Skip to main content
Games Radar Newsarama Total Film Edge Retro Gamer SFX
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The smarter take on movies
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best Netflix Shows
Don't miss these
An Infected in 28 Years Later
Horror Movies "Nothing could've prepared me": Horror fans react to Sinner star Jack O'Connell's brief appearance in zombie sequel 28 Days Later
The band reunite in the first trailer for This Is Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.
Comedy Movies 41 years on from the original, the first trailer for comedy sequel Spinal Tap 2 promises cheese, crypto, and a Paul McCartney cameo
Linda (Rose Byrne) looking troubled in If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
Drama Movies Conan O'Brien, Rose Byrne, and A$AP Rocky take the lead in A24's stressfully hectic drama If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
Iggy Pop in Coffee and Cigarettes
DC Movies The legendary rocker whose song closed out Superman embraces the movie's message of kindness as the new punk: "Superman is the best friend you could have"
Mixtape appearing in FGS Live from LA
Games Mixtape sent a sherpa up a mountain to get the rights to use a song, and Grand Theft Auto has "nothing on our toilet paper tech"
Stacey Dash and Alicia Silverstone as Dionne and Cher in Clueless
Comedy Movies 30 years after its release, I'm still convinced Clueless is the gold standard for teen movies
Caesar from the Planet of the Apes reboot
Movies The 32 greatest movie reboots ever made
The Naked Gun popcorn bucket
Comedy Movies The Naked Gun's wild popcorn bucket is an ingenious throwback gag to one of the original movie's raciest jokes
Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in La La Land
Movies The 32 greatest Los Angeles movies of all time
An Infected in 28 Years Later
Horror Movies 28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Jamie and Alfie Williams as Spike in 28 Years Later
Horror Movies 28 Years Later reviews, cast, and everything else you need to know about Danny Boyle's zombie horror sequel
Austin Butler as Hank in Caught Stealing
Crime Movies Austin Butler's Caught Stealing stunts didn't faze New York City locals, despite "hanging out of a window of a real building" 6 stories up
The Long Walk
Horror Movies Brutal new clip from Stephen King adaptation The Long Walk suggests the movie will earn its R-rating
Alfie Williams as Spike and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Jamie in 28 Years Later
Horror Movies "Only Danny Boyle is brave enough to make bold swings like that": 28 Years Later star teases new horror movie, as he compares "experimental" shoot to "technical" Nosferatu's
The Naked Gun
Comedy Movies The Naked Gun sequel called "deliciously stupid" and "an actual comedy movie" in first reactions: "If there was any justice in the world, Liam Neeson would get an Oscar"
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies

10 Movie Rock & Roll Rebels

Features
By Lucy published 21 September 2009

Scallywags who rocked the socks off society

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Wade Walker (Johnny Depp), Cry Baby (1990)

Wade Walker (Johnny Depp), Cry Baby (1990)

In one of his first film roles, Johnny Depp played fictional ‘50s rock ‘n’ roll rebel Wade Walker, nicknamed “Cry Baby” because of his talent for crying on-cue, on-stage. Bit emo.

Rebellious Moment: Maybe the bit in prison where he gets a tear-drop tattoo. Or maybe the bit when he gets sent to prison.

Real-Life Rebel? Prison, crying, tattoos… Perhaps the most accurate real-life comparison would be Amy Winehouse. “Wah wah wah, life is so hard and I’m always sad and wrecked.” Boo bloody hoo.

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
Sid Vicious (Gary Oldman), Sid And Nancy (1986)

Sid Vicious (Gary Oldman), Sid And Nancy (1986)

A lot of debate surrounds the accuracy of Alex Cox’s biographical film.

Portraying Sid’s relationship with Nancy Spungen, the film delves into the dark waters of drugs, fame, love and destruction.

Rebellious Moment: Sid adding extra expletives to The Sex Pistols’ song lyrics. “And we don’t fucking care!” No need, Sid. Just no need.

Real-Life Rebel? Sid’s final years were a bit of a bloody mess, and after the Nancy’s death, he descended into a world of drugs, assault, prison, attempted suicide, and, ultimately, proper suicide. A rebel ’til his dying day.

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix), Walk The Line (2005)

Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix), Walk The Line (2005)

The most recent biopic to bring the legendary country rebel to the screen illuminated some of Cash’s brightest, and darkest, moments.

Rebellious Moment: Cash gives an almighty two-fingers to authority when he goes against all advice and stages a legendary concert at Folsom Prison, performing to a group of violent convicts.

Then he attempts to turn those prisoners against their captors by smashing a glass up.

Real-Life Rebel? A little-known fact is that Johnny Cash actually did shoot a man in Reno just to see him die. OK, we may have made that up.

