End of the Century (2003)

Directors:

Jim Fields
Michael Gramaglia

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | Music

Plot:

The story of the punk rock band The Ramones.

Plot Keywords:

Ramones | New York City | Punk Rock | Drug Addict | Jealousy

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Marky Ramone	...	Himself (also archive footage) (as Mark Bell)
Johnny Ramone	...	Himself (also archive footage) (as John Cummings)
Dee Dee Ramone	...	Himself (also archive footage) (as Douglas Colvin)
Tommy Ramone	...	Himself (also archive footage) (as Tom Erdelyi)
Joey Ramone	...	Himself (also archive footage) (as Jeff Hyman)
Richie Ramone	...	Himself (also archive footage) (as Richie Reinhart)
Christopher Ward	...	C. J. Ramone (also archive footage)
Roberta Bayley	...	Herself
Rodney Bingenheimer	...	Himself
Clem Burke	...	Himself / Elvis Ramone (also archive footage)
Captain Sensible	...	Himself
Wayne County	...	Himself (as Jayne County)
Danny Fields	...	Himself
Lars Frederiksen	...	Himself
John Frusciante	...	Himself

Also Known As:

End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | Argentina:Unrated | Ireland:15A | UK:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Chinagraph

Quotes:

Johnny Ramone: If I'm running things like a sergeant in the army or something like that, maybe not everyone can handle that. But you need someone to make the decisions. Someone's gotta do something, otherwise you just flounder around, you know.

Movie Connections:

Features Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979)

Soundtrack:

Sheena Is a Punk Rocker

Great rocumentary, lots of fun

"End of the Century" is a great rocumentary that's lots of fun to watch. Speaking of watches, I never looked at mine once during the entire 110 minute runtime. I regret now that I missed the Ramones on their many stops in L.A., I had always thought of them as cartoonish and eternal, some day I'd go and see them play (but they broke up before I had that chance). At least I can see them in this great rock documentary! This movie has it all, from footage in their early days to the very end, where the band is weary of the road and each other and just don't care anymore. It's fascinating to watch their story, how they start out as innovators, and end up as fossilized cartoon characters who always looked and dressed exactly the same as they did on their first album.

The Ramones' influence on rock 'n' roll and punk rock cannot be underestimated. A case could be made that Johnny Ramone is the most influential living guitar player (he is alive at the time I write this, though I know he has been battling cancer). The interviews with Johnny Ramone are great, I got the impression that the band would have fallen apart years before it did if he hadn't been in it to make it work. The movie also shows many insightful interviews with other band members and various managers and hangers-on. The impression I got was that The Ramones were a unplanned phenomenon that invented punk as we know it, even though they never achieved commercial success in the US (at least on the level they thought they deserved). This is one of the few documentaries that I've seen on the big screen that was big-screen worthy, especially the concert footage. A stunning movie about one of the greatest bands ever (think about that!).