Punks in Films

[babycyclops]

This excellent book covers punk rockers in films and documentaries, even the most silly representations of punks, and punk-inspired fashions are covered. It's very thorough and very funny.

[The Bat]

My favorite is "Sid & Nancy".

[thunderbolt]

Bill Paxton in Terminator.

[Mr.Krusher]

^ BAZINGA!

Though I was thinking of Aliens... "Game over man, game OVER...!" Man, I would have popped him in the jaw after about two minutes of that...

[babycyclops]

Bill Paxton in Terminator.

Terminator (of course) gets a killer review, and Bill Paxton is mentioned by name.

[Mr.Krusher]

Ohhhhh...THOSE kinds of 'punks'....sorry..my bad!

Hmmm...well, what about the dirtballs in those Death Wish films? Some of those guys had face paint and spikey hair and all. Larry Fishburne played a guy called 'Cutter', and Jeff Goldblum was billed as 'freak/rapist'. (Hell of a way to begin your film career, eh?)

I'd imagine that the Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome would fit this bill as well....'Ironbar', 'Blackfinger','Ton Ton', etc..

..And dont forget the Troma films - Nuke 'em High and Surf Nazis were filled with 'punk' stylings...

[BOTZWANA]

I was thinking of the original Surburbia. Loved that film when I was young.

[fallensaviour]

Return of the living dead punks in the graveyard...LOL
Awesome,I also loved Class of 1984 of which the cover of the book is from.
STar trek IV punk on the bus...LOL

[artskull]

Some films with "punks" that bring back memories… Decline of Western Civilization, Urgh! A Music War, Another State of Mind, etc…

[rche]

sing in the mike, Darby!!!

[SeattleEd]

Thanks for the heads up on the book. Will make a great coffee table book in our household.
Good to see some folks with great taste in movies.
Suburbia and Decline were great and made by same director, Penelope Spheeris. Cool seeing Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers in that one. I even had a friend who was an extra in Suburbia.
URGH! is my fav and has been released with bonus material on DVD-R by the fans that got permission from the film-maker.
Other films I'd recommend but I'm sure most of you have seen:

Valley Girl - The infamous bar scene at The Central aka The Viper Room really shows the period of that time of Hollywood Punkers and New Wavers. Also Features Josie Cotton and Geza X on the keyboards. Not to mention Nick Cage in his first leading role. One of my all time favorite movies.
Repo Man - Cult classic with major punk overtones and the Circle Jerks! The director also went on to do Sid and Nancy and Repo Chick
SLC Punk - Very cool movie that reminded me of Suburbia. Punks and Mods in UTAH!
Control - Docu-drama of Ian Curtis from Joy Division
24 Hour Party People - The Manchester scene that starts from the birth of punk to the founding days of modern raves before they went quasi-legal. Bummer they removed The Smiths and The Stone Roses scenes from the movie.
Population One - Rene Daalder art punk film with Tomata Du Plenty from The Screamers, my favorite Synth Punk band EVER!!
The Great Rock'N'Roll Swindle - More documentary of Malcolm McLaren and the Sex Pistols
Rude Boy - More documentary than drama about The Clash.

These are the ones on top of my head but recommend for delving into good punk culture.

[megomania]

How about the nasty gang from 'Wierd Science' who crash Gary and Wyatt's party? "Can we keep this between us...I'd..I'd hate to lose my teaching job."

[Brad]

I love Punk! I was 13 when I first started hearing music from The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, X-Ray Specs, The Plasmatics, The Misfits, Black Flag, etc. I was hooked as I disliked disco so it was nice to see punk rock push disco to the side somewhat. Anarchy in the UK is still one of my all time favorites!


Sid and Nancy, as mentioned, is an awesome flick. Gary Oldman totally nailed his impersonation of Sid! We have it on DVD and also another unopened Criterion Collection version.

Another great movie is The Filth and the Fury! It's a must see for vintage punk fans.

The Filth and the Fury (2000) - IMDb

About 4 years ago Maggy and I had the pleasure of seeing the original Sex Pistols when they toured the US. It was at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago where we see tons of concerts and it was awesome. They had some vintage looking amps and they sounded just like they did in the late 70's! Plus Maggy and I were right up front standing about 6 feet from Johnny Rotten (John Lydon) and that just made it that much better.


We have a pretty vast collection of CD's including some of the lesser known, newer East coast punk bands but it's still hard to beat the vintage stuff.

[SeattleEd]

The Filth and the Fury (2000) - IMDb

Yes, that was the other documentary matched with "Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle" that play at revival theaters.

So now that you saw the Sex Pistols, plan on seeing Gang Of Four?

[Brad]

Yes, that was the other documentary matched with "Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle" that play at revival theaters.

So now that you saw the Sex Pistols, plan on seeing Gang Of Four?

Possibly, but they have already played in Chicago and they will be on a European tour most of the year. If tickets are reasonable then sure we would go.


We are also into Speed and Death Metal and that is mostly what we see currently. We see Slipknot every time they play in our area and I would love to see Cradle of Filth and Morbid Angle again as those shows really kicked butt! I saw Morbid Angel and Motorhead at a small bar in Dekalb, IL called Ottos around the summer of 2002. It was awesomel I couldn't hear anything when I left the bar to go back to my car. I also remember Lemmy wondering where the **** they were as Dekalb is surrounded by corn fields.