The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (1980)

Director:

Julien Temple

Writer:

Julien Temple

Release Date:

12 March 1981 (Australia)

Genre:

Comedy | Music | Musical

Tagline:

The staggering story of the group who wrung the neck of rock 'n' roll

Plot:

A rather incoherent post-breakup Sex Pistols "documentary", told from the point of view of Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren...

Plot Keywords:

Sex Pistols | Punk | Mockumentary | Film In Film | Musical Performance

Cast

Malcolm McLaren	...	The Embezzler
Steve Jones	...	The Crook
Paul Cook	...	The Tea-Maker
Sid Vicious	...	The Gimmick
John Lydon	...	The Collaborator (as Johnny Rotten)
Ronald Biggs	...	The Exile (as Ronnie Biggs)
Liz Fraser	...	Woman in Cinema
Jess Conrad	...	Jess
Mary Millington	...	Mary, The Crook's girlfriend
James Aubrey	...	B.J
Julian Holloway	...	Man
Johnny Shannon	...	Man in Prison Cage
Helen Wellington-Lloyd	...	Helen (as Helen of Troy)
Edward Tudor-Pole	...	Tadpole (kiosk attendant) (as Tenpole Tudor)
Faye Hart	...	Secretary
Alan Jones	...	Record Executive
Irene Handl	...	Cinema Usherette
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Judy Croll	...	Catwoman (uncredited)
Peter Dean	...	Nightclub Bouncer (uncredited)
Dave Dee	...	Record Executive (uncredited)
Norman Gay	...	Audience member (uncredited)
Jerzimy	...	French singer on the street (uncredited)
James Jeter	...	Martin Bormann (uncredited)
Jordan	...	Girl wearing 'only anarchists are pretty shirt' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Debbie Juvenile	...	Girl in the chorus on the opening track (uncredited)
Glen Matlock	...	Ex-Pistol (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ralph Morse	...	Punk (uncredited)
Terrance Mustdoo	...	Audience member (uncredited)
Sophie Richmond	...	McLaren's secretary (uncredited)
John Snagge	...	Cinema Newsreel Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
Nancy Spungen	...	Nancy (uncredited)
Jean Warren	...	A & R Director - woman with ants on face (uncredited)

Directed by
Julien Temple

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Julien Temple

Produced by
Don Boyd	....	executive producer
Jeremy Thomas	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Adam Barker-Mill		(as Adam Barker Mill)
Nicholas D. Knowland
John Metcalfe
Willi Patterson

Film Editing by
Richard Bedford
Crispin Green
Mike Maslin
Bernie Pokrzywa
David Rae
Gordon Swire

Costume Design by
Norma Moriceau

Production Management
Joyce Herlihy	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gary White	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Celia Barnett	....	set designer

Sound Department
John Griffiths	....	sound editor
Dushko Indjic	....	boom operator
Brian Paxton	....	dubbing mixer
Jon Sanders	....	additional sound (as John Sanders)
Steve Cook	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ku Khanh	....	camera operator: 8mm camera
Norma Moriceau	....	camera operator: 8mm camera

Animation Department
Phil Austin	....	animator
Derek W. Hayes	....	animator
Bill Mather	....	animator
Gil Potter	....	animator
Andy Walker	....	animator

Music Department
Claude François	....	composer: song "My Way"
Steve James	....	music editor
Ian Samwell	....	composer: song "Watcha Gonna Do About It"
John Tiberi	....	soundtrack coordinator

Other crew
Sohie Richmond	....	production coordinator
Brenda Loader	....	continuity: second unit (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Boyd's Company (as Boyd's Co.)
• Kendon Films Ltd.
• Matrixbest
• Virgin Films

Distributors

• Virgin Films

Other Companies

• Animation City  animation supervision

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:103 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-14 | Singapore:M18 | New Zealand:R18 | France:-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | Australia:R

Filming Locations:

430 Kings Road, Chelsea, London, England, UK

Company:

Boyd's Company

Trivia:

Julien Temple replaced original director Russ Meyer and original writer Roger Ebert as a result of creative differences.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Towards the end of Sid Vicious' Punk rendition of Paul Anka/Frank Sinatra's "My Way", he pulls a revolver out of his pocket and starts shooting at the audience. He fires eight shots, which is more bullets than a revolver can hold.

Quotes:

The Embezzler:Lesson seven: cultivate hatred; it is your greatest asset. Here at home, create a tour that no one can turn up to. Throw the groups name away, and leave a question mark in its place. Create confusion. The Sex Pistols made sure that they failed to turn up at certain venues. Reading false rumours wherever they could.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in St Trinian's II: The Legend of Fritton's Gold (2009)

yeah, swindle. for real. rotters

after seeing John Lydon break down over the senseless exploitation of sid vicious when he absolutely hit bottom in Temple's other sex pistols film "The Filth and the Fury," he must have wanted to disown this little piece of trashy lucre. the finale with its spinning headlines and the anka-fueled massacre are just the tips of the iceberg on the meaty, excessive collage film assembled here.

the star on board is mclaren, in full sleazeball form. to the unsuspecting eye, it seems like an act. it is, of course, until you realize that it's the same act he kept up in the public eye for years, while running his little pet project dry. mclaren cut his teeth on theater of the absurd and fancies his managerial life a kind of kaufman-esque performance. the only problem is that mclaren often-times does not have the consent of his lab rats, a bunch of naughty British hooligans that called themselves the sex pistols (no, mclaren did NOT come up with the name).

therefore, it's partially amusing to watch mclaren credit himself with inventing the wheel in punk rock, and partially disgusting when you approach the subject matter knowing he gave nary a shat about the well-being of his bandmates nor the political and social commentary they, especially rotten, were trying to convey. mclaren was more interested in assembling a forefather to reality TV- life as nihilistic, self-imploding art.

the movie itself is not much. there's laughs here and there, but mostly it's a bloated and deadweight companion piece to "The Filth and the Fury," mostly wound into watchability by excellent live performances and some bizarre visual interpretations of songs (some of which seem hardly composed on a punk rock budget). "who killed bambi" (also mclaren's idea with none of the band members really interested in the idea) shows up in several parts and proves to be a quite pointless endeavor.

the majority of punk rock was not known for its rock star exploits off the stage (in fact, that was kinda the point- that these werent rock stars at all). if there had to have been a band to make a boisterous film with sex and drugs and midgets and animation and disco dancing, it's probably best that it was the sex pistols. overall, this film should be mostly reserved for hardcore fans, though others may find value in the sheer novelty of the package. but do yourself a favor and see "filth" first.