Filmed in London in 1977, director Don Letts (later a member of Big Audio Dynamite) and producer Peter Cliftonā€™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 While the movie is certainly a crucial historical document, thereā€™s definitely little aural pleasure involved. **

DVD: Peter Cliftonā€™s commentary is near-essential ā€“ a mix of factual background and personal reminiscences that provide a much needed context for the footage and makes it vastly more interesting. Thereā€™s also a compelling 30-minute interview with former Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten circa 1983. ***

Owen Heitmann

This fly-on-the-wall documentary follows Swedish hard-rock quintet The Hellacopters during the last week of their 2002 US tour as they experience the usual trials and tribulations of a band with only a small (if devoted) Stateside following. If youā€™ve seen one tour documentary youā€™ve seen it all before: soundchecks, vans, dingy hotels, radio spots, interviews, photo shoots, bickering, and fans backstage (one of whom unwittingly provides the biggest laughs of the film with his limited knowledge of both European geography and the band’s material). The lack of anything new means that the only ones interested in the specifics will be the really hardcore followers ā€“ who will likely be incensed that most of the live footage consists only of excerpts. **

DVD: The bonus outtakes address one shortcoming of the main feature by including many complete songs, including several takes on The Stoogesā€™ Search And Destroy, as well as more excerpts. Thereā€™s also a swag of older live bootlegs of varying quality, a doco commentary track by members of the band, plus a gag ā€?spaghetti westernā€¯ alternate soundtrack. ***

Owen Heitmann