D.O.A.

The film features not only punks and their performances, but also the reactionary times they played in. It's fascinating to see how threatened the powers-that-be felt, threatened by youth culture. (And it's too bad that the reactionary politicos of today are too secure to be threatened by any populist movement...)

Features live performances by the Sex Pistols, the Rich Kids, the X-Ray Specs, Sham 69 and Generation X.

Hard to believe that this title is out of print. It's one of the best documentaries of the early Punk rock era.

It's got great interviews with some of the principal people of the time, such as the head of the GLC. And interviews with concert goers outside the Sex Pistols American gigs. And the famous Sid and Nancy bed interview. And a bunch of other stuff.

Great live footage of Terry and the Idiots with Terry Sylvester talking about his bands performance after the gig, noting their lack of professionalism. Also the guy who who claims he's 'still has to go out thieving to collect his money' but is he fifteen or sixteen that is the question. Oh and its got The Sex Pistols on it too!

This film serves as a nice bridge between between Don Letts' 'The Punk Rock Movie' and Penelope Spheeris' 'The Decline of Western Civilization' as it mainly follows the Sex Pistols on their disastrous U.S. tour which lead to their implosion and was followed by the death of Sid Vicious and his girl friend Nancy (hence the film's title). Lech Kawalski captures some excellent footage of the band as well as the locals' reactions to the 'punk rock phenomenon.' Also Kawalski shows the social conditions from which the Pistols came from to give more back ground. And, to show some of the group's influence, has a good amount of live performances from other key punk bands like Sham 69, Generation X, X Ray Spex, Dead Boys and lesser known act Terry and the Idiots - not to mention a soundtrack which includes music from Iggy, the Ramones and the Clash! Good stuff! I was a little surprised as I thought I'd seen every punk rock movie from the era but this one seems to have fallen through the cracks. If you can get your hands on it, do so!

"Why, why, why why why?!" Discharge may have had something else in mind when penning the lyrics to that classic crust-punk tune, but it's a question that comes to my mind each and every time I think about Lech Kowalski's semi-lost semi-classic, "D.O.A.-A Right Of Passage." (That's the way the title was misspelled on my bootleg VHS copy.) Why oh WHY has this flick never had an official DVD release??! The director received the "film classic" treatment from Troma for one of his lesser works, "Gringo," AKA "Story of A Junkie," so why not THIS one?

Yes,this includes a far longer version of the infamous "bed-terview" with Sid& Nancy than what was seen in "The Filth & The Fury." The film is well worth watching for these scenes alone. You get the feeling that these two are almost entirely unaware of the camera, and the far-reaching consequences of its presence. Also, that they've been lolling about on that bed for a very, VERY long time. (Still think junkies are 'glamorous?')

Perhaps, like Penelope Spheeris' "The Decline," the interminable delay has something to do with securing the music rights from such a disparate and far-flung group of people. In the meantime, while we wait (and wait) for these two vital documents of my youth to have official releases, do you think maybe You-Tube could STOP removing clips of them for copyright violations??!