Captivating movie !

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Punk: Attitude is a documentary directed by Don Letts. An important figure in the punk explosion in England circa 1976, Letts has always held the subject of punk rock close to his heart. Here he explores the "punk" revolution, its roots and its impact on modern rock music. The cast features the likes of David Johansen, Thurston Moore, Tommy Ramone, Chrissie Hynde, Henry Rollins, Captain Sensible, Jim Jarmusch, Mick Jones, Jello Biafra, Howard Devoto and Glen Matlock. To name but a few!As the title suggests, this is about the attitude that is essential to the make up of the punk rock genre. This is not a film that is telling you lies about its time-lines or an attempt to ensure the viewers know how important punk was in the pantheon of music. It's refreshingly honest, in fact what is the most striking thing about Letts' movie is that this is no stroll down a rose tinted glassy memory lane. For sure there's warmth in recollections from many of the big shakers, while some of the old footage clips of the bands are sure to stir strong emotions in fans, but nobody is trying to hide the genre limitations of punk. Letts threads it nicely as a triple bill of birth, death and revival. Starting out with an attitude nod of acknowledgement to Jerry Lee Lewis and other more daring 50s & 60s acts, the film starts gaining its worth with some well spent time in the company of The New York Dolls, Velvet Undeground, MC5 and of course Iggy Pop & his Stooges. The influence of such luminaries of course comes as no surprise to any old punker such as I, but for new parties interested in punk this serves as an essential piece of film.Into the mid 70s where of course things got serious and both America and England witnessed what in all essence was "thee" punk rock explosion. Again the principals don't hold back, telling it as it was and even debunking some myths. There's even some resentment in there, but Letts is canny enough to not let this become another boorish America Vs England who started punk section of his film. He also widens the scope to involve many artists who never get a look in when the topic is covered on the page or on the screen. Rest assured this is not a Sex Pistols, Clash, Damned and Ramones retread overkill, time is rightly afforded to Poly Styrene (X Ray Spex), Howard Devoto & Pete Shelley (The Buzzcocks), Siouxsie Sioux (Siouxsie & The Banshees) & Ari Up (The Slits). Important movers with important and interesting things to say. And so it proves as the story arc moves forward to post 70s punk; New Wave/ No Wave, Hardcore et al, all given thought and time with the likes of Henry Rollins (Black Flag), Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) and Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), who not only link the narrative, but expand it further too.Obviously in a film such as this it's inevitable that not every genre fan will be happy. For every ten bands featured, there is another twenty bands who many will believe should have been put in for acknowledgement and opinion. As is the case for some of the offshoots of punk such as the Oi! movement or the British second and third waves that encompassed street and speed punk. In truth the 80s does get a little passed over due to the time afforded the 70s, but that's forgivable surely since that was the prominent time and the time when music got a kick up the backside. Besides which, to cover everything appertaining to punk we would need a film of Lord Of The Rings Trilogy type excess! 8/10

I thought Punk: Attitude was a very good retrospective including many bands that I had on my speakers throughout 1976-1985. Dick Dale started a lot of this with his work, but that may be too obscure for most to notice. However, I agree, excluding Nina Hagen, that beyond Black Flag the ball was dropped, i.e. Husker Du, and Pixies. I also submit that Neil Young, that ball busting hearse driver, deserved some mention in this film for his world with Crazy Horse.All together, the end of the show with it's tribute to Joe Strummer, made up for the above mentioned tailing off. Having seen Jello Biafra in Richmond, Virginia, about ninety in the crowd, 1982, that deadpan "Reagan sneer", I still think that other than old Jagger himself, there is the best performer in rock and roll. You can visit one of his Dead Kennedys shows in the film. Faith no more, filth no less, a worthy 90 minutes of music.

