American Hardcore

American Hardcore (2006) is a music documentary you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Paul Rachman. It covers the years from the late 1970s through 1986, when underground hardcore punk swept through American basements, VFW halls and tiny clubs before the scene collapsed under its own weight.

Based on Steven Blush's book of the same name, the film gathers voices from across the movement: Henry Rollins, Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat, Keith Morris, Moby, Mike Patton — alongside rare live footage of Black Flag, Bad Brains, Dead Kennedys and SS Decontrol. The interviews are frank and sometimes combative; not everyone in the room agrees on what happened or why.

Rachman frames hardcore as a direct reaction to Reagan-era America — short, fast, built to reject anything commercial. Stream American Hardcore (2006) online on iFILM.