The 40 most popular german music movies, ranked. Click any film for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


The Csardas Princess
1934 · 1h 35m · DE
Sylva Varescu is an operetta singer performing Kálmán's Die Czardasfürstin through Europe with great success. Before going to Vienna she meets handsome Prinz Weylerstein and they fall in love. Offered a contract for America, she doubts until she finds out that he is already engaged to a countess.


Die Fiakermilli
1953 · 1h 30m · AT
An incredibly popular stage performer unknowingly falls madly in love with the lone critic that savaged her performance in the press.


Immortal Waltz
1939 · 1h 36m · AT
Johann Strauss firmly established himself as the leader of a dance orchestra in Vienna in the 1840s. His sons Johann junior and Josef have clearly inherited their father's talent. Nevertheless, father Johann is strictly opposed to both of them training as composers.


Strauss: Salome
2018 · 1h 51m · AT
The story is set at the beginning of the Christian era on a large terrace of Herod’s palace, during the reign of Herod Antipas. At night, on a terrace of the palace, Salome, Herod’s stepdaughter, is gazed at passionately by Narraboth, captain of the guard. Jochanaan, a prophet, is imprisoned in a cistern for having slandered Herod. He proclaims the coming of Jesus, but his message is met with incomprehension by the guards. Salome hears the prophet. She manages to convince the guards to bring Jochanaan out so she can see him. Both fascinated and frightened by his prophecies, Salome falls passionately in love with this man. Richard Strauss’s opera at the 2018 Salzburg Festival, directed by Romeo Castellucci at the Felsenreitschule. In her debut in the title role, Asmik Grigorian distinguished herself with her talents as a singer and actress.


The Black Forest Girl
1950 · 1h 40m · DE
The painter Hans Hauser falls head over heels in love with the "Black Forest girl" Bärbele Riederle. He travels to her home village and soon the two realize that they are made for each other.


Queen of Love
1935 · 1h 6m · DE
An opera tenor replaces a humble performer in a honky tonk show and wins the heart of the soprano.


Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny
2006 · 1h 33m · US
In Venice Beach, naive Midwesterner JB bonds with local slacker KG and they form the rock band Tenacious D. Setting out to become the world's greatest band is no easy feat, so they set out to steal what could be the answer to their prayers... a magical guitar pick housed in a rock-and-roll museum some 300 miles away.


Fidelio
2020 · 2h 11m · AT
Don Florestan is a personal enemy of the governor Don Pizarro and also a confidant of the minister Don Fernando. As Pizarro sees Florestan as a threat, he wants to eliminate him. He cannot bring himself to commit open murder, so he has him secretly imprisoned and hopes that he will soon die of his own accord. Florestan's wife Leonore suspects that Pizarro is behind her husband's disappearance. Disguised as a man, she sets off in search of Florestan and, under the name "Fidelio", takes up service as an assistant to the jailer Rocco - she suspects Florestan is in the prison he administers and hopes to free him.


Der schönste Tag meines Lebens
1957 · AT
No overview available


Fireworks
1954 · 1h 37m · DE
The quiet life of an extended family is shaken up when a circus comes into town.


Parsifal
1982 · 4h 20m · FR
A psychological interpretation of the opera mixing in references to the history of Germany, Wagner’s life, German literature and philosophy. The action is centered on Wagner’s death mask. Kundry is the main character – one might read the film as the story of her redemption rather than that of Amfortas.


Kaiserwalzer
1933 · DE
No overview available


Capriccio
1938 · 1h 46m · DE
Lilian Harvey plays a young heiress in long-ago France named Madelon who is raised by her grandfather as a boy in order to frighten away fortune hunters. But when the old man dies, her guardian Cesaire wants to marry her off to the rich prefect Barberousse. She is tricked by Cesaire with the portrait of a young man (Viktor von Staal) which is presented to her as that of her future husband. But when Madelone discovers this scheme she flees, again in men's clothing. But on her route to escape, she meets the young man from the portrait and falls in love with him. But Madelone can't give up her disguise right now...


