Pete Seeger Filmography

Down the Tracks: The Music That Influenced Bob Dylan

Crew: Composer (Music Score)

Synopsis: Few artists in the history of rock and roll have been more groundbreaking and influential than Bob Dylan, whose songwriting brought a new degree of literacy and intellect to popular music. But Dylan's music didn't emerge from a vacuum -- his work was informed by a wide range of musical and Read More

The Rich Have Their Own Photographers

Synopsis: The optometrist and artist who was shunned by the media and society-at-large after being declared "The Top Red in Buffalo" back in 1957 stands as the subject of director Ezra Bookstein's inspirational documentary about the value of standing up for your rights in the face of social injustice. It Read More

Sunshine Superman: The Journey of Donovan

Actors: Donovan, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Mickie Most

The Best of the Johnny Cash TV Show, 1969-1971

Actors: Kris Kristofferson

Synopsis: The Best of the Johnny Cash Show captures a number of memorable performances from the variety show hosted by the country music legend. This collection includes performances by Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Neil Young, Ray Charles, Pete Seeger, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Read More

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song

Actors: Tom Paxton, Bob Dylan, Natalie Maines, Pete Seeger

Synopsis: The reflective documentary Pete Seeger: The Power of Song explores the legacy of revered American folk singer and activist Seeger - written and directed by filmmaker Jim Brown when Seeger was in his late '80s. In lieu of recounting the narrative of Seeger's life note-for-note, however, Brown uses Read More

Isn't This a Time! A Tribute Concert for Harold Leventhal

Actors: Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Leon Bibb, Theodore Bikel, Peter, Paul and Mary

Synopsis: In the early '60s, revolutionary music producer and promoter Harold Leventhal's contributions to the American folk scene forever changed the face of modern music. In addition to being the man who gave Bob Dylan his first major concert hall performance, Leventhal also managed such folk legends as the Weavers Read More

Woody Guthrie: This Machine Kills Fascists

Actors: Billy Bragg, Arlo Guthrie, Nora Guthrie, Mary Jo Guthrie, Pete Seeger

Synopsis: Woody Guthrie was a singer and songwriter who came of age in Oklahoma as the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression all but destroyed the homes and lives of many of those around him. A natural wordsmith who loved music, Guthrie turned the stories he saw all around him into songs -- some funny, some Read More

The Peace! DVD

Actors: Harry Belafonte, Noam Chomsky, Angela Davis, Ossie Davis, Danny Glover

Synopsis: A pair of pacifist-minded documentarians reach out to dozens of their generation's greatest thinkers in a bid to ensure a peaceful future for all in this documentary that encourages viewers to take an active role in the peace process. From September 2002 to May 2003, filmmakers Gabriele Zamparini Read More

Strange Fruit

Actors: Abel Meerpol, Billie Holiday, Amiri Baraka, Abbey Lincoln, Farah Jasmine Griffin

Synopsis: Made famous by singer Billie Holiday in an unforgettable 1939 recording, the haunting anti-lynching anthem "Strange Fruit" was not, as many believe, written by an African-American. Rather, it grew out of poem penned by a Jewish schoolteacher from the Bronx, Abel Meeropol. Outraged by the shabby Read More

Smothered: The Great Smothers Brothers Censorship Wars

Actors: Bill Maher, Tom Smothers, Dick Smothers, Joan Baez, Rob Reiner

Synopsis: With their blend of folk singing and stand-up comedy, Tom and Dick Smothers became a popular nightclub attraction in the early 1960's and were frequent guests on many television variety shows of the day. In 1967, in a bid to win younger viewers away from NBC's perennially popular western series Read More

American Roots Music, Episode 3: The Times They are A-Changin'

Crew: Commentary

Synopsis: The Times, They Are A-Changing follows the development of roots music during the '50s and '60s. During the late '50s, a folk revival swept the United States. Rooted in the work of folklorists and musicians from the '30s and '40s, the revival spread to mainstream America when the Kingston Trio Read More

American Roots Music, Episode 1: When First Unto This Country

Crew: Commentary

Synopsis: When First Unto This Country narrates the origins of American roots music and follows its development through the 1920s. When Africans and Europeans founded the new world in the 17th century, each ethnic group brought its unique musical heritage to the new world. It was the combination of these Read More

