The Filth and the Fury (a Sex Pistols Film) [DVD] [2000]

While it may be true that the Internet is the new "punk" medium it's difficult to imagine any future documentaries about the web being anywhere near as entertaining as this tale of how the Sex Pistols changed the history of music--and safety pins--forever. Directed by long-standing Pistols pal Julien Temple, who was also responsible for the band's Great Rock 'N' Roll Swindle film, The Filth And The Fury is the full story from the group's struggling early days (which found them using mikes nicked from David Bowie) to the furore surrounding Sid Vicious' alleged murder of smackhead girlfriend Nancy Spungeon. Using both contemporary news footage and his own never-before-seen backstage material, Temple succeeds in not just explaining why the rise of Johnny Rotten & Co. was important but also why it was inevitable in that socio-political context, when conformity was prized above all. Also included in the film, of course, are a raft of great songs such as "Anarchy In The UK" and "Pretty Vacant" but the most memorable moments come with the new interview material which finds a guilt-stricken Rotten still beating himself up for not rescuing the now deceased Vicious from Spungeon's claws: "All's I can tell you is, yes, I can take on England but I couldn¹t take on one heroin addict." --Clark Collis

16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 9
English
Region 2
Dolby Surround English
Dolby Surround

The Filth And The Fury [2000] is Julien Temple's second documentary profiling punk rock pioneers "The Sex Pistols". An enlightening, entertaining trip back to a time when the punk movement was just discovering itself, the documentary features archival footage, never-before-seen performances, rehearsals and recording sessions, as well as interviews with group members who lived to tell the tale--including the one and only John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten). The Filth And The Fury is a relevant viewing experience for those unfamiliar with the band; for fans, it's mandatory viewing!

The Filth And The Fury is an irreverent and shocking portrait of arguably the most influential and certainly the most notorious rock group of all time. It documents the story of The Sex Pistols, charting their rise from the liter stacked backstreets of Seventies London through their crucifixion by the British tabloids, canonisation by hundreds of fans around the world and ultimate implosion on tour in America. Along the way myths are debunked, scores are settled and the wods of the band are heard for the first time as they step once and for all away from their egomaniacal one timer manager Malcome McLaren. Culled primarily from the band's own 20 hour plus archive of never seen before footage and painted against the economic and cultural backdrop of London in the mid 70's, The fIlth and The Fury captures the very essence of the punk movement and depicts what was to become a key transitional moment in English and social history.