U.K. Subs –
Punk Can Take It
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Film: B-
Julien
Temple is still one of the most sought-after Rock filmmakers and enduring
directors of Music Videos, but it all started for the writer/director on the
clever film short Punk Can Take It
(1979). The film starred the U.K. Subs, one of the premiere Punk bands from the
original wave of the genre. The film
only runs about 20 minutes, but it is remarkable, capturing the flavor of the
time and movement like few other filmed documents.
The irony
of this is that it is a fake documentary, though it only seems like a
documentary at all thanks to the humorous voice-overs of John Snagge, a British
gentleman who seems like an anachronism as compared to the activities happening
in the actual film. He delivers his
lines with a great timing that ups the humor even more than the well-written
script would offer on its own.
Actual
U.K. Subs concert footage is sandwiched between a series of vignettes that
portray the Punk culture in believable terms, but are all staged. There are also intentionally funny moments,
but they never become silly. They always
retain their humor as they retain their tension. I have seen many of Temple’s works and this is easily one of
his masterworks.
The DVD
offers a few minutes with lead singer Charlie Harper showing off some
exceptionally interesting memorabilia on the band through the years and a photo
gallery set to music, with the capacity for still framing. This is especially important because info for
fans and on websites is offered. The
main film and memorabilia sequence are in letterboxed at 1.78 X 1, but they
both suffer from not being anamorphic.
As for Punk Can Take It, the
print is not bad, but it looks like a PAL transfer and is a touch soft. It will not be until a High Definition
transfer from the original film elements that we will see this look like it did
in theaters, yet the old British print has a certain charm about it and I like
the animation that reminds me of Alan Parker’s film of Pink Floyd – The Wall, a full length feature film in much more of a
need for a new DVD transfer than this disc.
The sound
options are only Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, but that’s just fine for what is
here. This is a limited DVD release,
still, but there has to be more U.K. Subs materials out there for DVD. At least it is priced right. Punk
Can Take It is worth taking home.
- Nicholas Sheffo
