There was a lot going on on this date in history.
First off, just to tie today to my last article, August 16th is TE Lawrence’s birthday! It’s also the day that Sports Illustrated published their first issue, the day that Elvis and Bela Lugosi died and, most importantly to me, it’s my dad’s birthday.
But I’m here to write about none of those things. Today also happens to be the 39th anniversary of four young men with the same last name took the stage for the fist time at a little club just at the end of Bleeker where it dead ends into Bowery.
The club was CBGB and the band, of course, was The Ramones.
Both of these things are (basically) gone now, but their influence lives on and on, and not only in music. The punk movement went on to influence movies, too. Here are five of the best punk movies.
For a much more comprehensive (and, honestly, better informed) list of punk films, check out Zack Carlson’s book Destroy All Movies. Sadly, it’s out of print, but I’m sure that copies can be found.
ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL (1979)
Directed by Allan Arkush
Written by Richard Whitley/Russ Dvonch/Joseph McBride/Allan Arkush/Joe Dante
Might as well start off with the one that actually features The Ramones.
This Roger Corman production is the classic story of teenage rebellion, sex and rock n roll. Two high school girls (PJ Soles, mostly known for being one of Michael Myers’ most charismatic victims, and Dey Young, mostly known for bit roles that don’t even have names) can’t wait to see The Ramones. The new principal (Mary Woronov, mostly known for Eating Raoul) is a ball-busting ultra-conservative who hates everything about young people, especially rock n roll.
This movie is incredibly silly, but it’s also kind of brilliant. With occasional Woody Allen-esque humor (“I’m allergic to violence! I break out in blood!”) and a great cast of mostly third and fourth tier actors (Vincent Van Patton! Clint Howard!), Rock ‘N’ Roll High School is pretty awesome. Not to mention that it’s pretty unique in that not only is it all about the girls, but one of the girls is a nerd! AND popular! The quarterback is also a dork who doesn’t know how to talk to women and gets advice from the local love god (Clint Howard? Really?!).
There’s also that music. The Ramones could do no wrong at the time…I mean, except for their acting. That’s pretty abysmal. But, whatever. Their concert is great. And…wait…who’s that singing the love theme? Is that…Paul McCartney and Wings?! Yep. They just didn’t get credit so Corman didn’t have to pay them very much.
REPO MAN (1984)
Written and directed by Alex Cox
I really had to fight with myself on this one. Alex Cox is pretty much THE punk filmmaker. Just about all of his films have some punk aspect, but all of his early films probably belong on this list, especially since so many of them star Joe Strummer.
But the real dilemma was this: Repo Man or Sid & Nancy?
S&N is maybe a better film and tells a real story of punk, the murder suicide of punk’s first couple, Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen. It also stars (in a very small role) future punk chick Courtney Love. It’s a great film in its own right, but Repo Man edged it out just be being so rewatchable. S&N is a pretty grueling experience.
Repo Man stars Emilio Estevez as a young loser who just can’t seem to get anywhere in life. Not that he really cares. All he really wants to do is get laid and create a little violence. When he accidentally helps a repo man repossess a car from a delinquent borrower, he earns himself a job with the repo company. In this very slightly future world, repo men basically steal the cars from the not-quite owners with no warning.
But that’s only a part o the story. It’s really all about the weird characters and the alien who has taken the form of an old man driving around with a glowing entity in his trunk. It’s also about existence as a whole. It’s also about Harry Dean Stanton being awesome. It’s also about a plate of shrimp.
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985)
Directed by Dan O’Bannon
Written by Dan O’Bannon/Rudy Ricci/Russell Streiner
(VERY loosely) based on a book by John A Russo
Among the silliest of the major zombie films, Return Of The Living Dead took the title of John A Russo’s sequel to the original Night Of The Living Dead and went for broke with the comedy. Amazingly, this idea made a pretty good flick.
Basically, a few years after the events of the first film, a nearby town is driven to its knees by the nuclear substance that caused the earlier outbreak. (Although, in Night they blame astronomical events, but whatever.) A rather stupid couple of guys (James Karen and Thom Mathews) accidentally break one of the containers holding this chemical, breath in the fumes and start the town’s dead a-raisin’. Bizarro comedy ensues.
How is all of this punk? Well, a group of punks are among the first and best victims of the outbreak. They’re out in the local cemetery looking for a good time (which involves having sex on the graves) and, of course, things don’t go particularly well.
If it all sounds stupid…well, it is. It also manages to be pretty funny and, at times, pretty creepy. (Tarman is one of the scariest creations ever.) If you’ve never seen this, watch it with your tongue firmly in your cheek. If you have seen it, you know what I’m talking about.
Multiple sequels have popped up over the years. The second one is alright with Karen and Mathews reprising their roles with different names and even referring to that fact. The third one tries to be sexy and almost succeeds. The fourth and fifth ones are cynical releases filmed simultaneously in Romania by Castel Film Romania. They’re notorious for making “sequels” to films like Prophecy and Hellraiser on the cheap and, probably, illegally. Horror fans are against them.
24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE (2002)
Directed by Michael Winterbottom
Written by Frank Cottrell Boyce
Not specifically a punk film, but it does deal with the aftermath of punk.
The movie starts off at a Sex Pistols concert where the future members of Joy Division meet and decide that they’re going to make music that is as immediate as what they’re hearing, but completely different. From there, Factory Records is begun. No, not by Ian Curtis and the boys, but by a man who was at that same concert. Tony Wilson (Steve Coogan in one of his best performances) is the producer/entrepreneur who brought the Manchester sound to the people with his record label and clubs.
Following Tony from this musical rebirth until the eventual demise of Factory, 24 Hour Party People is a great rock bio-film about a man that unfortunately few people know about. He wasn’t a musician, so he’s not considered “sexy.” Luckily, Winterbottom and Boyce decided that he was worthy of a couple of hours of our time.
WHAT WE DO IS SECRET (2007)
Directed by Rodger Grossman
Written by Rodger Grossman/Michelle Baer Ghaffari
Time to head back to LA for the true story of another unsung hero of the punk world. Darby Crash (Shane West) was the leader of The Germs, a band that never had a hit and only released one album, but their influence is immeasurable. Darby was a doomed poet of his generation and, unfortunately, knew it. He dabbled heavily in drugs and paid the price, making some amazing music on the way.
West’s performance is pretty good, but what you’re really watching this movie for is the story. This is a band that could start a riot just by being who they were. Darby challenged everything that his fans thought they knew about him in an Andy Kaufman sort of way. He didn’t care what anyone thought about him. In fact, if they thought about him too much, he hated them.
Maybe not the best film ever made about punk (it’s maybe a little bit too glossy at times), but an important one that should be seen by anyone learning about punk culture and the inadvertent leader of the movement in LA of the late 70s.
By the way, if you have a keen eye, you might be able to see the real Darby Crash in the front of the Ramones concert in Rock ‘N’ Roll High School.
