Customer Reviews

History of Rock & Roll 9: Punk [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This documentary proved to be insightful, with interview segments with Richard Hell, Sting, John Lydon, Joe Strummer and many more. Documenting the roots as far back as the garage punk of the 60s to the early 70s sounds of MC5, New York Dolls and Iggy Pop, covering the top punk acts such as X-Ray Spex, the Pistols, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, and the Ramones, and even covering the music up to the present that punk has had influence on, such as grunge and post-punk. This is a very detailed production and is worth seeing.

Cousin Mark

Just saw a rebroadcast of this last night. This is probably one of the best documentaries about the early punk scene I've seen but it does a disservice to punk bands that were around in the early/mid eighties . It does a good job of covering the beginnings from the Velvet Underground, MC5, Iggy Pop to the CBGB New York scene (Talking Heads, Ramones, Blondie, Patti Smith). Spends a lot of time on the Sex Pistols (too much IMHO). Then it spends about 2 minutes on the LA scene (X)and then jumps to Nirvana (??!!). What about the Circle Jerks, Black Flag, Fear,the Avengers, the Dead Kennedys, T.S.O.L., Social Distortion, the Minutemen, JFA, Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Scream, Sonic Youth, etc, etc (to name just a few)...?? I'm guessing they were probably trying to connect to the audiences at the time and everybody had heard of Nirvana, but they skipped a lot of great and influential bands. Maybe there should be a part 2?

In defense of this documentary (or should I say, portion of a very long documentary), it meant a LOT to me when I was 14. A whole lot. It was one of the many things in that year or two time period that changed everything for me. However, going back now and watching it... good god. It's so incredibly flawed! Granted, it's only an hour, but their idea of punk, and what they bother to cover, is so limited. Even though I think it's inaccurate, I can see starting with the Stooges and Velvet Underground... but ENOUGH about the Sex Pistols and the Clash, already!! They're only "important" because they were accessible enough to dig their way into the mainstream (don't kid yourselves...).
Also, as far as that "first" era ('76-'80 or so) goes, where were Suicide, the Dead Boys, Throbbing Gristle, Devo (not punk? you, sir or madam, have been mislead!), Pere Ubu, the Germs, and a thousand other bands better than the Sex Pistols and the Clash combined? Hey, and what happened to the lion's share of the '80s? Oh, punk must've died in 1980, that's right! ......
Oddly enough, though, I still get some kind of sick enjoyment out of this movie. That said, I do not recommend it to any adult who's actually a fan of punk rock.

This video is the ninth in a 10-video set documenting Rock `n' Roll in America. It's very entertaining and informative, although more on the entertainment side.

This video is probably the best of the series, perhaps due to the fact that most people, well, don't expect much from punk music. But the video does a good job of describing the attitudes which led to punk's rise, and the messages that punk's various bands were trying to get across--against establishment injustice, corporate rock, and conventional authority, all of which were pretty bad in the seventies (add a stagnant economy to it as well).

Some of my favorites in this video--a member of the Sex Pistols describes how he became acquainted with his manager-to-be by saying, in effect: "He owned this clothing store where I used to hang out, and I always liked him and wanted his advice, but I was also shoplifting from him at the time." I also enjoyed Elvis Costello's narrative of how he got a record contract in a matter of days. Also an early performance of U2, which sounds kind of punky.

Music historians have a tough job trying to classify music of the past and organize it into history, and they do something weird here. While starting with the punk movement in the 70s and early 80s, they then meander through a couple of years and get to Nirvana in the 1990s. Maybe this really is how punk evolves, but I think most viewers will have the same reaction: "Huh? How'd they get all the way to Nirvana?"

Guess what you find in a video about punk rockers--profanity! There's lots of it here, and so this video is not really appropriate for high-school use. That's really a shame, but it's been a pattern here.

What I learned was the all you need to make rock n roll is "three chords and the truth".

Great music, great artists, terrific filmmaking.

If you're into punk rock, you'll love it. If not -see it anyway - you'll never hear the music of think of these rockers in the same way again.

Funny, smart, joyous, occaisonally sad and, most important - it really rocks.

Never did I realize the intention, the creativity of those who created Punk Rock Genre. Music documentary at it's best. INCREDIBLE performances by Elvis Costello, Patti Smith and al.

Must see.

The most passionate voices from punk era sing to the heavens. If there's a god, she's dancing.

Long live Joey Ramone.

I never understood that Punk sprang from a universal need to connect, to reach others.

I thought Rock died in the 60's - Punk taught mme that its best strain lived on and help me find it live and well today.

A beautiful documentary.