The life and career of musical giant and cultural icon Miles Davis is brought to the screen in this outstanding documentary film, which brings together the complex web of influences, achievements and problematic personality traits that together present a portrait of a complicated man who changed the face of jazz music forever.

The central theme of the jazz horn player and bandleader Miles Davis's life was his restless determination to break boundaries and live life on his own terms. It made him a star. And for the people who loved him most, it also made him incredibly difficult to live with.

Miles's bold disregard for tradition and relentless drive and constant thirst for the new, made him an inspiration to musicians and music lovers, and he is rightly regarded as one of the 20th Century's most innovative musicians, bringing together bebop, “cool jazz”, orchestral music, jazz fusion, rock ’n’ roll, and even hip-hop.  He rubbed shoulders with Picasso and Sartre, became a heroin addict, was beaten by a police officer in an unprovoked racial attack and had an often violent relationship with his muse and the love of his life, the dancer Frances Taylor, all the while producing some of the most iconic records of the past century.

A portrait of an elegant, intellectual, vain, conflicted, controversial and magnificent musician told through never-before-seen archival footage, studio outtakes, interview music and rare photos, Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool tells the story of a truly singular talent.