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MOVIES / ON DVD / AMERICAN HARDCORE
American Hardcore

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American Hardcore (2006)

73%
86%
82%
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73 %
Reviews Counted: 60 Fresh: 44  Rotten:16 Average Rating: 6.5/10
 
Consensus: An informative and highly entertaining look at the heyday of punk. American Hardcore is an informative and highly entertaining look at the heyday of punk in the early 1980s. more
 
Rated: R
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Theatrical Release: Sep 22, 2006 Limited
Synopsis:
True hardcore fans may balk at the fact that this vibrant document of a scene that prided itself on some staunchly anti-corporate ethics is being distributed by business behemoth Sony, but they needn't worry--AMERICAN HARDCORE was in the can long before the men in suits picked it up for... [More]
True hardcore fans may balk at the fact that this vibrant document of a scene that prided itself on some staunchly anti-corporate ethics is being distributed by business behemoth Sony, but they needn't worry--AMERICAN HARDCORE was in the can long before the men in suits picked it up for distribution. Paul Rachman's film is bookended by two clips of Ronald Reagan being sworn in for each of his tenures as president, and the director is quick to draw parallels between Reagan's leadership and the explosion of angry young men who picked up guitars, drums, and microphones and exploded onto an unsuspecting ‘80s music scene. Rachman draws on amazing footage of scene leaders such as Bad Brains, Minor Threat, and Black Flag to tell the story, and splices them with interview clips from band members, scenesters, fanzine writers, label bosses, and plenty of the freaks and misfits who were drawn to the pummeling sounds of hardcore. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Rachman's film is the fact that that many of the figures who populated it, such as Minor Threat's Ian Mackye and Black Flag's Henry Rollins, still staunchly stick to the stringent personal and work ethics their younger selves developed back in the day. And what a day it was! As the various talking heads tell of dust-ups with cops, violent scenes at shows, and the development of a supportive musical community across the country, it will be difficult for younger viewers not to feel pangs of jealousy. However, Rachman does briefly cover some of the downsides of hardcore, such as the lack of female performers and the jock-like mentality of those who just showed up at shows looking for a punch-up, but on the whole the film is an upbeat testimony to a movement that was so underground that it simply passed by a lot of the high-haired and colorfully clothed pop fans of the era. [Less]

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

Starring: Ian MacKaye, Dez Cadena, Joe Carducci, Flea, Dave Markey

Director: Paul Rachman

DVD Info

Release:

Feb 20, 2007

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.78

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.0 - English
  • Subtitles - English, French, Spanish - Optional

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary - Filmmakers
  • Deleted Scenes

Text/Photo Galleries:

  • "In The Pit" Photo Gallery

Buy It On DVD

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Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
07/14/07 04:10 AM
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
05/12/07 03:48 AM
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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Struggles under the weight of its own ambition.

Full Review | Comment
03/01/07 03:36 AM
Matthew Smith
Film Journal International
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The hit-and-run effect sometimes suggests a documentary equivalent to slam dancing, but without the bruises.

Full Review | Comment
02/09/07 10:19 AM
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
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Rachman's chronicle suffers not from a shortage of authentic footage of ready-made hardcore shows, complete with (completely necessary) subtitled lyrics, or doughy, balding, talking heads still bragging about the thrown punches and peed-on chicks of yeste

Full Review | Comment
01/31/07 04:16 PM
Michelle Orange
Reeler
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A film for the fans, especially if you were one of those sonic youths venting steam at a guerrilla show in someone's basement, a VFW hall or club that condescended to present a hardcore show. For once-upon-a-time kids now irrevocably middle-aged, the kick

Full Review | Comment
01/12/07 09:23 AM
John Wirt
Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)
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AmericanHardcore ! Aboutboredstupidyouth! Didn'tliketheNewWave ! Gomoshin'fortruth ! Can'tfindtruth ! Can'tfindgrace ! SettleforHenryRollins! Punchin'dudesintheface !

Full Review | Comment
01/01/07 06:32 AM
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
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While this documentary features rare performance footage of hard-core punk-rock bands Black Flag and Bad Brains, it's not exactly the best-assembled or deepest cinematic exploration of the subject.

Full Review | Comment
12/29/06 01:20 PM
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
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... an enjoyable if incomplete nostalgia trip.

Full Review | Comment
12/07/06 05:30 PM
Michael Senft
Arizona Republic
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Rachman's concert footage confirms that the music was unique: bruising, chaotic and blisteringly electric.

Full Review | Comment
11/30/06 05:28 PM
Paul Kosidowski
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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"American Hardcore" harkens back to the time when punk rockers were actual punks, not whining, prefabricated MTV pretty boys.

Full Review | Comment
11/30/06 04:52 AM
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star
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The movie preaches to the choir, and bores everyone else.

Full Review | Comment
11/29/06 10:54 AM
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com
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Crammed with grainy, shot-on-the-fly mid-Eighties video footage, recent interviews, and a genuine love for its subject, American Hardcore encapsulates a largely forgotten moment in maximum rock & roll history.

Full Review | Comment
11/17/06 06:32 PM
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle
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It's a great subject for a documentary, and director Paul Rachman does a good job of rounding up period footage and contemporary interviews. But for all its noise, his film is weirdly flabby.

Full Review | Comment
11/17/06 01:01 PM
Shawn Levy
Oregonian
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American Hardcore, Paul Rachman's impressively thorough documentary, tells of the second-generation punk rockers who learned from the Sex Pistols and Ramones and then did their DIY thing.

Full Review | Comment
11/10/06 03:10 PM
Dan DeLuca
Philadelphia Inquirer
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If band names like Circle Jerks, D.O.A., Dead Kennedys and Minor Threat resonate with you, then this documentary celebrating their short-lived, pummeling breed of thrash-and-burn rock music will surely get your blood boiling all over again.

Full Review | Comment
11/10/06 03:09 PM
Jonathan Takiff
Philadelphia Daily News
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American Hardcore gets what most music lovers could not at the time: Sometimes, that noise in your head and that anger in your heart just has to get out, and there's always a guitar around somewhere.

Full Review | Comment
11/10/06 03:08 PM
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
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For the record, Rachman's punk-rockology has its cracks. While he worships at the altar of Henry Rollins and Black Flag, he excludes such key West Coast bands as X and the Dead Kennedys.

Full Review | Comment
11/07/06 02:02 PM
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly
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Instead of an insightful look at disaffected youths finding an outlet for angry energy in rock rages, American Hardcore is a slanted history lesson coming solely from its subjects.

Full Review | Comment
11/03/06 04:04 PM
Bruce Westbrook
Houston Chronicle
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What's irritating about the movie is how much time it spends on empty nostalgia -- shouldn't real punks scorn reminiscing? -- and how little time it spends truly exploring the roots of America's punk prime in the early 1980s.

Full Review | Comment
11/03/06 04:02 PM
Michael Booth
Denver Post
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