Dead End Drive-In: Now Showing – ‘RMHC: 1989-1999 Hardcore a Roma’
Written by Gaz E
Saturday, 28 February 2015 03:30
Giulio Squillacciotti’s documentary, ‘RMHC: 1989-1999 Hardcore a Roma’, has made it to DVD and what a captivating viewing experience it provides.
Tales of the US hardcore scene have been told over and over again, but this fascinating take on the fledgling, then thriving, scene in Rome has to be seen to be believed.
Sure, the events detailed in this great documentary mirror what occurred Stateside within hardcore circles, but to be a fly on the wall of an electrifying counter culture movement thousands upon thousands of miles away from the explosive epicentre makes for enthralling entertainment, both informative and a little voyeuristic.
Shot over five years, ‘RMHC’ perfectly captures the spirit of the scene via candid interview footage with the majority of the major players – whether band member, music writer or indie label head – while videotaped raw footage of live shows thrills with a grubby, retro charm.
The difficulties experienced when importing foreign goods as exotic as an entire musical movement and ethos are as basic as all of us will surely remember when we looked to America for our rock fixes as teenagers – what to wear, how to play, etc – but, as the years quickly roll by in the decade covered in the doc, the problems become ever more serious: the straight edge splinter threatening to tear at the flesh of an entire community as violence reared its ugly, inevitable head by way of extremists who adopted an ideology and unwarranted blinkers that went with it.
The real heart and soul of this film, though, is the lengthy cast of scene makers who are happy to let the filmmaker document a time and a place that obviously meant, still means actually, so much to so many.
From bands being accused of selling out when signing to a record label – even though the record label consisted of one guy who self-released just 200 7″ singles – to writers still in love with the scene who stay up all night after their families have gone to bed to write about the music they love (sounds familiar…), this film offers so much about a hidden scene that I knew nothing about some seventy-six minutes ago, but now have the utmost respect for.
The new DVD – Pal and Region Free – comes in a classy card sleeve and has English, French and Italian subtitles. Go get one!