''CBGB'' is a 2013 American

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

film about the former New York music venue

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

. It follows the story of

Hilly Kristal Hillel Kristal (September 23, 1931August 28, 2007) was an American club owner, manager and musician who was the owner of the iconic New York City club CBGB, which opened in 1973 and closed in 2006 over a rent dispute. Early years Kristal was bo ...

's New York club from its concept as a venue for Country, Bluegrass and Blues (CBGB) to what it ultimately became: the birthplace of underground rock 'n' roll and punk.Internet Movie Database
/ref> The film uses devices such as a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

-style panels, as well as onscreen text to identify important figures in the

punk movement The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of ideologies, fashion, and other forms of expression, visual art, dance, literature, and film. Largely characterised by anti-establishment views, the promotion of individual freedo ...

Plot

In 1970s

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

is divorced and has filed

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...

for the second time. Despite setbacks, he is determined to own and manage a bar. With his business partner Merv Ferguson, Kristal convinces his mother to lend them the money needed to establish the dive bar

, which Kristal intends to make into a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

venue. The business gets off to a rocky start as there are few customers and Kristal has difficulty finding country acts. However, a rock band called

Television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

arrives at the bar and auditions. Seeing potential, Kristal books them. CBGB soon becomes a rock venue that caters to the burgeoning

. New acts such as Blondie,

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talki ...

, and

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...

begin to get noticed by playing at the club. The fledgling fanzine '' Punk'' also gets its start by reporting on the bands and debating the movement's ideology (or lack thereof). Despite CBGB's newfound success, Kristal poorly manages the club's funds (he keeps the money in his apartment freezer) and fails to regularly pay bills or rent. Kristal's daughter Lisa tries to take over the chaotic finances in an attempt to save the business. After The Ramones are signed to Sire Records, Kristal decides to manage CBGB regulars The Dead Boys. Lisa warns Kristal that he can't financially afford to take on a band. Kristal ignores her, as well as others who caution him about The Dead Boys' destructive and anti-social behavior. While on tour, the band crashes and totals their truck and equipment, leaving Kristal and CBGB broke. This leads to Ferguson threatening to leave the business for good, which Kristal doesn't believe. Soon afterwards, The Dead Boys gets into a fight with a group of thugs and their drummer, Johnny Blitz, is stabbed seventeen times and barely survives. Despondent and penniless, Kristal announces to his employees that CBGB will be closing. Ferguson and Lisa reveal that they have made many calls to grateful friends whom Kristal helped in the past. They've scraped together enough money to stay open long enough to stabilize the situation. The film ends with

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...

auditioning for Kristal. The epilogue reveals that CBGB remained open until 2006. Kristal remains an important figure in the history of punk and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

. Lisa went on to become a lawyer. Ferguson always wore a yellow construction helmet and no one ever knew why. Kristal continued to manage The Dead Boys until they broke up in 1979. The epilogue closes by stating Kristal's dog, Jonathan, had legendary bowels since he was known for defecating wherever he pleased inside the club. Over the final credits, the real-life

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talki ...

' acceptance speech during the 2002 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is played, during which they invite Kristal to the stage and thank him for his support.

Cast

Release

''CBGB'' premiered on

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

platform "DirecTV Cinema" on September 5, 2013 and was available through October 2, 2013, in standard and high-definition formats (including "Yekra", an all-new independent film streaming and social distribution site). Following a national release in select theaters beginning October 4, 2013, it was shown at various times throughout the CBGB Music & Film Festival in New York City from October 9 through October 13, 2013. The DVD and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

were scheduled for release on December 31, 2013.

Reception

Box office

''CBGB'' made its theatrical premiere on October 4, 2013 and grossed $3,909 at the box office its opening weekend from one theater. The film then began its wide release in select theaters October 4, 2013. The total U.S. theatrical gross for the film was $40,400.

Critical response

The film has been panned by critics. Film review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

reports that 7% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 43 reviews, with a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

score of 3.4/10, with the consensus simply reading "Hey! Ho! No no!". At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film has received an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...

score of 30 out of 100, based on 17 reviews from mainstream critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Robert Abele of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' called it "merely a mess of caricatures".Los Angeles Times
/ref> Likewise, Brian McManus of ''

The 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 cr ...

'' writes: "CBGB's biggest problem is that it's taken such electrifying source material and done absolutely zilch with it."

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released on October 8, 2013. It is available on CD,

Vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

and as a digital download. The first pressing

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released of the soundtrack is a

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

on translucent pink vinyl. Rhino released a deluxe digital version with additional tracks on the same day.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Randall Miller 2013 films 2013 biographical drama films 2013 independent films 2010s musical drama films American biographical drama films American independent films American musical drama films American rock music films Biographical films about musicians Films about musical groups Films directed by Randall Miller Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City Punk films 2013 drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films