German filmmaker Wolfgang Buld is chiefly known for his early work covering the Sex Pistols, the Clash, Stranglers, Boomtown Rats, Rough Trade, Killjoys, Jolt, the Jam, Subway Sect, Anonymous Chaos and other hard-driving rock ‘n’ roll acts, so the remastered version of his 1978 magnum opus, Punk in England, is a welcome DVD gift for thrashers of yesteryear.

The second part of Buld’s roughly fashioned trilogy on the wild music scene of the United Kingdom, circa the mid- to late-1970s, records the suburban sprawl of the punk movement, as it bleeds from London’s tiny, grubby, packed clubs to more open expanses, where punk-inspired kids would take notes on the energy of the movement and use it to experiment with new wave, ska and so-called rude boy music. Interviews galore stud this 90-minute title — including with Ian Dury and members of the Clash, the Specials, Secret Affair, Madness and more — but of course the main attraction is the music itself. A good thing, then, that Punk in England delivers some full-throttle live clips, no matter how roughly captured. Prima facie historical documents aren’t always neat and proper, ya know?

Housed in a regular plastic Amaray case, Punk in England comes to DVD on a region-free disc, presented in 1.33:1 full frame, with a relatively meager English language mono audio track. A few trailers for complementary Buld releases Punk in London (1977) and Reggae in a Babylon (1978) are also included, as well as a brief documentary on women in rock, which includes interviews and live performance clips with Siouxsie, The Slits, Girlschool and other seminal groups. To purchase the DVD via Amazon, click here. C+ (Movie) C+ (Disc)