The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (1980)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Julien Temple

Writer:

Julien Temple (writer)

Release Date:

12 March 1981 (Australia)

Genre:

Comedy | Music | Musical

Tagline:

The staggering story of the group who wrung the neck of rock 'n' roll

Plot:

A rather incoherent post-breakup Sex Pistols "documentary", told from the point of view of Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren...

Plot Keywords:

Sex Pistols | Punk | Shot In The Chest | Satire | Female Nudity

Cast

Malcolm McLaren	...	The Embezzler
Steve Jones	...	The Crook
Paul Cook	...	The Tea-Maker
Sid Vicious	...	The Gimmick
John Lydon	...	The Collaborator (as Johnny Rotten)
Ronald Biggs	...	The Exile (as Ronnie Biggs)
Liz Fraser	...	Woman in Cinema
Jess Conrad	...	Jess
Mary Millington	...	Mary, The Crook's girlfriend
James Aubrey	...	B.J
Julian Holloway	...	Man
Johnny Shannon	...	Man in Prison Cage
Helen Wellington-Lloyd	...	Helen (as Helen of Troy)
Edward Tudor-Pole	...	Tadpole (kiosk attendant) (as Tenpole Tudor)
Faye Hart	...	Secretary

Also Known As:

Who Killed Bambi? (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

USA:103 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-14 | Singapore:M18 | France:-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | Australia:R

Filming Locations:

Highgate Cemetery, Swain's Lane, Highgate, London, England, UK

Company:

Boyd's Company

Trivia:

'Sting' appeared in a brief scene as the leader of a gay band The Blow Waves who attempt to kidnap Paul Cook but the footage was cut from the film. It later reappeared in the documentary The Filth and the Fury (2000).

Goofs:

Factual errors: Towards the end of Sid Vicious' Punk rendition of Paul Anka/Frank Sinatra's "My Way", he pulls a revolver out of his pocket and starts shooting at the audience. He fires eight shots, which is more bullets than a revolver can hold.

Quotes:

The Embezzler: Helen, never trust a hippie.

Movie Connections:

Followed by The Filth and the Fury (2000)

A tissue of lies

To this day, Malcolm McLaren is telling anyone daft enough to believe him that the Sex Pistols were his idea and that the band members were his puppets to be used to make him money. There is a good reason for him doing this, namely that he is a liar.

Here are some real facts.

* McLaren was actually approached by the band to be manager, not the other way round.

* The Pistols were a proper, organic band and not created by McLaren or anyone else. Jones and Cook were childhood friends. Rotten and Vicious went back a long way too. This is something that has led to unfair criticism of the Pistols down the years as they have been likened to manufactured boy bands.

* The band and no one else wrote the songs, recorded them, played live, created the publicity and gave the interviews.

* McLaren did not instigate the Bill Grundy incident. The Pistols only appeared on the programme because Queen had pulled out. According to the band, McLaren was cowering in the back in case arrests were about to be made.

* Johnny Rotten walked out of the band. He was not sacked.

* Far from outwitting the Sex Pistols, John Lydon (Rotten) actually successfully sued him in the 1980s for control and a considerable sum of money. Some of the evidence used by Lydon's lawyers was from McLaren's boasting in 'The Great Rock & Roll Swindle'. This would suggest that McLaren is none too bright despite his affectations.

* The sackings and subsequent pay offs from A & M and EMI were, again, not engineered, it was merely the way things panned out.

* McLaren boasts about the money he made from the band. If he had been competent, he could have made a great deal more. It seems he coudn't even organise gigs properly.

* McLaren's claim at the start of the film that he invented punk rock can be disproved in about ten seconds. The Pistols were not the first punk band, merely the most high profile.

This is a terrible film. The only parts worth watching are the genuine footage of the band, later put to much better use in 'The Filth And The Fury'.