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Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
Directed by
Stanley Nelson
G
2019
1h 55m
[Documentary](/on-demand/category/documentary), [Biography](/on-demand/category/biography)
7.5
91%
82%
7.1
Add to Watchlist
The life story of the legendary musician Miles Davis.
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Where to Watch Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
Amazon Video
Buy $7.99
Google Play Movies
Buy $12.99
YouTube
Buy $9.99
Cast of Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
Carl Lumbly
Miles Davis (voice)
Reginald Petty
Self - East St. Louis Resident
Quincy Troupe
Self - Writer
Farah Griffin
Self - Writer
Lee Annie Bonner
Self - Childhood Friend
Ashley Kahn
Self - Writer
Benjamin Cawthra
Self - Historian
Jimmy Heath
Self - Musician
Jimmy Cobb
Self - Musician
Dan Morgenstern
Self - Writer
Greg Tate
Self - Writer
Gerald Early
Self - Writer
Quincy Jones
Self - Musician
Wayne Shorter
Self - Musician
Tammy L. Kernodle
Self - Musicologist
Juliette Gréco
Self - Singer
Vincent Bessières
Self - Writer
George Wein
Self - Jazz Promoter
Eugene Redmond
Self - East St. Louis Resident
Carlos Santana
Self - Musician
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool Ratings & Reviews
Newsday
Verne Gay
Davis is demystified and deconstructed in this corrective - and excellent - portrait.
Chicago Reader
Ben Sachs
Like many music documentaries, this profile of groundbreaking trumpet player and bandleader Miles Davis feels constrained by its conventional length, and devotes too little time to too many subjects.
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Rob Thomas
He may have been a difficult, off-putting person in real life - okay, he DEFINITELY was - but when he played, his music touched something deep and elemental inside the listener. As one interviewee puts it, "I want to feel the way Miles sounds."
Detroit News
Tom Long
A well-made account of both the man's achievements and his jerkiness.
Deseret News (Salt Lake City)
Josh Terry
Like Davis' own life, Nelson's film follows a predictable pattern - which seems a little sad given the dynamic style of Davis' music. But that may not matter for those happy to just get lost in the atmosphere of Miles Davis' music.
The Oklahoman
Brandy McDonnell
Though not as groundbreaking as its subject, the expansive documentary showcases the jazz icon's innovative, ever-changing musical style while at least acknowledging the damage his personal demons wrought...
Third Coast Review
Steven Prokopy
This exceptional two-hour take covers a whole lot of ground and gives the music center stage, as it should.
eFilmCritic.com
Peter Sobczynski
A perfectly polished work that will serve as a solid introductory primer for those unfamiliar with his history while offering up enough juicy bits of performance footage to satisfy fans.
San Diego Reader
Matthew Lickona
The result, for the most part, is pleasant and informative, if not particularly inspiring or revelatory. But now and then, the music and images can't help but break through.
Austin Chronicle
Marjorie Baumgarten
[Stanley] Nelson has gifted us with a thoughtful and rich profile which, like a fading note escaping from Davis' trumpet, leaves us wanting more.
San Francisco Chronicle
Joel Selvin
It's a film that Miles himself would recognize - truthful, gritty, elegantly musical, unpredictable and even surprising - the kind of complex yet elegiac tribute a man as relentlessly real as Miles Davis deserves.
FilmWeek (LAist)
Tim Cogshell
Very insightful.
Wall Street Journal
John Anderson
A gossipy and very musical primer on Davis, who is, needless to say (though it is said and said), among the giants of jazz.
Los Angeles Times
Glenn Whipp
You'll want to listen to Miles' music after watching the film and, when you do, you might feel it a little deeper.
National Newspaper Publishers Association
Dwight Brown
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool reinforces the obvious. This trumpeter made being talented, stylish, inventive, troubled and enigmatic extremely cool.
RogerEbert.com
Nick Allen
For either newcomers or fans, the documentary's cradle-to-grave, talking-head approach too readily threatens to take the zip, romance, and funk out of a fascinating subject who would be nothing without those very elements.
New York Times
Glenn Kenny
Davis mavens will hear familiar stuff. But more than a few moments here are new, and real grabbers.
The New Yorker
Richard Brody
The movie's simple arc and conventional contours flatten both the passionate originality of Davis's music and the destructive chaos of his life.
Variety
Owen Gleiberman
If you're a Miles Davis fanatic from way back and think you already know everything about him, the movie, with its sharply edited interviews and stunning archival reach, fills in nuances of the man that feel fresh and new.
The Hollywood Reporter
John DeFore
An excellent primer from a dependable chronicler of African-American culture.
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