'Rude Boy' review
The remastered DVD showcases how the kids were never all right
By Sheba White
Published: September 8th, 2006 | 2:26pm
Filmed during the Sort It Out and Clash on Patrol tours of 1978, and directed by David Mingay and Jack Hazan, Rude Boy highlights the events of London's politically-charged atmosphere during the rise of Margaret Thatcher and the National Front, the uprising of both socialist and communist groups in response, and the increasing awareness of England as a multiracial country. All of this is framed by a narrative arc involving the muttering, semi-conscious ramblings of Ray Ganges, an underemployed 20-year-old real-life fan of the Clash who somehow befriends Strummer long enough to be asked by the Clash's tour manager to roadie for them, and shot through the gaze of both Ganges and the Clash's experiences just on the brim of the Clash's American self-titled release.
Confusing and meandering as this fictionalized story starring real people seems, there are several stunning moments of clarity in Rude Boy that make this remastered and restored edition worth seeing again, particularly in the film's quieter moments: drummer Topper Headon, in a yellow track suit, boxing in a garage with Ganges; guitarist Mick Jones' wistful singing while laying down tracks for Give 'Em Enough Rope's "Stay Free;" and a scene so emblematic of the Clash's (and the filmmaker's) optimistic politics as to be routinely ignored by critics: Strummer countering Ganges' self-professed capitalistic aspirations with, "What's the point of becoming one of the few? There's nothing at the end of that road. No human life or nothing." It's not certain if many musicians today would be so open about their political beliefs or so eager to fuse them with their music.
Politically speaking, the reissue of this film couldn't come at a better time, and musically, there is the concert footage (with four extra performances included here), which all involved with the film, including the admittedly non-Clash fan Hazan, in one of four incredibly revealing interviews added with this edition, have agreed is the best you'll ever see of any band. But don't expect these restored and remastered concert scenes to transfer over into the rest of the movie. The film still has poor sound quality overall, and considering the keen-eyed voracity of the average Clash fan it may not be worth the extra effort to update their 1991 VHS copies. For newcomers to the film, however, it will become an instant classic that ranks up there with Jimmy Cliff's The Harder They Come and Leroy Wallace's Rockers for its unique blend of music and politics and the social forces that created them both.
Epic DVD, 127 min., release date 8.1.06
Issue #35
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