The Godfathers of Hardcore

“The Godfathers of Hardcore” follows two band members in present day from the 1980’s hardcore punk band, Agnostic Front. This documentary has plenty of archive footage and a lot of in depth insight on how the band started a whole movement in NYC in the music scene and how they got to be where they are now. With beautiful cinematography that captures the viewers attention following these men around, this documentary provides for an interesting story despite if you like the genre of music or not.

The film has a structure of setting up the start of the band and how the band members came to meet. They talk about their lives growing up in New York City and how much it has changed since the start of the band and the start of the music. They show the filmmakers the buildings they used to live in (one still lives in the same apartment and he’s almost 60). Then it goes into the influence the band had on the music scene and how their motto was basically “be who you are”. Then after that it goes into the past and the growing up lifestyle of the lead singer and reveals quite a bit that is intense; but it says so much for where the band comes from. At that point it focuses on their personal family life and the issues that arise from being in a band.

I didn’t know what to expect or know anything about this band when I started watching. But I was captivated by the visuals and the structure. The bondships between the guys and their history is fascinating. The documentary shows how brutal the lifestyle can be at times and there are consequences despite trying to not care about the outside influences. The band goes through hardships and there are strains on family and friendships. This documentary invokes a lot of raw emotion and it’s real. It’s unbiased.

I absolutely loved the information that was provided. The filmmakers kept it interesting all the way to the end and I couldn’t help but feel connected with the band members. The interviews seemed to be raw and nothing really seemed staged or pushed a certain agenda other than support for the band and its fans. The fact these men are in the 50’s and 60’s and still rocking blows my mind – especially the type of music they play. The fans range from all ages and it adds to the interesting facts behind the band.

The cinematography is top notch. The B-roll footage and the interviews have so much depth it adds to the depth of the band in a way. It’s well produced and I love the fact that somebody decided to make a documentary about what is widely an unknown band outside of the hardcore punk scene. It shines a positive light on the community and the music the guys made as it helped inspire and connect to others.

I would recommend this documentary for the story itself and how interesting it really is. It holds all the emotions such as: anger, sadness, fear, etc. You can’t help but feel connected to these guys and appreciate what they have accomplished. You don’t have to like the music to like this movie. You don’t have to like the music to appreciate what they have done or to like them. They’re human. And that’s the overall theme in this movie.