The first time I saw this movie, I could not believe that someone was actually cool enough to go to the trouble of filming all of these mostly unheard of bands. The result is a wonderfully eclectic collection of live music that is a treat. All of the bands represented, with the notable exception of The Police and Gary Numan, were at the time of it's filming, known only to a relative few. The music covers the spectrum from all out thrash punk to fringe new wave. There are bands who went on to becoming "known" such as The Go-Go's and X as well as many who were never heard of again but make no mistake about it, this film is a must-see for anyone who is a fan of music. Living in Oklahoma and being in my late teens when this film was released, I was not familiar with most of the bands but I became an instant fan of X, The Dead Kenedys, The Alley Cats, and John Cooper Clark after seeing them in this movie. As is the case with any compilation of this scope, there are going to be bands that make you wonder why they are there, but on the whole, it is a great film. I cherish my original VHS copy of the film that I found at a video store bargain bin and every once in a while when I need to get my blood pumping to "come on bleed" or laugh at the ingenious absurdity of The Cramps, I walk away smiling every time.

This movie is spectacular! It is a perfect snapshot of the post-punk/new-wave movement in the early 80's. Great performances by some well-known artists when they were still newcomers, and some other interesting bands that never quite made it.I had somehow not heard of this movie until it was long out of print - and it took a great deal of searching to track it down, but was well worth it. Seeing the Police, Devo, Gary Numan, Echo & The Bunnymen, X and all the other artists in their younger days is just amazing.Someone needs to sort out the legal crap and get this remastered and issued on DVD. It's way too hard to find it used or bootlegged - but it's too much a piece of music history to just disappear on worn-out VHS tapes.

By that time, my friends were listening to ugly music like Styx or Emerson Lake and Palmer. They thought I was kind of crazy to listen to X and the Cramps. I had also the big chance to have this film on tape. I also got the double LP of the music. Some of this stuff is still good to listen to (Wall of Voodoo, X, Fleshtones, Police, Cramps) but to see this film is also an incridible experience. See zany John Otway! But for me, the Cramps performance of Tear it up is one the greatest moment of pure rock and roll catch on film. And who was that strange girl of the Alley Cats? Who were the Alley Cats? Their song is amazing! Seems like all these people have a lot of fun back then.

It aired on the late, great, NIGHT FLIGHT on USA back in the 80's. It's fun to watch and see who is still kicking around. The highlight is the Go Go's with a very young Belinda Carlisle looking all chubby and tough with her peroxided short punk hair. I recommend it to anyone interested in punk and early 80's music. Well worth searching for.