The Filth and the Fury (2000) User Reviews

My mate John

[rob.cottrell-2 · 15 November 2004]

The first Julian Temple documentary on the Sex Pistols, 'The Great Rock n'Roll Swindle' was a gimmicky treatment that suggested the creation of the band was all a clever confidence trick perpetuated by Malcolm Maclaren. In his version the Pistols were a personal creation that deliberately manipulated the media and the 'suits' that ran the music industry into paying out vast amounts of cash even when the band failed to produce any material.

This second version of events is a little more honest. Maclaren is shown to be a self-deluded egotist, the real driving force being 'Johnny Rotten', and the band, far from having the upper hand, were in fact ripped off financially by the very people they were supposed to be rebelling against.

It all ended in a shambolic final concert where Rotten wails out 'No Fun' for 15 minutes and then walks off with a smirking, 'Ever felt you've been cheated?'

Trouble is; this is a lie as well. The Pistols carried on after Lydon left; sad fun and games with the Great Train Robber, Ronnie Biggs and Sid Vicious' infamous rendering of 'My Way' being the 'highlights'. What's more, within months of Johnny Rotten's noble statement about not selling out at the end of the documentary, the Pistols reformed in the 21st century and gave progressively pathetic concerts.

It's still an interesting documentary but I guess the myth has now become so mixed up with the legend that anything approaching the truth is lost for ever.

This documentary does feature, however, an archive interview with Sid Vicious – whose real name was John, Lydon affectionately remembers - which I have never seen before. It says more about the times than anything else in the film. Although dressed in his trade mark Nazi t-shirt and initially punctuated with all the predictable anarchic attitudes, this veneer gradually slips away to reveal a young naïve man, who's life along with his heroin addiction was spiraling out of control.

No fun, indeed.

Forget everything you may have heard about the Sex Pistols..

[Joe H · 19 October 2000]

Forget everything you may have heard or read about the Sex Pistols. Forget "Sid and Nancy". This is THE documentary. A warts and all look inside the lives of a band that changed the face of music forever. Never mind Julien Temple's earlier effort "The Great Rock and Roll Swindle", the sensationalist Malcom McLaren (Manager of the Pistols) centred documentary. "Filth" tells the story using the the band (and a lot of Temple's own 1970's 'never before seen' home video tapes).

In existence for only 26 months and releasing only one album, the Sex Pistols evolved within a time of massive economic, social and cultural oppression in England. This was an era unlike any other. Staggering youth unemployment; squalid streets where the piles of rubbish became small hills and the stench over-powering, and with the IRA bombing campaign reaching its peak. One of the most amazing things about this documentary is that it actually takes us back in time to the mid-70's landscape of London. Through the use of newsreel footage, television adverts of the day, weather reports and game-show clips, "Filth" immerses the viewer in everything absurdly "English" from the time.

The documentary not only lets you "feel" like you're actually there with the band, it tells you so much that you actually believe you were there. Without going into essay length about the story of the Sex Pistols, there are just so many interesting/bizarre facts revealed about the band that you really begin to realise why they are such a huge influence on music today. I may be ignorant, but I now know that Johnny Rotten started spitting on stage only because of his sinus problems, Sid Vicious inadvertently started the "pogo" dance, and the band were the first ever to say the "F" word on British television. David Bowie, Siouxie Sioux and Elvis Costello could often be spotted at a Pistols show, and opening bands on the bill ranged from The Clash, The Damned and The Buzzcocks.

One-to-one interviews with each surviving band member, as well as extensive interview footage with Sid Vicious (Hyde Park-1978), are revealing and extremely honest. The many sides and angles of the Pistols story have been told by those that lived it. Almost all of the interviews have been shot in silhouette, so the only faces you see are those of the members being "The Sex Pistols". The idea being not to spoil the feel or continuity of the film, and from saving us all having to look at a bunch of old blokes talking about "those crazy days".

Julien Temple proves himself to be the only man for the job of Director. There is a lot to be said about someone who abandons there student film career and goes about documenting a band, but Julien Temple did just that. His ability to display the true personalities of each band member is remarkable, and this has translated over to the audience. In a recent interview he states "People have watched the film and been almost in tears at the end, which is the last thing you would expect from a Sex Pistols movie. But it is because there was never anything about the Pistols that you expected, that was part of their power".

No, I didnt cry, but the story of the Pistols is a tragic one ending with the split of the group, Sid Vicious being the prime suspect over the death of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen, and then his drug induced death months later.

Whether you're a fan of the Sex Pistols or not is really irrelevant. Whether you play in a punk band is also irrelevant (although it'll make you think twice about the term "punk"). The point is, if your interested in music, popular culture or human behaviour, this is a movie that will reward you. Both entertaining and informative, "The Filth and The Fury" actually delivers as being "the definitive story of The Sex Pistols".

This one is for Harold Wilson; It's called Liar!

[hitchcockthelegend · 10/10 · 6 August 2010]

The Filth and the Fury is directed by Julien Temple and is a rockumentary charting the rise and fall of Punk Rock flag bearers, The Sex Pistols. 20 years earlier Temple had made The Great Rock and Roll Swindle, a bonkers and quirky movie that skewed the Sex Pistols legend as some elaborate hoax formulated by band manager Malcolm McLaren. The Filth and the Fury tells the story from the viewpoint of the band members themselves and goes some way to dispelling the myths that surround them and their self publicising manager. The title of the film is a reference to a headline that appeared in the British tabloid newspaper The Daily Mirror after an interview with the band on ITV's Today show presented by Bill Grundy. The story follows the band members from their humble beginnings in London's Shepherd's Bush, to their implosion at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, and then to coup de grace as Sid Vicious & Nancy Spungen left the mortal coil.

