THE PUNK ROCK MOVIE (EMI/Thompson Music, MA15+)
Original release date: March 28th, 2006
Filmed in London in 1977, director Don Letts (later a member of Big Audio Dynamite) and producer Peter Clifton’s The Punk Rock Movie consists of footage of a series of live performances by influential punk bands such as The Clash and The Sex Pistols (and others such as Slaughter & The Dogs) interspersed with home-movie-style film of the seminal London punk scene of the era and the bands on tour.
Unfortunately, the sound quality of most of the songs is all but unlistenable and the other footage is generally jumbled and unintelligible, with no structure or attempt at narrative. While the movie is certainly a crucial historical document, there’s definitely little aural pleasure involved. **
DVD: Peter Clifton’s commentary is near-essential – a mix of factual background and personal reminiscences that provide a much needed context for the footage and makes it vastly more interesting. There’s also a compelling 30-minute interview with former Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten circa 1983. ***
Owen Heitmann