Sex Pistols - The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (1980) DVD Review
by DeadSun

. "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?" --- Johnny Rotten 

It is this devilish dictum, often pontificated by Johnny Rotten, that captures the espirit of director Julien Temple's mock documentary about the Sex Pistols. It is deceptively simplistic, and surrounds itself with the sort of smirking "I know something you don't know" prankishness that John Lydon is truly the indisputable king of. Cheated out of what, exactly? 

The film's title is similarly provocative, and sets the stage for its content. Were the Sex Pistols a swindle--- a clever scheme which exploited Great Britain's troubled and disaffected underbelly during the late 1970s? If it were the case, was it the sole handiwork of band manager Malcom McLaren--- or were Rotten, Jones, Cook, and Vicious knowing accomplices? These are all amusing questions for the viewer, and the music enthusiast in particular, to playfully contemplate while watching The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle. If we are to buy into the suggestion that the Pistols, a virtual keystone to a movement steeped in anti-corporatism, were in fact on a cash-grabbing mission, then the realization of punk's inherent self-contradiction is unavoidable. 

Julien Temple (in collaboration with Malcom McLaren, and who is no doubt an avid Pistols fan off-camera) intentionally sets out to make this the central taunt of the film--- and absolutely everybody in the film pulls double duty to keep the inside joke/controversy alive throughout. Toss in a suggestively dressed midget, a nude, underaged girl, a cocaine-quaffing executive, live performance footage of the Pistols, a handful of quirky animation shorts, a dollop of blood, and a gallon of spit; well, you have entertainment--- Malcom McLaren style. 

Of course in the middle of all this gratuitous pomp and raunch, McLaren pops in and out, and like an eager guide, meticulously and humorously turns the film into a "How To Manual" for any would-be band manager looking to hand pick a band, pull cheap publicity stunts, cultivate image, foment controversy, court the record execs, and (at the end of the work day) pocket all of the damn profits. Naturally, the film is grossly one dimensional, in truth being presented through the prism of McLaren's point of view. Johnny Rotten, for example, is sharply vilified by McLaren, though one might contend that McLaren's outrageous and sleazy portrayal of himself in the film diminishes the notion that the Pistols themselves secretly harbored a corporatist agenda. For the other side of the story (that of the actual band members) one would be well advised to check out "The Filth and the Fury"... a similar film, also shot by Temple. 

Generally, the film was/is, (on one hand) derided by film critics as being poorly made and disorganized, and therefore relegated to the hands of rock film completists and die hard fans, and (on the other) treated by humorless music critics as the time-honored "smoking gun" which somehow proves the band's punk credentials as fraudulent. Perhaps this is the most unique accomplishment of The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle--- it being an ironically funny expose of the Pistols uncanny knack for blurring the line between nihilism and capitalism. It shows up time and time again in Rotten's sneering sermons. How do you get what you want? Use the enemy. The nihilist pledges allegiance to no camp, or indeed as many camps which are seen fit. 

Point out these inherent contradictions to a practicing nihilist. 

The likely response: "Who gives a f*ck?" 

After viewing The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, my take on the Sex Pistols is what it has always been: How could any person alive have faked their way through writing and recording Never Mind the Bollocks? It if was a prank, then we have witnessed the greatest back-fire in the history of Rock and Roll. 

DS 

Sex Pistols - The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (1980) DVD

Label:Shout Factory
Rating:

Track Listing:
1. Introduction 
2. The Great Rock �N� Roll 
3. Anarchy In The U.K. 
4. Johnny B. Goode 
5. You Need Hands 
6. No Feelings 
7. Silly Thing 
8. Rock Around The Clock 
9. Bodies 
10. God Save The Queen 
11. Pretty Vacant 
12. Somethin� Else 
13. Lonely Boy 
14. C�mon Everybody 
15. Belsen Was A Gas 
16. No Fun 
17. Who Killed Bambi? 
18. Belsen Vos A Gassa 
19. My Way 

Special Features

 � Interview and commentary with director Julien Temple by Chris Salewicz
� 5.1 Surround Sound 

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