A punk rock fan’s nirvana, End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones is an exhaustive journey into one of music’s most influential groups. Forget Patridge, Jackson or Sledge, this is the family that turned rock on its ears and danced on its grave when, in the mid-70’s, rock was all but dead. That’s until Johnny, Joey, Tommy, Marky, Ritchie, CJ and a drug-addled Dee Dee gave it their kiss of life. Granted it wasn’t the kind of kiss you’d give your Grandmother, but these boys weren’t your everyday brothers. They played rock they way they wanted – nasty, noisy and full of hotel-trashing attitude, exactly what Jim Fields and Michael Gramaglia’s serve in their warts and all expose about the boys in the band.

Twenty years of rock and roll left its scars and they’re all on show in nearly two hours of assembled footage and interviews with the band, their peers and admirers. Joe Strummer, Deborah Harry, Rob Zombie, John Frusciante, Kirk Hammett, The New York Dolls and even Captain Sensible note the band and its influence on their careers. While End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones is overlong and never pushes any stylistic boundaries, the documentary’s straight-forward, talking heads style serves the first-time directors well. The Ramones made up for a lack of ability with a blitzkrieg of raw energy, a force that touched off Britain’s punk music scene and even put the frighteners on Johnny Rotten. For anyone who wants to know where it all began, again - hey ho, get going - this is essential viewing.

// COLIN FRASER