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The Blank Generation
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Wikipedia article
'The Blank Generation' is the earliest of the published DIY "home movies" of New York punk's birth. It was filmed by No Wave filmmaker Amos Poe and Ivan Kral.
Plot
Directors and producers Ivan Kral and No Wave filmmaker Amos Poe use behind-the-scenes footage of punk musicians before they became icons.[http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/displaylegacy.php?ID=3156 Digitally Obsessed - March 14, 2010][https://web.archive.org/web/20090827194119/http://www.goldminemag.com/article/patti_smith_poet_to_punk_heroine_part_2 Goldmine - August 21, 2009]
The film includes footage of Blondie, Patti Smith, The Ramones, Television, Talking Heads, New York Dolls, The Heartbreakers, The Shirts, and Robert Gordon as visitors to New York's CBGB's.
Production
Film locations include Max's Kansas City, The Bottom Line, Bowery, and the Lower East Side. Legal disputes between Poe and Krall prevented the former's name to appear in the credits after the latter owned the copyright to said film in the years after its initial release.[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/movies/blank-generation-amos-poe.html His Film Is a Punk Classic, but the Credits Now Roll Without Him - The New York Times]
Reception
Dave Kehr of 'The Chicago Reader' called this "New wave's answer to 'The T.A.M.I. Show'".[https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/the-blank-generation/Film?oid=1048298 Chicago Reader] while 'Time Out New York' put it at #89 on their list of the 100 Best NY Movies.[https://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/new-york-movies-the-blank-generation Time Out New York]
Cast
* Richard Hell
* Patti Smith Group
* Television
* Ramones
* The Heartbreakers
* Talking Heads
* Blondie
* Tuff Darts
* New York Dolls
* The Shirts
Musicians featured in the film include: Joey Ramone, Debbie Harry, Richard Hell, Patti Smith, Johnny Thunders, David Byrne, Tom Verlaine, David Johansen, Wayne County, Tommy Ramone, Lenny Kaye, Dee Dee Ramone, Chris Stein, Fred Smith, Johnny Ramone, Ivan Kral, Robert Gordon, Richard Lloyd, Tina Weymouth, Walter Lure, Jeff Salen, Annie Golden, Jayne County, Chris Frantz, Jimmy Destri, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Gary Valentine, Clem Burke, Arthur Kane, Syl Sylvain, Jerry Nolan, Jay Dee Daugherty, Richard Sohl, Billy Ficca, Hilly Kristal and more.
See also
*'Rock 'n' Roll High School'-1979 films starring The Ramones
*'Stop Making Sense'-1984 concert film featuring The Talking Heads
*'True Stories'-1986 comedy film directed by David Byrne
*Experimental film
*Jean-Luc Godard-inspiration for this film
References
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