Blank Generation (1980)

Or shall I say it "punks" instead? This is a super cool rockin' and rolling and punkin' love triangle set in the big apple in 1978 and exuding the life and times of Andy Warhol's hit factory. Written and directed by German cult cinema veteran Ulli Lommel (check out his other gem "Cocaine Cowboys", also co-starring Andy Warhol, with Jack Palance as manager of a cocaine smuggling rock band). Packed with cool punk rock songs by the Voidoids, a late 70s punk elite from Lower Manhattan and shot at the famous rock venue CBGB's, where Blondie and the Ramones and Pattie Smith rocked along side the Voidoids, it is every bit a rock'n roll classic. And Carole Bouquet, that intriguing French beauty in the lead, what a treat, man, this girl is so sexy and cool she virtually smashes the screen. Shot in a classic camera style, this timeless movie will give you pleasure and make your DVD or cinema going experience 100% worth the while. A total stunner!

For archival value alone, this is a great document of one of the originators of US punk, Richard Hell. But like most New York downtown hipster footage from that era, as a film it's pretty lame. Badly acted but with some interested ideas and commentary on the news media. Part of this is justified by theorizing about punk as romantic decadence, throwing out the notion of quality for the sake of "keeping it real". Well, twenty five years on, a lot of the punk "honesty" is just plain boring. Basically, get this movie for the live clips of the Voidoids playing in CBGB's, and forget the rest. Even Andy Warhol can't save this one. What I want to know is, how much of this movie was based on the relationship between Hell and Lizzy Mercier?

..."Blank Generation" is at least worth a look if you enjoy Richard Hell's music. I love his stuff, personally, so the few live performances in the film are definite highlights. Other than that, it's a pretty boring love/hate story between Hell and French ex-Bond Girl Carole Bouquet (sp? oh well...).Hell is no actor, and neither is anyone else in the movie. In fact, all the acting flat out sucks. One scene which actually shows a little promise is the one between Billy (Hell) and Nada (Bouquet) as they drive along in his car trying to decide what to do on a dreary New York Friday afternoon. After Billy changes his mind three or four times, Nada freaks out and throws him out of the car. That's about it. Even that scene is more comic than anything -- so if that was the intention, great, but if the director was trying to coax some drama out of the script there, well, he failed. Even Hell is almost cracking a smile during the scene.Still... the live performances ("Liars Beware," "Blank Generation" and "Love Comes in Spurts") are hot stuff. Too bad there are only three live numbers in "Blank Generation", and a little snippet of Hell "recording" "New Pleasures" is sort of goofy, but cool. So unless you're a big Hell fan, or want to see the barely five minute long Andy Warhol interview sequence, skip it.

How much you enjoy Blank Generation will depend on how big a fan of Richard Hell you are. If, like me, you think he was the coolest, most talented, most intelligent, and most charismatic 70s punk, then this movie is a must see! Hell does what he does best, being MR COOL, Carole Bouquet is stunningly beautiful, and Warhol puts in a brief but memorable appearance. To top it all off the film is full of the music of Hell and The Voidoids (Robert Quine, Ivan Julian and Mark Bell) who are really on fire. Their live performances are sensational and are worth watching this for alone. A forgotten punk classic.