Beastie Boys Story
Two surviving Beastie Boys transform four decades of music, mischief, friendship, and remembrance into an intimate live stage memoir.
Overview
A celebration of friendship and creativity through the lens of iconic music.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- witty
- nostalgic
- affectionate
- music documentary night
- concert film marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the affectionate, inventive, and entertaining live account of the Beastie Boys, while noting that its sprawling history can outsize the film's structure.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz recount the band's history in a live documentary presentation rather than through conventional sit-down interviews.
The duo's four decades of friendship provide the emotional throughline for the Beastie Boys' career story.
The live narration is intercut with concert footage, archive footage, and bloopers spanning the band's career.
Diamond and Horovitz write and perform their own account of the group's rise, relationships, and public identity.
Films like Beastie Boys Story, and why
The Defiant Ones
music documentary built around candid testimony, archival performance footage, and the evolution of a major hip hop act
Gaga: Five Foot Two
energetic artist biography combining live performance, personal history, humor, and archival material
The Sparks Brothers
inventive music documentary using performance, interviews, and archival footage to explore an influential band's history
Stop Making Sense
concert-documentary hybrid centered on a charismatic act, backstage personality, and communal performance energy
Movie Details
- Director
- Spike Jonze
- Release Date
- 2020-04-24
- Runtime
- 120 min
- Rating
- 7.5 / 10 (201)
Cast
- Michael Diamond
- Adam Horovitz
- Adam Yauch
- Ben Stiller
- Steve Buscemi
- David Cross
- Michael Kenneth Williams
- Afrika Bambaataa
- John Berry
- Kurtis Blow
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Apple TV, Apple TV Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Beastie Boys Story about?
- Two surviving Beastie Boys transform four decades of music, mischief, friendship, and remembrance into an intimate live stage memoir.
- What is Beastie Boys Story like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Beastie Boys Story as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Beastie Boys Story violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Beastie Boys Story.
- What did critics think of Beastie Boys Story?
- Critics broadly praised the affectionate, inventive, and entertaining live account of the Beastie Boys, while noting that its sprawling history can outsize the film's structure.
- Which films are like Beastie Boys Story?
- Films with a similar feel include The Defiant Ones, Gaga: Five Foot Two, The Sparks Brothers, and Stop Making Sense.
- How long is Beastie Boys Story?
- Beastie Boys Story runs 120 minutes.
- Where can I watch Beastie Boys Story?
- In United States, Beastie Boys Story streams on Apple TV, Apple TV Amazon Channel.
