Too many fans seem to be blown away

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

As far back as the spring of 1977, Malcolm McLaren had been trying to get a film about the Sex Pistols off the ground. At that time, the punk craze which the Pistols had spearheaded was flourishing in the UK even as McLaren "managed" the band into a blind alley; by 1980, when this abomination of a film was finally released, the Pistols were no more and punk had splintered into a confusing variety of subgenres. What does "The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle" tell the viewer about the Sex Pistols and why they mattered? Sadly, not much. "That film was us preventing the whole thing from turning into a dreadful tragedy and turning it into a fantastic enigma," McLaren said years later in "England's Dreaming", Jon Savage's definitive tome on UK punk. "That's what we tried to do, to lie incredibly." In that regard they succeeded, but McLaren's statement was pure bullshit: he and director Julien Temple lied out of necessity. Vocalist John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) had left the band in early 1978, and budgetary constraints prevented the hiring of actors for anything more than a few minor roles, so McLaren *had* to take center stage. The end result was a long, disjointed rant (padded with live footage, interviews, animated sequences and painfully unfunny scenes intended as comic relief) about how causing the Pistols to self-destruct had been his master plan all along, and it's terrible. Only during a performance of the title song does it look as if anyone's having any fun. McLaren repeatedly insists that the music itself was meaningless, that he was interested only in attracting adolescent fans "who loved to dress up and mess up." Which begs the age-old question: was punk ever about music, or was it just a pose? That query will elicit a broad range of responses from the various participants in the movement. But ask guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook (who had formed the group before McLaren entered the picture, and for whom the Sex Pistols were a labor of love) and they'll tell you that the Pistols were a rock 'n' roll band, plain and simple. They're right. The gestures--the haircuts, the silly clothes, the pretensions of revolution--were empty. It's the music that endures.

This is very important right here, people whine and cry about how it is an inaccurate representation of the pistols upbringing, well, they would by right, BUT this film is what is called a "mockumentary", a fake documentary! It's not real! And it's obviously stated too! Its a fictionalization, it's meant to be humorous, and it is. Yes Johnny and Malcolm hated each other, but think! There is more people Johnny hated than not! (Love you john!) Overall, people who hate on this film because "it's inaccurate" are not intelligent, don't listen to them. Besides, it's a great laugh and a great display of their music and its a great film for any sex pistols fan. A must see for pistols fans

To this day, Malcolm McLaren is telling anyone daft enough to believe him that the Sex Pistols were his idea and that the band members were his puppets to be used to make him money. There is a good reason for him doing this, namely that he is a liar.Here are some real facts.* McLaren was actually approached by the band to be manager, not the other way round.* The Pistols were a proper, organic band and not created by McLaren or anyone else. Jones and Cook were childhood friends. Rotten and Vicious went back a long way too. This is something that has led to unfair criticism of the Pistols down the years as they have been likened to manufactured boy bands.* The band and no one else wrote the songs, recorded them, played live, created the publicity and gave the interviews.* McLaren did not instigate the Bill Grundy incident. The Pistols only appeared on the programme because Queen had pulled out. According to the band, McLaren was cowering in the back in case arrests were about to be made.* Johnny Rotten walked out of the band. He was not sacked.* Far from outwitting the Sex Pistols, John Lydon (Rotten) actually successfully sued him in the 1980s for control and a considerable sum of money. Some of the evidence used by Lydon's lawyers was from McLaren's boasting in 'The Great Rock & Roll Swindle'. This would suggest that McLaren is none too bright despite his affectations.* The sackings and subsequent pay offs from A & M and EMI were, again, not engineered, it was merely the way things panned out.* McLaren boasts about the money he made from the band. If he had been competent, he could have made a great deal more. It seems he coudn't even organise gigs properly.* McLaren's claim at the start of the film that he invented punk rock can be disproved in about ten seconds. The Pistols were not the first punk band, merely the most high profile.This is a terrible film. The only parts worth watching are the genuine footage of the band, later put to much better use in 'The Filth And The Fury'.

Of course this isn't the real story of the Sex Pistols, but who cares? It's still a laugh... The opening credit's theme song (Steve on drums and Paul on guitar... Eh?) gave us the wonderful and future host of TV's Crystal Maze, Tenpole Tudor (even Sid is giggling, Tenpole's such a loony), before rocketing into a ridiculously wonderful "Malcolm McLaren as God kissing his own cheeks" slice of film.It's good fun, but if this is the only Pistols film you ever see, don't take what's said as what happened, this is purely McLaren's fantasy.Quite a bit of the live footage in this film turned up in the excellent "The Filth & The Fury", but here it uses the actual sound rather than simply overdubbing it with the album versions. Damn they were good when they were on form!Best bits? The Pistols (with John & Sid) rehearsing "No Feelings" in a studio without the unnecessary album overdub used in Filth & Fury (sounds even better here - see, Vicious can play bass, sort of...) Archive footage of people boycotting Pistols gigs in Wales:Interviewer: "Excuse me sir, can you tell me why you're here tonight?"Bloke: "Because I'm recognised as a Christian!" Bloke 2: "Ive got teenage daughters... I'd let them go and see Rod Stewart but I wouldn't let them see this rubbish!" Woman: "I think it's degrading and disgusting for our children to hear and see such things. If I thought one of mine was in there I'd go in and drag them out; terrible I think it is, just disgusting" etc. Hilarious!No more to be said, except a few points of pub trivia to bore your friends with: Lemmy from Motorhead taught Sid to play bass as he was about to join The Pistols over 3 days, before giving up (apparently he was unteachable). Chrisie Hynde from the Pretenders was supposed to marry Sid in order to stay in the country. During the always wrongly quoted Grundy interview, Johnny says "Oh alright, so you're playing games, I'm really impressed" and not that rubbish about "Oh alright, Siegfried" that is given in every transcript.Couple this with The Filth and The Fury for an entertaining evening's viewing before you dig out Never Mind The B*llocks, play it very loud and realise how good it still sounds...Tenpole should have joined The Cramps! Would have been comedy central!The Sex Pistols: an important point in musical history. You gotta love 'em!