Coming Soon
RUDE BOY
1980
Director
Jack Hazan
David Mingay
Starring
Ray Gange
Joe Strummer
Mick Jones
Paul Simonon
Topper Headon
Runtime
133 minutes
Select Showtime to Purchase Tickets
Select Showtimes
In RUDE BOY, Jack Hazan and David Mingay (A BIGGER SPLASH) once again merge documentary and fiction in their tale of roughneck Ray Gange as he drops his Soho sex-shop job to roadie for The Clash—the most fiery, revolutionary rock ’n’ roll band of the era, seen in this film at the dizzying peak of their powers.
Proving a difficult, sometimes reactionary subject and a foil to the band’s idealism, Gange plays observer to The Clash’s legendary 1978 Rock Against Racism concert in London’s Victoria Park and their studio recording of Give ’Em Enough Rope. Set against a background of riots, racist and anti-racist demos, and police hostility towards Black British youth, this unforgettable, absorbing film portraits a UK on the brink of Thatcherism, and a moment when subcultural shock troops met those of a rising right wing in the streets.
“For a film shot in 1978, it’s a very sharp critique of a self-congratulating subculture that celebrated inarticulateness and clad itself in swastikas. The Clash were one of the first, and certainly the loudest, voices to contradict punk’s nihilistic 'No Future'-agenda, and that their version of a cash-in road movie a la THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT addresses these concerns is careful, sharp, and defiant—just like their records.” - Slant Magazine
Proving a difficult, sometimes reactionary subject and a foil to the band’s idealism, Gange plays observer to The Clash’s legendary 1978 Rock Against Racism concert in London’s Victoria Park and their studio recording of Give ’Em Enough Rope. Set against a background of riots, racist and anti-racist demos, and police hostility towards Black British youth, this unforgettable, absorbing film portraits a UK on the brink of Thatcherism, and a moment when subcultural shock troops met those of a rising right wing in the streets.
“For a film shot in 1978, it’s a very sharp critique of a self-congratulating subculture that celebrated inarticulateness and clad itself in swastikas. The Clash were one of the first, and certainly the loudest, voices to contradict punk’s nihilistic 'No Future'-agenda, and that their version of a cash-in road movie a la THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT addresses these concerns is careful, sharp, and defiant—just like their records.” - Slant Magazine