24 May 2012

Alot of things in this movie were not correct

I bought this movie the day it came out. Having already read And I Don't Want To Live This Life by Deborah Spungeon, as well as knowing many people who were intimately involved with the Sex Pistols, and being a big fan myself, I found the movie accurate to some degrees, yet for the most part, very inaccurate. It is like the producer just tried to toss everything into one big pot without studying the whole scenario. For instance, I'm sure the director was trying to protect certain people ie: the Spungeon family, but the movie portrays Nancy as a stupid groupie whore as well as the cause of Sid's addiction. Nancy was very intelligent, with a genious IQ, and what really upset me was the portrayal that Sid killed Nancy. That is very wrong. I recommend watching Who Killed Nancy?. From the evidence at the scene of the crime, as well as statements from people who were there at the Chelsea Hotel, it was physically impossible for Sid to have killed Nancy. I just think more time should have been taken investigating the real story before putting out this movie. It is interesting for the layman to watch, but for anyone who knows anything about the true story, this movie is crap.

23 May 2012

LOVE ROCKS!!!!

As rock movies and bio-pics go, Sid and Nancy is definitely one of the finest. I realize I'm only one of many who loved the performances and the production overall. I think it's best viewed on the Criterion Collection edition. Several attempts at purchasing the Criterion disk went awry for me, but I was lucky enough to rent one and be able to tape it. The video and audio transfer is pristine - leaps and bounds over the old Embassy videotape edition and the currently-available MGM transfer- and the extras are very entertaining. There's a very amusing 30-minute documentary about making the film - with cast members joking around and teasing each other. The commentary track with Gary Oldman, Chloe Webb, Alex Cox and Abbe Wool all contributing their memories and insight was very interesting. I even loved the menu screen with an outtake of Webb and Oldman hamming it up while in costume for the MY WAY scene. One of these days I'll be able to buy the disc proper, but for now the video copy will suffice. I was advised Criterion had to take it out of print as the licensing agreement between Criterion and the production studio had expired with the production studio opting to not renew. I only wish there was a petition of sorts to re-activate that agreement. With films such as "Armageddon" and the "Beastie Boys Anthology" available on Criterion, it's quite a shame Sid and Nancy no longer is.

Terry Walker

23 May 2012

A very dreary movie

Despite two superb performances from Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb thismovie simply failed to hold my attention. There was no exploration ofthe relationship between the two and other people in Sids life werevirtually ignored. John Lydon was a school-pal yet you would think fromthis movie that there was no friendship between them at all. Sidsmother was a major influence on what made him who he was but noreference was made to her whatsoever. Maybe the threat of legalproceedings from her influenced the directors objectivity.In the end Sid was made to look like a stupid victim of Nancy yet otherchronicles reveal that he truly did have strong feelings for her. Thisfilm gives no indication as to why and demeans him as a person. Sid mayhave been many things but he wasn't an empty shell.The sad fact is that a young boy of 21 died through drug abuse and Ifeel this movie simply romanticizes it and tries to make it look cool.Hopefully one day someone will make a movie that realistically capturesSid, the sex pistols and England as they really were at that time.(Yes, I was there).

22 May 2012

Not even close to great

This movie would be a great disappointment to all sid vicious fans. According to all the people that had know him said this movie is full of lies.This Would scar a true die hard sid vicious fan it you would beleive. A very much disapointment

20 May 2012

Sad but beautiful

I don't know why Chloe Webb didn't go on to do more movies. Or maybe I missed them(?) Anyhow: Chloe Webb and Gary Oldman ARE Sid and Nancy--screeching, obnoxious, addicted, unhappy and all too human. Favorite scene: Sid and Nancy kissing in a New York alley while garbage tossed from a roof floats around them. Next favorite: Sid and Nancy, in a fantasy sequence, kissing on a neon-white-lit stairway to heaven, Nancy adorned in a wedding gown and a crown of thorns. EDITING MISTAKE: The scene in the tour bus. Some New Age jerk is singing to Johnny Rotten. In the background we can see green farmland. But in the long shots, the bus is traveling through cindery desert! How did that ever get through the editing process? Talk about careless. But besides that: what a documentary of sorrow and waste. Terrific movie: great script, bad editing, superb acting. Two out of three ain't bad.

