Absolute Beginners

Absolute Beginners (1986)

  • 86% of critics liked it
    (7 reviews)

  • 33% of users liked it
    (3,171 ratings)

The rise of teen culture in 1950s Britain provides the backdrop for Julien Temple's unconventional rock musical Absolute Beginners. The film centers on Colin, an 18-year-old with a talent for photography and a fondness for the neon nightlife of British jazz clubs. He also is in love with Crepe… More

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In Theaters
Apr 18, 1986 Wide
HBO Video

Critic Reviews

  • Thomas Caldwell, Cinema Autopsy

    Absolute Beginners is a film worth revisiting for its inventiveness and audacity.

  • Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

    Though the film is flawed, it's still underrated as an exploration of a crucial era of London's pop culture, and the eccentric cast (including David Bowie) adds a lot of color.

  • Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

    More interesting for what it attempts than for what it accomplishes.

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • AJ V


    On the box for this movie, a critic says it's a splashy musical or something, but that doesn't mean it's good, so I wondered why they put that on the box. If you ask me this movie is too splashy and doesn't focus on the story enough. Overall, it's okay.

  • Robert C


    Just re-watched this, having seen it in the theater when it came out and on VHS several years ago. Sure it's not a GREAT film...but as musicals go (I generally hate them) this is one that I don't mind. Which I'm sure is a testament to the historical aspects of… More

  • Jens S


    Probably a case of "you had to be there". First, in the time this musical is set in, at the edge of the 1960s, and then in the 80s, when this film was made. The songs and story just don't work that well anymore, some parts feel entirely pointless and are hard to refer… More

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