final hurrah with Sabbath at Villa Park. Viewers were shown the full extent of Ozzy’s suffering in an often painful look at illness and ageing, with an inevitable but bittersweet finale.
7 THE SESSION MAN
Director: Mike Treen
A suitably old-fashioned look at Nicky Hopkins, one of British music’s great session men and the pianist whose distinctive style decorated most of the great Rolling Stones albums as well as landmark records by The Who, The Beatles and more. As well as contributing to some of the best music of the ’60s and ’70s, Hopkins spent his life battling Crohn’s disease and the film explored how his career was affected by his constant pain.
6 BECOMING LED ZEPPELIN
Director: Bernard MacMahon
All three surviving members – plus John Bonham from the archive – gave in-depth interviews that provided the structure for this long- in-the-making biography of Zeppelin’s early years. The first half covered the lives and early careers of the four musicians before the formation of the band; the second half dealt with Zep’s explosive birth and conquering of the US. The interviews were first-rate and the performance footage glorious.
5 ONE TO ONE: JOHN AND YOKO
Directors: Kevin MacDonald and Sam Rice-Edwards
Lennon’s early New York years were ripe for dissection, as John and Yoko immersed themselves in a colourful political scene while trying to bring aspects of the counterculture into the mainstream. The narrative centred on the One To One benefit concert Lennon played at Madison Square Garden in 1972, his only full show after leaving The Beatles, along with plenty of terrific unseen footage presented in a kaleidoscopic manner that reflected Lennon’s TV habits and whipsmart internal monologue. A companion piece of sorts to the People Have The Power boxset.
4 SLY LIVES! THE BURDEN OF BLACK GENIUS
Director: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Following the success of Summer Of Soul, Questlove turned his energy and inquisitive eye to the enigma of Sly Stone, celebrating his extravagant imagination while examining the very particular challenge of being black and brilliant in ’60s/’70s America. These two narrative elements didn’t always gel, but the film was thought-provoking and deeply felt, as well as packed with some incredible archive footage of Sly on and off the stage.
3 BROKEN ENGLISH
Directors: Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard
An unconventional and intense film about Marianne Faithfull, due for a wider release in 2026. Tilda Swinton starred as a curator of Faithfull’s history, sifting fact from fiction in a bid to reclaim the singer’s real story from the legend of her life. Nick Cave was among those who made appearances, while the game Faithfull gave a brave final appearance recorded shortly before her death earlier this year.
2 IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY
Director: Amy Berg
By focusing on the people who knew Buckley – family, friends, partners –Berg presented a human portrait of an artist who sometimes seemed too brilliant to be real. A central theme came from Buckley’s struggle with legacy, initially that of his famous father – and then with the acclaim and success of Grace – while illuminating live footage allowed Buckley’s talent to shine once more.
1 SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D’ETAT
Director: Johan Grimonprez
Oscar-nominated study of how the CIA used the soft power of musicians like Louis Armstrong and Nina Simone to win support in Africa during the Cold War, even as they plotted the assassination of Congo’s Patrice Lumumba. Ornette Coleman, Max Roach and Charles Mingus were among those providing the soundtrack. The best film you’ll ever see about the Congo, the CIA and jazz.
The post Uncut’s Top 10 music documentaries of 2025 appeared first on UNCUT.
