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Hitsville: The Making of Motown

Movies Like Hitsville: The Making of Motown (2019)

Hitsville: The Making of Motown is a 2019 documentary, music film from Gabe Turner with a MovieMagicScore of 7.6/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Standing in the Shadows of Motown and Sparkle.

Documentary Music

Standing in the Shadows of Motown poster

Standing in the Shadows of Motown

2002

In 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. gathered the best musicians from Detroit's thriving jazz and blues scene to begin cutting songs for his new record company. Over a fourteen year period they were the heartbeat on every hit from Motown's Detroit era. By the end of their phenomenal run, this unheralded group of musicians had played on more number ones hits than the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, Elvis and the Beatles combined - which makes them the greatest hit machine in the history of popular music. They called themselves the Funk Brothers. Forty-one years after they played their first note on a Motown record and three decades since they were all together, the Funk Brothers reunited back in Detroit to play their music and tell their unforgettable story, with the help of archival footage, still photos, narration, interviews, re-creation scenes, 20 Motown master tracks, and twelve new live performances of Motown classics with the Brothers backing up contemporary performers.

Sparkle poster

Sparkle

1976

Three sisters start out singing in their church choir in Harlem in the late 1950s and become a successful girl group in the 1960s.

Dreamgirls poster

Dreamgirls

2006

A trio of female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.

Sparkle poster

Sparkle

2012

Musical prodigy, Sparkle struggles to become a star while overcoming issues that are tearing her family apart. From an affluent Detroit area and daughter to a single mother, she tries to balance a new romance with music manager Stix while dealing with the unexpected challenges her new life will bring as she and her two sisters strive to become a dynamic singing group during the Motown-era.

Searching for Sugar Man poster

Searching for Sugar Man

2012

Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock 'n' roller, Rodriguez.

The Sparks Brothers poster

The Sparks Brothers

2021

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.

This Is Elvis poster

This Is Elvis

1981

Though several actors portray Elvis Presley at different stages of his life, this documentary is comprised mostly of actual performance footage and interviews with Elvis, his fans and those close to him. This biographical docu-drama features rare footage of Elvis and dramatically recreated scenes from Elvis' life.

Elvis poster

Elvis

2022

The life story of Elvis Presley as seen through the complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

All Things Must Pass poster

All Things Must Pass

2015

The explosive trajectory and tragic demise of iconic music retailer Tower Records, and the legacy of its rebellious founder Russ Solomon. Two hundred stores in thirty countries on five continents. In 1999 it made $1 billion. In 2006 it filed for bankruptcy. What went wrong?

Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon poster

Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon

2013

Supermensch documents the astounding career of Hollywood insider, the loveable Shep Gordon, who fell into music management by chance after moving to LA straight out of college, and befriending Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix. Shep managed rock stars such as Pink Floyd, Luther Vandross, Teddy Pendergrass and Alice Cooper, and later went on to manage chefs such as Emeril Lagasse, ushering in the era of celebrity chefs on television.

American Pop poster

American Pop

1981

The history of American popular music runs parallel with the history of a Russian Jewish immigrant family, with each male descendant possessing different musical abilities.

On the Record poster

On the Record

2020

The haunting story of music executive Drew Dixon as she grapples with her decision to become one of the first women of color, in the wake of #MeToo, to come forward and publicly accuse hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons of sexual misconduct. A gripping and profound examination of race, gender, intersectionality, and the toll sexual abuse takes on survivors and on society at large.

Spike Island poster

Spike Island

2012

Teenage musicians travel to England's Spike Island in the hope of attending an outdoor performance by their favorite band, the Stone Roses.

Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee poster

Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee

2009

An improvised comedy, shot over five days by Shane Meadows, devised with and starring Paddy Considine. Rock roadie and failed musician, Le Donk has lived, loved and learned. Along the way he's lost a girlfriend but he has found a new sidekick in up-and-coming rap prodigy Scor-zay-zee. With Meadows' fly-on-the-wall crew in tow, Donk sets out to make Scor-zay-zee a star...

Yozgat Blues poster

Yozgat Blues

2013

Sabri, a barber in Yozgat - a very small city in the middle of Anatolia - has an emotional breakdown when he runs into Yavuz and Neşe, who come to the town to sing in a small music hall-bar. This will also affect Neşe and Yavuz. None of their desires will be how they want them to be.

Kill Your Friends poster

Kill Your Friends

2015

A&R man Steven Stelfox is slashing and burning his way through the music business, a world where 'no one knows anything' and where careers are made and broken by chance and the fickle tastes of the general public. Fuelled by greed, ambition and inhuman quantities of drugs, Stelfox lives the dream, as he searches for his next hit record.

Be Cool poster

Be Cool

2005

Disenchanted with the movie industry, Chili Palmer tries the music industry, meeting and romancing a widow of a music executive along the way.

Skin. Like. Sun. poster

Skin. Like. Sun.

2009

Real-life young couple Wim and Floor spend an afternoon in the sunwashed rooms of a crumbling home in Belgium. In a unique twist, this artistic erotic documentary is edited in nearly real-time. In the slowness, we get the build, the sweetness, and the sexiness. Forget about fingersnapping fast editing. Slow is where it’s at.

Hot Girls Wanted poster

Hot Girls Wanted

2015

A first-ever look at the realities of the professional “amateur” porn world and the steady stream of 18-to-19-year old girls entering into it.

Shadow World poster

Shadow World

2016

A detailed investigation into the political and economic interests that, since the beginning of the 20th century, have pulled the strings of the arms trade, hidden in the shadows, feeding the shameful corruption of politicians and government officials and promoting a state of permanent war throughout the world, while they cynically asked for a lasting and universal peace.

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Hitsville: The Making of Motown?

The top films similar to Hitsville: The Making of Motown by MovieMagicScore are Standing in the Shadows of Motown (6.9), Sparkle (7.4), Dreamgirls (6.7). Each shares documentary/music themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Hitsville: The Making of Motown worth watching?

Hitsville: The Making of Motown holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.6/10 from 25 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Hitsville: The Making of Motown?

Hitsville: The Making of Motown (2019) is a documentary, music film directed by Gabe Turner, starring Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, Miller London.

Where can I find more recommendations like Hitsville: The Making of Motown?

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 Standing in the Shadows of Motown Movies like Sparkle Movies like Dreamgirls Movies like Sparkle Movies like Searching for Sugar Man Movies like The Sparks Brothers

About movies like Hitsville: The Making of Motown

This ranked list pairs Hitsville: The Making of Motown (2019), a documentary and music film from Gabe Turner, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Berry Gordy take note). 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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