Movies Like Daybreak Express (1953)

Daybreak Express is a 1953 documentary, music film from D. A. Pennebaker with a MovieMagicScore of 7.3/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Jammin' the Blues and Time Piece.

Documentary Music

Jammin' the Blues

1944

In this short film, prominent jazz musicians of the 1940s gather for a rare filming of a jam session. This highly stylized chronicle features tenor sax legend Lester Young.

6.9

MagicScore

Time Piece

1965

Dislocation in time, time signatures, time as a philosophical concept, and slavery to time are some of the themes touched upon in this 9-minute experimental film, which was written, directed, and produced by Jim Henson. Screened for the first time at the Museum of Modern Art in May of 1965, "Time Piece" enjoyed an eighteen-month run at one Manhattan movie theater and was nominated for an Academy Award for Outstanding Short Subject.

7.1

MagicScore

Begone Dull Care

1949

In this extraordinary short animation, Evelyn Lambart and Norman McLaren painted colours, shapes, and transformations directly onto their filmstrip. The result is a vivid interpretation, in fluid lines and colour, of jazz music played by the Oscar Peterson Trio.

6.9

MagicScore

I Love to Singa

1936

I Love to Singa depicts the story of a young owl who wants to sing jazz, instead of the classical music that his German parents wish him to perform. The plot is a lighthearted tribute to Al Jolson's film The Jazz Singer.

6.8

MagicScore

Three Little Bops

1957

Three hip, Little Pigs are travelling entertainers, moving from straw to wood, to brick nightclubs, playing swinging tunes for high-class, "with it" crowds, but an uncool Big Bad Wolf keeps intruding on their act with with his "corny horn" and uses it to blow their nightclubs down when they throw him out- until they are playing in their brick club and the Wolf tries a more drastic, explosive method for destroying the "House of Bricks".

6.8

MagicScore

Herbie

1966

Herbie is a short 16mm black and white film by George Lucas and Paul Golding made in 1966 as part of their USC film school course. It is an abstract film with no story and no actors, that graphically depicts the reflections of moving light streaks and light flashes from traffic at night. It is set to a piece of jazz music by Herbie Hancock, whose first name was used for the title.

6.6

MagicScore

Katnip Kollege

1938

At the Katnip Kollege, we see a roomful of cats taking a course in Swingology. Everyone swings except Johnny, who can't cut it and has to sit in the dunce chair. Miss Kitty Bright tells him to look her up when he learns how to swing. Finally, listening to the pendulum clock at night, Johnny gets the beat. He rushes out to where everyone is playing and sings "Easy As Rollin' Off a Log" to Kitty Bright. She joins in; he grabs a trumpet for an instrumental break, with the complete band. They both fall off a log; she covers him with kisses.

5.5

MagicScore

The Phone Call

2013

Heather is a shy lady who works in a helpline call centre. When she receives a phone call from a mystery man, she has no idea that the encounter will change her life forever.

7.3

MagicScore

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

2021

During the same summer as Woodstock, over 300,000 people attended the Harlem Cultural Festival, celebrating African American music and culture, and promoting Black pride and unity. The footage from the festival sat in a basement, unseen for over 50 years, keeping this incredible event in America's history lost — until now.

7.6

MagicScore

#10

Amy

2015

A documentary on the life of Amy Winehouse, the immensely talented yet doomed songstress. We see her from her teen years, where she already showed her singing abilities, to her finding success and then her downward spiral into alcoholism and drugs.

7.6

MagicScore

#11

Chasing Trane

2017

An account of the life of the brilliant jazz musician John Coltrane (1926-67), a gifted saxophonist, an extraordinarily talented thinker whose original, avant-garde work has impacted and influenced people all over the world. A story about music's ability to entertain, inspire and transform.

7.3

MagicScore

#12

I Called Him Morgan

2016

Part jazz history, part true-crime tale, Kasper Collin’s new documentary employs extensive archival footage and new interviews to tell the tragic story of the magnificently talented trumpeter Lee Morgan and his common-law wife Helen, who murdered him in a New York bar in 1972.

7.2

MagicScore

#13

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

2019

An immersive look at the eventful life and brilliant artistic career of visionary American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-1991).

7.2

MagicScore

#14

Let's Get Lost

1988

Documentary about jazz great Chet Baker that intercuts footage from the 1950s, when he was part of West Coast Cool, and from his last years. We see the young Baker, he of the beautiful face, in California and in Italy, where he appeared in at least one movie and at least one jail cell (for drug possession). And, we see the aged Baker, detached, indifferent, his face a ruin. Includes interviews with his children and ex-wife, women companions, and musicians.

7.0

MagicScore

#15

Wild Man Blues

1997

Wild Man Blues is a 1998 documentary film directed by Barbara Kopple, about the musical avocation of actor/director/comic Woody Allen. The film takes its name from a jazz composition sometimes attributed to Jelly Roll Morton and sometimes to Louis Armstrong and recorded by both (among others). Allen's love of early 20th century New Orleans music is depicted through his 1996 tour of Europe with his New Orleans Jazz Band. Allen has played clarinet with this band for over 25 years. Although Allen's European tour is the film's primary focus, it was also notable as the first major public showcase for Allen's relationship with Soon-Yi Previn.

6.6

MagicScore

#16

Whiplash

2014

Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity.

8.4

MagicScore

#17

Soul

2020

Joe Gardner is a middle school teacher with a love for jazz music. After a successful audition at the Half Note Club, he suddenly gets into an accident that separates his soul from his body and is transported to the You Seminar, a center in which souls develop and gain passions before being transported to a newborn child. Joe must enlist help from the other souls-in-training, like 22, a soul who has spent eons in the You Seminar, in order to get back to Earth.

8.1

MagicScore

#18

Swing Girls

2004

A tale of delinquent and lazy school girls. In their efforts to cut remedial summer math class, they end up poisoning and replacing the school's brass band.

7.8

MagicScore

#19

Blue Giant

2023

High school student Dai Miyamoto has his life is turned upside down the day he discovers jazz. Picking up a saxophone and leaving his sleepy hometown for the bustling nightclubs of Tokyo, Dai will find that the life of a professional musician isn’t for the faint of heart, as he must confront what it truly means to be great.

7.8

MagicScore

#20

The Blues Brothers

1980

Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised.

7.7

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Daybreak Express?

The top films similar to Daybreak Express by MovieMagicScore are Jammin' the Blues (6.9), Time Piece (7.1), Begone Dull Care (6.9). Each shares documentary/music themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Daybreak Express worth watching?

Daybreak Express holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.3/10 from 45 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Daybreak Express?

Daybreak Express (1953) is a documentary, music film directed by D. A. Pennebaker.

Where can I find more recommendations like Daybreak Express?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more documentary recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Jammin' the Blues Movies like Time Piece Movies like Begone Dull Care Movies like I Love to Singa Movies like Three Little Bops Movies like Herbie

About movies like Daybreak Express

This ranked list pairs Daybreak Express (1953), a documentary and music film from D. A. Pennebaker, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap. Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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