latest update: 10th March 2004

 

End of The Century: The Story of the Ramones review

 

Hearing rumurs since years that a film is in the making about Da Bruddas, and latest since I'd interviewed Jim Fields in March 03, I finally wanted to see it. Now! Sure we had more infos this days from reading some papers and critics, plus the resumé from Johnny Ramone himself "It's a very dark movie. It's accurate ... It left me disturbed". That made me even more curious.

 

Being prepaired that we definitly wouldn't see some poopy comic, Udo and me left for Berlin. Oh boy, allways full throotle and shifting gears, Udo is somekinda badass Evil Knivel, he piloted us in a new record time to the old Wall City ignoring every damn speed limit (while I had to do the DJ and avoid shittin my pants).
VROOOOOMMMMM! Go lil Camaro go, ohh oh oh oh ~~ Commando involded again and one more time on the road for some Ramones fun. Not for any gigs now but, to quote Udo's dad, "the guys are still crazy, to drive 1000 kilometers just to watch some movie..."


Crazy? Might be so. But how crazy than must have been this three dudes from Greece? Yup, that Greece! These guys where really the coolest, flying in from Athens, hit a taxi to the cinema, watched the movie ... and left off straight away back to the airport for returning home. With big smiles on their faces and belly full of beers. Crazy, huh? Not if you ask me, just some Ramones fans.

xxx

 

Berlin. stop. 14th February 2004. stop. Berlinale Filmfestival. stop. Cinemax X. stop. End of the Century. stop. The Story of the Ramones. stop. Lights out, aaaannnnd action!

 

xxx

Okay,

 

I won't give here all the details and report every scene nor every quote from the film. I don't wanna destroy the fun till you'll see it yourself. Instead this is my summary and what I got out of it. So just some examples.

 

Sure it's coming with lots and lots of good stuff like cool old live footage and never before seen pictures. Stuff that even old hardcore Fans never saw and to everyone who is not that much or new into the Ramones, really nifty stuff. I'm very glad that this footage finally sees the light of the day.

Besides of giving much information, the goal of a documentary, the film sure has also its funny moments.

 

Like when Dee Dee's walking across the screen as Rapper King performing his song Funky Man, taken from an old promo video. That's one of the moments you'll fall outta your chair and hear the whole cinema's giggling and laughing with you. Even I'd know that video but you just can't help, it's too hilarious.

 

Another scene you'll crack is when you see the band at one of their earliest gigs from fall '74 at CBGBs. And I don't mean that's funny coz Johnny's dressed in somekinda glam-disco trouser, but because they're arguing about which song to play next and blaming each other. On stage! Those where the days when it ain't was just 1*2*3*4 zack boom bang, next song.

 

xxx

But the film has also its sad moments and you can literally hear a needle falling when Johnny is being asked about Joey's death. He answers something like "I was depressed for a whole week and sad ... it really bothered me".

 

You'll hear also big ohhhs from the crowd like when Richie is being interviewed why he left the band, and he's coming in perfectly dressed in a business suit (he is a hotel manager now). Tommy, as ever, comes out like the smart gentlemen he is and Marky explains why he was kicked out and later rejoined.

 

xxx

The film starts end of the 60's long before the Ramones got started, showing their Forest Hill neighbourhood and usual hangarounds. Goes over to early footage, unseen live and studio stuff and ends with a scene from the induction to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, where Dee Dee's walking out and saying to himself "Poor Dee Dee, poor Dee Dee". Two month later he was dead from a heroin overdose.

 

I hate to quote it here again, but the whole documentary is filmed near a style Please Kill Me is written in, without copying it.

 

Filled up with extensive interviews with the band members, family, friends and fame people from the NYC punk scene. Everyone in and around the Ramones is being interviewed and the list of the characters is long. On a side note, it might also be of interest that EoTC has the last interview that Joe Strummer ever did.