Love them or hate them, The Sex Pistols in the mid to late 70s created a wave in the music industry that can still be felt today. Most of it now seems tame of course, swearing on TV and alleged distasteful songs are common practice these days, but it were not the case back when flared trousers and guys wearing make up gave way to Punk Rock Britannia. But is there anything here for those who just don't get that the Pistols were influential and one of Britain's most important bands? Yes, definitely. This is no rose tinted glasses documentary serving only to keep the Pistols name on the high heat. Nor, is it over an hour and half of their videos and live footage. Of course the music features prominently, but it's in context to the story, a story that sees the remaining band members give frank and honest assessments of the time, the place and the now.

Interviewing the band singularly in darkened silhouette to give off the impression we are witnessing criminal informers at work, Temple also puts the band into historical context with Britain's social situation in the 1970s. This is crucial to the origins of the band. It was a time of strikes and suspect politicians, so with archival footage from the period, Temple fuses the Pistols ire with that of a country that was limping along in apathy. Haters of the band don't want to agree of course, but the Pistols showed that not all of Britain would surrender meekly, and, that music could actually make a difference and shake up the system. "Get Off Your Arse" snarled John, and thousands did, as Punk bands formed over night and showed that the youth of the day had a voice. How many bands can say that eh?

But as we know, it was to be a short lived journey for the band, one that would end in tragedy: as first the press went bazooka over the top with their every move, and then as one out of his depth bass player lost sight of the bands vision. This part of the film is subtly handled by Temple, the sense of impending doom hangs heavy, none more so with the old interviews held with Vicious that are woven into the last third as self destruction grows ever near. These sequences show what many people either forget or don't realise; that Vicious was just a kid of 21 years of age. This part of the tale also lets us into an untapped part of Lydon's {ne:Rotten} emotional side, a telling moment that brings the sorry chapter to a close.

From a time when music could be as dangerous as the politicians running the country, The Filth & The Fury is an essential music based movie. Not just for fans of the band, nor just for curious music fans in general, but also for historians wishing to see just how bad late 1970s Britain was. 10/10

Revisit Anarchy in the UK

[RobertF87 · 8 April 2004]

This film is a documentary about one of the most influential (certainly one of the most controversial) bands in music history: The Sex Pistols.

During their brief career, the Sex Pistols defined the genre of music called Punk Rock. The film details the situation in Britain at the end of the 1970s, where widespread dissatisfaction and alienation, combined with a very dull music scene, helped fuel the anger and craziness of Punk, which, according to John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten), gave a voice to people who previously didn't have a voice.

The film is a collection of present day interviews with the surviving members of the band (given in silhouette, for some reason), archive footage from concerts and TV appearances, vintage movie clips (notably Laurence Olivier as Richard the Third) and surreal animation.

The film mostly sidelines the Pistols' notoriously self-aggrandising manager Malcolm McLaran to concentrate on the band members themselves. The movie gives a good insight into an often quite disturbing world and a scene that was truly anarchic and exciting, whether you were a fan or not. There are also moments of genuine sadness, for example when Lydon talks about his friend, the late Sid Vicious.

This is recommended to anyone interested in popular music, or anyone who wants to see what real Punk was all about.

Best music documentary I've ever seen!

[Infofreak · 4 September 2001]

'The Filth And The Fury' isn't only the best music-related documentary I've ever seen, but one of the best documentaries ever made on ANY subject. Julian Temple succeeds in blending archival footage of the band, various ads, rock videos, news reports, TV comedians, Olivier's 'Richard III', and recent interviews, and by this manages to put the Sex Pistols in a musical, political and CULTURAL context. If that sounds pretentious, the movie is anything but. It is fabulously entertaining but at the same time is a fascinating, insightful HONEST portrait that should appeal to both die hard fans and novices.

So few movies or TV shows treat music seriously, or show that it can be much more than mass-produced trivialized entertainment. 'The Filth And The Fury' does exactly that and is all the more powerful for it. A revelatory piece of film! I hope every rock'n'roll fan turns off MTV and watches this instead. If they did the music world would be a much better place.

Superb docu film and essential for everyone

[K.I.T.H. · 9/10 · 4 March 2003]

Was recommended this by a pistols fan who is also into the Punk scene. Not being a Pistols fan I was unsure but my friends tastes are similar so gave it a try. Very pleased I did. It's a thoroughly enjoyable docu film with some great footage and really encompasses the whole scene. It's amazing how times have moved on really and this is also a look at how society was so stuck up it's own arris here in the UK at that period.

John Lydon has always been much more than just a yob of a front man as every interview I have ever heard with him he has always spoken with true meaning and passion. This has not changed my mind and you cannot help but be moved by his interview, especially on the death of Sid. The best moments for me are the interviews and clips of journalist Nick Kent, an absolute 'kent' if ever there was one. As a big Adam Ant fan it was nice to see some footage of the man behind the song "Press Darlings", and boy did he come up trumps. What a complete.... It also reveals McLaren to be the compete t**t he was too. A great film for everyone with even a passing interest in music and not just punk. It's about a change in ideals and the times. And very well done. 9/10 as it does what it sets out to do very very well.

A tale told by no idiots, signifying plenty

[Tresy · 9/10 · 5 May 2000]

If nothing else, this is the only Sex Pistols film (there are now at least 3) to make explicit and in-depth reference to the band members' working class roots, and the way that experience informed their project. This alone makes the film worth seeing, as it explodes the myth, fostered no doubt by their PT Barnum manager, Malcolm McLaren, that the whole project was an exercise in cynical nihilism and money grubbing. As the band members tell it, nothing could have been further from the truth. I believe them.

The film is cobbled together in large part from 2 previous Sex Pistols documentaries, "Rock 'n' Roll Swindle," (a McLaren project also directed, ironically enough, by F&F director Julie Temple) and "D.O.A," plus clips from BBS television and elsewhere that try to locate the Pistols in the political and social climate that spawned them. This effort, to give the Pistols a historical context, is by far the most valuable part of the film for those trying to understand how a bunch of working class stiffs, who could barely play their instruments, and who only released one album, could set off an explosion that reverberates in the music world--if increasingly faintly--even today.

Best part of the film: footage from their last, secret gig at a palace in a working class district (they had been banned from appearing anywhere in England) before embarking on their ill-fated US tour. It consists of two performance on Christmas Day, benefiting the families of striking local firefighters, who had been out of work for many months. The attendees consist of the local lads and lasses, none of whom are "punk" in any apparent sense of the term.

