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American Hardcore
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Metascore
69 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.1 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 17 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Ian MacKaye
  • Summary: Generally unheralded at the time, the early 1980s hardcore punk rock scene gave birth to much of the rock music and culture that followed. Hardcore was more than music -- it was a social movement created by Reagan-era misfit kids. The participants constituted a tribe unto themselves -- some finding a voiced, others an escape in the hard-edged music. Ans while some sought a better world, others were just angry and wanted to raise hell. American Hardcore traces this lost subculture, from its early roots in 1980 to its initial flameout in 1986. (Sony Pictures Classics)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. Variety
    Reviewed by: Dennis Harvey
    90
    Excellent documentary American Hardcore chronicles the short-lived but influential musical moment when a defiantly anti-commercial underground put a distinctive U.S. stamp on the hitherto Brit-driven punk movement.
  2. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    83
    The triumph of American Hardcore is that it convinces general audiences that there were vast underground reservoirs of angst and anguish to be tapped.
  3. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    60
    Fans will dig the abundant performance video and commentary from Henry Rollins and Ian MacKaye; everyone else should steer clear of the mosh pit.

See all 21 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. caporegime
    10
    Perfectly explained and documented.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. JesseO.
    9
    One of the best films of the 80's true punk evolution really liked the interviews of some of those most resposible for it all.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. RemiS.
    4
    Lacks focus. They don't even try to explain "hardcore" let alone "american hardcore". Movie should have been titled "My life in the 80s". You are presented a loose collection of a narrow recollection of a select few of the "punk" music scene of the early 80s. No analysis, no introspection- just anecdotes.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 10 User Reviews

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