Punk: Attitude (2005)

Punk: Attitude is a documentary showcasing the history of punk rock music and culture in the United States and in the United Kingdom. The film uses archive footage of classic punk performances as well as current interviews with punk rock musicians, fans and promoters. The main complaint many people have with this film is the bands that were not mentioned (Stiff Little Fingers, The Replacements, etc) but honestly, there's no way that a film, no matter how in depth, could mention every band/artist that helped shaped the face of punk rock music.

The film does do a good job of giving the audience a sense of how punk rock happened and why. This film probably won't shine any new light on the genre for people who have been fans of punk rock music for a while, in fact many of the performance footage has been used in several other documentaries and specials.

The film spends most of its time focusing on and discussing the early punk bands of the late 1970's such as The Ramones, The Dead Boys, The Clash, The Sex Pistols and The Damned. The film then gives a brief rundown of the 1980's hardcore punk scene but doesn't delve at all into non-hardcore punk bands of the 1980's (The Minutemen, The Replacements, Husker Du). The film then shows some even briefer clips of some pop-punk bands of the 1990's and 2000's. Honestly, I'm glad the film chooses to focus most of it's attention on the early 70's punk movement because I feel that these were the best and most significant punk bands. Perhaps a sequel is in order for a more in depth look at more punk bands from the 80's and 90's.

Overall, the film is very well done. It should be very enjoyable for fans of punk rock music and a great history lesson for anyone who thinks punk rock started with Green Day.