FILM-FORWARD.COMReviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
Directed by: Michael Gramaglia & Jim Fields. Produced by: Michael Gramaglia, Jim Fields, Rosemary Quigley, George Seminara & Chinagraph NYC. Director of Photography: David Bowles, et al. Edited by: John Gramaglia & Jim Fields. Released by: Magnolia Pictures. Country of Origin: USA. 108 min. Not Rated. With: The Ramones.
It's hard to imagine how the Ramones must have sounded when they started blasting out
their aggressive punk miniatures during the Ford Administration. They had such an
impact on subsequent music that the revolutionary explosiveness of their work no longer
delivers the same shock. But Michael Gramaglia and Jim Fields' documentary End of
the Century gives you a good idea, as it charts the band's long career, from its
beginnings as a loser's hobby in Queens, to its bittersweet induction into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. (Lead singer Joey Ramone died two years earlier, and bassist
Dee Dee Ramone would die soon after.) It's essentially a hard luck story, as the band
watched their imitators achieve the mainstream success they craved. And the film also
reveals incredible tensions that would have broken up any other band: stolen girlfriends,
drug addiction, wildly different political beliefs, and a confrontation with a gun-wielding
Phil Spector.
This is a pretty raw documentary. The footage itself, especially the uncomfortable
close-ups, gives it a stripped-down, lo-fi feel. But this is entirely suited to the Ramones.
The DIY, spontaneous style of the documentary is more appropriate than any slick,
corporate production ever could be, since untutored performance and offhand brilliance
were the Ramones' calling cards. Gramaglia and Fields give all of their interviewees time
to breathe, recording the shrugs, eye-rolls, and silences that reveal as much as any
comment. And they spend the right amount of time on the different stages of the
Ramones' career. The early, seminal days get the most attention, while the ‘80s and ‘90s
are deftly and swiftly navigated.
Ultimately, the Ramones themselves ensure this film's success. First, there's the music,
which the filmmakers artfully withhold until they've established the intricacy and banality
of the seventies-pop surrounding it. (This includes hilarious footage from an Emerson,
Lake, and Palmer concert.) As a result, their first album comes on like a call to arms
(which, in some ways, it literally was.) But the Ramones themselves are engaging and
funny, and are all entirely distinctive. Going from goofball Joey to sensible Tommy, the
film has a sort of Marx Brothers dynamism. This helps End of the Century
become more than required viewing for fans: It also documents an essential chapter of
20th century popular culture. Arthur Vaughan
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