Sid and Nancy (1986)

The relationship between Sid Vicious, bassist for British punk group Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen is portrayed.

Director:

Alex Cox

Writers:

Alex Cox (screenplay), Abbe Wool (screenplay)

Stars:

Gary Oldman, Chloe Webb, David Hayman

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gary Oldman	...	Sid Vicious
Chloe Webb	...	Nancy Spungen
David Hayman	...	Malcolm
Debby Bishop	...	Phoebe
Andrew Schofield	...	John
Xander Berkeley	...	Bowery Snax
Perry Benson	...	Paul
Tony London	...	Steve
Sandy Baron	...	Hotelier - U.S.A.
Sy Richardson	...	Methadone Caseworker
Edward Tudor-Pole	...	Hotelier - U.K.
Biff Yeager	...	Detective
Courtney Love	...	Gretchen
Rusty Blitz	...	Reporter
John Spacely	...	Chelsea Resident

Storyline

Morbid biographical story of Sid Vicious, bassist with British punk group the Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen. When the Sex Pistols break up after their fateful US tour, Vicious attempts a solo career while in the grip of heroin addiction. One morning, Nancy is found stabbed to death and Sid is arrested for her murder.

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Plot Keywords:

vomiting | brandy | peppermint schnapps | self harm | character names as title | 

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Taglines:

Love kills

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Alex Cox

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 November 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sid and Nancy: Love Kills

Filming Locations:

Oakland Court, Holland Park, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$2,826,523

Company Credits

Production Co:

Initial Pictures, U.K. Productions Entity, Zenith Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Courtney Love auditioned for the role of Nancy Spungen, but was cast as Nancy's friend Gretchen instead. Alex Cox was impressed by Love's audition and considered casting her as Nancy. But the film's investors insisted on an experienced actress for the role. By way of an apology, Alex Cox then cast Courtney Love as one of the main characters in his next movie Straight to Hell (1987).

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Goofs

The "My Way" gig differs from the original. For example, in the real version, Sid did not stop singing and he put a small, black revolver out of one pocket of his jacket, whereas in the movie he took a much bigger gun in silver and brown under his left arm. Part of this goof can be explained as artistic license, due to the fact that the original video did not feature Malcolm and Vivienne (portrayed in the movie as Phoebe) getting shot. Many exact details will be changed for artistic and dramatic purposes.

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Quotes

Nancy: What are ya doin here? You're in the studio, these places cost like fifty grand a minute. You could be really shining out! But what? You're just wonking off!
John: Wanking!
Nancy: What happened to you? Did you try and kiss your mother?
John: None of your business.
Brenda Winczor: John got beaten up by facists.

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Crazy Credits

"And introducing the young Cat Vicious in the role of Smoky, Sid and Nancy's child."

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Connections

Referenced in Road Kill (1999)

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Soundtracks

Love Kills
Title Track
Written and Performed by Joe Strummer
© Joe Strummer 1986
Joe Strummer appears courtesy of CBS Records

User Reviews

love in the gutter

This vivid recreation of the last, not quite desperate days of Sex Pistol Sid Vicious and his junkie/lover Nancy Spungen celebrates all the pathetic excesses of punk rock anarchy, but without the overwrought clichés Oliver Stone would later use to embalm kindred rock martyr Jim Morrison. It would be hard to find a more honest and unsettling portrait of show biz degradation, and yet the two lovers shared an almost tender (if self-destructive) affection for each other, conveyed by director Alex Cox with a gritty, forthright lyricism (their silhouetted embrace amidst a hail of garbage provides the film's most telling image). If nothing else, the pair were certainly more loyal to the nihilistic punk aesthetic than their contemporaries, and the film chronicles their slow, co-dependent suicide from the gutters of swinging London to the alleys of New York City, with an ill-conceived detour to Nancy's white-bread Middle America homestead. Gary Oldman brilliantly captures the ignorant anger (and sometimes disarming innocence) of the man described by Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren as a "fabulous disaster", and Chloe Webb is equally fine as the ugly duckling drug addict Nancy.