Before the Pistols performed, everyone eats Sex Pistols cake and ice cream; "Never Mind the Bollocks" shirts are stretched over the pubescent bodies of every bobby soxer. Then, after a thank you from the emcee, the Pistols launch into the searing "Bodies," its sarcastic refrain sung from the point of view of an aborted fetus ("I'm not an animal!/I'm an abortion..."). All the boppers dance like it's a sock hop, with the difference that everyone gleefully throws leftover desserts at one another. Steve Jones is shown playing guitar with his face covered in cake icing, beaming. In his reminiscence about the gig, Rotten grows wistful, saying it was easily their best memory as a band, and the last good one before it all fell apart.

I never knew the guys were such sentimentalists.

It's hard to believe that there once was a time when rock music could actually matter, when it was possible to actually escape the commodified rebellion that now sells Budweiser, Nike, and SUVs, when it was possible, however briefly to scare the pants of the political establishment. Young pop music lovers who swallow the meretricious rebellion of rap or grunge--whose self-important lyrics and idiotically monotonous rhythms make their authors rich off the weekly allowances of white middle class kids whose idea of rebellion is big loud subwoofers in the Corolla Daddy bought them for their 16th birthday--might profit from getting a glimpse of the Real Thing.

The rest of us, who were lucky enough to have been there when history was made, and who can still recall the opening chords of "Anarchy in the UK" blasting all traces of "More Than a Feeling" and "Take It Easy" out of our speakers cabinets and into the first circle of music Hell where they always belonged, can enjoy the film for what it teaches us about the power of ordinary, thoroughly obnoxious people to make their own history, and ours.

Another thing I learned from the film: if Tom Cruise were a junkie, he would look just like Sid Vicious.

Best documentary

[stevespeedy · 10/10 · 3 February 2010]

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!

A fine and informative documentary about the legendary 70's British punk band the Sex Pistols

[Woodyanders · 9/10 · 27 August 2007]

Julien Temple's slick mock rock doc "The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle" was a delightfully irreverent, but extremely embellished and thus less than accurate depiction of the Sex Pistols' 26 legendary months of unmitigated excess, success, pandemonium and inevitable failure. This far more scruffy and honest down-to-earth documentary sets the record straight sans huckster impresario Malcom McLaren's gross self-serving distortions of the truth. The surviving band members -- angry, fiercely snide and abrasive working class anti-star front-man Johnny Rotten, fellow surly band members Steve Jones and Paul Cook, token happy average guy out Glen Matlock -- are all interviewed, saying in their own shockingly candid, open, often profane and hilariously spiky words their savagely upfront thoughts and feelings about the whole bloody two year fracas that was the band's abrupt and chaotic, yet still glorious and influential reign.

We learn about the individual band members' sad, crappy childhoods, the gray, decaying, trash-littered rot and social upheaval of mid 70's London, the group's musical influences (glam rock and heavy metal!), how the punk movement initially encouraged raw displays of individualism and equalized the sexes, the Sex Pistols' primitively rattling three-chord sonic assault was purposefully ugly, sludgy, tuneless and egalitarian, the Pistols' infamous (and truly riotous) foul-mouthed interview on an insipid morning TV chatshow, the band's disastrous record contract with EMI, the Thames River party, how the song "God Save the Queen" put Rotten's life in considerable jeopardy, Sid Vicious beating up punk journalist Nick Kent, punk's unfortunate downslide into trendy chic mainstream nullity, Nancy Spungen's fatal hold on Sid (the other band members vehemently abhorred her), the abortive feature film "Who Killed Bambi?" (with Sting in his film debut!), Sid's tragic untimely death from a heroin overdose, and the Sex Pistols' horrendously unsuccessful final nail-in-the-coffin American tour (the frightfully hostile yank audiences expected a freakshow). Moreover, we find out that Sid popularized pogoing at punk clubs, McLaren never paid the band a dime, and that a '77 Christmas benefit gig was probably the Sex Pistols' best ever show.

The grainy, gritty, usually ratty and washed-out mostly color, sometimes black and white unpolished archival footage of the band at its supremely rowdy and astonishingly outrageous peak possesses an irresistibly grungy and oddly intimate appeal while the crude blaring music -- such killer classic numbers as "Anarchy in the U.K.," "God Save the Queen," "Pretty Vacant," and "Holidays in the Sun" among 'em -- roars away with a furiously brutal abandon. Johnny Rotten sagely comments at the very end that the Sex Pistols were probably too good for their own good to last very long, but luckily this first-rate picture vividly immortalizes their notorious exploits and substantial legacy for posterity's sake.

the best music doco I've seen in a long while

[KeelyTheRockStar · 10/10 · 25 October 2004]

if your not a pistols fan before you watch this, you definalty will be after. at least thats the experience I've had from myself and people i know viewing this film. i was already a bit of a fan. you know i had a thing for sid pre nancy days and i thought johnny rotten was a unique man. but after watching this documentary with my dad ( who is a musician, but never liked anything the pistols did) i realized that this band, was so much more than the punks they were made out to be, they were rebeling against being a product of their surroundings, but at the same time find that it near impossible to achieve. my dad on the other hand, watched the movie, and immediately asked for one of my pistols cd. so i game him never mind the bollocks and set off to listen. the very next day, i find him singing 'anarchy' while doing the dishes. his views were exactly hte same as mine. except this documentary turned him from a non believe to a fan.

I'm not really one for documentaries... i thought id cracked it when i watched spinal tap, and then realsied that they were only mocking hte whole genre... so then i felt like a fool (but immediately went to see if my dads marshall went up to 11 rather than just 10). but the filth and the fury held my attention from the very first shot to the rolling of the credits. so naturally when i saw it in the store, i bought it, and I've watched it A lot of times since. sometimes in the row... and every time, it makes me laugh, and cry and makes me want to have lived back in the days of the punk.

the filth and the fury is an emotional ride of a doco that combines everything you want in a movie with an awesome soundtrack and some real meaning. this documentary is a MUST for all music fans, whether you think you like the pistols or not. by the end of it, you will be converted. or just appreciative. its an excellent piece of film making that tells the story of one of the most influential bands of the 70's, and indeed of rock history.

