Mojo - The Music Magazine

In MOJO 210 we pay tribute to the ultimate gang of US street punk hoodlums, the Ramones. Here Andrew Male looks at how their punk attitude bled into the stranger corners of American cinema.

________________________________________________________________________

1) Rock And Roll High School (1979)

Rock-o-meters, exploding mice, food fights, and the glorious presence of Warhol model Mary Woronov are all to be relished in Allan Arkush's near-surreal teen rebellion fantasy of what would happen if Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee and Marky took over your place of learning.

Punk Fact: Director Arkush's first choices for 'the band' were Todd Rundgren and Cheap Trick.

________________________________________________________________________

2) Over The Edge (1979)

The flip side to the Ramones' goofball high school alienation. Matt Dillon and disaffected dudes drift through the suburban plains of New Granada, Colorado doing drugs, playing with chicks and guns. Then some darn fool shuts down their youth club. Kaboom!

Punk Fact: Rock And Roll High School first-choicers Cheap Trick head a killer soundtrack that also includes The Ramones, The Cars, Van Halen, Hendrix and Little Feat.

________________________________________________________________________

3) The Warriors (1979)

Coney Island gangbangers The Warriors find themselves stranded in The Bronx, wrongly accused of a gangland murder. In their attempts to get back to Brooklyn the whole of New York is transformed into a battleground of warring tribes.

Punk Fact: Oddly, the gang credited as 'The Punks' in Hill's film sport denim dungarees, striped jumpers and bouffant hair.

________________________________________________________________________

4) Times Square (1980)

After meeting in a psychiatric ward two young girls escape to festering grot centre of New York City and form transgressive punk duo, The Sleez Girls. Their dreams are soon shattered.

Punk fact: This is the movie that inspired Kathleen Hannah to kick start a new-brand of punk-based feminism in the early '90s.

________________________________________________________________________

5) The Decline Of Western Civilization (1981)

The ultimate LA punk documentary, chronicling the lives and early careers of Black Flag, Fear, X, and Circle Jerks.

Punk Fact: Following the film's riotous premiere director Penelope Spheeris was personally asked by LA Chief of Police Daryl Gates not to show the film in the city ever again.

________________________________________________________________________

6) Smithereens (1982)

On-the-fly, $20,000 debut from future Desperately Seeking Susan director Spheeris. A punk ménage à trois set in the grotty margins of the early '80s East Village that boasts (odd claim to fame) the best cinematic performance by Richard Hell.

Punk Fact:The abandoned lot where much of the film takes place is now a Trump high-rise.

________________________________________________________________________

7) Ladies And Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (1983)

Inspired by a life-changing Ramones concert, scriptwriter Nancy Dowd (Slap Shot, Coming Home) wrote this weirdly compelling tale of an orphaned Pennsylvania teen (Diane Lane) who, inspired by UK punk bruisers The Looters (that's Ray Winstone, Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Paul Simonon) transforms her titular Stains into a proto riot grrrl art statement before being chewed up by a merciless record industry.

Punk Fact: The film's incongruous ending was actually shot a whole two years later by the unhappy producers.

________________________________________________________________________

8) Suburbia (1984)

Spheeris again, cross-pollinating Over The Edge with Decline Of Western Civilization to create this Roger Corman-financed exploitation flick showcasing the outlaw lives of a group of LA squat punks.

Punk Fact: The role of the pre-teen punk Ethan was played by the son of the film's finance secretary. The day they gave him his Mohawk he cried.

________________________________________________________________________

9) Repo Man (1984)

Alex Cox's film debut isn't just the greatest LA punk movie ever made, it's also of the undoubted cultural highlights of the early '80s. No synopsis does the film justice but if you're not even mildly interested in a hard-boiled sci-fi tale of car repossession, extraterrestrials, mad scientists and pine tree air fresheners featuring a storming LA hardcore soundtrack (Circle Jerks, Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies) and career defining performances from Harry Dean Stanton and Emilio Estevez, then we don't want you on our team anyway. Essential.

Punk Fact: The role played by Estevez was originally intended for Dick Rude, who went on to play the film's idiot-punk antihero, Duke.

________________________________________________________________________

10) The Boys Next Door (1985)

Another overlooked mall-punk masterpiece from Spheeris. Charlie Sheen and Maxwell Caulfield play Bo and Roy: two dumb-hunk jock assholes who go on the rampage, graduating from knuckle-headed harassment to a full-on murder spree in this dead-eyed exploito-dissection of mid '80s LA.

Punk Fact: A little known influence on Gus Van Sant's post-Columbine art sulk flick, Elephant.

________________________________________________________________________

Punk Facts compiled with the help of the truly indispensable Destroy All Movies!!!: The Complete Guide To Punks On Film ed. Zack Carlson & Bryan Connolly.