Open iTunes to preview, buy, and download this movie.
Plot Summary
Fueled by a ferocious soundtrack, director Paul Rachman's American Hardcore gives fans an all-access pass to the rise and fall of the U.S. punk scene, an explosive musical and cultural phenomenon that shaped everything from the grunge movement to the emo and pop/punk music currently riding the charts. Set against the conservative early '80s political landscape, American Hardcore chronicles the homegrown hardcore scene that was a swift kick in the head to corporate rock and mainstream complacency, as disaffected teens adopted the same collective credo - harder, faster, louder. From downtown warehouses to suburban bedrooms, the scene spread from city to city like wildfire, uniting bored, angry outcasts into an authentic underground revolution. A raw blast of politics, passion, and rage, American Hardcore features never-before-seen live footage from Black Flag, Minor Threat, Bad Brains, MDC, SSD, DOA, DRI, The Adolescents, 7 Seconds and many more, plus exclusive interviews with punk icons like Henry Rollins, Ian MacKaye, Keith Morris and H.R. (Paul Hudson).
Credits
Director
Screenwriter
Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
72%- Reviews Counted: 61
- Fresh: 44
- Rotten: 17
- Average Rating: 6.4/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Fresh: American Hardcore is illuminating nostalgia, stuffed with all the right tattooed talking heads (like Black Flag's Henry Rollins), plus grim-looking concert footage of wailing skinny guys.
Fresh: Based on the 2001 book by Steven Blush, Paul Rachman's raw and riveting documentary traces the rise of of hardcore punk through Los Angeles, Boston, D.C. and the Big Apple.
Fresh: The documentary is an enlightening journey to a dark corner of contemporary punk's dank little basement.
Rotten: There's a lot of interesting material here, but Rachman doesn't offer any real analysis of his own, and the film suffers from a lack of narrative focus.
Customer Reviews
Cathartic?
I'm too cheap to buy this movie so I rented it from my local indie movie place. It brought back many fond memories of hanging out on summer nights getting into trouble and going to shows. That was a fun time and this movie reconnected me with that music. It also and kinda reminded me that I never wanted to be a fat boring dick as I get older. I'm glad to have Fear and Bad Brains on my ipod at age 41. I know that doesn't make me any cooler but I'm glad it slapped some sense back into me.
A tasteless taste of what it was like people.
Skanking, Stage Diving, Spikes and Spiked Hair, F#%&K the man! Yes, that's how it was and this film tells the TRUE stories of how these bands spread Mayhem and Knowledge across this Great Land. Buy it now or I'll make you listen to stories about how RAD it was Back in the Day. The Cameo - Miami Beach Forever.
Really really good documentary
Shows how it was back in the day, incredible music too. Definitely worth watching.
Viewers Also Bought
- Punk's Not Dead
- Susan Dynner
- View In iTunes
- Rage: 20 Years of Punk Rock West Coast Style
- Michael Bishop & Scott Jacoby
- View In iTunes
- Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten
- Julien Temple
- View In iTunes
- LEMMY: 49% Motherf**ker, 51% Son of a Bitch
- Greg Olliver & Wes Orshoski
- View In iTunes
- $12.99
- Genre: Music Documentaries
- Released: 2007
- © 2006 AHC Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.