Color, NR (strong language), 105 min. plus supplements, Dolby Digital stereo, letterboxed, Street: Sept. 28, $19.99; First Run: DVD premiere
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It has been less than a decade since they hung up their leather jackets for good, but the Ramones have already entered the realm of rock 'n' roll mythology. The band's uniquely infectious, stripped-down sound has influenced countless present-day punks, and the legacy of its "non-stop" tour around the world (2,263 shows in 22 years) has more than eclipsed the fact that the band never sold millions of records or achieved solid, mainstream success during its career. This affectionate patchwork tribute--which marks the final Ramones contribution of Johnny Ramone, who died Sept. 15--sheds no light on the band's history or its seminal early years, but it is a veritable treasure trove for the initiated, delivering rare concert footage, a terrific selection of TV guest appearances and an ample amount of drummer Marky's surprisingly cutesy home movies. The disc itself has its highs (razor-sharp live numbers) and lows (way too much horseplay in hotels and dressing rooms), with the punk piece de resistance being I Ramone, a half-hour 1980 Italian TV concert film that has never been released in the U.S. TV clips that didn't make it into the documentary are included as supplementary material, allowing us to check out the band's interview with Space Ghost, the ousting of "fifth Ramone" Gilbert Gottfried on USA's Up All Night and the band's guest appearances on the New Jersey cult comedy series The Uncle Floyd Show. Deleted sequences include additional footage of Joey, Johnny, Marky and Dee Dee mobbed in South America (where the boys experienced several Hard Day's Night moments with rabid fans) and the band's induction into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. The audio commentary track, on which director John Cafiero interviews Johnny and Marky, offers few revelations--except for Johnny's snide reaction to one concert clip: "We were still good then…." Although another Ramones documentary, the theatrically distributed End of the Century, is drawing attention away from Raw, this disc is a must-have for video stores that do well with music titles. Middle-aged punks will be presold, and younger rockers might want to investigate what these pinhead-lovin' "brothers" were all about. --Ed Grant