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Sid & Nancy - Criterion Collection

Sid & Nancy - Criterion Collection

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Sad and Beautiful
Review: This is a fairly accurate look into the lives of two controversial (but untalented) and notorious figures in punk music. Gary Oldman's Sid was beyond exceptional. Chloe Webb's Nancy was graceful and sympathetic. After reading "And I Don't Want to Live This Life", I was quite disappointed at the portrayal of Nancy's family. She didn't tell her grandmother that she got married, she called her mother!! Overall, past the criticism and hype, a very brutal and tragic peek into the short, pathetic lives of two young stars that never had a chance because of heroin and self-mutilation.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: EXCELLENT!!!
Review: Great movie!! I remember my father taking me to the Fine Arts theater back in '86 in Chicago to see this when I was supposed to have been grounded. Even he loved it! I know John Lydon tried to deter fans from seeing it, but I liked it just the same. And Courtney Love looked totally in her element! So don't take the movie as 100% Gospel Truth- chalk it up to a piece of great entertainment.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Lies lies lies
Review: Don't believe anything in this movie.It's all lies.None of it is true.It was made without the conscent of any of the Sex Pistols. Johnny Rotten himself has commented that none of it is true.This film is an insult to the memory of Sid Vicious.Sure,he had an appetite for hard drugs and self destruction but there was more to him than that.Friends claim Sid was sharp,witty and highly intelligent,and he was.If you want proof of that check out his interview in the more accurate Pistols film "Filth and the Fury". Gary Oldman is a superb actor(I loved him in 'State of Grace') but he gives an utterly misguided performance as Sid.He's not at all convincing in the role.There's three basic probelms;facially, there's no resemblence between him and Sid,Gary was 27 when he made this movie but Sid was only 21 when he died and Gaz is only five foot nine,Sid was six foot two. Overall,it's an inaccurate,outsider's look at a simple story.If you want the truth check out "The Filth and the Fury" or read "Sid Vicious:Rock'n'Roll Star" by Malcolm Butt. Another thing,why is Chloe Webb playing Nancy?Courtney Love was born to play Nancy Spungen.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Not even close to great
Review: This movie would be a great disappointment to all sid vicious fans. According to all the people that had know him said this movie is full of lies.This Would scar a true die hard sid vicious fan it you would beleive. A very much disapointment

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It's better to burn out than fade away
Review: Oh my god, I just love this movie. It actually deserves 4 & a half stars, I rounded. hehe (In a way, I think it captures a moment in time). It's very realistic to the way they really were, the songs are great. Great directing and casting. Nice rock bio movie. Of corse it's not true word for word & and it has it's issues, but in a way that is just so beautiful. It's made for me, but I'm sure it's difficult for some to watch/enjoy. There are a few things I would change (and if I did it would be the perfect rock bio independent film). They really wronged Johnny Rotten, he wasn't like that and his hair was different. Also they had some extra footage of Nancy giving Sid a ... after they took some heroin, but they didn't have time to use it, they should have. It should have ended with Sid's death

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Grunge, and then some
Review: You watch Sid and Nancy with a certain feeling of helplessness. The main characters aren't particularly likeable, but they have a certain pathetic quality to them that makes you wish that the inevitable downward spiral of their lives as depicted in this film wasn't happening. Truly, this is a maddening film to watch.

Sure, it would be easy to dismiss this film as the tale of two losers who threw their lives away on drugs, alcohol, and fast-living. But that would be too easy. Sid Vicious was a vibrant, talented musician who couldn't begin to cope with his demons. Nancy made an effort to get them cleaned up and off the drugs, but ultimately wasn't strong enough to resist the force of Sid pulling them both down.

This isn't a bad film. In fact, director Alex Cox keeps the proceedings lighter than you might imagine, working in odd bits of humor and dream sequences that balance out the squalor a bit. The scenes that show Sid in performance help explain his appeal; he's like a live power wire that has come unmoored from its pole, sparking and whizzing around the stage. Cox also gets immersive, intense work from Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb in the leads. As much as I can admire the film from a technical standpoint, I can't say that it's very watchable. Webb gets into the habit of screeching most of her lines early in the film, and it never abates. Even if it's what Nancy Spungeon really sounded like, it's enough to drive one up the wall.

This movie obviously isn't for all tastes. There are those who praise the film, not minding that it makes for extremely unpleasant viewing. They're right that the movie is well-made and mostly well-performed. But just as it is possible for a musical composition to be technically perfect yet sound awful, this film created such a degree of psychological displacement for me that I find it hard to imagine I'll ever be up to watching it again.

That said, if you're looking to add this to your collection, do yourself a favor and attempt to get a copy of the unfortunately out-of-print Criterion edition, which comes crammed with features, including a commentary track by Cox and others, and a couple of short documentaries, among other tidbits.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: You have to wonder
Review: Like Sid's music there is no story here. The movie is a panorama of waste. Waste of celluloid, time and talent.

The performances by Oldman and Webb are over the top in the worst sense but the depiction of Nancy by Webb is extremely painful to watch. She turns Nancy from pathetic into strangely funny; a cartoon character.

You have to wonder what was the point?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: great but sad movie!
Review: This is such a touching, sad, and yes, romantic movie. Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb are so wonderful in the parts they play that after I saw this movie the first time, I couldn't forget it for days afterward. It's just such a sad story! And by the way, I have read "And I don't want to live this life" by Nancy's Mother and that just added to the intensity of the story for me. In fact it helps you understand how Nancy got so crazy. Great Book...Great Movie.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Terrible!
Review: There really isn't much to say about this movie except that it was an awful, inaccurate depiction of the relationship between this British punk rock "star" and his troubled American girlfriend, Nancy Spungen. Want the real story? Try reading the touching "And I Don't Want To Live This Live" by Deborah Spungen for a true to life account.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Movie, Great Soundtrack
Review: What a great movie. Oldman made Sid someone you could like and feel sorry for. Webb made Nancy someone you could hate and feel sorry for. A must see.

The soound track is great as well. Pray for Rain does an excellent job with setting the mood during some of the key parts of the movie. I digitally re-mastered the soundtrack (which is out of print) and it is on CD (17 tracks).

BigBlueC@bellsouth.net


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