Crash 'n' Burn
Encyclopedia
Crash 'n' Burn is an experimental film
shot in and named after Toronto, Ontario, Canada's, first punk club by Canadian filmmaker Ross McLaren
in 1977. The film, shot on 16mm black-and-white stock, features punk rock
performances by the Dead Boys, Teenage Head
, The Boyfriends, and the Diodes.
The film's most frequently-quoted review, written almost one year after the initial screening, was published in Creem magazine
in 1978. Creem hailed McLaren's work for "doing everything in its flickering power to self-destruct," and deemed the film a living testament that not all Canadians "bored their beef to death."
in New York City.
in the United States, and the Canadian Filmmakers' Distribution Centre in Canada.
Crash 'n' Burn has never been officially released on either VHS
or DVD
, though several bootleg
VHS versions are rumoured to have been shown publicly since the 1990s, without official authorization from the filmmaker or his distributors.
Experimental film
Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...
shot in and named after Toronto, Ontario, Canada's, first punk club by Canadian filmmaker Ross McLaren
Ross McLaren (filmmaker)
Ross McLaren is a Canadian artist and filmmaker, based in New York City.-Biography:McLaren was born in 1953 in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada and graduated with honors from Ontario College of Art, where he also did post-graduate work.-Advocacy:...
in 1977. The film, shot on 16mm black-and-white stock, features punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
performances by the Dead Boys, Teenage Head
Teenage Head (band)
Teenage Head is a Canadian rock group from Hamilton, Ontario and was one of the most popular Canadian punk rock bands during the early 1980s....
, The Boyfriends, and the Diodes.
Critical response
Village Voice critic Ed Halter called the film a "self-destructive document of Toronto's eponymous punk club."The film's most frequently-quoted review, written almost one year after the initial screening, was published in Creem magazine
Creem
Creem , "America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine," was a monthly rock 'n' roll publication first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. It suspended production in 1989 but received a short-lived renaissance in the early 1990s as a glossy tabloid...
in 1978. Creem hailed McLaren's work for "doing everything in its flickering power to self-destruct," and deemed the film a living testament that not all Canadians "bored their beef to death."
Versions
McLaren's original work emphasized the cacophony and riotousness of the punk scene in 1977 Toronto. In 2004, he debuted a karaoke-style version of the film – complete with syncopated subtitles corresponding to the bands' song lyrics – to a test audience at the Millennium Film WorkshopMillennium Film Workshop
The Millennium Film Workshop is a non-profit media arts center and cinema located in the East Village neighborhood of New York City dedicated to the exhibition, study, and practice of avant-garde and experimental film, video, and all technologies of the moving image.- History :An integral part of...
in New York City.
Distribution
16mm prints of McLaren's film are exclusively distributed by The Film-Makers' CooperativeThe Film-Makers' Cooperative
The Film-Makers' Cooperative aka The New American Cinema Group is an artist-run, non-profit organization which was founded in 1962 in New York City by Jonas Mekas, Shirley Clarke, Stan Brakhage, Gregory Markopoulos, Lloyd Michael Williams and other filmmakers to distribute avant-garde films through...
in the United States, and the Canadian Filmmakers' Distribution Centre in Canada.
Crash 'n' Burn has never been officially released on either VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
or DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, though several bootleg
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
VHS versions are rumoured to have been shown publicly since the 1990s, without official authorization from the filmmaker or his distributors.
Further reading
- Kelly, B. "Punk at the Movies," Graffiti #2, vol.#4, 1986.
- O’Connor, Alan. “Local Scenes and Dangerous Crossroads: Punk and Theories of Cultural Hybridity,” Popular Music Vol. 21/2, Cambridge University Press, London: 225-36, 2002.
- Wlaschin, K. "Rock Movies in the 70's," British Film Institute: London, 1978.
See also
- Ross McLarenRoss McLaren (filmmaker)Ross McLaren is a Canadian artist and filmmaker, based in New York City.-Biography:McLaren was born in 1953 in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada and graduated with honors from Ontario College of Art, where he also did post-graduate work.-Advocacy:...
- Punk filmPunk filmPunk film is a type of film associated with the punk subculture. Many punk films have been made, and punk rock music videos and punk skate videos are common. The use of stock footage typifies punk film. Several famous groups have participated in movies, such as the Ramones in Rock 'n' Roll High...
- List of punk films