Punk rock traces its early roots to the garage rock bands of the late ’50s and ’60s, which precursed the movement in attitude and philosophy, though not fully developing the sound and label of “punk” until the late ’70s. While some would argue the Detroit band The Stooges were the first punk band, others would say that the movement hadn’t coalesced until an English band called The Sex Pistols released their legendary album,Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols.New Yorkers, meanwhile, would argue that the first true punk bands were CBGB’s acts like Television or The Ramones. Indeed, The Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren had borrowed the tattered shirts and clothespin earrings from a Television band member by the name of Richard Hell before introducing the style in his clothing boutique,SEX, on the King’s Road in London and putting together The Sex Pistols band using that look.
No matter where its origins are traced to, the movement gained traction in the late ’70s, when rock critic Lester Bangs labeled the movement “punk”, pejoratively, thus creating a unified, reactionary movement among its mohawked purveyors. As themusic movementbecame widespread, its talons reached into other mediums, including film. Early champions of the movement including Penelope Spheeris and Alex Cox created narrative and documentary films using the language of Punk, thus beginning an era of films that attempted to capture the essence of the reactionary and rebellious sound and bring it to a larger audience via celluloid strips.
While Punk waxed and waned inpopularity and relevancethroughout the ’80s and ’90s, filmmakers still felt compelled to use its language to design and execute movies that brought worldwide attention to the movement as it moved through several subgenres like Hardcore and Riot Grrrl. An anarchic ethos permeated these films and inspired generations to explore the counter-culture movement, burgeoning the scenes surrounding the music. The following are the 20 greatest films that were inspired by, and documented, all that is Punk Rock.
20Glory Daze
It would likely cost a studio a high eight-figure sum to assemble all the acting talent inGlory Dazetoday. With a cast featuring Ben Affleck, Sam Rockwell, Matt Damon, Brendan Fraser and Matthew McConaughey, the oft-forgotten film tells the story of a group of recent UC Santa Cruz grads, and their attempts to preserve their undergraduate lifestyle to a soundtrack provided by The Vandals. Affleck does well in his first lead performance, and Sam Rockwell’s role as Rob showed his early promise, leading to further roles in exceptional 90s films likeThe Green MileandGalaxy Quest. Affleck followed the role withGood Will Hunting, vaulting to fame after establishing he could lead an entertaining film withGlory Daze.
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19SLC Punk!
James Merendino’s love letter to his Salt Lake City upbringing,SLC Punk!gives a glimpse into how punks reacted to their time and place in Mormon-dominated Utah, with the ragtag group rebelling against everything from local “rednecks” to their Reagan-loving parents. The film shows the contrast between outsider punk lifestyles and the prosperous 1980s. With funny appearances from Jason Segal and Christopher McDonald, the movie was a refreshing response to the much tamer teen movies of the late 1990’s.
18What We Do is Secret
What We Do is Secretis a biopic about the life of Punk icon Darby Crash, lead singer of one of the great Punk bands to come out of Los Angeles, The Germs. While the movie didn’t hit big with audiences and critics, it’s an earnest look at the life of Crash and other band members like Pat Smear, who went on to fame as a member of Nirvana and the Foo Fighters. It’s hard to capture all the gritty glory of a band like The Germs, but the movie’s performances make for a good watch and the subject-matter is unmatched in the canon of Punk film.
There is no more storied club in Punk’s history thanCBGB, Lower Manhattan’s grimy, urine-stained Shangri La, that was the first regular venue for seminal punk bands like Television, The New York Dolls, and The Ramones. The club’s infamous owner Hilly Krystal is played by the always-great Alan Rickman. The film attempts to capture one of the most creatively-fertile periods in Punk’s history, and Rickman’s performance, one of the last of his career, captures the iconic Hilly Kristal in all his grumpy glory as the ringleader of the only place that welcomed the Punk movement with open arms at a time when the music was still largely underground.
16The Runaways
One of Kristen Stewart’s most underrated performances, as Joan Jett,The Runawaystells the origin story of the eponymous band, with Dakota Fanning bringing more acting talent to the role of Cherrie Currie. The band was extremely influential for female punks, even though Jett’s later fame overshadowed their pervasive effect on the movement’s West Coast origins. Michael Shannon is a nice addition to the film as the band’s over-bearing producer Kim Fowley.
15Times Square
Times Squareis a look at the New York City Punk scene of the early 80s, using it to backdrop a story about the way teenagers who suffer from mental illness are attracted to Punk Rock because of its alternative lifestyles and rebellious music. Tim Curry, ofTheRocky Horror Picture Showgives an impressive performance as Johnny LaGuardia, a radio DJ who soundtracks the film from his Times Square studio. Director Allan Moyle went on to direct another important music-based film,Pump Up the Volume, a decade later.
14Rock ‘n’ Roll High School
Part musical comedy, part documentary and all fun,Rock ‘n’ Roll High Schoolcaught The Ramones at the peak of their powers. They had become one of the biggest bands in America, and despite their genre, embodied an Old School New York City vibe at a time when Wall of Sound inventor Phil Spector (himself the subject of several films and series) was producing the band. Spector highlighted the influence of old New York acts like Dion and The Ronettes on the band, and B-Movie legend Roger Corman created an endearing film to capture The Ramones as the voice of late-70s youth culture.
13Gimme Danger
The Godfather of Punk, Iggy Pop helped found The Stooges, Punk’s most important (and arguably earliest) band. Indie film legend Jim Jarmusch produced the documentaryGimme Dangerto call attention to the under-sung band that, despite their enormous influence saw an early end thanks to the heroin-addled lifestyles of Iggy Pop and the Asheton brothers. Jarmusch delves in great detail into the bleak Detroit setting that led the band’s unique sound, and Pop remains one of the great talking heads ever in a documentary, with his outsized personality and wisdom tracing many revelations about the band’s untimely demise.
Related:These Are Jim Jarmusch’s Best Films, Ranked
12Suburbia
No director has contributed more to documenting the music movements of the 80s and 90s than Penelope Spheeris, whose incredible documentaries make a nice companion to her first narrative film,Suburbia(also produced by Roger Corman, one of the few producers of the time to recognize Punk’s importance). Spheeris' film is most remembered for its authentic style and tone, and the director gained widespread fame ten years later when she directedWayne’s World. The Vandals play a large role in this film, as well, providing a plot device for the film’s dejected, outsider characters.
11The Filth and the Fury
Julien Temple’s 2000 film,The Filth and the Fury, is an effective document of The Sex Pistols meteoric rise to fame. Essentially a punk rock boy band, assembled by Malcolm McLaren to imbue the movement’s style and attitudes, The Sex Pistols' bold criticism of the British government and monarchy and searing sound served as a high point for Punk. The band flamed out after recording just one album and an infamously disastrous U.S. Tour, at a time when American live audiences weren’t ready to digest the band’s brash, cacophonous sound and the bratty persona of lead singer Johnny Rotten. Bassist Sid Vicious' eventual murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen was one of many shocking events that led to the band’s downfall, as described by Rotten and guitarist Steve Jones in the film.
