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6.5/10
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Documentary on the London punk-rock scene, circa '78.Documentary on the London punk-rock scene, circa '78.Documentary on the London punk-rock scene, circa '78.
Photos
Soo Catwoman
- Self
- (as Cat Woman)
Mark Perry
- Self
- (as Mark P.)
Roger Bullen
- Self
- (as Dee Generate)
Helen Bullen
- Self
- (as Dee's Mum)
Jeannette Lee
- Self
- (as Jeannette)
Steven Severin
- Self
- (as Steve Havoc)
Jayne County
- Self
- (as Wayne County)
Johnny Thunders
- Self
- (as Johnny Thunder)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMost of the bands were filmed at the Roxy club in London, where Don Letts worked as a DJ. Letts filmed the bands very simply with a Super-8 camera, and also filmed on the tour bus and at shows with The Clash and The Slits. Sex Pistols were filmed at Screen on the Green in London on 3 April 1977, Sid Vicious's first show with the band.
- Quotes
Debbie Juvenile: Oh, some decent fucking music at last!
- Alternate versionsSome retailers offered the Goodtimes Video version of this film which runs ~1h 19min as opposed to the full 1h 26min. This edited version omits footage of a man slicing his own chest repeatedly with a razor blade, and also of Keith Levene and two others in the toilet of The Roxy preparing to shoot speed. (In the unedited version the latter scene appears immediately before Siouxsie & the Banshees' performance of "Bad Shape.")
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Filth and the Fury (2000)
- SoundtracksGod Save the Queen
Written by Paul Cook (uncredited), Steve Jones (uncredited), Glen Matlock (uncredited) and John Lydon (uncredited)
Performed by Sex Pistols
Featured review
The best of the UK punk documentaries
Don Letts deejayed at London's Roxy Club during its brief but enormously significant existence (one hundred days), and was therefore in the perfect position to capture the creativity, the opportunism and the madness on his super 8mm camera. And he documented not only what was happening at the Roxy (X-Ray Spex, Slaughter and the Dogs, Eater with their ridiculous pig's head routine) but also the Heartbreakers, the Clash, the Slits, et al. on tour. The grand finale is footage of the Sex Pistols at Screen on the Green on April 3, 1977, marking the debut of Sid Vicious as the band's bassist. Through it all Letts eschews commentary, allowing the action to speak for itself, and the non-musical interludes (shooting up in the Roxy's restroom, police shutting down an "obscene" window display at London punk boutique BOY, various tour bus antics) give "The Punk Rock Movie" an extra patina of ghostly authenticity. This is true rock history right before your eyes and ears.
Complete, uninterrupted live performances include 'Cranked Up Really High' by Slaughter and the Dogs, 'Walking in the City' ('This Heat') by Generation X, 'Cream in My Jeans' by Wayne County and the Electric Chairs, 'No Brain' by Eater, 'Chinese Rocks' by the Heartbreakers, 'Bad Shape' and 'Limblessly in Love' by Siouxsie and the Banshees, 'Oh, Bondage Up Yours!' by X-Ray Spex, and 'Seventeen' and 'God Save the Queen' by the Sex Pistols.
Complete, uninterrupted live performances include 'Cranked Up Really High' by Slaughter and the Dogs, 'Walking in the City' ('This Heat') by Generation X, 'Cream in My Jeans' by Wayne County and the Electric Chairs, 'No Brain' by Eater, 'Chinese Rocks' by the Heartbreakers, 'Bad Shape' and 'Limblessly in Love' by Siouxsie and the Banshees, 'Oh, Bondage Up Yours!' by X-Ray Spex, and 'Seventeen' and 'God Save the Queen' by the Sex Pistols.
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Top Gap
By what name was The Punk Rock Movie from England (1978) officially released in Canada in English?
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