Review of Julien Temple's documentary of the Sex Pistols

[rockinthe607 · 19 December 2002]

In his documentary, The Filth and the Fury, Julien Temple chronicles the rise and the fall of the legendary punk rock band the Sex Pistols. Temple tells this story through accounts given to him by the still living Sex Pistols, as the opposing side to his other Sex Pistols film, Great Rock and Roll Swindle, which was told to him by the Sex Pistols manager, Malcolm McLaren.

Temple uses interviews with the band members to tell the story of the Sex Pistols and intertwines it with live footage of the band's concerts and a taped interview with Sid Vicious, filmed before his death. The band their formation, joining up with McLaren, firing Glen Matlock, replacing him with Vicious, their problems in the United Kingdom and the United States, and the eventual end of the band due to Vicious's heroin addiction.

The documentary really got inside of the Sex Pistols and showed a more human side of the band. While the band is often made out to be a bunch of rowdy, angry, punk rock kids, the documentary showed a different side to them. Footage is shown of the band during a children's benefit show and the band members are seen playing with and talking to the kids with huge smiles on their faces, their joy at being at the event evident. Johnny Rotten also spends a large amount of time at the end of the film discussing Vicious' heroin addiction and his guilt at being unable to help his friend before it was too late.

I really liked the live footage of the Sex Pistols shows, as it showed the band in their element and also did a lot to show what the scene was like when the Pistols were around, and I could see how little it has changed since then. The footage shown of the Sex Pistols on a British television show and clips of newspaper articles at the time also did a lot to show the band's image in the eyes of the media as well.

One problem with the movie was that live footage of the band would be playing and then the film would cut to scenes from a Shakespeare movie or other random scene, which completely detracted from the film. Every time one of those clips would cut in it would jar my attention from the story, and it definitely broke up the cohesiveness of the film.

I think the film did a good job capturing the image that the Sex Pistols gave off, while also contrasting it with more human images of them, like during the children's show. Overall, I think the film was very well done, though I would have liked to have seen more background on each of the band members, rather than the Shakespearean ode. I would give this film a 7/10 and would recommend it to anyone looking for information about the Sex Pistols.

Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?

[gut-6 · 6/10 · 8 October 2006]

In interviews done at the time of the film's release, Julien Temple talked about the genesis of this film, and the reasoning behind some of the peculiar and novel gimmicks he used. Basically he had some out-takes that he had filmed for "The Great Rock & Roll Swindle", as well as some random British TV recordings from the 1970's that he had recorded on one of the first commercial VCR's. Temple wanted to use this material to tell the story of the Sex Pistols from their point of view, rather than Malcolm Maclaren's point of view presented in "The Great Rock & Roll Swindle". He said he included the ancillary material such as the video recordings to give a flavor of the times. The reason he gave for recording the living Pistols in witness-protection style silhouette (and Maclaren in a mask) was to hide their age and make it seem like the interviews were contemporaneous with the other footage, especially with regard to the interview of a non-silhouetted Sid Vicious in London's Hyde Park in 1978. In practice, the silhouettes are annoying and repetitive and make it hard to identify who is speaking on first viewing.

This film has exactly the same flaws as Temple's original effort, "The Great Rock & Roll Swindle" - its account of the Pistols' story is a biased, inaccurate, incomplete, poorly-structured mess, frequently interrupted by unnecessary, gimmicky, distracting, pretentious irrelevant inserts that have nothing to do with the main story. Only this time, instead of portraying the Sex Pistols as mindless puppets in a cynical commercial ploy by a clever manager, they are portrayed (implicitly via news footage from the 1970's) as idealists making political statements about their society, financially exploited by a useless Maclaren. Both slants are fantasy. The Pistols have repeatedly pointed out they were not political, although Rotten has in recent years started parroting some of the fantasies written about him and the punk scene by intellectuals; any quasi-political imagery foisted on the band was largely the doing of the supposedly useless Maclaren and his cronies. We see all the usual tricks of agenda-pushing documentaries, with isolated, possibly irrelevant snippets of visual interest (e.g. a fat racist squirming through a window to rant to a TV camera) edited together to imply relatedness. What's more, many of these clips appear to date from long after the Pistols formed. Likewise we see the bad guys (Maclaren and cronies) in unflattering shots and the good guys (the Pistols) in flattering or neutral shots. That's just childish, as are the sudden dramatic increases in volume every time a Pistols song starts playing.

Instead of Rock & Roll Swindle's cutaways to shots of Maclaren singing, mugging and pontificating, we get Olivier playing Richard III or TV ads or weather reports or forgotten comedians. These non-sequiturs are supposedly justified on the grounds of Rotten citing his influences or as a reflection of life in the 1970's, but it goes on and on and on long after the original point (if any) was made, until the original point is lost. When Temple was asked if there was any Pistols footage left unused after "The Filth and The Fury", he said there wasn't really, apart from additional concert footage which he considered redundant. This, I suspect, is the real reason for the excessive irrelevant footage, i.e. filler to get a commercial length for a feature film. I would dearly love to have seen the "redundant" concert footage instead. It would have been infinitely more interesting, entertaining and relevant. Temple's TV archives could have interest in their own right, but they belong in a separate documentary.

