Μύ Blitzkrieg bop gets a blitzkrieg doc in End Of The Century: The Story of The Ramones, an exhilaratingly brilliant film about the rise and rise of the punk band that was too tough to die. Scooping last minute interviews with Joey and Dee Dee Ramone before their respective deaths in 2001 and 2002, it's likely to stand as the definitive testament to the band's lasting impact, recounting the music, the feuds and the drugs that fuelled their brand of souped-up, stripped-down guitar chords.
Michael Gramaglia and Jim Fields' film kicks off with the band's origins in the early 70s in the tenement slums of Forest Hills in Queens New York. It then traces their amazing impact on the history of punk as Johnny the hard-jawed blue-collar punk guitarist, Joey the geeky lead singer turned demigod pop idol, and Dee Dee the incorrigible smack head bassist fine-tuned a blend of punk music that was all attitude and rage. Changing their surnames to "Ramone" and dressing in identikit black leather jackets and jeans, these "mutant weeds of punk rock" turned their limited musicianship into a roaring, aggressive sound played at super fast speeds.
"EXHILARATINGLY BRILLIANT"
Their impact on punk was incredible - without them The Sex Pistols would have fired nothing but blanks - but they never achieved their share of sales or recognition. Here Gramaglia and Field trace the reasons behind that tragedy using amazing concert footage from the band's early days dodging bottles on the stages of rundown New York dives and a long, long list of talking heads.The band's real tragedy though was backstage. Documenting the fights and the arguments (including the infamous story of how Johnny stole Joey's girlfriend away), End Of The Century builds into a tragedy of epic proportions. "Believe it or not we truly loved each other even when we weren't acting civil to one another," claims drummer Tommy Ramone. As gruff Johnny talks about his emotions over Joey's death, it's easy to glimpse the chinks in that famous black leather armour in a rockumentary that's the real deal.
