Rating: 
Summary: The Pistols back on their pedestals
Review: From formation in a fetish store in late 1975 to implosion in San Francisco in 1978, the Sex Pistols were the Bashi-Bazouks of punk music, bringing the sound to millions of listeners. They came to embody the movement, whether as music of working class rage or songs of snotty adolescent rebellion. The members' personalities were wildly different, fistfights were frequent and the Pistols replaced Glen Matlock, their bassist and best songwriter, with Sid Vicious, a sad heroin addict who literally could not play his instrument, in early 1977. The band was only together for 26 months, and to paraphrase Gibbon, we should ask not why it broke up but why it lasted so long. The film's answer, basically, is the Pistols had nowhere else to go. Guitarist Steve Jones says he hated playing guitar in early rehearsals but stuck with it because he didn't have anything else. It took Vicious' slide in heroin addiction and manager Malcolm McLaren's mismanagement to finally lead to the last concert, where singer Johnny Rotten said, more with weariness than contempt, "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?" "The Filth and the Fury" is an enjoyable, interesting piece that puts the Pistols in the context of their times. It makes a few bold sallies toward objectivity (for the band's reputation as a scream against the British establishment, Jones says he didn't know who the PM was and just wanted sex) but is essentially hero worship, as all rock documentaries are. That's not necessarily a problem, but the movie strongly suggests the whole of England was against the Pistols, which not only downplays the support they had from music critics who were as sick of Emerson, Lake and Palmer as they were but suggests punk was being listened to all over the country. In reality, it had something more than a cult following, but not much; the fear of punk gaining a broader audience drove much of the opposition documented here. Director Julien Temple, in his otherwise awful DVD commentary, points out he made "The Great Rock N' Roll Swindle" in 1979 to dispel some of the hero worship the band had developed, thought it went too far and made "Filth" as a corrective. OK. But the movie puts the Pistols back on their pedestals, which means their influences (Alice Cooper, the Modern Lovers, the New York Dolls) and more durable bands like The Clash suffer in comparison. You'd think punk owed everything to the Pistols after seeing this, and that ain't the case. That said, it would take a filmmaker of rare incompetence to make the Pistols' meteoric story boring, and Temple has gift for both narrative and humor. Rotten has one ego trip too many in his interview, but both he and the other members of the band provide new insights and details about the Pistols' troubled life. McLaren is heard only through audio he recorded for "Swindle," and it may be unfair, but the evidence doesn't weigh well in his favor. You get to see footage of "Who Killed Bambi?" the lousy film the Pistols did (with an appearance by Sting) and a previously unseen 1978 interview with Vicious, who speaks with a surly eloquence. It's great storytelling about a singular moment in time. The Pistols may have an importance out of proportion to their recorded legacy, but "Filth" does justice to their peculiar place in music.
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT FILM HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Review: superflykai gives an excellent review below and says exactly what I would have said, if I had only gotten here first. So I won't try and top it. What I will say though is that this is probably my favorite film of all time. You can tell that this was a real work of love. The editing is unbelievable and is actually more of an art film than anything else. Johnny Rottens naration just pulls you in. You see how intelligent he really is. No censorship here. There are virtually endless amounts of original scenes intercut in the most thoughtful way. Great interviews with Sid Vicious and silly scenes of him walking through the High Park in London with his swastika t-shirt and black leather jacket freaking everyone out. Great live performance scenes and you see that Steve Jones plays guitar as good on stage as he did in the studio. It's amazing to see how great they really were. There are also some heartfelt moments where Johnny feels a geat sense of sorrow about not knowing how to help Sid and he holds back the tears as he remembers how the papers exploited Sid's death and made a joke out of it. Too much material in this film to even begin to cover it. It's simply a great film and I highly recommend it to anyone with a mind. If you care about rock and roll as a means of social consiousness or as a way of personal liberation from all the social stupidiy, or if you ever dared rebel against authority, then this is a film for you and about you. I don't know any other band who did what the Sex Pistols did. Everything else now seems boring to me. My only complaint is that the film left me wanting for more. I've now seen all these great little clips of all these shows and all this chaos and I just want to see more of it.. I hope they release an updated version. I would like to see the entire Sid and Nancy interviews on a bonus disc. That would be great. I'd like to see more live shows complete from start to finish. The bonus materials on the disc aren't that great. Not much really. Only a couple of items.. I would also recommend Johnny Rottens autobiography, "Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks No Dogs" (title taken from a common sign which hung outside pubs in England in the 50's"
Rating:
Summary: As accurate as it can get
Review: Well no, I wasn't at the 100 Club that night either; I was far too young but nomatter when you got into the Pistols, this offering will be of interest to you. Documenting the rise and fall of the band, we flit from 1976 London to 1978 San Francisco in what seemed like no time. Contrasting with The Great Rock 'n Roll Swindle, this punkumentary is told by the band members (including Sid) as opposed to McLaren. It would have been nice to have heard his reaction to the way Jones, Cook and expecially Lydon tell it but I suppose they would not have participated if McLaren was involved at all. You have to look past Temple's style of documentary: it appeared to be a 'yoof' orientated aural and visual assualt on the senses or maybe this is the 'punk' way of making documentaries. The silhouettes of the Pistols was annoying, I can see no real reason for it. And unless I'm mistaken, a lot of the dialogue was out of sync with the pictures; was this deliberate? Again, I see no reason for it to be. The above notwithstanding, I enjoyed this slice of punk. Poor Sid.
