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Movies / On DVD / American Hardcore
American Hardcore

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American Hardcore (2006)

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Reviews Counted: 61

Fresh: 44

Rotten:17

Average Rating: 6.4/10

Consensus: American Hardcore is an informative and highly entertaining look at the heyday of punk in the early 1980s.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for pervasive language including sex and drug references.

Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

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... 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. [More]

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

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

Director: Paul Rachman

Director: Paul Rachman
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

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Release:

Feb 20, 2007

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Reviews for American Hardcore

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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For a documentary ostensibly about the history of the hardcore punk music movement that reigned in America during the '80s, director Paul Rachman and writer Steven Blush indefensibly omit the genre's most talented and high-profile band (The Dead Kennedys)

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
04/26/09
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
05/12/07
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Struggles under the weight of its own ambition.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/01/07
Matthew Smith
Film Journal International

The hit-and-run effect sometimes suggests a documentary equivalent to slam dancing, but without the bruises.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
02/09/07
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

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 Source: Reeler | comment Comment
01/31/07
Michelle Orange
Reeler

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 Source: Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) | comment Comment
01/12/07
John Wirt
Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)

AmericanHardcore ! Aboutboredstupidyouth! Didn'tliketheNewWave ! Gomoshin'fortruth ! Can'tfindtruth ! Can'tfindgrace ! SettleforHenryRollins! Punchin'dudesintheface !

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment 1 Comment
01/01/07
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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 Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
12/29/06
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

... an enjoyable if incomplete nostalgia trip.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
12/07/06
Michael Senft
Arizona Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Rachman's concert footage confirms that the music was unique: bruising, chaotic and blisteringly electric.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
11/30/06
Paul Kosidowski
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"American Hardcore" harkens back to the time when punk rockers were actual punks, not whining, prefabricated MTV pretty boys.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
11/30/06
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

The movie preaches to the choir, and bores everyone else.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
11/29/06
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

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 Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
11/17/06
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

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 Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
11/17/06
Shawn Levy
Oregonian

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 Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
11/10/06
Dan DeLuca
Philadelphia Inquirer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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 Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment Comment
11/10/06
Jonathan Takiff
Philadelphia Daily News

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 Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
11/10/06
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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 Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
11/07/06
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
11/04/06
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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