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
Jesco White (Edward Hogg), White Lightnin (2009)

Jesco White (Edward Hogg), White Lightnin (2009)

It’s out this week. And it’s got Carrie Fisher in it. And it looks bloody good.

White Lightnin’ tells the story of Jesco White, the “Dancing Outlaw”, who rose to fame on account of his talent for mountain dancing and his run-ins with the law.

Rebellious Moment: When Jesco meets Norma Jean, he plans to rob her, but ends up marrying her instead. He’s rebelling against his own rebellion!

Real-Life Rebel? Earlier this year, 53-year-old White was arrested on drugs charges. That’s one dedicated rebel.

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), Back To The Future (1985)

Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), Back To The Future (1985)

He’s so rebellious he even rebels against the concept of time itself .

In a climactic scene (set in 1955), Marty gets on stage with The Starlighters to perform Chuck Berry’s "Johnny B. Goode".

Rebellious Moment: When Marty gets carried away and goes into a crazy guitar solo, kicking over the amp and rolling around on the floor, before looking out at a stunned audience. “I guess you guys aren’t ready for that, yet. But your kids are gonna love it.”

Real-Life Rebel? Chuck Berry was pretty rebellious – Johnny B. Goode is said to be one of the songs to shape Rock and Roll.

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
The Monkees (The Monkees), Head (1968)

The Monkees (The Monkees), Head (1968)

They tried. They really, really tried to smash the system. Unfortunately all they barely managed to shunt it.

In Head , the Monkees spend much of the screen-time running around and causing mild disturbances.

It’s the kind of passive rebellion that’s usually done on mopeds.

Rebellious Moment: The opening, where those pesky kids interrupt a politician’s speech. Ooh, calm down.

Real-Life Rebel(s)? No. They probably didn’t write any of the songs in the film – they didn’t write the script, for that matter. Jack Nicholson did, though. Shame on you, Jack!

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
Brian Slade (Johathan Rhys-Meyers), Velvet Goldmine (1998)

Brian Slade (Johathan Rhys-Meyers), Velvet Goldmine (1998)

Centring around the glam-rock era of the 1970s, Meyers’ Bowie-esque Slade fakes his own death and causes a lot of unnecessary bother. Take that, society!

Rebellious Moment: Asserting that “Rock and Roll is a prostitute, it should be tarted up.” Slade rebels against Rock and Roll .

Real-Life Rebel? The real-life Slade, David Bowie, has always been a controversial performer and personality. In “Rebel, Rebel”, Bowie tears his own dress, and gets their face in a mess.

Don’t know if that’s proper rebellion, but we’ll let you off, David.

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
Buddy Holly (Gary Busey), The Buddy Holly Story (1978)

Buddy Holly (Gary Busey), The Buddy Holly Story (1978)

The Buddy Holly Story marked a career high for Busey (if you don’t count Gingerdead Man ), who gained an Oscar nomination for his part in the biopic.

Rebellious Moment: The Crickets play the Apollo, after being informed that no white act has ever played there. The applause dies at first, before the band proceed to rock everyone’s socks off.

Real-Life Rebel? If altering the course of music history wasn’t edgy enough, the real-life Holly trained at New York’s Actors’ Studio, whose previous students included screen rebels Marlon Brando and James Dean.

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
Jim Morrison (Val Kilmer), The Doors (1991)

Jim Morrison (Val Kilmer), The Doors (1991)

In Oliver Stone’s The Doors , Morrison’s rock naughtiness is mostly concerned with getting very drunk and very high and doing very sexy things.

Rebellious Moment: Morrison causes a ruckus and irritates various club owners by fannying about on stage and improvising many of the lyrics to his songs.

Real-Life Rebel? It’s difficult to tell whether the film is accurate or just a string of elaborate fibs, as most of Morrison’s friends have poo-pooed much of the script. We can only speculate that he was at least 50% Rebel.

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
Jesus (Ted Neeley), Jesus Christ Superstar (1991)

Jesus (Ted Neeley), Jesus Christ Superstar (1991)

One of the best-loved rebels of all time got a Rock and Roll makeover in Jesus Christ Superstar , with Neeley’s Son of God rocking out to some Andrew Lloyd-Webber corkers.

Rebellious Moment: When he gets into a tizzy at the market, and mucks the place up a bit. Chill out.

Real-Life Rebel? Well, yes. The Romans got so annoyed at Jesus going around rebelling all over the place that they crucified him.

And then, a few hundred years later, they decided that he might have been the son of God after all! Egg all over their faces.

