Review of Rude Boy: The Clash

Introduction

My latest batch of discs to review included two documentary style dramas of life in Britain twenty or so years ago - firstly the notorious Made in Britain, a 1983 tale of a racist skinhead, and secondly Rude Boy, a 1980 film that I haven`t seen before, which follows the life of Ray Gange, a would-be roadie for the Clash during the late 1970s which also features the band.

Video

Video comes in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and is just about what you would expect given the age of the movie - a bit grainy and dark at times, but relatively free of dirt and certainly watchable.

The visuals are fantastic - the documentary style provides a good look at Britain in the late 1970s, in particular unemployment and the Brixton race riots/neo-Nazi demos. The highlight of the film is however the extensive footage of the Clash performing which is very well shot, and offers a different perspective from the footage of the band that I`m used to.

Audio

The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital Mono, and despite the limitations of the single channel, does a good job of conveying the dialogue and the music of the Clash.

A word of warning - if you`re not a fan of strong language, you`d be advised to stay away from Rude Boy...

Features

Extras on offer consist of "American Civil War" and "White Riot" performed by The Clash, along with production notes and a still image gallery.

Conclusion

Rude Boy will almost certainly be more appealing to fans of The Clash than it will be to those who aren`t a fan of the band`s music. I fall into a halfway house, finding the music to be tolerable in small doses, so I wasn`t sure how I`d get on with two hours of film based on the band.

The film is presented in a documentary style, and as such succeeds, presenting the story well, but for much of the movie there is little of offer aside from drunken punks/rockers swearing (a lot!) and it`s only the inclusion of footage of the band and the events of the day that manages to keep the movie afloat for 127 minutes. Rude Boy would certainly benefit a great deal from having 30 minutes trimmed to increase the pace and dispense with some of the slow sections.

Sound and video are both adequate rather than exciting, and the extras will really only appeal to fans of the band.

Overall, if you like The Clash, you`ll like this - it is very different to the usual rock star vanity project - but otherwise it is one to look out for in the rental shop instead.