The Filth and the Fury

A little more light-hearted – sometimes – is director Julien Temple’s (Earth Girls Are Easy) follow-up to his 1980 documentary about the Sex Pistols, The Great Rock and Roll Swindle. The original, though fascinating, was criticized for giving too much credence to the Pistols’ creator and manager, Malcolm McLaren. This time Temple lets the band talk, and even if you’re one of those who is underwhelmed by John Lydon’s recent forays into television commentary, hearing the band members’ own take on their historical significance is thoroughly engrossing – even moreso when you consider that, in this company, Johnny Rotten was “the intellectual.”

There is simply too much memorable stuff here to pare it down to a few highlights. Everything -- the faltering English economy that gave them rise, the spectacle of a number-one hit (“God Save the Queen”) whose title couldn’t even be listed on the charts since the song was banned, the final “did you ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?” moment when the band fell apart onstage after its brief U.S. tour, the deaths of Mary Spungen and Sid Vicious, you name it – is uncovered with touching honesty and humor. The Filth and the Fury is thick with priceless quotes, so I’ll just mention one of my favorites from Lydon: “The Sex Pistols ended at exactly the right time for all the wrong reasons.” A

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