Rating:
Summary: Secret Monikers for Trashy Brits
Review: Julien Temple and The Sex Pistol's anecdote to "Sid & Nancy." The documentary "The Filth and the Fury" amounts to personal points of view from the band members brought forefront, with actual recorded video footage over two decades old. Johnny Rotten blasts Malcolm McClaren, Steve and Paul blast Sid's awful bass playing skills, and everyone gangs up on Glen... sounds like the Pistols to me! The documentary is a sociocultural and historical perspective from the band members pertaining to everything from Great Britain's economic depression during the late 1970's, to individual opinions on the creative stagnation of musical creativity that plagued popular music during the period. Actual video footage acts as a band diary in revealing the complex issues each fool had to deal with. The interview with Sid Vicious is absolutely classic, the live action sequences of filthy, underground dive shows with the audience hanging on for the ride capture the pure essence which seems to have been lost in this modern day arena rock period. The indigence scene will always be a means of new and more creative sounds and it seems as though after watching this movie, you may have missed out on something good. The documentary is superfluously laced with ancient clips of an English version of Richard III at the beginning of the documentary, only to taper off towards the end. The documentary is full of scenes cutting and switching to events, while back-tracking to live interviews where band members are sitting in dark rooms to hide their aged faces... as more and more natural light fills their rooms, you begin to see the outlines of their faces. Of course there are other documentaries on the Sex Pistol that have live interviews with their current aged selves... there is one documentary entitled "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols," which has an up to date interview with Malcolm McClaren and the rest of the gang. With a background score almost entirely consisting of Pistol songs, excellent footage of riots in England, and the documentation of the band's self-destruction, right along with Nancy and Sid's self-destruction, the movie ends itself on gloomy circumstances where Mr. Rotten encourages people to see life his way. The movie is an absolutely wonderful watch, even if you never had the chance to enjoy The Sex Pistols or punk rock for the matter.
Rating:
Summary: Pistol Packing!
Review: 'The Filth and The Fury' stands out as a much better film than Temple's original 'Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle'. The only flaw in the film is the overdubbing of album tracks over original live footage. The Pistols were very much a reaction against the prevailing social and cultural outlook of Britain at the time and Temple does his best to transport us there through splicing clips of riots in Northern Ireland and London with TV commercials of that era. Although many people would deny any influence, 'The Fury' does share similiar qualities in form with Guy Debord's movie 'The Society of the Spectacle'. Along with montage images of political unrest and everyday consumerism, there's also the use of Shakesperian characters as narrators to the story. Orson Welles' Macbeth in 'The Spectacle' and Lawrence Olivier's Richard III in 'The Fury'. The best parts of the film are when various establishment figures e.g. city councilers and vicars, start to raging against the Pistols and the punk movement. From our vantage point it's difficult to see how some people could become so enraged over a rock group. Punk attitude today is almost a prerequisite for becoming a successful rock act. Another irony looking back from now is how ultimately contemporary the Pistols look. Almost conventional compared to the large hair and trousers they had to contend with. Which just goes to show how in terms of attitude and fashion, the Pistols were completely ahead of their time.
Rating:
Summary: Everything you want to know from the Pistols point of view
Review: The "Filth and the Fury" brings you the auto-biographic history of the Sex Pistols. It is the only movie that revisits the era in which the Pistols stormed onto the music scene, saying ...You" to meanstream music, only to crash and burn in their visit to the United States, from the surviving band members point of view.
