The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle

1980

103 mins

Poster for The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle

Directed by Julien Temple
100%
72%
Music

Fictional documentary presents the spectacular rise and fall of the Sex Pistols as an elaborate swindle orchestrated by their manager.

"Temple... More

Fictional documentary presents the spectacular rise and fall of the Sex Pistols as an elaborate swindle orchestrated by their manager.

"Temple began filming the Sex Pistols from practically the moment they formed. In this exhilarating combo of scripted drama, music videos, animation, hilarious fake newsreels and priceless archival footage, Temple tells a Dickensian rock 'n' roll story. Malcolm McLaren plays a Fagin-in-bondage trousers who chiselled a fortune from gullible record companies and enlisted figures such as fugitive train robber Ronnie Biggs in his 'cash from chaos' master plan. The 'truth' may have been something quite different but what really matters here is the dazzling technique and furious energy captured in Temple's essential punk rock document." (Sydney Film Festival)

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The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle | Ratings & Reviews

100_%6 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes® rating
72_%1,956 reviews
Audience score rating

"An incredibly sophisticated, stupefyingly multi-layered portrait of the 1970s phenomenon known as The Sex Pistols."

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Variety

"A brilliant, infuriating final chapter in the Sex Pistols saga, exposing the corruption of a lethargic roll generation and the morbid tastes of the English."

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