Ignoring the inept, pretentious directing, this film does have many priceless moments, and does reveal a number of obscure or unknown facts about the Pistols, although I was surprised at how little unused footage there really was, and how much was reused from the final cut of "Swindle". The Pistols are shown to be funny, intelligent and personable, far removed from the punk caricatures. The 3 Johns, and John's closeness to Sid, and John's crying over his dead friend are a revelation. So too, the Pistols' last concert before their American tour, a firemen's benefit with lots of young dancing children joining the band in a cream pie fight - not very punk, but oddly touching. We see footage from the Pistols' very earliest days, together with some of the bizarre early fans like Sue Catwoman highlighting the bohemian roots of the punk scene. We get to see footage of the disgusting Nancy Spungeon. In a remarkable stroke of luck, Temple captured skinny teenage punk fan Shane MacGowan, long before he was famous, doing an acapella rendition of "Anarchy in the UK" on the grounds of a council flat, and schoolteacher Sting playing a gay rapist in a scene from the abortive "Who Killed Bambi" movie. But by far the funniest scene in the film was the intro to a 1978 American TV music show, in which the Pistols were the most normal, most successful, and least ridiculous-looking band to appear on the program.

In summary this film was a wasted opportunity on account of the talentless director. But it's still essential for the odd gem of obscure Pistols footage, which even Temple couldn't mess up. If you want to see the definitive Pistols documentary, check out the "Never Mind The Bolloks" episode of the "Classic Albums" TV documentary series.

The Best Rock-Doc of all Time

[lschwartz106 · 10/10 · 17 December 2004]

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!

The sound of the 70s

[paul2001sw-1 · 7/10 · 3 May 2010]

The Sex Pistols were a band who combined a mixture of internal fury and energy with pantomime showmanship; but this combination generated such a reaction that it became a phenomenon that the group were no longer in control. Their manager (the recently deceased Malcolm McLaren, who gets no voice in this documentary) - allegedly - ran off with all the money (or was too incompetent to make it in the first place), the group self-destructed and so literally did bassist Sid Vicious, who possibly stabbed his girlfriend before dying of a heroin overdose himself. Julien Temple's film isn't bad at conveying what it must have been like to be a member of the band, although it doesn't explore why punk was so resonant - was it just a marketing trick (as McLaren proudly thought it was, much to lead singer Johnny Rotten's disgust) or did it really strike a cord in a profoundly disillusioned youth? There are no answers here, the documentary is really just a platform for Rotten and I don't understand why the interviews with him were all shot in the dark. But it's still interesting to remember a time when a few young men could induce moral panic through a little faux-yobbery. The truth is that with 30 years of distance, even the Sex Pistols seem quaint.

The Truth, the whole truth and nuffink but

[Madam_Ant · 6 March 2003]

I am the Sex Pistols fan from below. The Filth & the Fury is the definitive comment on the often misrepresented ends that 'punk' sought to achieve.This fiery document of bold young upstarts rejecting blank-eyed escapism & dinosaur-rock complacency is a must-see for all music fans. Finally Julien Temple's film exposes Pistols' (mis)manager 'master manipulator' McLaren as the inflated fraud that he is, giving credit where credit is due, & correcting the errors of the laughable self-promotional McLaren tool 'The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle'. The film appeals for a time when some fresh-faced kids will continue the path initially laid by the Pistols, hearing the truth ringing through their ears with a totally liberating, unrelenting fierceness of self. As it were, and in some cases still remains today, punk is an essence and an attitude, an opportunity for individuality and uniqueness to fluorish by obliterating old standards and preconceived values. You have to destroy to rebuild. Therefore the old ideals of beauty and acceptability became void, replaced by distinct, often cartoon-like qualities and outrageous peculiar character traits. Johnny Rotten is stunning with his wild eyes, cropped carrot-hair and quasimodo posture, while Poly Styrene's gnashed braces and dayglo clothes elevate her to goddess status."People saw themselves as beautiful in not being beautiful". A lot of punk is challenging and subversive, offering a highly addictive confrontational creativity we are in danger of losing. How many people do you see today walking about in see-thru plastic macs & orthopaedic shoes? However, as the film clearly shows, punk is unresolved, not over, and not going away.

Could have been better, much better.

[matlock-6 · 8/10 · 11 October 2000]

After looking forward to seeing this for months, I was inevitably disappointed in the end result. The footage was great, and it was full of stuff nobody has ever seen before, which I appreciated. However, Julien Temple shouldn't have been let near this. Keeping the interviewees in the shadows, like they do on Unsolved Mysteries when they're trying to hide peoples identity, was much more annoying than creative. Overall, the material can't be denied, the Sex Pistols were a great band and lots of people were waiting for the definitive documentary about them, but the directing very nearly ruined it.

So much better than Julien Temple's first full-length Sex Pistols film

[Beta_Gallinger · 8/10 · 21 July 2009]

Twenty years after the release of "The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle", Julien Temple's weird, incoherent mockumentary about the Sex Pistols, another film about the short-lived but groundbreaking 70's punk rock band, from the same filmmaker, first saw the light of day. Unlike its predecessor, "The Filth and the Fury" can actually be classified as a documentary. I had never heard of this one by the time I first saw "Swindle", but saw both of them (I think twice each) in 2006. This month, I've revisited both films. The first of the two went way downhill for me with my last viewing, whereas this one, which I always thought was the stronger of the two, certainly didn't. It seems my opinion of this 2000 documentary hasn't changed.

Temple's two Sex Pistols films tell a different side of the story. "The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle" tells the band's manager, Malcolm McLaren's side of the story. This follow-up focuses on the point of view of the band members. Frontman John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten), guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook, and original bass player Glen Matlock (featured in silhouette form) give viewers an insight on their beginnings, how the band formed, their experiences and the impact they had during their time together (which obviously included a lot of controversy), and their breakup. They also contradict McLaren's claims about the band. Lots of archive footage is also featured, including clips from "Swindle" and interviews with the band's late second bass player, Sid Vicious.

This film isn't exactly perfect. A lot of the archive footage is shown as we hear the band members talking, and it can be hard to pay attention to both at the same time. Clips like the Shakespeare ones are also unnecessary. Maybe the documentary could have used a more down-to-earth director. However, other than that, I don't have too many complaints. It's still a very interesting piece if you're a Sex Pistols fan, and much more believable than what McLaren says in this film's predecessor. Some good footage is featured here, and the band members have some fascinating things to say. Of course, several Pistols songs are featured as well (at least partially). Like "Swindle", "The Filth and the Fury" has problems with the way it's put together, but it's definitely more coherent, and I've always found it easier to pick up what is said in this film than I have with what is said in the 1980 mockumentary.