19 May 2012

Cant stop watching it

I love the Sex Pistols and the whole british punk movement of the 1970's. I think Johnny Rotten wrote the greatest lyrics for the band and Cook & Jones are the true backbone musicly of the Sex Pistols. Glen Matlock certainly got cheated and so did the band when Sid Vicious joined as their, ahem, "Bass Player." (Was glad to see Glen was back for the reunion tour and you can hear his great bass work on Filthy Lucre Live=plus hear the band as a four piece rather than the Sid version with a singer, drummer, guitarist and a fashion plate standing stage left.) I love Alex Cox's RepoMan film and when I read he did the "Sid & Nancy" film, I bought it. The two that play Sid & Nancy did a fine job. I liked that Courtney Love had a bit part in it too. The story is crazy yet amusing. It is a demented love story that was based around nothing but Sex, Drugs and (Punk) Rock N' Roll. But the Rock N' Roll (as in music) was pretty much left out, since Sid really wasn't a musician. Sid befriended Johnny Rotten and got him to join the band after they parted with Glen Matlock. Here in the film, you see that Johnny, Paul & Steve were probably thinking it was a HUGE mistake having Sid in the band, plus they had to deal with his girl, Nancy. Just goes to show you the devestating effect drugs can have on the poeple that use them and the heartache it can bring to others. Sid had a role in the disbanding of one of the most important bands in rock history and possibly had a hand in the death of his girlfriend. Did someone else visit Sid and Nancy and got high together and killed Nancy? Did Sid just hold a knife and Nancy went to jump on him during a fight and was accidently stabbed by Sid? Only Sid & Nancy know. One thing is for sure, they were certainly made for each other and both had a death wish. As far as the acting, I wished they picked better poeple to play the other Sex pistols. The guy who played Johnny was okay but he should have played it more obnoxious. The Sex Pistol songs done for the movie by other musicians are very sterile sounding without any punk bite. Same goes for X Ray Spex "Oh Bondage, Up Yours!". I didn't like that Johnny Rotten was kinda portrayed a bit wimpy, too. But the feel and crazyness of the film is cool and it's pretty much a derranged story that has some memorable scenes and is great to watch alot just for those. This movie is certainly a cult classic. If you like movies such as Repo Man, Heathers and Pump Up the Volume, you will enjoy Sid & Nancy.

19 May 2012

Punk Rock Love

Sid and Nancy is an unforgettable movie.It might not be correct in a way.They think Sid might have murdered Nancy,but nobody knows this for sure.This movie shows you how bad you can end up if you do drugs.There is so much drama in this.The actors did a really great job trying to capture Sid,Nancy,Johnny and all the rest of the charators real personalities.Some parts are funny,but the rest just makes you take pity on Sid and Nancy.The movie starts off as Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious meeting Nancy at a friend's apartment.She shows interest in Sid,but Sid doesn't think much of her.But not long after,Johnny and Sid are at a bar and see Nancy begging for drugs off some guy.The guy gets angry, the result:Nancy gets splashed with beer in the face. She runs outside and crys,Sid taked pity on her and follows her.When he goes to her,Nancy is scratching her fingers against the cement wall.He says to her "That must hurt.But not as much as this,"then he just smashes his head against the wall. How random.Eventually Sid and Nancy fall in love,Sid also falls into doing herion.Nancy introduced him to that.They evetually get married and blow off tons of money on drugs.At the end, they are no longer in London but are living in the Chelsea Hotel in New York where Nancy family lives.Sid admits he wants to go back to London but Nancy doesn't.Then they get into a huge arguement that will be the last one that they will ever have.Sid rams a knife into Nancy's side.Ignoring the pain, Nancy and Sid make up and fall asleep.Nancy wakes up covered in her own blood.She makes her way to the bathroom and dies there."Sid,Im dying,"she cries out to him,but he's still asleep.Sid eventually gets arrested and released because there is not proof that he killed Nancy or not.The ending doesn't make sence really.Sid makes his way out of the city into a rundown area.He meets up with kids dancing to funk music."C'mon Sid!Dance!Don't be a stuck up!"They say.So you see a drugged up, English punk rocker dancing(horribly!)to funky music.Then a cab pulls up and he gets in.And there in the back seat is Nancy,clad in a white dress that's kinda like a wedding dress.They kiss and the cab drives off.A dedication appears in red print saying "Sid Vicious died of an over dose on Febuary 2,1979.R.I.P Sid and Nancy."The whole movie is good.But the moral of the story is this :Drugs really mess you up.

18 May 2012

Love it

Chloe Webb did an amazing job as Nancy Spungen, she caught every bit of her personality.Gary Oldman was completely flawless as Sid Vicious in this movie.Even though this film is not 100% accurate we'd still like to believe Sid and Nancy are still together.Even though John Lydon did not approve of this movie, we got to see how he truly felt about Nancy and Sid's relationship.This film was not showing that heroin is "cool" but how Sid lost control of his life and his friends in the end in spite of everyone trying to help him.

saz121401

17 May 2012

Hits you very hard

Not being a fan of the Sex Pistols I was somewhat reluctant to see thismovie however I was absolutely glued to it after the first 10 minutes. Thestory of Sid and Nancy is maybe the only that truly brings to a sickeninglight the life of a heroin addict. As I watched I literally felt sick as Iwitnessed what the dark underworld of such a sickness carries.The true genius of this movie lies in in the ending. The way it is doneis so heart wrenching I had tears in my eyes. It is the story of a doomedlove between two people that were both lucky and and unlucky to find eachother. I would recommend this movie to anyone, Sex Pistols fan or not. Itistruly unreal!

