Masterful Movie

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Any time a movie comes out that displays the full extent of Henry Rollins's stupidity, I'm all for it. But...Less pathetic attempts at trying to be pretentious about this retarded scene would have served this documentary better. Just the way this movie starts, with its ridiculous and predictable anti-Reagan, pro-Leftist malarkey (including a drawn-out, utterly pointless scene of Reagan's inauguration), pretty much sets the tone for much that follows. Fortunately, politics does not end up as the central theme. However, the fun aspect of such a scene, i.e. the humorous anecdotes, should have been more in the forefront. After all, the scene pretty much consisted of a bunch of semi-intelligent reprobates, so what's this nonsense about trying to inject seriousness into the "message" these ignorant juveniles may have had? Who cares about their anti-Reaganism? What the hell do they know about economics, Communism, or foreign policy? On the one hand many of the people here talk about how different they were from the mainstream (which musically they unquestionably were), yet on the other hand, we've got one ex-hardcore band member telling us proudly how ALL bands of the era wrote anti-Reagan songs. How dull. So, in a sense, anyone in that scene was just as CONFORMIST - within the scene - as the masses of people in the so-called mainstream society.Nevermind the fact that some of these "punks" were sons and daughters of wealthy/well-off upper- and middle-class families. (The Asian guy's father is a SENATOR.) What the hell did THEY have to bitch about? Life was tough on them? Their daddies didn't buy them cars for their 16th birthdays? I love these momma's boys punks. "Tough" on the outside, insecure little losers on the inside.There are many familiar faces, if one is/was in touch with the scene, several interesting stories, and yes, some anecdotes. What the movie lacks is a relaxed, unpretentious attitude. After all, we're not discussing rocket science here. And while most of the people interviewed have low IQs, many of them are charismatic and have interesting things to say (as long as they steer clear from politics). And while I was grateful that an attempt was made to get so many main HC personalities into the film, I was a bit annoyed by the inclusion of Flea from the RHCP and Duff from Guns'n'Roses. What do THESE clowns have to do with the hardcore punk scene?? I couldn't care less that they like(d) HC. I also thought the inclusion of Moby was just to sell theater tickets. His relevance in HC (or any other "relevant" type of) music is pretty much around zero.The documentary is interesting throughout, I'll give it that, if well short of fascinating - which it should have been, considering that it's about a fascinating scene. A little too polished, perhaps, too. If you want to see a thoroughly enjoyable film about a(ny) hardcore scene, watch "N.Y.H.C.", which is just FUN, no pretensions about anyone changing the world i.e. Marxist dogma being spouted care-freely (and ignorantly) by semi-literate near-junkies. It is a terrific documentary that will have you feeling both nostalgic and rolling with laughter.There are quite a few bands presented here that I knew from name only (Minor Threat, for example), and some that I'd never heard of before, so from that aspect it was quite interesting, as well, giving one a chance to check out some highlights from that era that one might have missed out on. However, just like nearly every HC fan will feel some of his favourite bands were left out, so it is with me. I could not understand why the Suicidal Tendencies and D.R.I. play such a tiny role here! Especially the latter: D.R.I. was one of the most successful and (subjectively speaking, of course) best HC bands of that era, and of the era that followed (late 80s, early 90s).All in all, well worth a watch, but simply because there are very few documentaries on the subject so one is forced to watch whatever one is being offered.For more of my music-world rants, go to: http://rateyourmusic.com/collection/Fedor8/1

American HARDCORE, the cinematic version of Steven Blush's awesome historical book, is only an incomplete look at the hardcore era at best. While it is obviously understandable that covering such a vast subject, one is always bound to leave somethings out, this film leaves A LOT out. The book was pretty much an accurate (and biased) account of the hardcore days, complete with the era's key players (MINOR THREAT, DEAD KENNEDYS, MISFITS, BLACK FLAG, HUSKER DU, CIRCLE JERKS, D.O.A., M.D.C., BAD RELIGION, TSOL, BAD BRAINS, AGNOSTIC FRONT, CRO-MAGS, etc.)to the extent of devoting entire chapters to some of these bands. The film, which could have been an intense documentary with head and toes in the chronological department, ends up being just a string of interviews with little order and ending on an empty note. While the book's author managed to do interviews with DEAD KENNEDY's Jello Biafra and HUSKER DU's Grant Hart, they are NOWHERE mentioned in the film, save for their brief logo appearances and Henry Rollins mentioning them. MISFITS, who had an entire chapter dedicated to them, are also missing in the film, with just a brief interview with ex guitar player Bobby Steele. The film has loads of interview clips with Henry Rollins, Ian Mcaye, Dave Dictor, Bad Brains' Dr.Know and HR, Bad Religion's Greg Hetson, Brett Gurewitz and Brian Baker, the SSD guys, CRO-MAGS' Harley Flanagan, AGNOSTIC FRONT's Vinnie Stigma, TSOL, ADOLESCENTS, ARTICLES OF FAITH's Vic Bondi and some other, minor players of the HC scene. The interviews are fun and insightful, but the overall look of the documentary lacks cohesion. It ends up being just a documentary about 40 something punk rockers reminiscing about their glory days. What could have been the documentary's saving grace are the live performances, which to this very date, are extremely hard to find, save for the more long standing Hardcore bands. There's some excellent footage of BLACK FLAG playing in what appears to be their final days and it looks and sounds very powerful, almost metal like. But this performances are limited at best.Despite my obvious complaints, American HARDCORE looks like it was a work of people who really love the scene. They just could have put it together more cohesively and in a more chronological order, with maybe a voice-over explaining certain aspects of the hardcore era (much like METAL: A HEADBANGERS JOURNEY, which was put together much better).If you like this type of music ( I happen to LOVE it!), you'll do no wrong in getting a hold of American HARDCORE, but if you want a more in depth and complete look, get the book also.

The documentary contains all the cheeky references and attitude of the American hardcore punk scene of the early 1980s but none of the primitive, wild man spirit of its greatest performers. Obnoxious talking heads interspersed with a tandem of epileptic audio-visual assaults induce more migraine than actual biting barbs against the conservatism of Reagan's 80s. Paul Rachman's obtuse but energetic approach to "American Hardcore" does abrasively attribute the era's barren politicking as the genesis for punk. His beloved subculture erroneously comes off as a social disillusionment bordering on one massive circle jerk that has to staunchly defy the recidivism of that old, tired order belonging to its subjects' parents in order to be relevant. But instead of edifying its esoteric appeal, it gives reason to punk philosophy's own vain aggressiveness and inadvertently lays out the groundwork for to become just another anachronistic casualty.

This is by far the best movie about the HC scene ever produced. It's extremely definitive for a 90-minute movie, has some great insights into the fury of the scene from the people who helped create it, and is an overall joy to experience. I recommend picking up the book in addition to the DVD, as it has way more info on the bands in the movie as well as many more... can't fit 'em all into a 90 minute movie! My only gripe (and this goes for the book too) is that probably one of the most influential HC bands of the LA scene, FEAR, didn't receive nearly the recognition they deserve as pioneers of the genre. Nevertheless, it's a great pick for fans of the genre or those who want to get into it. Definitely rent before you buy (the special features on the DVD leave a bit to be desired... I picked up We Jam Econo a few weeks back and it has three full concerts on the second disc! Sets the standard a bit high, I suppose).