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In the early 1970s, Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan wrote and recorded songs for the English version of Italian director Franco Zeffirelli’s film “Brother Sun, Sister Moon,” about the early years of St. Francis of Assisi, that evoked the “flower power” hippie movement and developed a cult following.

Half a century later, Donovan traveled to Italy last week to watch a freshly restored version of the film in two celebratory events. The first was an intimate private screening held in Rome’s Quirinale Palace for Italian President Sergio Mattarella and a select group of officials, and the next was in Florence, the late Zeffirelli’s birthplace, where the Zeffirelli Foundation held a free screening open to the public attended by a copious contingent of Franciscan monks.

Donovan, who was born in Glasgow, emerged on the U.K. folk scene in 1965. He broke out the following year with the album “Sunshine Superman,...

It might or might not be true, as Nick Broomfield declares in his new feature documentary, that “most people today” haven’t heard of Brian Jones. If it’s true of most young music fans, then a) yikes and b) The Stones and Brian Jones is here to bridge the generation gap. The Magnolia release, which is receiving a one-night theatrical showcase 10 days before its Nov. 17 general release, joins an ever-expanding pack of doc portraits exploring boomer musicians who led the rock revolution of the ’60s and ’70s.

Broomfield’s earlier takes on pop culture giants — among them Kurt Cobain, Whitney Houston, Leonard Cohen and Biggie and Tupac — have ranged from basic to divisive to lurid. In this case, taking a deep dive into public and private archives, he emerges with a surprisingly poignant study of the Rolling Stones co-founder, a middle-class kid who rebelled against his upbringing, found his...