Comparing Julien Temple's two Sex Pistols films, and the two different sides of the story they show, I would say the band members have a much stronger case than their manager. It seems to me that the first film of the two is pretty much nonsense, with nothing gripping or too memorable. This second film, on the other hand, is an insightful documentary about the controversial band, with some poignant moments. In "Swindle", you don't see McLaren crying over anything, do you? However, in this film, that's just what John Lydon does while talking about Sid Vicious at one point! So, overall, "The Filth and the Fury" is a well done, insightful film about a groundbreaking band, and I recommend it for any Pistols fan. Unlike its predecessor, one can watch this film for more than just entertainment, though it can be good for that as well. No wonder it's more popular than the disjointed mess that came before it.

When it stopped being fun.

[bongo-6 · 10/10 · 30 May 2006]

The Sex Pistols were one of the most underrated bands ever; just listen to the driving guitar of Steve Jones, the wailing dynamic voice of Johnny Rotten and the drums of Paul Cooke driving the rhythm with Glen Matlock on the bass; yes Glen Matlock on the bass and not Sid Vicious; Sid came later and couldn't play the bass, by all accounts, thus giving the band its reputation of incompetence which they didn't deserve; so they only used three chords; so what; so did some of the rock'n'roll greats of the fifties and so did The Ramones.

I am not of the same age as The Sex Pistols, I identify more with the likes of Eddie Cochran and Buddy Holly, but I sure envied the fans in the 100 club shown in this movie when they witnessed The Sex Pistols there on Oxford Street with Sid in the audience inventing his pogo dance.

In this film we get an early glimpse of their Svengali, Malcolm McLaren, at the store SEX that he owned with his then wife Vivienne Westwood; we see him as he swans around the shop like Sean O'Casey's strutting peacock, wearing a teddy-boy suit and sporting a duck's arse hair cut; here was the opportunist who was to take The Sex Pistols to the top and leave them there; high and almost dry in America with no money, no access to credit and no communication as he refused to take or return any of their calls; McLaren was booked into a luxury hotel whilst the band had to make do with some motel.

The Pistols response to this was to tell the audience that they were getting 'one song and one song only as this isn't fun;' Johnny Rotten called on his alter ego John Lydon to relay that pathetic statement to the American crowd; this didn't seem to be the type of crowd that cut Sid's face that night with a missile earlier in an American performance; this was a crowd that took notice when they heard that it wasn't fun any more; it was then that we heard the voice over of Steve Jones saying that he had looked at Sid trying to play a bass, that he wasn't sure was plugged in, and wondered if he wanted to go ahead being a Pistol; he said he left soon after that but had regretted it ever since; he loved performing and loved the sex it had brought him throughout the touring life of The Sex Pistols.

Interviews with the members of the band were carried out in silhouette throughout and it became clear that the band trusted the man doing the interviews; one Julien Temple the director of this film who knew the band from his previous movie 'The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle' which he had made twenty years prior to this one.

Even though it had been twenty one years since the death of the twenty two year old Sid Vicious, the telling of the story brought a tear to Johnny Rotten's eye as it is quite clear that John Ritchie, or John Beverly, or whatever Sid's real name was, was the biggest victim in the whole Sex Pistols story; he was one of the Johns who had always been a friend of the other John the John they changed to Johnny Rotten.

There is a lot of archive footage in the film and a lot of it is entertaining; we do see the situation as it was in Britain during the seventies which led up to the famous 'winter of discontent' and we even see the man himself, Laurence Olivier, uttering those famous Shakespearian lines from his own movie 'Richard III' from whence the newspaper sub-editors stole the quote; we see political Britain and racist xenophobic Britain but we also see very funny Britain; there is footage from some of the funniest men of the day: where else can we see archive footage of Nat Jackley, Tommy Cooper, Max Wall, Billy Dainty and even Arthur Askey who was as funny as toothache? There is the infamous television interview with Bill Grundy who, we are told by Steve in voice over, was drunk too – we weren't there but it was a terrible interview and the poor fellow deserved to be fired which came soon after that day in 1976.

I didn't have anything to do with these people as there was another CS on the scene in London who owned a club and knew Julien Temple but I remember them from afar as their music was as exciting as the first time people of my age had heard Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard; it was a terrible shock when they went away and Elvis started to sing ballads but bands like the Pistols hit the dust too when it stopped being fun.

Best of all, we're all told the answer to the big question ... WHY???

[apkacdh · 2 January 2003]

MUSIC: In the same way the meaning of the word Scientific means "of or pertaining to Science", we all know that Music means "of or pertaining to a muse". It's a sound that punctuates (Punk-tuates?) the feeling, emotion, idea, thought, etc. that the person/s are feeling at the time.

There are many today who still wonder how "that "God-awful noise made by a bunch of underclass hoodlums" came into being and caught on as a style that spread. Especially when they hardly had any musical skills whatsoever.

Here's one example of why:

If you listen to the song "I'll Never Fall in Love Again", you'll notice that the lyrics are very bitter, to say the least. But there's nothing bitter about the accompanying music. It doesn't punctuate nor put to sound the extreme emotion that the singer/songwriter was feeling at the time of the song's conception, it's just cutesy and nauseatingly nice, a sugar-coating until you realize "Wait a minute, this isn't a nice song, it's totally angry and bitter."

That's why it came into being (in Britain, anyway): the Sex Pistols were not just making the loudest noise at the time, but the noise also seemed to be the only one that fit what they as well as many others were feeling at the time.

This documentary is not a P.R. film that is clipped to portray the Sex Pistols as great and wonderful geniuses of music who changed the world, as most movies and documentaries do; it explains what it all meant to the members of the band in THEIR time and place and why they HAD to come into being then and there. Their sound, their attitudes, their antics represented EVERYTHING they were feeling, had to say, etc.

