Music
Film Review: Superstonic Sound: The Rebel Dread
by Allan Tong
June 20, 2010
This year's NXNE filmmaker spotlight falls on the legendary Don Letts. Letts was a London DJ in the mid-70s who spun both punk and reggae, and changed the direction of bands like The Clash. In turn, the DIY ethic of punk inspired Letts to pick up a movie camera. Chances are, any vintage footage of the Sex Pistols and The Clash you see was originally shot by Letts.
This year’s NXNE filmmaker spotlight falls on the legendary Don Letts. Letts was a London DJ in the mid-70s who spun both punk and reggae, and changed the direction of bands like The Clash. In turn, the DIY ethic of punk inspired Letts to pick up a movie camera. Chances are, any vintage footage of the Sex Pistols and The Clash you see was originally shot by Letts.
NXNE has programmed some of Letts’ films (Carnival is the strongest one, about London’s annual Caribbean festival) and this fine profile documentary by Raphael Erichsen. He traces Letts’ life as the son of Jamaican immigrants growing up in xenophobic post-war England through his influential role in the punk era to his 80s success with post-Clash band, Big Audio Dynamite, to his current passion for dub.
Letts mentions a dark period in his life that unfortunately Erichsen doesn’t explain. However, the film rises above the standard bio-doc level by capturing Letts and his estranged son, Jet, working together. Again, we don’t learn the reasons why their relationship is so dysfunctional, but it is touching to see father and son trying to connect through their shared love of DJing.
A highlight of the NXNE film series.
Tags: Music, Big Audio Dynamite, Don Letts, NXNE, The Clash
