20 music documentaries you must watch if you liked A Star is Born

Amy

Amy Winehouse was known for her distinctive voice and retro sound, and she unfortunately became one of the artists who was taken too soon because of her own struggles. In the 2015 documentary Amy, audiences got to take a closer look at her career — including as her substance abuse problems.

Amy is tougher to watch than the previous two pop star documentaries, especially for those who were fans of Winehouse who never realized the severity of her struggles. The film opens with a childhood home movie showing a 14-year-old Winehouse singing at a birthday party with her friend and then chronicles the rest of her life, from her childhood to her successful albums Frank and Back to Black, which helped her break into the mainstream. The film also demonstrates her struggles with eating disorders, substance abuse, and self-harm.

Winehouse’s drug and alcohol abuse was no shock to audiences, considering how heavily it was covered in the media, to the point where it was a far too common joke. The singer was often the butt of crude jokes and now-unfunny skits about her substance issues, but it was the addiction that killed her at age of 27 in 2011.

The film features unseen footage and unreleased tracks recorded by Winehouse prior to her death, and director Asif Kapadia conducted more than 100 interviews with the late singer’s friends and family to help build the narrative. Some of the people featured in the film include Winehouse’s parents, Mitchell and Janis, as well as Mos Def, Mark Ronson, Tony Bennett, and her ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil.