What makes this movie so great is that it neither condones nor condemns any of the people shown in it. It instead gives you an honest and unflinching portrait of these individuals, who live so far out of societal norms. We are left to decide for ourselves whether the punk rock scene is a powerful form of protest against society, an advocation of anarchy, or just a bunch of crazy people being crazy. The rowdy and craziness of the clubs is also shown in all its glory or horror (depending on your persuasion) with unflinching honesty. Again Penelope Spheeris shows us this simply as it is and neither endorses or condemns what goes on here, leaving us to decide for ourselves. The footage of the individuals interviewed is raw and unpolished, but emotional powerful, just like the music being presented here. It should be noted that what is shown here is not the later more mainstream punk rock but a much rawer and rough edged style of punk rock. The filmmaking here purposely keeps much of that rough edged style of the music.
In my personal subjective-ness I enjoyed some of the music, while some of it I can't get into. The appeal of bands like Germs or Catholic Discipline is completely lost on me. Yet at the same time I really enjoyed the music of X and Alice Bag Band that I heard here. Of course some of you may like the music I didn't and dislike the music I liked and that is okay. This is not mainstream music and it is not meant to appeal to everyone.
This is a fascinating film to watch today, decades after it was made. We get to see how in some ways things have changed but the basic angst and attitude of so many shown here, show how in reality a lot is still the same today.
Whether you are a punk rock fan or not, this is such a well made and impactful film, that it is still a must see for all movie buffs.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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