American Hardcore
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: September 22, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
69
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
VarietyDennis Harvey
Excellent documentary American Hardcore chronicles the short-lived but influential musical moment when a defiantly anti-commercial underground put a distinctive U.S. stamp on the hitherto Brit-driven punk movement. Read full review
83
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
The triumph of American Hardcore is that it convinces general audiences that there were vast underground reservoirs of angst and anguish to be tapped. Read full review
80
Village VoiceRob Nelson
The story of American punk rock (1980–1986) isn't a lot easier to summarize than that of any other major war, but it's quite a bit funnier, as this belated documentary overview--based on Steven Blush's like-titled tome--proves in each of its 90 exuberantly irritable minutes. Read full review
80
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Stands as a valuable chronicle of a brief and snarling musical movement. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
A first-rate documentary on this subgenre of punk rock, which flourished roughly between 1982 and 1986 as an anarchistic response to Ronald Reagan and the disco era. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Messed up as it is, you can't tear your eyes away from this explosion of brutal sounds and images. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyGregory Kirshling
Illuminating nostalgia, stuffed with all the right tattooed talking heads (like Black Flag's Henry Rollins), plus grim-looking concert footage of wailing skinny guys. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
A raucous, relevant documentary, capturing the mood of the times and the participants' best anecdotes. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
Hardcore remains, in the words of Minor Threat's Ian MacKaye, the voice of "kids who refuse to be slotted into generic kids roles," so fans of current groups such as Disturbed may feel shortchanged by allegations that it was all over by 1986. Read full review
70
Film ThreatSally Foster
Not only documents a fascinating part of American history, but also leaves us wondering how (and if) this era's youth will manage to find a voice of their own. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
Some of American Hardcore is amusing -- many of the aging punks Rachman and Blush track down have turned into highly ordinary middle-aged Americans -- and some is profoundly disturbing. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
A toned-down cinematic equivalent of the music: fast and loud, but not too loud. The movie scrambles to cover so much territory that there is room only for musical shards and slivers; few complete songs are heard, and no signature anthems stand out. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesScott Martelle
The documentary is an enlightening journey to a dark corner of contemporary punk's dank little basement. It also will surprise some to hear how articulately some of the former performers explain the dark impulses that propelled them. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
American Hardcore encapsulates a largely forgotten (by the mainstream, that is) moment in maximum rock & roll history. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Hardcore might have been confused and crude, but it was never guilty of being tepid, like this film. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy Burr
A sloppy mosh note to the genre, with its own excesses and oversights. It's like a flier for a band you've never heard of: torn, soaked with beer, itchy with aggression. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Stephen Cole
In a better work, the filmmaker would talk to hardcore punks about their parents, affairs, regrets, dreams and day jobs in an effort to explore the fledgling movement. Here, however, we get little more than a marathon MTV rap session, as Rachman drives about North America, yakking with aging punk heroes about the good ol' bad ol' days. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneLouis R. Carlozo
Exhaustive and at turns exhausting. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Fans will dig the abundant performance video and commentary from Henry Rollins and Ian MacKaye; everyone else should steer clear of the mosh pit. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Twenty-five years on, hardcore continues to be the soundtrack of choice for extreme, white-supremacist groups hoping to tap into teenage rage. With no one on hand to counter the argument, this may go down as hardcore's lasting legacy. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleWill Crain
There's a lot of interesting material here, but Rachman doesn't offer any real analysis of his own, and the film suffers from a lack of narrative focus. Read full review
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