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
Lucy
See more Movies Features
Read more
An Infected in 28 Years Later
"Nothing could've prepared me": Horror fans react to Sinner star Jack O'Connell's brief appearance in zombie sequel 28 Days Later
The band reunite in the first trailer for This Is Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.
41 years on from the original, the first trailer for comedy sequel Spinal Tap 2 promises cheese, crypto, and a Paul McCartney cameo
Linda (Rose Byrne) looking troubled in If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
Conan O'Brien, Rose Byrne, and A$AP Rocky take the lead in A24's stressfully hectic drama If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
Iggy Pop in Coffee and Cigarettes
The legendary rocker whose song closed out Superman embraces the movie's message of kindness as the new punk: "Superman is the best friend you could have"
Mixtape appearing in FGS Live from LA
Mixtape sent a sherpa up a mountain to get the rights to use a song, and Grand Theft Auto has "nothing on our toilet paper tech"
Stacey Dash and Alicia Silverstone as Dionne and Cher in Clueless
30 years after its release, I'm still convinced Clueless is the gold standard for teen movies
Latest in Movies
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Solo star Alden Ehrenreich hasn't completely ruled out a Star Wars return, but it sounds like it would take a lot to convince him: "It would have to really, really be the right version of it"
Robert Pattinson in The Batman
Clayface set photos tease a connection to The Batman, and fans are hoping that Matt Reeves' Elseworlds movies will merge with the DCU
Gimli in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
From passing on Lord of the Rings to Cleopatra's infamous budget, film fans are debating some of the worst mistakes in movie history
Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal as Agnes and William Shakespeare in Hamnet
Chloé Zhao's first movie since Eternals is already getting Oscars buzz as critics call it "the most devastating movie I've seen in years"
Christoph Waltz as Henrich Harlander in Frankenstein
Frankenstein star Christoph Waltz is in favor of Guillermo del Toro's use of practical effects: "CGI is for losers"
A still from Jujutsu Kaisen season 3
You can watch Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 early – if you see this new compilation movie
Latest in Features
Borderlands 4 screenshot shows someone holding a weapon forward towards the camera.
"We tend to commit to the bit": Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford talks Borderlands 4, the evolution of looter-shooters, and $80 game discourse
Valor Mortis
Ghostrunner devs abandon parkour for Valor Mortis, a first-person soulslike that might explain why the rest of the genre follows Dark Souls' lead
A mech firing a machine gun in the desert in Menace
Menace is an XCOM-Warhammer hybrid that makes turn-based strategy feel like an immersive sim, and for the first time in my life I'm playing a game that seems made for me
Metal Gear Solid 5 showing Snake and Ocelot looking to the horizon in front of more soldiers
10 years later, Metal Gear Solid 5 remains a masterpiece that was never going to live up to its own hype
Dogtooth
The new Yorgos Lanthimos movie is getting rave first reactions out of Venice Film Festival, but I think it's worth revisiting his breakout feature Dogtooth before Bugonia hits theaters this fall
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Legacy of the Forge DLC showing Henry and two allies standing looking down
I built a home and ran a business in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's next DLC, and the added role-playing guarantees I'll spend another 70 hours in my current game of the year
  1. Kaser clad in black and Victor in white clash swords in Lost Soul Aside
    1
    Lost Soul Aside review: "We (don't) have Final Fantasy Versus 13 at home"
  2. 2
    Hell is Us review: "The lack of waypoints and explicit objectives is a double-edged magical sword that pulls me deep into its harsh world"
  3. 3
    Shuten Order review: "The Danganronpa creator's new multi-genre mystery feels like a forgotten DS cult classic I would have been obsessed with"
  4. 4
    The Rogue Prince of Persia review: "I roguelike but don't roguelove this freerunner – there's just not enough to stand out"
  5. 5
    Shinobi: Art of Vengeance review: "So close to being to a pitch-perfect revival of a classic series, but just can't quite line up the killing blow"
  1. Jacob Elordi as the monster in Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein
    1
    Frankenstein review: "A classy, if somewhat safe, adaptation"
  2. 2
    Weapons review: "A twisted fairytale that bests Barbarian"
  3. 3
    The Fantastic Four: First Steps review: "An occasionally thrilling heroic adventure that sits safely within a B-tier MCU range"
  4. 4
    Superman review: "A triumphant reinvention and a promising start for the DCU"
  5. 5
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  1. John Cena as Peacemaker holds a gun to the head of a different John Cena as Peacemaker in Peacemaker season 2.
    1
    Peacemaker season 2 review: "Darker and sadder than the first year, but there's still a lot of fun to be had with the 11th Street Kids."
  2. 2
    Wednesday season 2 part 1 review: "Complex and exciting but weighed down by too many subplots"
  3. 3
    Alien: Earth review: "Arguably the franchise's strongest outing since James Cameron's Aliens"
  4. 4
    King of the Hill season 14 review: "Hank Hill himself has evolved into a much more open and accepting person"
  5. 5
    Eyes of Wakanda review: "A creative premise shortchanged by the runtime and Marvel bloat"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...