Crash 'n' Burn

Infobox Film
name = "Crash 'n' Burn"


image_size =
caption =
director = Ross McLaren
producer =
writer =
narrator =
starring = The Boyfriends
Dead Boys
Diodes
Teenage Head
Stiv Bators
Cheetah Chrome
music = The Boyfriends
Dead Boys
Diodes
Teenage Head
cinematography =
editing =
distributor = The Film-Makers' Cooperative flagicon|USA, Canadian Filmmakers' Distribution Centre flagicon|Canada
released = flagicon|Canada 1977
runtime = 27.5 minutes
country = flagicon|Canada
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id =

"Crash 'n' Burn" is an experimental film shot in and named after Toronto, Ontario, Canada's, first punk club by Canadian filmmaker Ross McLaren in 1977. The film, shot on 16mm black-and-white stock, features punk rock performances by the Dead Boys, Teenage Head, The Boyfriends, and the Diodes.

Critical response

"Village Voice" critic Ed Halter called the film a "self-destructive document of Toronto's eponymous punk club." [Guttenplan, Howard. "Ross McLaren: One Person Program," "Millennium Film Workshop Upcoming Screenings". New York: Millennium Film Workshop, 2004.]

The film's most frequently-quoted review, written almost one year after the initial screening, was published in "Creem" magazine in 1978. "Creem" – who's own Dave Marsh had coined the term "punk rock" a few years prior – hailed McLaren's work for "doing everything in its flickering power to self-destruct," and deemed the film a living testament that not all Canadians "bored their beef to death." [Springer. "Creemedia," "Creem", Vol. 10, No. 4, Sept. 1978.]

Versions

McLaren's original work emphasized the cacophony and riotousness of the punk scene in 1977 Toronto. In 2004, he debuted a karaoke-style version of the film – complete with syncopated subtitles corresponding to the bands' song lyrics – to a test audience at the Millennium Film Workshop in New York City.

Distribution

16mm prints of McLaren's film are exclusively distributed by The Film-Makers' Cooperative in the United States, and the Canadian Filmmakers' Distribution Centre in Canada.

"Crash 'n' Burn" has never been officially released on either VHS or DVD, though several bootleg VHS versions are rumored to have been shown publicly since the 1990s, without official authorization from the filmmaker or his distributors.

References

Further reading

* Kelly, B. "Punk at the Movies," "Graffiti" #2, vol.#4, 1986.
* O’Connor, Alan. “Local Scenes and Dangerous Crossroads: Punk and Theories of Cultural Hybridity,” "Popular Music" Vol. 21/2, Cambridge University Press, London: 225-36, 2002.
* Wlaschin, K. "Rock Movies in the 70's," British Film Institute: London, 1978.

ee also

*Stiv Bators
*Dead Boys
*Diodes
*List of punk films
*Ross McLaren
*Punk film
*Teenage Head