From the way they tell Their case, it seems to me as the plain and simple balancing of Nature in the same way you'll find that the more churches there are in a neighborhood, the more crime and corruption you'll also find. Don't like that last explanation? Okay, it also seems to me that they were the necessary musical (and cultural) fuel to one of many fires during an already existing social upheaval.

I haven't seen the VHS version but the DVD also comes with a documentary featuring other people who were in the scene during its roots and why THEY were a part of it, as Punk had different meanings, depending where and when you were. That's probably where the explanation "If you don't know what it means/meant, then (up yours)" came from.

By the way, in case you're wondering about how biased my opinion is, I should let you know that I'm fully aware that such groups as Black Sabbath (who knew more about instrumentation) more or less started that "God-Awful Noise" approximately 10 years prior to Punk's conception, much less given its title. So, as much as I enjoy Punk and Metal [as well as Mozart, Bjork, 2-Live Crew, and many others (depending on my mood)], I know very well that there is nothing new under the sun and that they were no more original than "Grunge" groups like Nirvana; if you stick a pearly-white tooth and leave it in a glass of cola for a month, is the brown tooth you see later a different tooth? Of course not.

Anyway, for the fans as well as those who didn't understand, this is one very well-told explanation. Love the subculture and/or the music, hate it, feel what you will about it. At least you'll have a clue to understanding (maybe not supporting, but at least understanding) why it WAS. And that clue will also help you at least theoretically understand such other things like Hardcore Rap, Industrial, and any other punctuated sounds from those who at least Felt Like they're in the "Underclass" at one time or another.

Aaaannnnnd ... CUT!

That's a wrap.

godless or mammon?

[winner55 · 8/10 · 11 November 2006]

The real story of punk rock will, apparently, never be told. I suppose that's because most of the surviving participants have too much ego invested; or because, as the years fade, and the original social context disappears, the meaning of Punk - at its inception - becomes harder to decipher and easier to forget.

I was in NYC in '76, when it was first breaking for the national press, and I hung around CBGBs under a number of pseudonyms, trying to write reviews and articles on bands that nobody ever heard of, many of them breaking up before I could dot the last "i" in the last paragraph. And I tried out a couple bands of my own, weird blends of Iggy and the Velvet Underground. But I was really an outsider (coming from upstate); and when the London scene started shipping singles over, I knew that, for whatever reason, my heart was really more into "Anarchy" and "White Riot" than the metal-surf-music of the Ramones or early Blondie. But this disjunction of 'right time wrong place' or whatever, allowed me to see the development of Punk in a way others seem content to ignore.

The fundamental problem that Punk never resolved (and current neo-punks are still struggling with it), is, whether Punk was to be a continuance of the "counter culture" of the '60s in different guise, or just another pop-music for sexually frustrated young people. This sounds like an empty theoretical issue, but it has one all-important concrete aspect to it no one can ignore - money. Did (do) punks make music to make music - or to make money? That question was never answered; or, perhaps, every punk answered (answers) it in his/ her own way. Yet once we begin adding up all the individual answers, most of them sure come out sounding like "money". Yet the memory of Punk survives largely because it seemed to be about anything other than money; so the dilemma continues.

That dilemma surfaces again in this film, especially in the discovery of the wretched rip-off Pistols manager Malcom McLaren pulled, not only on the audience, but on the Pistols themselves. The brief moments from the (thankfully unfinished) "Who Shot Bambi?" make it very clear that McLaren had not the slightest clue as to who the Pistols were, or what they represented. Yet he not only continued to guide their career after their break-up, but is warmly mentioned in Griel Marcus' scholarly history of Punk, "Lipstick Traces", which will probably bear influence on punk histories, long after the last "photo-album" paperback turns to dust. Yet it is clear that from the get-go McLaren's only interest was the profit.

The Pistols were right, and are right, to ignore questions concerning their "materialism" or "selling out", since they were never part of the hippies' 'anti-materialism' ideal to begin with, and because they never denied a desire for some paycheck (which they almost never got from McLaren). But also plain is their desire to make the music of the UK working-class slums from whence they came.

All of this comes to a head in the brief yet unforgettable tragedy of Sid Vicious - for whom music meant freedom, and money meant - heroin. But junky 'rockstars' don't play at commercial venues to make music. He ended up in NYC, which by then had a punk scene swarming with record-co.-exec vermin dealing dope and poseur sycophants trying to score. Eventually all that was left was the heroin, and it killed him.

This film won't resolve any of these issues; but it may help raise them, and place them in a proper light. I can't agree that it is a well-made film - the editing, which is very flashy, is also somewhat vapid, and goes out of control too often. But there's adequate reminder of the era of the Pistols here, and why it was many of us thought, at the time (and still believe) that the Pistols were the most important rock band in history.

The segment from the final performance at Winterland is worth the price of the film: same-old same-old music concerts are "no fun" and Jones and Rotten (knowing they've been betrayed by McLaren into performing for the corporate music world they hated) rub our noses in it until they've had enough and stalk off. If you can see this - and know what it's about - and still pay $200 to see Mick Jagger pull his wrinkled pud at you at the age of 65, you don't need a movie review, you need a psychiatrist.

no complaints

[Rusty-61 · 3 May 2000]

This movie almost seemed to zip by too fast, but then, so did the Sex Pistols. Come to think of it, the last 20 years (when I first started listening to them in junior high) also zipped by pretty fast...they put all the best songs, the best performances in there, along with some rare footage. Sex Pistols fans may have already seen the interview with a nodded-out Sid Vicious and sleazy girlfriend Nancy Spungen (who makes Courtney Love at her worst look like Grace Kelly) trying to wake him up for the camera as he snores. But what no fans may not have seen is a short, heartbreaking clip of an interview with Vicious after he is out on bail after being arrested for her murder. When the interviewer thoughtlessly asks him if he's 'having fun right now', Vicious just chuckles bitterly and asks him, "Are you kidding? No, I'm not having any fun, at all." when the interviewer asks him where he wishes he was right now, Vicious' quiet, calm answer to the question is so chilling and heartfelt that it made every hair on my body stand on end. In a scene shortly after, John Lydon talks about Sid getting his wish, and for a minute you think in the voice over he is laughing, because as a rule you don't see him displaying any other emotion other than general crankiness, then you suddenly realize he's actually in tears over his dead boyhood friend. But you can also see the fun the Sex Pistols had while it lasted-especially memorable during a reminisence of how they played a children's party, with footage of them covered in cake later, to one of the Pistol's best songs, "Bodies". The soundtrack, timing, and editing are all perfect. As I said, my one complaint that was it zipped by too fast, but talking with my husband after the movie, so did the Sex Pistols. One of the better rock documentaries I've seen.