The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack

Actors: Jack Elliott

Synopsis: Ramblin' Jack Elliott, a self-styled folk musician, was an important transitional figure between Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan. This documentary serves as both a chronicle of his colorful life and an attempt by his daughter, director Aiyanna Elliott, to reconnect with her often-absent father. Born Read More

Pete Seeger's Family Sing-A-Long

Synopsis: Folksinger Pete Seeger has continued to attract new fans for many years. He recorded this program at the age of 80 and filled it with many of his best tunes and harmonies. Accompanied by his brother and sister, Seeger sings such hits as "This Land Is Your Land," "The Garden Song," and "Hambone." Read More

To Hear Your Banjo Play

Synopsis: Directed by Irving Lerner and Willard Van Dyke, and narrated by renowned folk troubadour Pete Seeger, this film presented by the Museum of Modern Art in New York chronicles the history of the banjo, an instrument with roots in African-American slavery. Shot in Appalachia in the 1940s, highlights Read More

Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry: Red River Blues - Rare Performances 1948-1974

Synopsis: Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry were one of the greatest and most influential country blues acts to ever grace a stage, and this collection of rare performance footage captures the duo at their best. Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry: Red River Blues (1948-1974) begins with Library of Congress archival Read More

Stonewall 25: Voices of Pride and Protest

Harry Bridges: A Man and His Union

Crew: Composer (Music Score)

Synopsis: Harry Bridges is profiled in this historic video covering his years as first president of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union as well as his socialist ties through the use of fill footage and interviews. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

Pete Seeger's Family Concert

Synopsis: Pete Seeger and his kin perform their special brand of feel-good folk music in this concert video. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

Doc Watson: Doc's Guitar - Fingerpicking and Flatpicking

Synopsis: In Doc Watson: Doc's Guitar -- Fingerpicking and Flatpicking, beloved guitarist Doc Watson discusses guitar technique, musical philosophy, and good musicianship. Using his expansive repertoire, Watson teaches by way of performing fingerpicking and flatpicking songs. Watson's instruction is easy to Read More

Dreadful Memories: The Life of Sarah Ogan Gunning

Synopsis: This portrait of a singer/songwriter, Sarah Gunning who is noted for her traditional singing and the many compositions of labor organizing songs. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

Raising Arizona

Crew: Songwriter

Actors: Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, Trey Wilson, John Goodman, William Forsythe

Synopsis: Combining influences from Tex Avery cartoons to Sam Raimi horror movies to 1940s B-movies, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen followed up the stylish film noir of their debut, Blood Simple (1984), with this frantic screwball comedy. H.I. "Hi" McDonnough (Nicholas Cage) is a philosophical but slightly dim Read More

Reading Rainbow: Abiyoyo

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: This series of award-winning programs sets out to engage youngsters in the joys of reading. Aimed at ages from preschool to fourth grade, they feature a picture book, activities related to the story, and a number of books reviewed by kids. LeVar Burton hosts the series, and is also one of the Read More

Chords of Fame

Actors: Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Pete Seeger, Oscar Brand

Synopsis: Using interviews with people like Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin from the revolutionary 1960s in the U.S., as well as dramatic re-enactments of events, and singers performing his songs, documentarian Michael Korolenko has attempted to pay tribute to Phil Ochs, a folk singer who committed suicide in Read More

In Our Hands

Actors: Meryl Streep, Dr. Helen Caldicott, Benjamin Spock

Synopsis: This compilation documentary covers the massive anti-nuclear peace march held in New York City on June 12, 1982, including the preparations that led up to the march and interviews with concerned and knowledgeable people on the issue of peace, as well as Japanese survivors of the atomic bomb Read More

Woody Guthrie: Hard Travelin'

Synopsis: Rare filmclips of folksinger Woody Guthrie at work and at play provide the highlights of this 74-minute documentary. Hard Travelin' places Guthrie's musical contributions within the context of their times, utilizing harrowing footage of the devastation wreaked by the Depression and the Dust Bowl. Read More

Seeing Red

Actors: Bill Bailey, Dorothy Healey, Pete Seeger

Synopsis: About 400 known and unknown American communists were interviewed during this five-year documentary project, and the results culled down to an intriguing 100 minutes of screen time. As secretaries, factory workers, farmers, and intellectuals discuss the past, their insights provide both humor and Read More

The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time!

