The Filth and the Fury (2000)

Director:

Julien Temple

Release Date:

12 May 2000 (Norway)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | History | Music

Tagline:

A Sex Pistols film - uncut, unseen, unbelievable.

Plot:

A film about the career of the notorious punk rock band, the Sex Pistols.

Plot Keywords:

Band | Sex Pistols | Punk Rock Band | Punk Band | Interview

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Paul Cook	...	Himself
Steve Jones	...	Himself
John Lydon	...	Himself (as Johnny Rotten)
Glen Matlock	...	Himself
Sid Vicious	...	Himself (archive footage)
Malcolm McLaren	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Bowie	...	Himself (archive footage)
Alice Cooper	...	Himself (archive footage)
Stewart Copeland	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ronnie Corbett	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bryan Ferry	...	Himself (archive footage)
Stephen Fisher	...	Himself (Sex Pistols' lawyer) (archive footage)
Alice Fox	...	Woman in crowd (voice)
Bill Grundy	...	Himself (archive footage)
Eric Hall	...	Himself (as Eric 'Monster' Hall)
Benny Hill	...	Himself (archive footage)
Billy Idol	...	Himself (archive footage)
David Johansen	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jordan	...	Herself (archive footage)
Nick Kent	...	Himself (music journalist) (archive footage)
Shane MacGowan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Freddie Mercury	...	Himself (archive footage)
New York Dolls	...	Themselves (archive footage)
Laurence Olivier	...	Himself (archive footage)
Queen Elizabeth II	...	Herself (archive footage)
Roxy Music	...	Themselves (archive footage)
Steven Severin	...	Himself (as Siouxsie and the Banshees)
Siouxsie Sioux	...	Herself (archive footage)
Nancy Spungen	...	Herself (archive footage)
Rod Stewart	...	Himself (archive footage)
Sting	...	Himself (archive footage)
Andy Summers	...	Himself (archive footage)
Johnny Thunders	...	Himself (archive footage)
Helen Wellington-Lloyd	...	Herself (archive footage)

Directed by
Julien Temple

Produced by
Anita Camarata	....	producer
Eric Gardner	....	executive producer
Amanda Temple	....	producer
Paul Webster	....	chief executive procuder: FilmFour
Jonathan Weisgal	....	executive producer

Film Editing by
Niven Howie

Sound Department
Jens Christensen	....	foley recordist
Felicity Cottrell	....	foley artist
Paul Davies	....	supervising sound editor
John Hennessey	....	sound
Dave McGrath	....	sound mixer
Bernard O'Reilly	....	sound editor
Nick Robertson	....	sound
Jack Stew	....	foley artist
Andrew Stirk	....	dubbing assistant
Geoff Tookey	....	sound
Nick Watson	....	sound consultant: Dolby

Visual Effects by
Lorna Smith	....	grading

Camera and Electrical Department
Joe Stevens	....	still photographer

Editorial Department
Elaine Hughes	....	assistant editor
Lars Woodruffe	....	on-line editor

Music Department
Kaylin Frank	....	music clearance
Jill Meyers	....	music licensing

Other crew
John Shearlaw	....	researcher
Amanda Street	....	international sales: FilmFour
Cassandra Ulinski	....	assistant: Eric Gardner
James Wilson	....	production executive: FilmFour

Thanks
Terence Dackombe	....	special thanks
Danny DeVito	....	special thanks
Michael Shamberg	....	special thanks
Stacey Sher	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• FilmFour
• Jersey Shore
• Nitrate Film
• Panacea Entertainment
• The Sex Pistols Residuals

Distributors

• A-Film Distribution (2001) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Klock Worx Company, The (2000) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Slow Learner (2008) (Japan) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Transformer (2008) (Japan) (theatrical) (re-release)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• FilmFour
• Fine Line Features
• Mars Distribution (France)
• United King Films
• Universal Pictures (Spain) (Spain) (DVD)
• YLE Teema (2007) (Finland) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2001) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Sapex Scripts  post-production script services
• Videosonics Cinema Sound  sound re-recording

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive strong language, drugs and sexual content

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:MA | France:U | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Spain:18 | Iceland:16 | USA:TV-MA (cable rating)

Company:

FilmFour

Quotes:

John Lydon:[remembering Sid Vicious] All's I can tell you is I could take on England, but I couldn't take on one heroin addict.

Movie Connections:

References A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Soundtrack:

Looking For A Kiss

The Best Rock-Doc of all Time

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!