Aaron Thies

17 May 2012

Pain and Discomfort

If you like want to see far too many minute about two hard-core drug addictsgetting wasted in various hotel rooms and screaming between hits, then Sidand Nancy is for you. This movie is physically painful to watch. It has nocomment to make, unless an impressive portrayal of two people that are atotal waste of flesh is an important statement that needed to be made. Igave this movie a two, and the only reason for that was the humor (at leastfor me) circumstance of my viewing. Two friends and I watch this movie onthe roof of our house. Don't ask me how, but it was a very hot summer andthe roof was somehow the coolest place. Two of us had to endure the sheartorture that is watching this movie. My other friend escaped this emotionalrack by the fortune of falling asleep on the roof, in front of the window,which was the only way off the roof. Now, this friend is a very soundsleeper, and we tried everything short of a boot to the head to wake him up.My rating skyrocketed up to a colossal two due to the my conscious buddypulling his hair out trying to wake the unconscious friend so he could getoff the roof and escape the agony that is Sid and Nancy.

rastafarley

12 May 2012

A bunch of rotters getting rich off of the Sex Pistols.

Give me a break, this movie is done in bad taste. Including everything fromstereotypes to things that simply never happened.A clear cut case ofHollywood cashing in on something they have no idea about.Oh yeah I almostforgot...It seems kinda weird to me Courtney Love of all people auditionedfor the role of Nancy, but only got the role of Nancys friend...Ok I dontknow if its weird or just synchronicity.

mickeyboy86

11 May 2012

Informative rather than entertaining..

This is certainly a powerful piece of filmwork, most notably for theincredible and unforgettable leading performances of it's stars, OldmanandWebb. The film will, I think, be more interesting to Punk fans, or fans ofthe "Sex Pistols" (which I am both)- however I'm sure others could findsomething positive from it nonetheless.The seedy lives of the Sex Pistols in London before they were famous is agood laugh and although portrayed as delinquents, there are some greatmoments between Sid Vicious and his best friend and lead singer of thebandJohnny Lydon (aka- Johnny Rotten), who is replaced in friendship byairhead,New York druggie chick, Nancy Spungen.Although Sid is a bit of a joker, and doesn't seem to be too interested inanything, it is Nancy who turns him from a brash, uninterested young mantoa alcoholic and heroine addict.Though trying to force the drugs away, consious they are doing him harm,sheis seductive and persuasive enough to keep him hooked.In one scene, they are asleep in the early hours of the morning and thenextday, Sid is going to the airoport to meet his band and their promoter andthey are touring.Nancy keeps interrupting Sid and talking to him while he's trying to sleepand so he eventually gets out of bed and takes all his bags and leaves forthe airport (it's around 2-4am) and he says "I'll be bloody early for achange!!" , to get away.She shouts after him.. "Sid! No! we havn't had our fairwell drugsyet!"The film is powerful and informative, giving insight into the final partsofthe lives of these two individuals, arguing and fighting fairly frequentlyyet inseparable and bound tight by love.The film is not pleasent to watch, it's not entertaining, it's not evenenjoyable- but it is timeless and powerful.I'd give it 4/5- but we warned- it's not for the faint-hearted.

09 May 2012

First class directing+first class acting=First class Movie

Alex Cox has created a visionary cinematic masterpiece of Pop Culture. This film is filled with anger, passion and honesty. I feel as close to the characters as I would to a deviant sibiling thanks to the realism and epic direction. Symbolism and foreshadowing create the canvas that Cox has used to tell a story of love beyond all bounds. Gary Oldman, Probablly one of the finest and under-rated actors trying to break into the Hollywood Machine, takes a very true to life approach to the character. Oldman melds his acting skills with real life pain to recreate the Character. Gary olman is Sid Vicious. Don't let the Punk Rock fairy tale of The Sex Pistols elude the underlying allegory of the purest love story since Romeo and Juliet. The Punk Rock band "The Circle Jerks" once Screamed "Love Kills", and this time it did. One of the ironic twists is that Courney Love, wife of troubled Punker Kurt Cobain, has a small part in this film. Love and Cobain have been compared to Sid and Nancy on many occaissions. I would highly recomend this film to anyone from Cinematic Connoisseurs seeking fine direction and acting to Gen Xers who want a violent love story with all the Punk Rock trimmings.

