The Clash Album: “Rude Boy [DVD]”

This is a rather interesting piece. It does follow a fictional alcoholic young man who quits his lame job as a clerk for a shop that sells pornography to equally sad customers, and joins the Clash as an apprentice roadie. Intermixed with the fiction is excellent concert footage of the Clash before they made it big in the States, just not enough of it. Also, it provides an accurate snapshot of pre-Thatcher Britain. The Brixton race riots contrasted with that of neo-nazi demostrations, provides a background to Ray Gange's narrative as the man with no future. His only solace in the Stalinist Tower Block Flats is playing the Clash's first album on his very cheap turntable. Even the rather stark sex scene in the women's bathroom in some club doesn't provide relief, since she runs off while he is cashing in his unemployment check at some streetside bank.

The minuses: The story and the acting is pretty lame at times.

The plusses: Excellent concert footage, what there is of it, gives a great idea of the Clash's performance at the time. Police and Thieves performed live here is, I believe, superior to the album cut. Plus, the producers of the movie included a clip of the original song, which I wished was complete, being a reggae fan. Another plus is the 100% accuracy of what England, especially London, was like during that time. It was a wasteland in the city, a concrete jungle. It is not much surprise, with hindsight, that the Clash and the Sex Pistols became so popular back then. Unfortunately, it seemed to have brought about Thatcher's election, also documented in the movie, which frankly doesn't make much sense to me, but I will leave politics out of this. Let's just say it made things worse for much of the very people the Clash appealed to.

This movie is definitely for hard core Clash fans. The movie is a pseudo-documentary about a young punk on the road to no where fast. The story deals with him getting a job as a roadie for the only band that matters. The plot can be a bit corny at times, but the concert scenes make the movie worthwhile.

Ray Gange's character may be an irritating doofus, the plot may be pretty weak, but the live footage in this movie is some of the most electrifying ever put to film. I'm just waiting for this to be re-released on DVD in North America (pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease Mick, please) so I can just sit down and watch all the Clash performances. The performance of "Police and Thieves" adds Strummer to rock and roll's immortals.

I first saw this film in 1980 and not again until now, 28 years later. I loved it! The concert footage is fantastic and there is a lot more of it than I remembered. What struck me was the accurate rendition of 1970s Britain, mostly forgotten nowadays. Young people today have no idea of how easy things have been for them in their lives, in comparison to the youth of that era. Watching the film puts the songs of The Clash into perspective. If you are a Clash fan, or just curious about this time, this is a must-have film for your collection!

This movie has been a favorite of mine since I first saw it almost 20 years ago. It's a great look at the roots of the punk rock movement and how politics affected the music. Great music and great footage of the Clash at work and play. Recommended if you enjoyed The Filth and the Fury.