Punk: Attitude (TV 2005)

A documentary on the music, performers, attitude and distinctive look that made up punk rock.

Director:

Don Letts

Writer:

Don Letts

Stars:

K.K. Barrett, Roberta Bayley, Jello Biafra

Cast

Credited cast:
K.K. Barrett	...	Himself
Roberta Bayley	...	Herself
Jello Biafra	...	Himself
Glenn Branca	...	Musician, Composer
Bob Gruen	...	Himself
Mary Harron	...	Herself
John Holmstrom	...	Himself
Chrissie Hynde	...	Herself
Jim Jarmusch	...	Himself
Darryl Jenifer	...	Himself
David Johansen	...	Himself
Mick Jones	...	Himself
Wayne Kramer	...	Himself
Glen Matlock	...	Himself
Legs McNeil	...	Himself

Storyline

Punk: Attitude is a documentary on the history of punk rock in the USA and UK. The film traces the different styles of punk from their roots in 60s garage and psychedelic bands (Count Five, the Stooges) through glam-punk (New York Dolls) to the 70s New York and London scenes and into the hardcore present. Interviews with many of the musicians are edited with live clips and historical footage.

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Plot Keywords:

punk | punk rock | musician | band | interview | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Music

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Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 July 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Punk: Attitűd

Company Credits

Production Co:

3DD Productions, Cactus Three, Fremantle Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Tommy Ramone: What happened, though, was that because we were playing so fast, the three-minute songs became one-and-a-half-minute songs.

User Reviews

80s punk given the shaft in Punk: Attitude

The one major problem I had with this film was that, while it did a more than adequate job of covering the already well-documented early days of punk (the Velvets,MC5, Stooges the CBGBs scene), in covering punk of the 80s, it completely dropped the ball. It fails to detail the very localized American post-punk movement of the 80s that actually set the stage for bands like Nirvana, the grunge movement and the "alternative" music of the 90s. No mention of Husker Du, The Minutemen, X, the Pixies or The Replacements? What's up with that?!! Yes, I liked Sonic Youth in the 80s. But to canonize a band who stopped mattering over ten years ago yet still inflicts their painfully uninspired noodling today and not even mention the aforementioned bands that really did have a profound impact on punk (and who knew when to quit) is criminal.

And then to close it up with Sum 41 and those other corporate punk forgeries?!I wanted to puke at that point. God, if they really wanted to use a current example of today's punk, couldn't they have used a more credible band like The Hives? The 80s was such a great time for punk and underground rock, but you sure wouldn't know it from this documentary.