CBGB (2013)

A look at the New York City punk-rock scene and the venerable nightclub, CBGB.

Director:

Randall Miller

Writers:

Jody Savin, Randall Miller

Stars:

Alan Rickman, Malin Akerman, Justin Bartha

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alan Rickman	...	Hilly Kristal
Malin Akerman	...	Debbie Harry
Justin Bartha	...	Stiv Bators
Richard de Klerk	...	Taxi
Johnny Galecki	...	Terry Ork
Kyle Gallner	...	Lou Reed
Ashley Greene	...	Lisa Kristal
Rupert Grint	...	Cheetah Chrome
Estelle Harris	...	Bertha Kristal
Taylor Hawkins	...	Iggy Pop
Ryan Hurst	...	Mad Mountain
Stana Katic	...	Genya Ravan
Joel David Moore	...	Joey Ramone
Ahna O'Reilly	...	Mary Harron
Freddy Rodríguez	...	Idaho

Storyline

CBGB follows the story of Hilly Kristal's New York club from its concept as a venue for Country, Bluegrass and Blues (CBGB) to what it ultimately became: the birthplace of underground rock 'n roll and punk. When Kristal had difficulty booking country bands in his club on the Bowery he opened his doors to other kinds of rock music. Kristal had one demand of the acts he booked; they could only play original music. No top 40's, no covers. It was the credo he lived by, support the artist at whatever the cost. Hilly Kristal ironically became known as the godfather of punk giving a chance to such bands as Blondie, Television, Ramones, Talking Heads, Dead Boys and The Police.

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Plot Keywords:

club | punk | blondie | nightclub | punk rock | 

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Taglines:

50,000 bands and 1 disgusting bathroom.

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language throughout, some sexual content, drug use, and a scene of violence.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Twitter

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 October 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

CBGB: O Berço do Punk Rock

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,000, 4 October 2013, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$40,040, 20 October 2013

Company Credits

Production Co:

Unclaimed Freight Productions, Rampart Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

CBGB & OMFUG stands for Country, Blue Grass (and) Blues & Other Music For Uplifting Gormandizers.

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Goofs

In the subway scene where Taxi is waiting for a train, a train which is shown passing by is a modern NYC transit train. NYC subway trains in the 70s did not have digital train information on the sides of the cars.

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Quotes

Lisa Kristal: Mom was right to leave you. You're an asshole.
Hilly Kristal: Lisa.
Lisa Kristal: What?
Hilly Kristal: In my capacity as asshole, I am promoting you to vice president of business affairs.

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Crazy Credits

"This film is dedicated to... Hilly Kristal and all those who worked at and lived at CBGB. MAY THEY ROCK ON FOREVER! No animals were harmed during the making of this film... The cockroach guts were Fig Newtons. And we know that Iggy Pop never played at CBGB... Just deal with it."

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Connections

Referenced in Chelsea Lately: Episode #7.150 (2013)

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Soundtracks

Psycho Killer
Written by David Byrne, Chris Frantz (as Christopher Frantz), Tina Weymouth
Performed by Talking Heads
Courtesy of Sire Records
By Arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

Actually quite good, but depends what you're after.

Okay first of all if your a big fan of one particular artist or more in the story and are expecting their role (or even their personality) to be fleshed out, chances are you will be disappointed. They are all (aside from the Dead Boys) limited to cameos and as such some people find they are a little generic. I'm not sure how much depth people expect in what often amounts to less than a minutes screen time, but there you go. It is not a long movie and it would have been impossible to do justice to everyone involved in that music scene in such a short time. In the restraints they had, I believe they did well enough.

Secondly there are some liberties taken with the actual music. It didn't matter to me as it was all great music, but if your picky on such things that may irritate you. An example of this is that the Ramones don't actually play any Ramones tracks, instead they player a Joey Ramone solo track that was released later. I don't really understand why they made those choices, but that is the way it is. Some people may feel the "live" sound isn't gritty enough. Again, I had no problem here, I wanted to hear good music and I did.

Perhaps those that get the most out of this films are those that like the music but aren't huge fans of anyone in specific. This is where I fell and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I laughed and I cried and when it finished I was happy. Alan Rickman is the centrepiece of this film and that I think will make this enjoyable to the majority of viewers (as the IMDb average suggests) as he is as solid as ever. The rest of the cast is reasonable but no one stands out. The sets look very accurate (from what I can tell at least) and the whole thing is quite believable.

Taken out of the historical context this is basically a light hearted comedy about a growing music scene and a guy with passion, kindness and absolutely no business acumen. It feels like a "British Comedy" which for many will be fine, but given the topic is a New York club some may feel it inappropriate. If you read this review and still want to see the film then you will no doubt enjoy it as much as I have (or more).