 

That's just to give you a clue what kind of film you've to expect. But if you just look at it like that, like an enumeration of interviews, quotes and anecdotes - you'll totally miss the point.

 

More interesting than just to show the music-historical development of the Ramones, this documentary focuses on the guys themselves and the conflicts among them of many years.

 

It's the story of teenagers friends who are forming a band later on, starting to hate each other but still toured the world for another 15 something years as their bread and butter job. How can you be in such a mixed-up team and get along each day with a freak who takes every drug in reach, alcoholics, someone with obsessive compulsive disorder and a real drill sergeant? Without killing each other? Or just be honest and ask yourself if you would enjoy your girlfriend's new lover to be your everyday mate.

x

xxx

You must have to hate it and you must have to loved it at the same time, being a Ramone.

 

What I get out of it is, if the Ramones would have made it bigger commercial wise, like a Top 10 Hit early on or with the Phil Spector album AND if they would have been other individuals as they was, without the power struggles and fightings between them, than they wouldn't have been the Ramones. Not THE Ramones that we know, the Legends.

 

As I said a documentary's goal should be to give informations and make you think, makes you understand or at least try to help you to understand, that's exactly what EoTC does - and the filmmakers scored, totally.

xxxxxxxx

   First-time filmmakers and

 End of the Century directors

Michael Gramaglia & Jim Fields

Most rock band documentaries I saw are either just a package too full of infos or somekinda lovesong that often enough ends up like a general band's self promotion. End of the Century do the split and succeeds with given real inside views and being a lovin' homage at the same time, plus it's highly entertaining.

 

Filmed just opposite to the softened and boring MTV style, this docu is like a Ramones song, rough, loud and honest. And that means something. Especially nowadays where not everything with the name Ramones on it is also a guarantee for a good product, but this film is by far the best I ever saw about my fav band. Many thanks and my respect for the long years of hard work to everyone involved in making End of The Century: The Story of the Ramones. I can't wait to see it finally official released!

 

Nice boys don't play Rock n Roll!

hg

 

 

 

Before and after the screening we meet and talked with Michael (co-director) and his brother John Gramaglia (editor), who'd gave us hours of their time. Expect more backround infos about their film and an extensive second interview soon.

 

 

photo credits:

 

Dee Dee King © by Bob Gruen

Michael & Jim © by Jeff Vespa

Rock n Roll Hall of fame © unknown

1979 live shot © unknown

Everything else © by Bernhard Zipp

Please visit the official website

 

 


 

 

Latest news: I've got the following email from Jim Fields, March 8th:

 

RAMONES FILM IN DANGER, PLEASE HELP US!

 

To all of the fans who have written me, and even the ones who haven't: We need your help.

We're on the cust of signing a U.S. distribution deal for End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones. But there are some people in the way who believe that no one cares about the Ramones any more...they're nothing, etc. 

To tip the balance and show these uncreative beaurocrat assholes that the Ramones have a huge fan base and people care; I'm asking that you do 2 things:

 

Visit our website at www.End of The Century.com to show that we are getting lot's of traffic.

 

Secondly, send lots and lots of email enquiries to www.RamonesWorld.com (the official ramones site) and demand that this movie be released!

 

We'd appreciate it. We've spent 8 years and our own money making this film. We're not going to make any money off it because the pie is going to be split amongst the band, the distributor and the music publisher. Fine. We'll starve. But I think we can all agree this is worthwhile project and should see the light of day! Check out all our press on our website. We've received rave reviews and have been invited in the top film festivals so please please help! 

RAMONES FANS OF THE WORLD, UNITE

-Jim Fields
co-director, End of the Century

 

 

 

 

 

© by Heiko Gerdes for Wanker-Fanzine. All rights reserved.

 

All material found on and taken from www.ramones-club.de is copyrighted.

No material may be reproduced or reused in any form without explicit written permission.

 

But hey, just ask if you need something, we don't bite.