Danny Boyle's visceral biopic of the seminal British punk band The Sex Pistols, titled Pistol, captures all the bile and angst of the London scene which birthed the outfit. It is a captivating watch that makes viewers feel as if they are collecting dirt underneath their fingernails whilst being thrown around in a dizzying nostalgic blur of noise and fury.
For such a defining period in musical history, there a relatively few films and television shows that attempt to tap into the genesis of the popular counter-cultural movement that inspired countless bands across the world, but some directors have made worthwhile forays into the '70s punk scene.
Sid and Nancy (1986)
Streaming on IndieFlix
The doomed love affair between Sex Pistol's bassist Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen is studied in depth in Boyle's Pistol but their infamous relationship was previously made into a biopic in 1986, starring Gary Oldman and directed by Alex Cox, titled Sid and Nancy.
There is no sugar coating the sinister nature of the backstory between Vicious and Spungen and the eventual murder that followed is made ever the more tragic by the romance shared between the two, and their story is defining one for the time.
24 Hour Party People (2002)
Streaming on Hoopla, Tubi, & Kanopy
Steve Coogan's loquacious portrayal of Factory Records founder Tony Wilson in 24 Hour Party People won him many plaudits and the film is a staple of British cinema. The movie debuted at Cannes Film Festival in 2002 to a warm reception. Michael Winterbottom's film captured the pulsating fervor that permeated the music scene at the time in the UK.
The film charts Wilson's journey from enigmatic opportunist to deluded entrepreneur and features many performances from famous up-and-coming bands of the time, including The Sex Pistols and Joy Division.
The Runaways (2010)
Streaming on Hulu & Tubi
The Sex Pistols were not the first punk band to rage against the system and before London became the epicenter of punk music in the late '70s, the States had its fair share of seminal punk rock outfits.
Kristen Stewart is also no stranger to a biopic after her star turn as perhaps the royal family's most famous persona non grata Princess Diana in last year's Spencer. In The Runaways, Stewart stars as Joan Jett in a contemporary biopic of the titular punk band, while the film, like Pistol, is also based on a former band member's memoir, which is a testament to its authenticity.
Jubilee (1978)
Streaming on HBO Max
No director captured the sounds and color of counter-cultural movements like the late Derek Jarman. The director's cult movie Jubilee is an all-time great sign-of-the-times film brimming with artistic flair.
The movie featured many cameos from popular punk icons of the time, including Adam Ant and its punk energy flows right through it - subverting structuralist filmmaking and even playing with horror tropes. Jubilee is perhaps the perfect companion piece to Boyle's biopic and is a potent and defining film of the '70s punk scene in the UK.
Control (2007)
Streaming on Vudu, Tubi, PlutoTV, & Freevee
Music history is filled with tragic stories of doomed rockstars who have passed away at a young age. One of the most famous examples of this was Ian Curtis, the lead singer of the punk band Joy Division.
The title of the film is taken from Joy Division's popular song 'She's Lost Control,' and is a harbinger of the tragedy that befell Curtis, as his struggles with mental health led to his death in 1980. Control is not just a movie about music but is about the heavy burden of fame and the weight that it comes to bear on the human soul.
Vinyl (2016)
Streaming on HBO Max
HBO's Vinyl explored a transitionary period in the 1970s where rock n' roll gave way to the snarling deviancies of punk music. The show followed American Century Records founder Richie Finestra and was created by Mick Jagger, Martin Scorcese, and Terrence Winter.
The show is also notable for the starring turn of Olivia Wilde long before she became a successful director in her own right. Like 24 Hour Party People before it, Vinyl was an expansive examination into the inner workings of a record label's founder who oversaw some of the biggest names in music in the '70s.
Good Vibrations (2012)
Streaming on Freevee & The Roku Channel
Before Kenneth Branagh's operatic masterpiece Belfast shone a light on Irish history, the 2012 movie Good Vibrations was a cinematic soundtrack to a troubled but hopeful time in '70s Northern Ireland.
The movie follows punk pioneer Terry Hooley who became the de facto manager of the popular band The Undertones and was the cultural heartbeat of a city that was angry, defiant, and unwaveringly creative in equal measure. Punk wasn't just a fad in '70s Ireland, it was a way of life and a rebellious badge of honor.
Suburbia (1984)
A coming-of-age story and punk rock culture merged with exhilarating effect in the 1984 cult classic Suburbia. The movie is a perfect summation of the disenfranchisement that faced the youth of the time.
Suburbia has many similarities with Boyle's Pistol, not least with its gang of misfits whose ideology is in stark contrast to the formal traditionalism that characterized the town where its protagonists run riot. Suburbia's punk energy has not dated one bit since its release and it continues to be a defining film of the period to this day.
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2010)
Streaming on Tubi, fuboTV, Peacock, & Freevee
The 2010 Andy Serkis starring biopic of punk icon Ian Dury was an enigmatic movie that charts Dury's life as a young man on a fast track to fame and success.
The movie is also notable for its sensitive handling of disability awareness and is an affront to ableism in all of its forms. Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll is an inspiring testament to punk rock's healing nature and shows that anyone can channel its ideology into making a name for themselves.
This Is England (2006)
Whilst Shane Meadows' This Is England is technically set in the early '80s, its power lies in an examination of how punk culture in the late '70s mutated in insidious and hateful ways.
The idealism of punk youth culture being infiltrated by neo-fascism makes This Is England a harrowing watch and holds a mirror to the hopefulness depicted in Boyle's Pistol. Despite all the efforts of punks to keep their ideologies focused on challenging oppression, Meadows' poignant film examines how those very ideologies can be undermined from within.