This is most certainly an interesting documentary and one that I'd recommend seeing, but I cannot help but have the feeling that it is somewhat US-centric, even if many of punk's pivotal points are not.Starting with the origins of punk in the late 1960s and 1970s, it covers the origins of the 'movement' (for want of a better term) in the United States, focussing on the Velvet Underground, Andy Warhol, the New York Dolls and MC5. The important people of the era (well, some of them) were found and given an opportunity to express their views.However, all too quickly it moves through what defined punk (rightly or wrongly) - the UK scene. No, it was not where punk began, and no, it was not the be-all and end-all of punk, but to cover the ongoing influence of the UK in a relatively short space of time before moving onto the US hardcore and post-punk of late 1980s Seattle is to do a great disservice to the importance of the British punk scene. Aside from the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Buzzocks, Sioxsie and the Banshees, and the Slits (and even these are at times somewhat rapidly covered - how about the UK Subs or the Not Sensibles, to name two), the UK scene was somewhat glossed over in favour of the US hardcore scene. As interesting as this is, and relevant in a greater history of punk, barely mentioning the 'Anarchy in the UK' tour, or the influences of reggae on the music is hard to overlook. Indeed, without some background knowledge, one could almost be forgiven for thinking that the Clash and the Sex Pistols were really only minor players in shaping the direction of not only punk rock, but music generally.Ultimately, as interesting as the documentary is, I cannot help but think of the Clash's song from their 1st album, "I'm so bored with the USA". However, having said all of this, somewhat ironically, the real importance of the UK is recognized almost underhandedly (and unwittingly, I suspect), with the Clash's "Car Jamming" opening and closing the documentary, not to mention the dedication of the program to Joe Strummer.In many ways, the multi-part series "Get Up Stand Up" - even though punk is but a small section of it - does a much better job of portraying the importance of punk in a more balanced manner - and especially in covering non-US punk (it even gets into the German and French scenes).

I have no doubt that future cultural historians and music cognoscenti will appreciate this competent and fairly broad-sweeping history of the original punk "movement" of the 1970s. But I have to say, as a forty-something who was "there" at the end of the 1970s, there's something unnerving and vaguely depressing to seeing a bunch of fifty- and sixty- somethings waxing nostalgically about their great good old days. I mean, my god, weren't we making fun of the hippies for growing up and going mainstream back in the day? There's nothing more unpunkrock in some ways than a documentary film about punk. Come to think of it, I think punk may be safely said to have died the instant they started filming it, and Letts' own 'The Punk Rock Movie" was the original culprit. Taking the DIY attitude and transforming it into the mindscreen of the cinema, with all its implications for mass consumption, is a way not so much of preserving the original punk spirit as diluting it.This is to say, that if anybody has a right to make a film about the scene way-back-when, it's the old-school Letts. (Although it was a bit awkward when he manages to let some of his interviewees refer to him in the third person.) As a documentary, it's a standard mix of stand-up interviews and old stills and footage from the period, which tells the "story" with the reflective blinkers of thirty years of hindsight. So I can't fault this as a movie qua movie.Whoever takes credit for originating the phrase, "Talking about music is like dancing about architecture", they had it right. I had a hard time finishing watching this movie not because it was a poor telling of the tale -- far from it, my memories coincide with it exactly -- but because it seemed like a far better use of my time to dust off the vinyl of my collection and just listen to the music. Or maybe, even better, go out and find some new music by the current generation of snot-nosed rebels, which will prevent me from wallowing in nostalgia and kick my rear into gear. There's something about the genre of the film documentary that seems to add layers of dust to music and music culture, or sprays them with a preservative that may keep them for future generations but which seems stale as a living thing.The one moment I loved above all in the flick was the appearance of the now-middle-aged and delicious Poly Styrene, who manages to come off as honest and fresh as she did in X-Ray Spex. But in general the shock of seeing virtually all the (surviving) great bands of the era in paunchy, balding, reflective -- dare I say, mature? -- late middle age made me wince. In about 2015, there'll be a similar documentary about old-school rap, followed ten years later by nostalgic flashbacks about techno and ecstasy...and so on.