The epitome of the do-it-yourself esthetic, punk rock aficionados will be shortly celebrating its half-century. Filmmakers everywhere have long been fascinated by the combination of art and artifice the genre exudes. Here are 10 of the best portrayals of punk to hit the big screen and, where possible, where you can find them streaming.
10. Rock ‘n’ Roll High School
Featuring New Yorkers Ramones, 1979’s Rock ‘n’ Roll High School ambles its way through a plot involving a group of punk rock-obsessed teenage schoolkids rebelling against the high school principal. All the elements of a romp are present, but the treatment is too polished and sanitized for punk’s mangier reality. Rock ‘n’ Roll High School is available for streaming on Peacock.
9. The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle
Julien Temple’s 1980 effort vacillates between fiction and real life, as the members of Sex Pistols – less Johnny Rotten, who refused to have anything to do with it, and Sid Vicious, who had died the previous year – play thinly-disguised versions of themselves, and manager Malcolm McLaren gurns his way through the film as “The Embezzler.”
8. CBGB
The famous New York CBGB nightclub that was an iconic venue for the likes of the Ramones, Television, Patti Smith, and Blondie is the setting for this 2013 drama, but in spite of a starry cast including Alan Rickman in the lead role, the Twilight saga’s Ashley Greene, and Harry Potter star Rupert Grint in only his third post-Potter appearance, the film bombed at the box office. CBGB is currently available for streaming on Starz and elsewhere.
7. Jubilee
Derek Jarman had just one feature film under his belt when he helmed this 1978 take on a London punk scene that was already imploding under the weight of controversy and expectation. Though it boasted legitimate actors such as Jenny Runacre, who had starred in Ridley Scott’s The Duellists the previous year, the lack of a plot reduces it to the status of a fascinating but aimless Rocky Horror Picture Show-esque period piece. Look out for punk luminaries Jordan and Siouxsie Sioux, and a young Adam Ant, who would be topping the charts within months of the film’s release. Jubilee is currently available for streaming on BFIPlayer.
6. Dogs In Space
This 1986 period piece about the Australian punk scene still impresses. Starring INXS singer Michael Hutchence, the movie depicts the hi-jinks surrounding the members of the titular band as they attempt to make their way in Melbourne.
5. 24 Hour Party People
This 2002 comedy drama is uneven in pacing and suffers from a diffuse plot. But it’s all of a piece with the chaotic, rollercoaster nature of life in Factory Records, the maverick Manchester label whose existence the film depicts. Steve Coogan stars as Factory’s legendary Svengali Tony Wilson, while future Doctor Who star John Simm and a young Sean Harris appear in supporting roles. 24 Hour Party People is available for streaming on Pluto TV and iTunes.
4. Her Smell
Elisabeth Moss stars as a rocker mired in alcoholism and wayward behavior in this 2018 drama by Alex Ross. What begins as a thinly veiled portrayal of the Riot Grrrl-esque punk segues into an essay on the inherently destructive nature of grunge stereotypes. Moss received rave reviews for her portrayal of mascara-clad frontwoman Becky Something. Her Smell is currently available for streaming on Hulu.
3. What We Do Is Secret
This 2007 film should get more love. A biopic of Los Angeles punk rocker Darby Crash, who fronted the Germs from the late 1970s onwards, the film evokes the punk scene in the City of Angels beautifully, as well as charting Crash’s relationship with Rob Henley and his eventual slide into heroin addiction. What We Do Is Secret is currently available for streaming on Prime Video.
2. Control
This taut biopic of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis, who committed suicide in 1980 at the age of 23 with the band on the brink of mainstream success, stars Sam Riley and Samantha Morton as Curtis and his wife Deborah. While the band’s surviving members noted the lack of fidelity to real life, critics raved, and it won several prizes at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. Control is currently available to stream on Prime Video.
1. Sid and Nancy
Alex Cox’s 1986 film plays fast and loose with the historical details, but his biopic of the tragic Sex Pistols bass player Sid Vicious and his girlfriend, hanger-on Nancy Spungen, has stood the test of time. Gary Oldman gives an electrifying performance as Vicious, while Chloe Webb is entirely underappreciated as Spungen. Benefiting from a glorious, synth-heavy soundtrack by Pray for Rain, Cox makes a dreamy dystopia out of late 1970s London and life on the road in backwoods America. Look out for brief appearances by future grunge star Courtney Love and a young Kathy Burke as punk fans. Sid and Nancy is currently available for streaming on Indieflix.
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Khushi Patel is a science fiction author who lives in Austin, Texas. She has published three novels, and her work has been praised for its originality and imagination. Khushi is a graduate of Rice University, and she has worked as a software engineer. She is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and her books have been nominated for several awards.
