Performance (1970)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Directors:

Donald Cammell
Nicolas Roeg

Writer:

Donald Cammell (written by)

Release Date:

4 September 1970 (Finland)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Fantasy | Music

Tagline:

See them all in a film about fantasy. And reality. Vice. And versa.

Plot:

Chas, a violent and psychotic East London gangster needs a place to lie low after a hit that should never have been carried out...

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Superstar | Lie | Waitress | Cereal

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

James Fox	...	Chas
Mick Jagger	...	Turner
Anita Pallenberg	...	Pherber
Michèle Breton	...	Lucy (as Michele Breton)
Ann Sidney	...	Dana
John Bindon	...	Moody
Stanley Meadows	...	Rosebloom
Allan Cuthbertson	...	The Lawyer
Anthony Morton	...	Dennis (as Antony Morton)
Johnny Shannon	...	Harry Flowers
Anthony Valentine	...	Joey Maddocks
Kenneth Colley	...	Tony Farrell (as Ken Colley)
John Sterland	...	The Chauffeur
Laraine Wickens	...	Lorraine

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content, nudity, drug material and some violence.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White | Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

France:-16 | South Korea:18 | West Germany:18 (f) | Brazil:18 | Australia:R | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | USA:X (original rating) | Finland:K-16 (cut)

Filming Locations:

23 Lowndes Square, Knightsbridge, London, England, UK

Company:

Goodtimes Enterprises

Trivia:

Anita Pallenberg replaced the pregnant Marianne Faithfull.

Quotes:

[Chas flicks his cigarette ash onto a rug]
Turner: That rug's over two hundred years old.
Chas: Yeah, it looks it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Wild Side (1995)

Soundtrack:

The Hashishin

One of the greatest films ever made, period.

PERFORMANCE captured the perverse sub-culture of organized "working class" gangsters with an unromanticized authenticity not matched until THE SOPRANOS came along three decades later. But it's not just a gangster movie; it's a heady brew overflowing with subtle and insightful intuitions about the power and dangers of the ego, the male-female equation, power structures, sex, drugs and rock'n'roll. Mainstream viewers might be put off by the radical "rococo" editing, which was well ahead of its time -- as were the "rock video" sequences which feature some of Mick Jagger's finest musical moments (playing blues guitar; and singing and dancing at the peak of his prime in the scene where he regains his "demon.") The soundtrack also features stellar cuts from Randy Newman and Merry Clayton, a great score by Jack Nitszche, and what may be the very first "rap" song ever recorded on film, by the Last Poets. Wall-to-wall intercuts bounce us around among story points connected on the quantum level; they may seem arbitrary and confusing, but rather than trying to "get" the story as it unfolds, the first time viewer is advised to just go with the flow and absorb as much as possible, enjoying the beautifully choreographed violence, the awesome soundtrack, the quirky characters and intriguing storyline. If you get into the mystical and psychological subtext, you'll probably end watching this movie more than once, and you'll get more out of it each time. But even on a superficial level, this film has plenty to enjoy. All the performances are excellent; James Fox and Jagger are outstanding. Movies don't get any better than this. P.S. -- Although Nick Roeg is a fine director, much of the credit for this masterpiece goes to Donald Cammell.