Der Vogelhändler
1962 · DE
No overview available


Bedways
2010 · 1h 16m · DE
A huge, run-down apartment in Berlin Mitte. Two women and a man, rehearsals for a movie about love and sex, that will never be shot. Acting and reality mingle into a dangerous mélange.


Rock Chicks
2023 · 1h 19m · DE
Rock'n'roll was a man's world they say. The film documents the often ignored female impact on rock's history, from the groundbreaking guitar stylings of Memphis Minnie and Sister Rosetta to the gnarly singing of Big Mama Thornton. Musicians as different as Suzi Quatro and Kristin Hersh tell about their experiences on and off the grid of stardom and the music industry.


The Magic Flute
2022 · 2h 5m · DE
A seventeen year old travels from London to the Austrian Alps to attend the legendary Mozart boarding school. There, he discovers a centuries-old forgotten passageway into the fantastic world of Mozart's "The Magic Flute".


Die Fledermaus
1972 · 2h 18m · AT
Witty, fun, intoxicating film of Johann Strauss II's popular operetta, based on a stage production from Vienna State Opera; this is a showcase for the entire cast, but most especially Eberhard Wächter as the insufferably boorish Gabriel Eisenstein, and Gundula Janowitz as his long-suffering wife. Open the champagne, have yourself some torte, and enjoy this delectable comedy from Vienna.


Miss Venus
1921 · 1h 6m · DE
Maud Goodin is the daughter of a millionaire, content with her present life, but she is an interesting conquest for those wants to get on the social ladder.


Die Försterchristl
1952 · 1h 43m · DE
Christl, the forester’s daughter, apprehends a young hunter in the forest and only lets him go after he pays a small fine. But when Christl goes to the emperor shortly afterward to plead on behalf of her beloved—a Hungarian officer who has fallen out of favor—she can hardly believe her eyes: the young hunter was the emperor.


Premiere
1937 · 1h 22m · AT
As Fraulein Leander prepares for opening night, her life is thrown into turmoil by a variety of romantic misadventures. But she manages to show up on stage at the appointed time, scoring a huge success.


Pippi Longstocking
2019 · 1h 45m · FI
Pippi Longstocking, a superhuman girl, extremely strong, redhead with pigtails and freckles, moves to Villa Villekulla, a wooden house located in a small town, together with her monkey, Mr. Nilsson, and her horse, Little Old Man. She soon befriends the children who live next door, Tommy and Annika, with whom she will live many fun adventures. (At Finnish National Opera and Ballet, December 14, 2019.)


The bat
1931 · 1h 35m · FR
Film by Karel Lamac.


Vitus
2006 · 2h · CH
Vitus tells the story of a highly-gifted boy (played by real-life piano prodigy Teo Gheorghiu) whose parents have demanding and ambitious plans for him.


Glückliche Reise
1954 · 1h 25m · DE
No overview available


Wunschkonzert
1955 · 1h 35m · DE
Accountant and would-be song-writer Willy inadvertently gets into a live TV game show and is tasked with finding, presenting and performing with a motley band of six amateur musicians within 90 minutes.


Back to the 90s
2026 · 1h 32m · DE
When a mysterious glitch sends a rising boyband back to 1995 - just days before the biggest showcase of their lives - the five friends race to reverse the time slip. But as unexpected connections form and the past pulls them in deeper, getting home means confronting what they're willing to leave behind - and who they truly are to each other.


Vienna Blood
1942 · 1h 43m · DE
Young Count Georg Wolkersheim is sent to the Congress of Vienna to represent the interests of his country, Reuss-Schleiz-Greiz. Tensions arise between the count, his wife Melanie, and their two chamberlains, and when the four attend a court ball, Melanie leaves Georg, assumes the identity of a famous actress, and attracts the affections of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria.
Salomé
Salomé
1992 · 1h 44m · UK
Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 2 June 1992.


