Rude Boy

One of the flattest movies I have ever seen. Mostly a collection of drab, long takes following around a young prick who joins The Clash as a roadie, does a bad job, then wanders around drunk, making tactless, muddled comments about race, the band's politics, and what he wants to do with his life. Dull, disjointed, quiet lines punctuate long silences; even the live performances of The Clash fail to give the movie much energy, due to poor sound design that cuts off absolutely all crowd noise and brings down the volume of the songs, so that most of them end up sounding like drab demo tapes.

The film is mainly a plotless mess. When it does focus on the main character, all we see is a buffoon stuttering out inarticulate and unwelcome comments to roadies and band members who hate him but just try to ignore him. Whatever the character study of this guy hopes to achieve, it has absolutely nothing to do with The Clash, whose music and politics are not examined at all -- they are simply seen as some rock group the 'rude boy' is following around and who get some concert footage in the picture. In the last twenty minutes we also get meaningless cutaways to political party conferences and to a black youth who has not been in the movie before, has no connection to any of the previously seen characters, and who is undergoing criminal charges for something which is never made clear.

Seeing this movie is tempting for Clash fans -- we want to see what the project is about, and we want to see the concert footage -- but it's an irrelevant, static mishmash that gives those in the audience a lot of time to scratch their heads.

Read Marcus Gray's The Last Gang in Town.... I watched the film a couple of times, like other contributors, with many questions in my head about what it was really about, how much The Clash co-operated with it, why the film is presented in the way it is, who on Earth Ray Gange is...

This book clears up those questions... The film is flawed, but as a document of the times, and especially the power of The Clash as a live band (there's not any better footage of them around - although they overdubbed the live tracks).... What a band...

Rude Boy (1980) follows the life of a youth who dreams about working for his favorite band THE CLASH. The band THE CLASH co-star in this picture and some of their live performances is caught on film. This movie was made before they made it big across the pond. The band is shown working on their second album GIVE THE ENOUGH ROPE. A colleague of their's John Lydon once said that the Clash didn't know how to pace themselves, they would be tired after the first four or five songs. Well, he was right. Some of the concert footage shows, the band appeared to be sluggish and tired in some of their performances. I heard that the band wasn't happy with the way they were portrayed and neither was the young man who played the wannabe roadie. I found the band to be very interesting and I became a Joe Strummer fan after I saw this movie.

The film-makers also capture the turmoil that was occurring on the streets of London during this time. Their was a lot of rioting and protesting. They also capture the collapse of the Labour Party and the rise of the Conservatives. Another one to seal in a time capsule. Interesting, recommended for Clash fans.

It is genuinely difficult to work out where the drama ends and the documentary takes over. When I sat down to watch it I had no idea whether Ray, the fan who becomes a roadie, was an actor or the genuine article. The stilted nature of some of the conversations, and self-conscious grins accompanying them, indicate contrivance, but it's as if real conversations are being reproduced for the camera. Only afterwards did I discover that Ray Gange was acting and had written the script.

The film provides an insight into the world of punk rock in the late seventies. The Clash were more musically adept, and more politically aware, than most punk bands of the era, but the rebellious swaggers and the anger were typical enough. The concert footage is entertaining, and only marred by the fact that much is filmed from the back of the stage. It features much of the band's best material, from White Riot to Tommy Gun to London's Burning.

This is a nostalgic treat for old punk rockers, and a useful introduction for those who, in the late 70s, were too young or allowed punk rock to pass them by.

This film is interesting on lots of levels despite also being a bit rubbish! The historical value is high, an excellent depiction of the time. The Clash footage is great, the sound is really good. The character Ray is very believable and a realistic portrayal of the hangers on that bands attract and can't seem to get rid of! Even though the acting ain't great. So while most of the film's value is historic and sociological in nature, it does hold the attention.

Well done to London Live for finding this one!