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| Movies,
Dan Wolff,
20 January 1999 |
Rating: F4
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Twenty years after the release of The Great Rock N Roll Swindle comes the other side of the coin with the Sex Pistols view to their punk story. Julien Temple this time leaves out any recent footage of the odious Malcolm McLaren who wasn't asked to appear and we get a number of personal interviews from the latterday Pistols, albeit in silhouette only, talking about what really went on.Not only is it a riveting story but also hysterically funny (John Lydon gives an endless number of quotes) and moving (Sid Vicious comes across as a helpless kid sucked into heroin by the scary looking and pemanently wasted Nancy Spungen).
The interviews reveal a number of unexpected stories particually from John Lydon who claims McLaren supplied Vicious with smack . When talking about his best friend Sid Vicious deteriorating he gives an incredibly intense anti-heroin speech which should be used in an ad campaign before finally breaking down into tears. On a lighter side the band seem to continually be against former bassest Glan Matlock for such heinous crimes as liking The Beatles and washing. As Lydon describes him in his own subtle way, "If you look like an arsehole and act like an arsehole, you probably are an arsehole." There is also surreal footage of their last ever U.K. show on Christmas Day in 1977 which was a benefit gig for the striking firemen in Huddersfield and was mostly attended by children wearing their 'Never Mind The Bollocks' t-shirts. The image of Johnny Rotten handing out cake to children will stay with you for quite a while.
What helps the film rise above the usual band documentaries is the imaginative editing of band rehersals/shows and interviews with grim scenes from 1976 news reels and clips of Richard III. Some scenes have been seen numerous times before including The Bill Grundy interview and the Jubilee Boat Gig but now have the added bonus of hearing from the band themselves what happened. It is also plain to see why they influenced countless band and images as the music still sounds as vital today as it did then. A vast improvement on The Great Rock N Roll Swindle and entertaining to fans and non-believers alike.
UK rating:
15
US rating:
R
Julien Temple 2000 UK
John Lydon, Paul Cook, Sid Vicious, Glen Matlock, Steve Jones
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