Fresh
... an enjoyable if incomplete nostalgia trip.
Michael Senft, Arizona Republic
American Hardcore
The History of American Punk Rock 1980-1986
2006 · 1h 40m · R
Documentary, Music
Directed by
Paul Rachman
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American Hardcore
Overview
Inspired by Steven Blush's book "American Hardcore: A tribal history" Paul Rachman's feature documentary debut is a chronicle of the underground hardcore punk years from 1979 to 1986. Interviews and rare live footage from artists such as Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, SS Decontrol and the Dead Kennedys.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
72%
Tomatometer
Fresh
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.
Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer
Fresh
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.
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
Rotten
Instead of an insightful look at disaffected youths finding an outlet for angry energy in rock rages, American Hardcore is a slanted history lesson coming solely from its subjects.
Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle
Rotten
What's irritating about the movie is how much time it spends on empty nostalgia -- shouldn't real punks scorn reminiscing? -- and how little time it spends truly exploring the roots of America's punk prime in the early 1980s.
Michael Booth, Denver Post
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