Amazon.com
For their first film, the Clash could've easily cast themselves in the lead. The fiery foursome, however, were nothing if not unpredictable. Just as the little known Phil Daniels was the star of
Quadrophenia--rather than the Who--the completely unknown Ray Gange is the star of the more vitlike
Rude Boy. The year is 1978 and England has gone to the dogs, with the National Front on the rise and rioting in the streets. Ray, as he's also known in the film, is a bleary-eyed punk, who works in a hole-in-the-wall Brixton sex shop. The 20-year-old blows off steam by going to see the Clash. Sometimes he hangs out with them. Eventually, Ray becomes their roadie, but the band fails to convince him that the left-wing has any more to offer than the right. "I don't think you should mix your music with politics," he finally tells Joe Strummer. "It annoys me." In this re-mastered and expanded edition, the quartet performs "I Fought the Law," "White Riot" with Sham 69's Jimmy Pursey, and 15 other songs, both live and in rehearsal. As for Gange, he isn't a great actor, but he's an engaging presence, and
Rude Boy plays like a rambling cross between Alan Clarke (
Made in Britain) and early Mike Leigh (
Meantime). It may be fiction, but feels like fact, and the abundance of early material from the Clash makes up for any shortcomings. Extras include interviews (Gange, road manager Johnny Green, and co-directors Jack Hazan and David Mingay), four deleted scenes, two bonus live tracks, and two rare BBC performances.
--Kathleen C. Fennessy