Loogie nights

[nunculus · 27 April 2000]

Hagiography of John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, who is supposedly the brain trust and the shaker-and-mover behind the Sex Pistols. Personally, I'd prefer to take the hard line of Alex Cox's SID AND NANCY, which, goopy as it was about the Sid Vicious/Nancy Spungen romance, was gimlet-eyed about the non-artistic motives of the band. Here we're sold that the Sex Pistols loved the England they coruscated, that their work was a conscious attempt to make late-seventies Britain more individualistic, blah blah blah. I don't buy it--though I do buy that John Lydon has become a warm, sensible, unremittingly ethical, articulate, well-read man in the last quarter century. Svengali Malcolm McLaren is represented here as a man literally filled with hot air. He's not the fingers inside the puppet in this version; he's just a slick talker who ultimately gets burned.

Lydon clearly has bought the ideology of the ubiquitous music critic Greil Marcus' LIPSTICK TRACES, which suggested that punk and dada were the same, merely separated by two halves of a century. I don't buy it--but that said, FILTH is fitfully exhilarating.

The Definitive Rock Doc

[james_oblivion · 14 March 2004]

I've seen my share of rock documentaries, but this one levels them all. This is a film for anyone who's ever seen "The Great Rock 'N' Roll Swindle" and said "Oh, for f***sake! Could we get some f***ing TRUTH in here?!" Julien Temple apparently felt the weight of guilt upon his shoulders after aiding and abetting Malcolm McLaren in his insipid attempt to take credit, not only for every single thing the Sex Pistols ever did, but for the creation of punk rock (which goes all the way back to the end of the '60s, if you wanna get technical...so get stuffed, Malcolm).

Here, Temple interviews the band in silhouette and throws at us a barrage of great clips from the hundreds of hours that he shot during the making of "Swindle"...included are several bits that were featured in the aforementioned film, but they're given a different spin, which actually has a ring of truth about it...as well as a great deal that we've never seen before, no doubt because that footage undermines the whole concept of the first film...namely: "I am Malcolm McLaren...the Sex Pistols were nothing...it was all me...worship me now."

It's quite refreshing to hear Steve Jones (the only member of the band who ever really liked McLaren to begin with) musing as to how "everyone in the world knows Malcolm's full of s***." That's right...we do. And especially enjoyable were the band's recollections of how McLaren was panicking after the infamous Bill Grundy incident. Funny, when you watch "Swindle," it seems like it was all his idea...just like everything else. Oh, Malcolm...can your own life be so meaningless that you feel the need to take credit for everyone else's actions? Nevermind...that's rhetorical.

What this film gives us that its predecessor lacked (aside from the absence of staged McLaren ego-trip material) is a historically accurate account of the band's existence, from its inception to its inevitable self-destruction.

Not to mention that it actually contains genuine human emotion...something which "Swindle" lacked altogether. Especially touching are John's recollections of Sid Vicious's death...and how it was turned into more money in McLaren's pockets. "You can't get more evil than that, can you?" This was someone that John cared for like a brother, and his absence still hurts, even 20 years later.

Overall, this film delivers the goods in every conceivable way. It is not only the ONLY worthwhile documentary about the Sex Pistols...it's also the best rock & roll documentary I have ever seen. Anyone with an interest in the musical evolution of the 20th century should miss this film at their own expense.

Two Films for the Price of One

[wrbtu · 23 July 2002]

The first two-thirds of this movie is a decent documentary spoiled by artsy-fartsy pretensions. The early history of the Sex Pistols is good, with rarely seen photos of often mentioned Wally Nightingale, & provides insights as to where these guys came from. Unfortunately, this part of the film is ruined by interspersing scenes from a production of Shakespeare's Richard III. I can see the connection, as demonstrated on film, but come on Julien, a Sex Pistols documentary loaded with Shakespeare?! The Richard III clips are excessive & interfere with the flow of the film. More stills of the band members or more early live footage would have served better. The commentary on British social issues works well, especially with Johnny Rotten's comments concerning life in the UK at the time. Halfway through the film, I was ready to give up on it due to the pretentious nature of its construction, but I stuck with it & I'm happy I did. The last third of the movie focuses much more on the group, although Shakespeare appears throughout (but with less frequency). Video clips of the Pistols are used more often in the latter part of the film, & that really helps. Temple manages to humanize the Sex Pistols, especially by showing some of their children's benefit footage (rarely seen & little known), not an easy task for a group generally thought to be "filthy." But Temple's greatest accomplishment lies in his humanization of Johnny Rotten (an almost impossible task). I've read many books & articles concerning Rotten (including his own), Punk, & the Pistols, starting in 1977, & it's not easy to be sympathetic for a fellow so cynical, mean spirited, & negative. Even during the earlier parts of this movie Rotten's miserable personality comes through. But when he continues talking about his dead friend Sid, the iron fence surrounding his personal space breaks down & we see that Rotten is actually human like the rest of us & is capable of caring for another human being, one that he previously described by saying "I despise him..." Johnny got Sid into the Sex Pistols, to use him as a willing pawn versus the Cook/Jones coalition & the Malcolm Problem, & Sid served him very well indeed. But Johnny couldn't control Sid's heroin addiction, & apparently his felt guilt over letting his friend down has gotten to him, & this film shows it. Terrific ending to a terrific band. I rate the first two-thirds 5/10; I rate the final one-third 9/10; overall I rate it 8/10.