CBGB

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CBGB

R

2013

1h 41m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

7%

Tomatometer

44 Reviews

43%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Though originally conceived as a country and bluegrass venue, Hilly Kristal's (Alan Rickman) New York club becomes the birthplace of underground and punk music, and helps launch the careers of such bands as Blondie, the Ramones and the Police.

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Critics Consensus

Hey! Ho! No no!

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Judy Berman

Flavorwire

Sep 21, 2017

Unless you're morbidly curious about how one of the loudest, strangest, and most irreverent and original moments in rock history can be transformed into a jukebox musical for the entertainment of precisely no one, there's no need to see CBGB.

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Scott Foundas

Variety

Oct 15, 2013

The music rocks, but little else does, in Randall Miller's sitcom snapshot of New York's iconic punk incubator.

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John DeFore

The Hollywood Reporter

Oct 11, 2013

A lightweight love song to a legendary rock club, Randall Miller's CBGB plays in many ways like a Greatest Hits record, re-packaging a beloved band's oeuvre for sale at shopping malls.

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Richard Crouse

Richard Crouse

Feb 1, 2021

2/5

Takes an exciting story of an important time and shaves all the rough edges away, leaving behind smoothed over vision of a rough-and-ready time.

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Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

Aug 29, 2019

Moments of nostalgic emotion are ever so briefly reached, and evaporate so quickly that your only desire will be to listen to the actual music of the cavalcade of artists paraded across the screen.

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Abbie Bernstein

Assignment X

Jan 25, 2019

B

It's fun, affectionate and certainly tuneful, but it doesn't get under anyone's skin.

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Dave S

@Da873 Jul 10, 2026

Great movie! My wife and I had young children at this time and didn't care for Punk but shared the hatred of Disco. This provided an education for us and some of the music was familiar since it was picked up by the more progressive rock stations particularly Blondie and Talking Heads. I can just imagine sitting there in one of the worst parts of town watching history being made. We've watched it many times because the performances, music, locale, and atmosphere are all great. Love and miss Alan Rickman.

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J D

@Absolutely54 Dec 30, 2025

Decent story about one of the most iconic music eras of our time.

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vladimim v

@RT48481153 May 10, 2025

Great movie! Solid storyline, educational, the performers and characters seem so real as if this is a documentary. Good humor, very entertaining.

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N M

@Mills3233 Feb 19, 2025

Solid movie. Enjoyed it multiple times. Critics don’t know what they’re talking about as usual.

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Kush T

@RT69849169 Jan 7, 2025

The movie was great and unexpected. I didn't go into it expecting anything and was thrilled by the story with big twists near the end which brought an even greater clarity of why some of the main characters did what they did. A raw glimpse of the poor, disturbed and ignored with a rough stench of Teenage Excitement. I was unfamiliar with any of the bands so hearing music from an unbiased angle helped me ground my expectations more towards reality where most humans would have experienced the film. If you like justice and a true hero story in the realm of reality I think you will like this film. Not all the music was good but this is a film not an album.

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GPXgirl K

@RT00773845 Dec 27, 2024

This just proves. Some ppl shouldn’t review movies. If you find the music, loud, strange and irrelevant. I guess rock music isn’t your thing. I don’t know, who would ever find rock music, much less the history of it irrelevant, but anyway. Maybe you should switch to some more your style. Like a Britney Spears movie or Taylor swift. I loved it. Music was amazing, acting was great, tons of great actors too. Comic book style was cool too. Was a bit slow at times, but still worth watching if you love rock music culture!

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Randall Miller

Director

Alan Rickman

Hilly Kristal

Malin Akerman

Debbie Harry

Ashley Greene

Lisa Kristal

Johnny Galecki

Terry Ork

Rupert Grint

Cheetah Chrome

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Synopsis

Though originally conceived as a country and bluegrass venue, Hilly Kristal's (Alan Rickman) New York club becomes the birthplace of underground and punk music, and helps launch the careers of such bands as Blondie, the Ramones and the Police.

Director: Randall Miller
Producer: Jody Savin, Randall Miller, Brad Rosenberger, Lisa Kristal Burgman
Screenwriter: Randall Miller, Jody Savin
Distributor: XLrator Media
Production Co: Rampart Films, Unclaimed Freight
Rating: R (Language Throughout|Drug Use|A Scene of Violence|Some Sexual Content)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 11, 2013, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 25, 2017
Runtime: 1h 41m

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