Details the group's raucous history with humor and a minimum of hero worship.
End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones (2004)
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Reviews Counted:60
Fresh:57
Rotten:3
Average Rating:7.6/10
Consensus: Gabba gabba hey! With its focus on the groundbreaking work of the 1970s punk band The Ramones End of the Century makes a solid entry into the growing canon of documentaries that capture Punkology.
Theatrical Release:Aug 20, 2004 Limited
Synopsis: Starting with the band's origins in Forest Hills, Queens, END OF THE CENTURY: THE STORY OF THE RAMONES gives a fascinating background portrait of the eccentric group of individuals who came... Starting with the band's origins in Forest Hills, Queens, END OF THE CENTURY: THE STORY OF THE RAMONES gives a fascinating background portrait of the eccentric group of individuals who came together to be one of the most influential punk bands in history. This documentary about the New York City renegades who made their mark in the mid-1970s with counterculture lyrics and underground performances at rundown joints like CBGB on the Bowery, shows how the band eventually earned recognition, even being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. But it is the insider look at the blue collar upbringing of the band members, and their desire to be part of Manhattan's burgeoning hard-rock scene, that is most endearing about this particular film. In candid interviews with Dee Dee Ramone, he tells stories about the group's total lack of complexity in its earliest days. Going to see contemporary acts like the New York Dolls and Iggy and the Stooges, the Ramones quickly created their own sound and practiced frenetically. When they finally made their debut with an extremely loud sound, furiously fast and short songs, and lots of drama such as blatant on-stage arguments, they practically scared away their fans. While other stars, like Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, comment on the Ramones' subsequent rise to punk stardom, providing wild stories about sex, drugs, chaos, and tragedy, it is the truly interesting story of the band's start that will linger in viewers' minds. [More]
Starring: Joey Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone, Tom Erdelyi, Marc Bee
Starring: Joey Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone, Tom Erdelyi, Marc Bee, John Cummings, Christopher John Ward, Ritchie Reinhart
Director: Jim Fields, Michael Gramaglia
Director: Jim Fields, Michael Gramaglia
Producer: Michael Gramaglia, Tom Erdelyi, Jim Fields
Studio: Magnolia Pictures
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Reviews for End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones
The revelations may even deepen your appreciation for the music -- it's incredible that so much dumb fun was generated out of such pain.
The filmmakers convey the extent of The Ramones' impact on rock without ignoring the more unsavoury elements of the story.
Dee Dee is the most humorous band member, as he remembers the halcyon days of pre-fame Forest Hills: 'We would hang out, sniff glue or smoke pot... listen to the Stooges...'
A thorough, gutsy and appropriately scuzzy-looking documentary by Michael Gramaglia and Jim Fields, featuring rare footage and interviews with the stars of the CBGB era.
For music fanatics and for Ramones fans, there's a sad story and a peek behind the creative process that made the band's trademark music.
An essential addition to the growing (and inherently ironic) field of Punkology.
Does justice to the humble punk band from Queens that influenced everyone from The Clash and Sex Pistols to U2 and Green Day.
Very much the movie Metallica: Some Kind of Monster should have been. It captures a band at its peak, rather than just wallowing in the desperation that sets in years later.
In the spirit of Ramones' songs, the movie should have been twice as loud and half as long and it would have been perfect.
A portrait of an unpretentious band whose sum was greater than its very flawed parts.
This is an exhaustive survey, not just of the Ramones, but of the entire underground music scene in New York (and abroad) in the late 1970s.
It's hard not to feel that the Ramones, who never had a hit record, were the greatest band in 50 years to be stonewalled out of success.
Ranks with Terry Zwigoff's Crumb as one of the most searing, disturbing and oddly celebratory depictions of popular artists ever committed to film.
Gramaglia and Fields have uncovered plenty of good historical footage, and the interviews with band members, managers, friends and peer fans confirm not only how influential, but how beloved the Ramones were, particularly the ever-visible Joey.
One of those rare films that, despite having a near two hour running time and being very complete in its focus, one still wishes was much longer.
The first half of the film is a by-the-numbers rock docu. But at the halfway mark, the personalities and psychoses of the performers become as interesting as the history, and the documentary morphs into an involving human drama.
About halfway through End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones, journalist Legs McNeil asks why the Ramones didn't have big hits. The achievement of the film is that it makes you wonder the same thing and provides an answer.
Latest News for End of the Century: The Story of the...
October 11, 2006:
Ramones Biopic: All Revved Up And Ready To Go?
Gabba Gabba Hey! The story of the Ramones, perhaps the most influential American punk band of the 1970s, may be getting the biopic treatment soon. More...
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