MoPoshy
Absolutely brilliant
Billie Morin
This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Patience Watson
One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.
nobby burden (stevespeedy)
I titled this "documentary," although it's so much more. In retrospect England was an empire in precipitous decline. Mortgages were extended to 40 years leaving nothing to posterity. Immigrants - legal and illegal - were taking work cheap and crowding out the council estates, thus leaving youth disaffected with no hope. The Sex Pistols voice that deep discontent, so the Callahan Labour government ginned up a campaign of 2 Minutes Hate as a temporary distraction from his evil party's stupid policies. I was caught up in it too.However, in 1985 I bought a copy of Never Mind TheBollocks. After listening to it enough times to decipher the lyrics, I was blown away! No wonder the government had to shut them up, the Pistols pulled no punches - calling the government a fascist regime was simply going too far. Well, God bless these lads.This film paints the despair of four down and out, yet very real people. I'd buy the fellows a round any time. They are genuine, no phoniness whatsoever. The best scenes are when the band hurled green on the hook-nosed heroin addict from the New Musical Express who was responsible for starting the media's hate campaign. And also the scene during the TV interview with the totally forgettable Bernard Whathisname. The lecherous host came on to one of their fans, so Glen called him a dirty old man. You could see this lilylivered coward blanch with fear, and cringe as he called for a commercial break.The Sex Pistols proved to the world that if you have something to say, then set it to 3 chord rock and proclaim it loudly!
Xenzi
It probably takes someone like Julien Temple, who has been intimately involved in the Pistols' history, to make such a compelling documentary. Not being much of a Pistols fan, I didn't expect to be moved very deeply by this narrative, but I found myself fascinated by the plethora of material Temple has dug up, and the sophisticated, multi-layered editing. The film not only follows the Pistols' lives, but gives us a rich and detailed picture of the times that spawned them. And it completely validates their attitude - the Pistols are the only people shown here who appear completely contemporary, in contrast to a stifled society that, looking back, seems almost grotesque. It was time for the Pistols' full history to become known, including the details of their demise. Thanks to the filmmakers, now it is.
Laurence Schwartz (lschwartz106)
Watching the first ten minutes of F & T F, I can honestly say that I experienced the only true religious experience I've ever felt in the matrix of a movie theatre. I had an out-of-body experience, so completely was a swept into the world of Julian Temple's interpretation of what The Sex Pistols were, how they came to be, when they came to be, and the madness of Great Britain that allowed them to come to be. It was probably the only time cheek irony ever really worked, that is, playing majestically classical music during the opening credits. And then that marvelous segue from the lower-income housing courtyard to Johnny's blistering presence. As ferociously brilliant a film as the band itself. But the film is more than just about the band; it's also about the fear of the establishment when its status quo is threatened, the media, and British society. The hypocrisy of the British government is ever evident when we see a public official denouncing the band as a disgusting bunch sub-human runts that are "the antithesis to human-kind" and then later see this and play a benefit concert and host an x-mas party for the children of striking firefighters. THAT WAS THE POINT OF THE PISTOLS in some respects. Their anger was grounded in the mistreatment of working people. Maybe it was a publicity booster, but I've seldom seen any American bands get their ands dirty and link up with Labor issues. The film is also about Language. It seems that using racial epithets are accepted in some British circles, but airing some traditional four letter words on public television, is still taboo. Anti-drug? Certainly. Johhny Rotten comes right out and extols the evils of Heroin and we see what it can do to a human being in Sid and his ultimate demise. SEE THIS MOVIE!
Cabrone
The Filth and the Fury is the best musical documentary I have ever seen about one of the most influential bands ever.The Sex Pistols were an explosion that could only last a short time but one whose ripples still influence bands of today which is amazing as they only ever released one album.The footage of the band was excellent with lots of previous unseen shots and I really felt that the film tried to show them as human beings rather than caricature bad guys. I also thought that the director did a great job of explaining the social climate of the time and why punk came about, an honest account about how ordinary people in the UK really felt about what was happening at the time.All in all a fitting epitaph, their music was raw and brilliant, I just wish I could say that about most of todays offerings.