The Sex Pistols give you everything you need to know about them in this movie. Their hatred for British society and government in the 1970s, as well as their hatred for their manager, Malcolm McLaren. It effectively displayed the effect their music had to their audience, showing the transition of style from show to show. (If you are particular squimess to fetish or baby pin piercings, do not watch this movie). And, rather humorously, "The Filth and the Fury" shows what ... off meanstream society about the Pistols.
Perhaps what is most memorizing about the movie is Johnny Rotten's emotional response to the death of his good friend and bass player, Sid Vicious. It is a side of Rotten that few will ever see, and the moment would have been even greater if he wasn't covered by a shadow. (All band members, in reflecting on the past, are covered with shadows)
With qoutes from "Paradise Lost" and clips from Shakespeare productions, the director seems to think his movie is advertised to British Literature majors. Malcolm McLaren's point of view is basicly eliminated. He is limited only to sound bites voiced over a man in a perversive leather mask. McLaren's portrayal in the movie is both distasteful and bias.
Other than these few problems, the movie is great when showing who the Pistols are and how and why they ...off England. You do not have to be a Sex Pistol fan to see this movie.
Rating:
Summary: The Truth About the Sex Pistols
Review: The surreal documentary of the rise and fall of the punk band the Sex Pistols is a very captivating film directed by Julien Temple. The filming techniques and the multitude of clips that enhanced the documentary ranging from cuts of the bands performances, ads taken from British television shows, the beginnings of a social collapse in Britain portrayed by the garbage strike and street demonstrations tell a very empowering story.
I thought it did an excellent job of giving an accurate account about the exciting, repulsive, offensive and even pitiful lives of the band members who were ostracized and hated by most of the British society. Yet it also portrayed the huge punk movement and culture they began and the people whom lived off of the rebellious vibes of their music. Music in a sense can be cult-like, and in this situation it was. Though each band member had their own personal problems besides the frequent inter-band disagreements, still a sense of a common following was founded based on revolution.
Their short-lived music career was nothing more than a harsh statement about life: living it and getting by. At their last show in San Francisco Rotten announced his lack of enjoyment with his music career and even stopped short in playing the final song of the set. His famous line after this says it best, "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?" Yes, moments in life come and go, and in the situation of the Sex Pistols their run was over, but the movement they started will never be forgotten. This extremely comprehensive documentary shouts this out loud and clear. The band scared people, it made them question their beliefs, and it made them think.
Though I thought the film dished out important messages, it was also rather drawn out and repetitive. It seemed as though the assembling of the band as well as the breakup were the most important aspects of the documentary; the middle could have been more compressed and had just as strong of an affect. Coming from a viewer who had never encountered the history of the Sex Pistols before, the documentary was confusing at points, but had a strong appeal and left me wanting to find out more about this influential band.
Rating:
Summary: sex pistols
Review: this dvd tells you the whole story of the sex pistols
Rating:
Summary: Great documentary.
Review: Great movie good for any pistols fan. It goes into some of the background, etc. It's worth the money...
Rating:
Summary: Very Good But Swindle Is Still The Best
Review: This DVD is fine, the quality is a bit grainy and I would have enjoyed more extras, but it's fine. The "documentary", if one can call it such, is typical "Pistols fare" and has become a cliche by this point. The style of "The Great Rock & Roll Swindle" has been replicated on the Filth and the Fury (and countless other Sex Pistols histories since) so much so that it would interesting to see someone tell the Pistol's story straight and without all the deliberately choppy editing style like an editorial montage. I found the "style" of the film to be not only fairly unoriginal, but also distracting. What's with Johnny Rotten and these clips of Sir Laurence Olivier in the role of Shakesphere's Richard III? I get the reference, but isn't it redundant to keep switching back & forth between Olivier's performance and Rotten's onstage? I certainly thought so anyway. No telling of the Sex Pistol's extreme history could ever possibly be dull and this film is no exception. If you don't know the band's history, then you really don't know what you're missing. Things were much wilder back then. For my money, 1978's "The Great Rock & Roll Swindle" is still the best Sex Pistols film available...indeed it is a work of art in its own right, apart from just its subject matter. I would recommend that film instead and also make a plea for someone/anyone to please reissue it on DVD soon.
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