Actors: Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, Lee Hays

Synopsis: This is a tribute film to the first folk music group to break through to a wider audience, the Weavers, formed in the late '40s by Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman, and Ronnie Gilbert. In 1950, the group made history with their recording of the Leadbelly song "Goodnight, Irene," which stayed Read More

Caudillo

Crew: Singer

Synopsis: Caudillo literally means "Boss," and was one of the many titles bestowed on Francisco Franco, who emerged as the sole dictator of Spain following the Civil War there. This documentary film collage attempts to convey images and feelings from the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), accompanied by songs Read More

Leadbelly

Actors: Roger E. Mosley, Paul Benjamin, Madge Sinclair, Alan Manson, Albert Hall, Art Evans

Synopsis: This biographical picture explores the troubled life of blues singer and master guitarist Leadbelly, who developed his style and wrote many of his songs during his frequent stints in prison. Featured performances are "&Rock Island Line" and "&Goodnight Irene". ~ All Movie Guide Read More

Cathode Ray Theatre

Synopsis: Narrated by Tom DeWitt, this theatrical video explores the reality that is created in illusion in several short scenes. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

The Foolish Frog

Crew: Short Story Author, Songwriter

Synopsis: Pete Seeger's tale of a vain bullfrog comes to life on the screen in this animated adaptation of the popular American folk-song. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide Read More

Pete Seeger... A Song and a Stone

Actors: Pete Seeger

Synopsis: Pete Seeger, with Woody Guthrie, Alan Oken and a few others, began the whole "folk music" movement. Like many of the founders of that movement, he was far too political (liberal/left) to be allowed media opportunities for superstardom. Nonetheless, he made his presence felt through the decades. In Read More

Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon

Actors: Liza Minnelli, Ken Howard, Robert Moore, James Coco, Kay Thompson

Synopsis: Upon completing Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon, a tearful Liza Minnelli declared publicly that she would never, ever work with tyrannical director Otto Preminger again. Worse luck for her: Junie Moon contains what may well be Minnelli's best non-musical performance. Based on the novel by Marjorie Kellogg Read More

Alice's Restaurant

Actors: Arlo Guthrie, Pat Quinn, James Broderick, Michael McClanathan, Geoff Outlaw

Synopsis: Intrigued by the counterculture tale of Arlo Guthrie's epic 1968 talking-blues record The Alice's Restaurant Massacree, director Arthur Penn, co-scripting with playwright Venable Herndon, adapted the song into the 1969 feature Alice's Restaurant. Hippie outsider Arlo (Guthrie, playing himself) Read More

Gavilan

Crew: Composer (Music Score)

Synopsis: Gavilan was also released as The Ballad of Gavilan. This was in deference to the off-camera musical contributions of balladeer Pete Seeger, whose melodic commentary upon the action is the best part of the film. Christopher George stars as a young westerner whose family is wiped out by villains. George Read More

Rainbow Quest [TV Series]

Synopsis: In the 1960s, when America was rediscovering its musical roots through a new interest in folk music, legendary musician and author Pete Seeger hosted a public television series called Rainbow Quest, in which he featured a number of great American artists as they played their songs and discussed Read More

The Inheritance

Crew: Singer

Synopsis: This documentary, sponsored by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, chronicles the history of the garment workers from 1900 to 1964. Director Harold Mayer uses old photos and newsreel footage combined with more recent film to tell of the history of the union. Folks songs are included in Read More

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Crew: Featured Music

Pure Pete Seeger

Synopsis: This video features folksinger Pete Seeger in a conversation with journalist Bill Moyers. Seegers' musical career began in the 1930s with the Weavers, and his collaboration with Woody Guthrie. He talks about those times, as well as his appearance before the House on Un-American Activities Read More

Pete Seeger: How to Play the 5-String Banjo

Synopsis: Pete Seeger: How to Play the 5-String Banjo features the folk music legend leading the viewer through a variety of tips and exercises that will increase one's skill on the title instrument. The renowned Doc Watson helps out on some of the songs. Viewers will practice techniques while playing such Read More

Judy Collins: Live

Synopsis: This delightful musical performance features Judy Collins, the famed folk singer. Includes on stage performances and off stage to. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

Donovan: Live

Synopsis: This documentary video features the PBS special on the life of the 60's psychedelic singer. Special guest's include Rev. Gary Davis. ~ All Movie Guide Read More