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The 25 Best Jazz Movies of All Time

The 25 Best Jazz Movies of All Time

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It’s considered “America’s classical music” and the U.S. played a pivotal role in exposing other countries and cultures to this patterned genre. Jazz requires presence as each rhythmic sound invites improvisation. The sound is forward-moving with “blue” notes and has the power to encompass the full spectrum of human emotion, from the deepest of despair to the exhilaration of falling in love.

It’s no wonder Hollywood fell in love with jazz. The stories told through the music are timeless, capturing the creativity of the artists who generously transformed their emotions into familiar, yet always-refreshing songs. Jazz has its own language, often emulated by other creatives. It’s the type of music that becomes a lifestyle. Take Jakie Rabinowitz in “The Jazz Singer” (1927), for instance. He rebels against his father’s religious traditions to pursue his true love: jazz.

Then there are more modern films like “Midnight in Paris” (2011), in which a screenwriter travels back in time every night when the clock strikes midnight. He walks through the city of Paris enchanted, nostalgia enveloping him fully, as he witnesses the 1920s come to life. Films like “Stormy Weather” (1943) feature some of Jazz’s greatest, including Cab Calloway and Fats Waller. While some films have more of an upbeat tone that makes you want to get out of your seat, others tackle more serious topics, like race, discrimination, and identity. (Want to learn more about this genre of music? Next, check out The Greatest Jazz Musicians of the 20th Century.)

To determine the best jazz movies, 24/7 Tempo developed an index using average ratings on IMDb, an online movie database owned by Amazon, and a combination of audience scores and Tomatometer scores on Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator, as of May 2024, weighting all ratings equally. Only movies with at least 1,000 reviews on IMDb were considered, and documentaries were not excluded. Cast information is from IMDb.

Scroll down for the best 25 jazz movies of all time:

25. The Cotton Club (1984)

Source: Courtesy of Orion Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Orion Pictures
  • IMDb user rating: 6.6/10 (17,418 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 55% (7,251 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 77% (30 reviews)
  • Cast: Richard Gere, Gregory Hines, Diane Lane

24. The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021)

The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021) | Andra Day in The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021)
Source: Courtesy of Hulu

N/A

Source: Courtesy of Hulu
  • IMDb user rating: 6.3/10 (13,558 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 80% (925 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 56% (179 reviews)
  • Cast: Andra Day, Trevante Rhodes, Garrett Hedlund

23. The Jazz Singer (1927)

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
  • IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (9,231 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 56% (4,509 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 78% (49 reviews)
  • Cast: Al Jolson, May McAvoy, Warner Oland

22. Paris Blues (1961)

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

Source: Courtesy of United Artists
  • IMDb user rating: 6.7/10 (3,053 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 68% (602 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 67% (12 reviews)
  • Cast: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Sidney Poitier

21. Swing Kids (1993)

Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
  • IMDb user rating: 6.8/10 (16,015 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79% (27,949 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 56% (18 reviews)
  • Cast: Robert Sean Leonard, Christian Bale, Frank Whaley

20. The Terminal (2004)

Source: Courtesy of DreamWorks Distribution

Source: Courtesy of DreamWorks Distribution
  • IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (427,304 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 74% (408,234 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 61% (207 reviews)
  • Cast: Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chi McBride

19. Mo’ Better Blues (1990)

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
  • IMDb user rating: 6.6/10 (12,092 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75% (9,425 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 71% (34 reviews)
  • Cast: Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes

18. Lady Sings the Blues (1972)

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
  • IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (4,167 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (8,004 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 65% (17 reviews)
  • Cast: Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor

17. Young Man with a Horn (1950)

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
  • IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (3,576 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 72% (1,273 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 80% (5 reviews)
  • Cast: Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, Doris Day

16. Play Misty for Me (1971)

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
  • IMDb user rating: 7.0/10 (27,110 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 72% (12,699 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 84% (37 reviews)
  • Cast: Clint Eastwood, Jessica Walter, Donna Mills

15. Sweet and Lowdown (1999)

Source: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Source: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
  • IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (34,437 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (13,986 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 77% (61 reviews)
  • Cast: Sean Penn, Samantha Morton, Woody Allen

14. Bird (1988)

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
  • IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (12,729 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79% (6,258 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 83% (23 reviews)
  • Cast: Forest Whitaker, Diane Venora, Michael Zelniker

13. Cabin in the Sky (1943)

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
  • IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (2,918 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (1,981 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 81% (47 reviews)
  • Cast: Ethel Waters, Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson, Lena Horne

12. Chico & Rita (2010)

Chico & Rita (2010) | Chico & Rita (2009)
Source: Courtesy of GKIDS

N/A

Source: Courtesy of GKIDS
  • IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (8,968 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 77% (5,494 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 87% (71 reviews)
  • Cast: Eman Xor Oña, Limara Meneses, Mario Guerra

11. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)

Source: Courtesy of Netflix

Source: Courtesy of Netflix
  • IMDb user rating: 6.9/10 (46,581 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 73% (1,141 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (297 reviews)
  • Cast: Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman

10. The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

Source: Courtesy of United Artists
  • IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (10,689 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (4,118 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 81% (58 reviews)
  • Cast: Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak, Eleanor Parker

9. The Glenn Miller Story (1954)

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
  • IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (9,020 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 80% (6,605 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 88% (8 reviews)
  • Cast: James Stewart, June Allyson, Harry Morgan

8. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)

Source: Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures
  • IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (601,125 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 78% (93,449 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (355 reviews)
  • Cast: Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton

7. Cold War (2018)

Source: Courtesy of Amazon Studios

Source: Courtesy of Amazon Studios
  • IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (59,995 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (1,975 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (255 reviews)
  • Cast: Joanna Kulig, Tomasz Kot, Borys Szyc

6. Stormy Weather (1943)

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
  • IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (2,218 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (1,346 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (41 reviews)
  • Cast: Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra

5. All That Jazz (1979)

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
  • IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (29,819 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (11,783 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (44 reviews)
  • Cast: Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Ann Reinking

4. La La Land (2016)

Source: Courtesy of Lionsgate Films

Source: Courtesy of Lionsgate Films
  • IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (537,558 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (71,726 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (464 reviews)
  • Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Rosemarie DeWitt

3. Midnight in Paris (2011)

Source: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Source: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
  • IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (402,967 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 83% (82,703 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (224 reviews)
  • Cast: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates

2. ‘Round Midnight (1986)

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
  • IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (4,909 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (2,683 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (20 reviews)
  • Cast: Dexter Gordon, François Cluzet, Gabrielle Haker

1. Whiplash (2014)

Source: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Source: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
  • IMDb user rating: 8.5/10 (763,755 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (70,602 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (297 reviews)
  • Cast: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist
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