Tonight the Alamo Drafthouse at West Oaks Mall turns punk rock as the theater shows the 1984 Alex Cox cult classic Repo Man, with a set from Houston punk laureates the Hates to start the evening at 9 p.m.
The film, starring Emilio Estevez and Harry Dean Stanton, was one of the first to feature hardcore punk on its soundtrack to go with its nihilistic sci-fi spirit. The story of Otto, a disgruntled punk with a temper, was set to the music of Suicidal Tendencies, Circle Jerks, Iggy Pop and Black Flag, among others. For many, this was their introduction to punk life, and what a way to get birthed into it.
Obviously, Repo Man is just one in a line of great punk flicks to come since the first wave in the '70s. It didn't take long for the genre to make onto celluloid, with the spirit of underground cinema in that decade creating a great symbiotic relationship with the outsider folk music.
We collected the 10 best punk movies we could find, excluding of course the dozens of documentaries that are out there. We covered most of those back on The 31 Best Music Documentaries Of All Time blog in January, so be sure to check that post for your favorites.
These are films that didn't quite deal with punk life, but sure as heck informed it in real life. The teen troublemakers in Over The Edge, the Mods in Quadrophenia, and the onset of post-punk in 24 Hour Party People all offered glimpses into scenes seldom touched on by mainstream movies.