Rock 'n' Roll High School

Vince Lombardi High School keeps losing principals to nervous breakdowns because of the students' love of rock and roll and their disregard for education. The leader of the students, Riff Randell, is the biggest Ramones fan at the school and also the worst behavioral problem, in that her disciplinary record fills an entire filing cabinet. She waits in line for three days to get tickets to see the band, hoping to meet Joey Ramone, so she can give him a song she wrote for the band, "Rock 'n' Roll High School". When the tyrannical Principal Togar takes her ticket away, Riff and her best friend Kate Rambeau have to find another way to meet their heroes, winning a radio contest. Riff succeeds in delivering her song to Joey Ramone, but the next day, Principal Togar and a group of parents attempt to burn a pile of the kids' mostly Ramones rock records. In response, the students, joined by the Ramones (who are made honorary students), overthrow the teachers and hall monitors to take over the high school, with Principal Togar asking the musicians, "Do your parents know you're Ramones?" When the police are summoned and demand that the students evacuate the building, they do so, but then the students and the Ramones blow up the school as a final act of youthful rebellion, driving Miss Togar insane. ==Cast==

Roger Corman was looking to make a modern teen film similar to the ones he made in his early career during the 1960s, but with the focus on current music of the time. The initial title Disco High was selected for a story idea from Allan Arkush and Joe Dante. A script was developed by Richard Whitley, Russ Dvonch, and Joseph McBride. During this time, the film went through several different title changes including Heavy Metal Kids and ''Girl's Gym. Arkush directed the majority of the film, but Dante also helped when Arkush was suffering from exhaustion. The Ramones were suggested by Paul Bartel, one of the actors in the film. During their visit to LA, the Ramones stayed at the Tropicana Motel, where they wrote songs for their next album, End of the Century''. The genesis for the plot was a favorite story told to the film's original writer by his father, Raymond E. McBride of the Milwaukee Journal, who staged a walkout from his Superior (Wis.) Central High school in the 1920s. ==Release==

The film had a sneak preview in Hollywood. It then had showings in Texas and New Mexico in April, 1979. It then went to San Francisco, then in July to Chicago, and opened in Manhattan on August 3 of that year, then continued on to further markets. Home media ''Rock 'n' Roll High School'' was originally released on VHS by Warner Home Video in 1983, and was later re-released on VHS in 1996 by New Horizons Home Video (). A year later, in 1997, it was issued on DVD by Lumivision. reissued on DVD in May 2010. and again on November 19, 2019, with a new 4K restoration. ==Soundtrack==

A soundtrack album on Sire/Warner Bros. Records was released around the same time, but it included only a limited number of songs from the film. The two main Ramones songs (the title song and "I Want You Around") were recorded by Ed Stasium but remixed by Phil Spector for the soundtrack album. The original Ed Stasium mixes were not issued until the compilation album Ramones Mania (1988) and the compilation album ''Hey! Ho! Let's Go: The Anthology'' (1999), respectively. Other songs appearing in the film include: • Bent Fabric – "Alley Cat" • Brian Eno – "Spirits Drifting" • Brian Eno – "Alternative 3" • Brian Eno – "M386" • Fleetwood Mac – "Albatross" • Fleetwood Mac – "Jigsaw Puzzle Blues" • Paul McCartney – "Did We Meet Somewhere Before?" • MC5 – "High School" • The Paley Brothers – "You're the Best" • The Velvet Underground – "Rock & Roll" • Huey Lewis and the News - "Who Cares" As well as the following songs by the Ramones: • "Blitzkrieg Bop" • "Do You Wanna Dance?" • "I Just Want to Have Something to Do" • "I Wanna Be Sedated" • "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" • "Questioningly" • "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" ==Reception==

''Rock 'n' Roll High School received generally positive reviews. The Globe and Mail wrote that "the plot owes something to Animal House (but Rock 'n' Roll High School is funnier) and something to Beach Blanket Bingo and something to many other movies too numerous to mention; it is not, how you say, original." The Boston Globe opined: "It has the look of Grease and the soul of Animal House''—and it's better than both. The anarchic rock of The Ramones electrifies the film with a driving beat that never lets up. The film, like rock and roll, is just plain fun."{{cite news |last1=Blowen |first1=Michael |date=August 17, 1980 |title=A Rockin' Trip Back to High School |url=https://bostonglobe.newspapers.com/image/428223837/ |newspaper=The Boston Globe |publisher=Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC |department=TVW |page=1 ==Sequel==

In 1991 a sequel called ''Rock 'n' Roll High School Forever'' was released. The sequel starred Corey Feldman. Mary Woronov, who played Miss Togar in the original film, appeared in the sequel as Vice Principal Doctor Vadar. The movie was met with poor reviews but over the years it has gained a cult following. ==Proposed remake==

In July 2008, actor/writer Alex Winter was hired to script a remake of the film for Howard Stern's production company. ==In other media==

Corman's short-lived comic book publishing imprint, Roger Corman's Cosmic Comics, released a two-issue take on the film in 1995, written by Bob Fingerman with art by Shane Oakley and Jason Lutes. Unable to acquire likeness licenses for the Ramones, the comic instead featured the Melvins. ==See also==