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Bookmark this page50 greatest music films ever
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| Have-a-go heroes: Joe Strummer leads The Clash on stage |
12 Rude Boy
(Jack Hazan, David Mingay, 1980)
‘Rude
Boy’ tells the story of listless young punk Ray (played by listless
young punk Ray Gange), who scores a job as a roadie for The Clash and
loses it as a result of his ideological inertia. Set pieces with Ray
talking to the various members of the band about life, the universe and
socialism are interspersed with real-life footage of demos, riots,
court cases and grim street scenes and, of course, lashings of live
performances.
Having spent most of its life as a cinematic curio
passed around punk nerds on fourth-generation VHS, ‘Rude Boy’ finally
got a widespread release in 1996, when the world could see what a
bizarre object it really is. It is not a cinematic classic. The story,
such as it is, is fragmented, disjointed and loosely told, the
tension building sub-plot – ostensibly about a man catching a bus – is
barely integrated into the main feature, and the whole thing betrays
its disorderly creative process throughout. Oh yes, and the acting is
rubbish. That said, it’s still ace.
Ray drifts from potentially
illuminating conversation to potentially illuminating conversation
without seeming to learn anything. Whether he’s debating the broader
points of social responsibility with Strummer or being lectured by
Topper Headon as he practises martial arts in his ‘Enter the Dragon’
jumpsuit, Gange’s boozy moron of a character doesn’t seem to understand
what day it is. His borderline-racist, pro-money politics become
jarringly at odds with the the band he claims to worship, and he’s
ultimately left behind as The Clash transform into the chart-conquering
band who will record ‘London Calling’.
It’s important to
remember that you’re watching at least four movies at once: a tour
film, a documentary, a social commentary, and a kitchen-sink drama about
London’s underclass. But while the semi-improvised production makes for
scrappy viewing, it was, at the time, groundbreaking in its way, and
reflects the have-a-go spirit of its era much better than ‘The Great
Rock ’n’ Roll Swindle’. Hazan and Mingay may not have produced the
hard-hitting documentary they set out to create, but in its place they
turned out a kind of ‘Trials of Life’ of the 1970s. It’s a great
reminder of how far Britain – and London in particular – has come in
the last 30 years.
From the prefab porn emporium in which Gange
works to the popular support of the National Front, it makes the
capital look like some dystopian reimagining of East Berlin. The
concert footage – the reason most people watch the film in the first
place – is incendiary, particularly the band’s turn at the 1978 Rock
Against Racism festival in Victoria Park (although even here Gange is
able to make a tit of himself). It also shows that punk was something
incredibly important to a very small number of people; people who
didn’t have anything else to do with their time. As an exploration of
what it means to be young, shitfaced and bored it’s nigh on perfect. It
should be screened in schools; just not film schools. Eddy Lawrence
Greatest hit An incendiary live version of ‘Janie Jones’ descends into a mini-riot.
Top 50 index | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-6 | 5-1
Author: Dave Calhoun. Written by Derek Adams, Geoff Andrew, Dave Calhoun, Wally Hammond, Michael Hodges, Martin Horsfield, Martin Hoyle, David Jenkins, Trevor Johnston, Eddy Lawrence, Sharon O'Connell, Chris Parkin, Graeme Thomson, Peter Watts
User comments on this story
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- Vince said...
- this list is horse shit, wot's the deal, because the brits hate the irish you can't out "the commitments" or "once" up in the top 50? and did you forget about a movie one of your own made called "the wall"? and the number one film listed is a bloody movie about the world's worst singer karen carpenter? wot the hell???? Posted on Oct 06 2007 05:04
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- Massimo said...
- The worst movie ever, with the best soundtrack ever: Streets of Fire! Posted on Oct 05 2007 20:53
- Report as inappropriate
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- vagabondjohn said...
- What? No "Sunshine Daydream" or "Renaldo and Clara"? But at least "Be Here To Love Me" broke the top ten... Posted on Oct 05 2007 20:43
- Report as inappropriate
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- Marc said...
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...and that Carpenters film told with dolls is better than "The Kids Are Alright"?
Man, April Fools Day comes earlier every year. Posted on Oct 05 2007 17:39 - Report as inappropriate
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- kanchi said...
- RISE ABOVE - THE TRIBE 8 STORY directed by TRACY FLANNIGAN this is such a cool film about the lesbian punk band from california who are on the dead kennedys label - alternative tenticles. even if u don't like their music it is a well-made, interesting and inspiring film. i was sad (but not suprised) to see this (and other riot grrl/ women in music etc) films missing from the list. is it still uncool to be a feminist? Posted on Oct 05 2007 16:19
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- Matthew W said...
- Some amazing films here but c'mon, you're just trying to get a rise out of us with Superstar at No 1. What about Rockers, Stardust & That'll be the Day, Quadropeinia, Woodstock, (Slade in) Flame? Posted on Oct 05 2007 14:15
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- jules henry said...
- What about Babylon (1980)? Posted on Oct 05 2007 13:37
- Report as inappropriate
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- steven menkin said...
- What? Where is The Great Rock & Roll Swindle Posted on Oct 05 2007 13:30
- Report as inappropriate
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- Matt said...
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anyone any ideas on how I could find a copy of "So You wanna be a rock 'n' roll star?", or will I have to wait until it comes back on BBC four?
any help would be much appreciated.
cheers. Posted on Oct 05 2007 12:35 - Report as inappropriate
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- monkeystar said...
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I dont want to be funny but how could you leave out The Blues Brothers??? Really, with Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, James Brown and all the other superstars, this is one of the best films about a band and top music ever..
MS Posted on Oct 05 2007 12:30 - Report as inappropriate
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- Matt said...
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anyone any ideas on how I could find a copy of this film, or will I have to wait until it comes back on BBC four?
any help would be much appreciated.
cheers. Posted on Oct 04 2007 13:50 - Report as inappropriate
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