Trailer for post-punk documentary Rip It Up and Start Again features The Velvet Underground, Patti Smith & more

English music journalist Simon Reynolds' 2005 book Rip It Up and Start Again recounted the original post-punk scene from 1978-1984.

Reynolds tracked key players – the likes of John Lydon, Talking Heads and Joy Division – from early conceptions to the late '80s as the sub-genre started to shift toward goth and synth=pop sensibilities.

Through the duration of the book, Reynolds "recreates a time of tremendous urgency and idealism in pop music."

Now, with the help of directors Nikolaos Katranis and Russell Craig Richardson, the book is being adapted into a documentary, giving audiences a big picture view of the music subculture.

US online music magazine Brooklyn Vegan shared the first extended look at the doc, featuring interview with Joh Wobble of PiL, Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore, Founder of the Raincoats Ana da Silva and Mark Stewart of The Pop Group.

The 16 minute preview opens up with a slideshow of archival photographs supported by teasers of interviews with the artists. Watch the full trailer over on Brooklyn Vegan.

Along with inside looks from the musicians themselves, Rip It Up... will include rare live performance footage and music from Patti Smith, The Velvet Underground, Kraftwerk, Cabaret Voltaire and more.

An official description of the original 2005 book reads: “In this, the first book to take a big-picture view of the entire post-punk period, acclaimed author and music journalist Simon Reynolds recreates a time of tremendous urgency and idealism in pop music.

“Full of anecdote and insight, and featuring the likes of Joy Division, The Fall, Pere Ubu, PiL and Talking Heads, Rip It Up And Start Again stands as one of the most inspired and inspiring books on popular music ever written.”

A release date for Rip It Up and Start Again has not yet been announced.