The Blank Generation
The Blank Generation is the earliest of the published DIY "home movies" of New York punk's birth. It was filmed by No Wave filmmaker Amos Poe and Ivan Kral, legendary 1970s guitarist with Iggy Pop, Blondie and Patti Smith.Synopsis
Directors and producers Ivan Kral and No Wave filmmaker Amos Poe use behind-the-scenes footage of punk musicians before they became icons. The film includes footage of Blondie, Patti Smith, The Ramones, Television, Talking Heads, New York Dolls, The Heartbreakers, The Shirts, and Robert Gordon as visitors to New York's CBGB's,
Film locations include Max's Kansas City, The Bottom Line, Bowery, and the Lower East Side.Cast
Musicians featured in the film include: Joey Ramone, Debbie Harry, Richard Hell, Patti Smith, Johnny Thunders, David Byrne, Tom Verlaine, David Johansen, Wayne County, Tommy Ramone, Lenny Kaye, Dee Dee Ramone, Chris Stein, Fred Smith, Johnny Ramone, Ivan Kral, Robert Gordon, Richard Lloyd, Tina Weymouth, Walter Lure, Jeff Salen, Annie Golden, Jayne County, Chris Frantz, Jimmy Destri, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Gary Valentine, Clem Burke, Arthur Kane, Syl Sylvain, Jerry Nolan, Jay Dee Daugherty, Richard Sohl, Billy Ficca, Hilly Kristal and more.Background and style
Initially filmed as a sequel to Night Lunch, Poe and Kral used silent 16mm cameras for all of the concert footage. Together they edited the images with demo recordings and sound recorded on cassette players of the various bands; resulting in a film that lies somewhere between a Stan Brakhage experimental film and a Burroughsian cut-up. The cinematic tension between sound and image was inspired by Jean-Luc Godard and the French New Wave as a way to alienate the audience and make them hyper-aware that they were watching a film.
