''Crash 'n' Burn'' is an

experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

shot in and named after

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario, Canada's first punk club by Canadian filmmaker Ross McLaren in 1977. (Not to be confused with

Peter Vronsky Peter Vronsky is a Canadian author, filmmaker and investigative historian. He holds a PhD in criminal justice history and espionage in international relations from the University of Toronto. He is the author of the bestseller true crime histor ...

's 1977 documentary on Toronto Punk shot for the CBC television network.) The film, shot on

16mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, educ ...

black-and-white stock, features punk rock performances by the

Dead Boys The Dead Boys are an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The band was among the first wave of punk, and regarded by many as one of the rowdiest and most violent groups of the era. They were formed by vocalist Stiv B ...

, Teenage Head, The Boyfriends, and the

Diodes A diode is a two-terminal electronic component that conducts current primarily in one direction (asymmetric conductance); it has low (ideally zero) resistance in one direction, and high (ideally infinite) resistance in the other. A diode ...

Critical response

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

'' critic

Ed Halter Ed Halter is a film programmer, writer, and founder of Light Industry, a microcinema in Brooklyn, New York. He currently teaches at Bard College, where he is Critic in Residence. Criticism His writing has been featured in ''Artforum'', '' The ...

called the film a "self-destructive document of Toronto's eponymous punk club." The film's most frequently-quoted review, written almost one year after the initial screening, was published in ''Creem'' magazine in 1978. ''Creem'' hailed McLaren's work for "doing everything in its flickering power to self-destruct," and deemed the film a living testament that not all Canadians "bored their beef to death."Springer. "Creemedia," ''Creem'', Vol. 10, No. 4, Sept. 1978.

Versions

McLaren's original work emphasized the cacophony and riotousness of the punk scene in 1977 Toronto. In 2004, he debuted a karaoke-style version of the film – complete with syncopated subtitles corresponding to the bands' song lyrics – to a test audience at the Millennium Film Workshop in New York City.

Distribution

16mm prints of McLaren's film are exclusively distributed by

The Film-Makers' Cooperative The Film-Makers' Cooperative a.k.a. legal name The New American Cinema Group, Inc. is an artist-run, non-profit organization incorporated in July 1961 in New York City by Jonas Mekas, Shirley Clarke, Stan Brakhage, Lionel Rogosin, Gregory Markopoul ...

in the United States, and the Canadian Filmmakers' Distribution Centre in Canada. ''Crash 'n' Burn'' has never been officially released on either VHS or

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

, though several

bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...

VHS versions are rumoured to have been shown publicly since the 1990s, without official authorization from the filmmaker or his distributors.

Critical response

Versions

Distribution

See also

References

Further reading