Punk: Attitude (Documentary)

 

Picture: B-     Sound: C+     Extras: B     Documentary: B

 

 

The usual line about Rock in the 1980s is that New Wave and Hair Bands came in, most major rockers sold out and corporate rock came back with a vengeance.  It also says that New Wave replaced Punk and that was the end of it.  Though it cannot be denied that the original era of Punk was the most shocking and most politically loaded, Punk just did not end by the time Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1982) arrived, but became part of a new underground movement that continued the Punk tradition and was for all intents and purposes, censored.  Writer/Director Don Letts’ terrific Punk: Attitude (2005) finally chronicles those “lost” years that were too ideologically dangerous for the 1980s.

 

In order to make the Reagan years possible, record labels and the corporations that supported his conservative ideology to big profits watered down New Wave (MTV was a double-edged sword in this respect), flashy bubble gum music as if it were real and good music, and soul-like music that bastardized true R&B.  Though great music still became popular, the new Punk was purposely relabeled “hardcore” or “tough” or anything to break it from its politically charged first era.  In real life, some of the most important music ever to come out of the United States and Britain was produced by bands like The Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, The Ramones, The Stranglers and other innovators.  For the first time, someone has tied the rise of this new era of Rock from its late 1960s roots, to its underground (ignored) status in the 1980s, to the all-too-brief return of the repressed in the 1990s with Nirvana, Pearl Jam and the grunge movement.  Even that is too oversimplified.

 

This is about a history, a struggle, about how the establishment used Rap (part of black music they tried to kill off before the disco era by railroading all the small, great, important R&B labels) to keep white working class and their children disenchanted and down, how there was more resistance to Neo-Conservatism in the 1980s musically than just Bruce Springsteen arguing against Reagan to prevent the president from hijacking the title song to Born In The U.S.A. to appeal (and use out) the working class.  It is about that title attitude, not waiting to put up with being kept down.  The music was about more than complaining; it was about telling it like it is and being ready to take action against it.

 

Of course, the music is very critical of corporations, with a theme of this work being who did or did not sign with a big label.  Selling out is more than just that and this two-hour-plus program is loaded with vital stock footage, key music and a remarkable number of new interviews always rounded out by the dead-on observations and wisdom of the great Henry Rollins.  Except for the absence of DEVO, Punk: Attitude is a remarkably thorough, informative and even landmark work that all persons serious about music of any kind need to see.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is in great shape, as it should be for a new film, with all the footage old and new (and sometimes off of old videotape) looking as good as it possibly could.  It is very well edited and the pacing is exceptional, as the story is so amazing, it can practically tell itself, but Letts and company get the maximum impact out of this little-know history.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo shockingly has no surrounds of any kind, but the audio is really good otherwise.

 

The extras are many, including a somewhat interactive “family” tree of Punk and very brief biographic information on all the principals on DVD 1, while DVD2 is even more loaded.  This includes the shorter (22 minutes) but also informative film L.A. Punk, a short post-Punk documentary, longer interviews with Rollins and Dave Goodman, a section on fanzines for the music, one on fashions, one on the women, one on the record companies, one on the differences between the U.S. & U.K., evolution of the genre, about the sound of the music, a culture/arts section, a section on key performances, fashions and the attitude.  The only other thing missed in this 2-DVD set are the influences of David Bowie and two key Stanley Kubrick films that also heavily contributed: the aforementioned 2001 and 1971’s prophetic A Clockwork Orange.  Outside of that, this is one of the most important DVD music sets to date and is a must-see.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo