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CBGB

Play trailer Poster for CBGB R 2013 1h 41m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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7% Tomatometer 44 Reviews 44% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Though originally conceived as a country and bluegrass venue, Hilly Kristal's (Alan Rickman) New York club becomes the birthplace of underground and punk music, and helps launch the careers of such bands as Blondie, the Ramones and the Police.
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CBGB

CBGB

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Critics Consensus

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Critics Reviews

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Judy Berman Flavorwire 09/21/2017
Unless you're morbidly curious about how one of the loudest, strangest, and most irreverent and original moments in rock history can be transformed into a jukebox musical for the entertainment of precisely no one, there's no need to see CBGB. Go to Full Review
Scott Foundas Variety 10/15/2013
The music rocks, but little else does, in Randall Miller's sitcom snapshot of New York's iconic punk incubator. Go to Full Review
John DeFore The Hollywood Reporter 10/11/2013
A lightweight love song to a legendary rock club, Randall Miller's CBGB plays in many ways like a Greatest Hits record, re-packaging a beloved band's oeuvre for sale at shopping malls. Go to Full Review
Richard Crouse Richard Crouse 02/01/2021
2/5
Takes an exciting story of an important time and shaves all the rough edges away, leaving behind smoothed over vision of a rough-and-ready time. Go to Full Review
Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com 08/29/2019
Moments of nostalgic emotion are ever so briefly reached, and evaporate so quickly that your only desire will be to listen to the actual music of the cavalcade of artists paraded across the screen. Go to Full Review
Abbie Bernstein Assignment X 01/25/2019
B
It's fun, affectionate and certainly tuneful, but it doesn't get under anyone's skin. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Dave S @Da873 2d Great movie! My wife and I had young children at this time and didn't care for Punk but shared the hatred of Disco. This provided an education for us and some of the music was familiar since it was picked up by the more progressive rock stations particularly Blondie and Talking Heads. I can just imagine sitting there in one of the worst parts of town watching history being made. We've watched it many times because the performances, music, locale, and atmosphere are all great. Love and miss Alan Rickman. See more J D @Absolutely54 Dec 30 Decent story about one of the most iconic music eras of our time. See more vladimim v @RT48481153 05/10/2025 Great movie! Solid storyline, educational, the performers and characters seem so real as if this is a documentary. Good humor, very entertaining. See more N M @Mills3233 02/19/2025 Solid movie. Enjoyed it multiple times. Critics don’t know what they’re talking about as usual. See more Kush T @RT69849169 01/07/2025 The movie was great and unexpected. I didn't go into it expecting anything and was thrilled by the story with big twists near the end which brought an even greater clarity of why some of the main characters did what they did. A raw glimpse of the poor, disturbed and ignored with a rough stench of Teenage Excitement. I was unfamiliar with any of the bands so hearing music from an unbiased angle helped me ground my expectations more towards reality where most humans would have experienced the film. If you like justice and a true hero story in the realm of reality I think you will like this film. Not all the music was good but this is a film not an album. See more GPXgirl K @RT00773845 12/27/2024 This just proves. Some ppl shouldn’t review movies. If you find the music, loud, strange and irrelevant. I guess rock music isn’t your thing. I don’t know, who would ever find rock music, much less the history of it irrelevant, but anyway. Maybe you should switch to some more your style. Like a Britney Spears movie or Taylor swift. I loved it. Music was amazing, acting was great, tons of great actors too. Comic book style was cool too. Was a bit slow at times, but still worth watching if you love rock music culture! See more Read all reviews
CBGB

My Rating

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Movie Info

Synopsis Though originally conceived as a country and bluegrass venue, Hilly Kristal's (Alan Rickman) New York club becomes the birthplace of underground and punk music, and helps launch the careers of such bands as Blondie, the Ramones and the Police.
Director
Randall Miller
Producer
Jody Savin, Randall Miller, Brad Rosenberger, Lisa Kristal Burgman
Screenwriter
Randall Miller, Jody Savin
Distributor
XLrator Media
Production Co
Rampart Films, Unclaimed Freight
Rating
R (Language Throughout|Drug Use|A Scene of Violence|Some Sexual Content)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 11, 2013, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 25, 2017
Runtime
1h 41m