Parsifal
2015 · 4h 12m
Wagner’s mystic masterpiece Parsifal at the Staatsoper Berlin, staged by Dmitri Tcherniakov and conducted by Daniel Barenboim. Wagner’s last opera, Parsifal is a medieval epic story marked by Christian, Buddhist and esoteric references. It is about redemption and renewal, but this new production by Russian director Dmitri Tcherniakov adds a jarring note : revenge. This “Festival Play for the Consecration of the Stage” is similar to a Medieval epic, a blend of metaphysical dreams and esoteric battles with constant spiritual references. This new production is directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov, conducted by Daniel Barenboim and sung by an international cast of excellent singers: Andreas Schager, Anja Kampe, Wolfgang Koch, René Pape, Tomas Tómasson and Matthias Hölle.


A Night in Paradise
1932 · 1h 30m · DE
One of the popular Weimar-era musical comedies not released in the US until after the Nazi takeover, this one has a Cinderella-type plot.


Schwarzwaldmädel
1933 · DE
No overview available


Rhinegold
2022 · 2h 18m · DE
Xatar’s way from the ghetto to the top of the charts is as dramatic as it is daring. From the hell of an Iraqi jail, Giwar Hajabi emigrated to Germany as a young boy with his family in the mid-1980s and has to start right at the bottom. There are opportunities, but far more obstacles. Giwar’s rise from petty criminal to major dealer is swift. Until one shipment goes missing. In order to clear his debts with the cartel, he plans a legendary gold heist. But just as everything goes wrong, another door opens for Giwar thanks to his passion for music …


Kora Terry
1940 · 1h 49m · DE
When Bartos, the director of the Odeon variety theater, cancels an artist at short notice, he hires the Terrys out of necessity, whose parents were successful variety artists, but who had not yet received an engagement themselves. Both are supported by Tobs, a friend of their parents. While blonde Mara Terry arrives punctually for the first rehearsal, her dark-haired sister Kora is late like a diva and acts aloof and snippy. At their first performance together the next day, Kora is overtired from partying the night before. During a dangerous act in which she has to balance her upside-down sister on her head, she becomes careless...


Michael Jackson: HIStory World Tour - Live in Munich
1997 · 2h 1m · US
The King of Pop rocks the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Germany during his concerts on June 4th and 6th, 1997, as part of the HIStory World Tour.


Baby
1932 · 1h 26m · FR
The daughter of the Parisian countess Lafitte, named "Baby", is supposed to go to an English boarding school, but she's much more interested in variety shows. Nevertheless, she travels with her friend Susette to London, who also wants to make a career for herself as a showgirl. During the journey, Baby is mistakenly considered to be a showgirl and she does nothing to dissuade two young English lords from believing so. The girls continue to live under false pretenses even when they arrive in England, with Baby being a soloist with the group "Babies" and Suzette passing herself off as the Contessa Lafitte for school exams. At the end -- a double marriage.


The Threepenny Opera
1963 · 2h 4m · DE
The Gangster Macheath secretly marries the daughter of beggar king Peachum. When Peachum finds out, he instructs the police chief Brown to arrest and hang Macheath. If not, all the beggars of Soho will disturb the upcoming coronation.


Die Fledermaus
1923 · DE
No overview available


15 Years
2024 · 2h 23m · AT
Pianist Jenny, once a musical prodigy, finds her footing in the Christian faith after serving 15 years for a murder she didn't commit. When she learns that her childhood sweetheart, once responsible for her ordeal, has become an internationally acclaimed star, the overwhelming need for revenge threatens her fragile agreement with God and her relationship with a Syrian musician who offers Jenny honest care and trust.


Fanny Elssler
1937 · 1h 20m · DE
Prince Klemens von Metternich orders Friedrich Gentz, one of his aides, to keep the Duke of Reichstadt---Napoleon Francois Joseph Charles---son of Napoleon and heir to the French throne, from thinking about French politics. Gentz enlists the help of ballerina Fanny Elsser, all the rage in several European capitals, to keep the Duke distracted.
German cinema's two great periods bookend the century: Weimar-era Expressionism, whose shadows and angles built the visual grammar of horror and noir, and the New German Cinema of the 1970s under Fassbinder, Herzog, and Wenders.
Music films cover concert documentaries, biopics, and musicals — anything where performance drives the picture. The genre lives or dies on whether the filmmaking can match the energy of the sound.