The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, also known as The Great Rock and Roll Swindle, is a 1980 British mockumentary film directed by Julien Temple and produced by Don Boyd and Jeremy Thomas. It centres on the British punk rock band Sex Pistols and, most prominently, their manager Malcolm McLaren. Drummer Paul Cook and bass guitarist Sid Vicious play smaller roles, and the band's manager, Malcolm McLaren, is featured as "The Embezzler", the man who manipulates the Sex Pistols. Fugitive train robber Ronnie Biggs, performer Edward Tudor-Pole, sex film star Mary Millington, and actresses Irene Handl and Liz Fraser also make appearances. Singer and frontman Johnny Rotten refused to have anything to do with the film, stating that it was "a pile of rubbish" and "Malcolm's vision of what he believed; not true in any form".

  • Steve Jones as The Crook

Ebert eventually came up with the screenplays Anarchy in the UK which at his request was changed to Who killed Bambi? referencing a scene in the film in which a deer is killed, as well as the song of the same name which was to be featured in the film but eventually ended up, like with many parts from it, in the Swindle.

Eventually, the film fell to ruin, after many clashes between Meyer and McClaren, culminating in a disastrous first day of shooting in which McClaren was unable to pay for Electricians on the film, having Meyer and his crew dropping out almost immediately. Soon enough, Julien Temple was brought on after having produced a series of short films on the Pistols, working with some of the material produced for Who killed Bambi?

The title of the film was inspired by an article written by skiffle musician Lonnie Donegan in the 1950s titled "Rock and Roll – It's a Swindle". A copy of the article resides in the Jamie Reid archive at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

The footage was filmed in early to mid-1978, between the departure of singer John Lydon from the band and their subsequent split. The movie was finally released nearly two years later. Lydon (who was listed in the credits as "The Collaborator") and original bass guitarist Glen Matlock only appear in archive footage — Lydon refused to have anything to do with the production.

Release and Reception

The film was shown at the wake of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis after his 1980 suicide.

The 2000 documentary The Filth and the Fury, also directed by Julien Temple, re-tells the story of the Sex Pistols from the perspective of the band, thus serving as a response to and rebuttal of McLaren's insistence that he was the driving creative force of the band.

Home media releases

"The Swindle Continues in Your Own Home" was the tagline on the original 18 certificate UK VHS release from Virgin Video in 1982. Warner/Reprise Video released the film on US home video in 1992. In 2005, the film was released on DVD by Shout Factory.

Certifications

See also

  • "Belsen Was a Gas"
  • Great Reality TV Swindle
  • The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (album)
  • Who Killed Bambi?
  • The Filth and the Fury

References

  • DVD review