08 May 2012

SIDNANCY

This review is from: Sid & Nancy (DVD) ITS A GREAT MOVIE IN GENERAL. JUST THE ONE I GOT WAS WRITTEN ALL OVER SO I COULDN'T WATCH IT PEACEFULLY. OTHER THAAN THAT I THINK ITS A WONDERFUL LOVE STORY.

08 May 2012

What Punk Became

This is a brilliant work. No other movie I have ever seen comes close to accurately portraying the chaos and energy of the punk scene, and few movies hit and smack you into the realisation of how a junkie lives. The only other thing that comes close is Trainspotting. Gary Oldman yet again delivers an undefeatable and unforgettable performance. Oldman and Webb's talent grabs you by the bollocks, and never lets go! Though, a few historical inaccuracies exist (e.g. the mohawk guys at the Sex Pistols gig at the beginning. Mohawks weren't prevalent in punk til' early 80s), the acting, and the portrayal of Sid and Nancy's downfall will overcome any gripe a person might have. Joe Strummer and The Pogues additions to the soundtrack make the images haunt your mind. An A+! Incredible movie!

TheExpatriate700

07 May 2012

Rather Disappointing

I came to this movie with high hopes. I am a big fan of Gary Oldman'sperformances, and I have some interest in punk rock music. However, Iwas ultimately unable to engage with this movie. The problem,unfortunately, is the protagonists.Although Oldman and Webb are very good in their roles, ultimately thefilm suffers from the fact that neither Sid Vicious nor Nancy Spungenwere especially sympathetic figures. Frankly, they were a pair of idiotjunkies whom even their own entourage couldn't stand. There was nothingtragic about what happened to them; they simply self-destructed. Isimply could not care about them.They didn't even have the saving grace of being hugely talented.Although Vicious was a good performer, he wasn't the greatest who everlived. Spungen was mainly known for going out with Vicious. If this hadbeen the case of a Caravaggio or Hemingway who collapsed under theweight of his own genius, it might have been more engaging.

07 May 2012

Hard to take, but hooking none the less

While the whole movie is uneven and all over the place, plus completely off-putting, it's great just for it's performances. Especially from Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb. I also liked the risk of the film, even if it never worked all the time.

06 May 2012

80s Film, Yeah

Of the five American films made in the 1980s I would save at all costs, three are by Alex Cox, which I like to think says more about his brilliance than it does about the wretchedness of that decade. Cox is above all a political filmmaker, which is both why he can't get a film produced in this country, and also one of the reasons many people don't understand "Sid & Nancy." The idea behind the film is that while you could do what you wanted in the anarchic late 1970s and it was all good, or at least not all bad, you really were a disposable piece of garbage in Reagan's America. So while the historical action depicted takes place in the 1970s, the film itself is firmly set in 1986. When Sid looks out the window of his room at the Chelsea, it's 23rd street in all its 1986 madness, the Iggy Pop character has New Wave hair, the cars are all mid-1980s and Gary Oldham is about the age Sid would have been had he not died in 1979. At any rate, anyone who watches this film has to contend with Chloe Webb's performance as Nancy Spungen. While Gary Oldham is good enough as Sid, this is Webb's film, which makes sense, as "Sid & Nancy" is less about the Sex Pistols than it is about being poor and marginalized in the US. Webb is so good in the scenes with her dealer, here called "Bowery," that she never had to act again, which she more or less didn't. I reckon no one noticed just what a knockout beauty she is, but you can, if you see the final scenes of the film. Just be prepared to spend some time completely devastated afterward.

ben83

05 May 2012

Powerful Biopic of Punk Rocks Doomed Pair

This powerful and mesmerising biopic centred around the life and times,and general demise and downward spiral of The Sex Pistols bassist SidVicious and his drug addicted American girlfriend Nancy Spungen isnothing short of harrowing and moving in equal measure. This is mainlythanks in part to both the directorial eye of Alex Cox, but mainly theperformances of the two leads Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb. Oldmanportrays Vicious as he apparently really was, a stroppy, moody youngman who was easily led, as is portrayed in the movie. Chloe Webb isequally as good, portraying Nancy as a volatile and often loose cannonon even more of a self destructive mission than her lover. According toformer members of the Pistols she was the defining influence on Sid andwas said to have introduced him to the class A drugs that eventuallywould lead to his death. This film is accurate to the times and events,and the scenes depicted here are based upon true memoirs. Sid and Nancyis primarily the story about the couple, with the Sex Pistols playingmore of a sub story, although that's not to say that it doesn't showthe events surrounding the band as well. There are excellent supportingperformances, in particular from Andrew Schofield as lead singer JohnnyRotten, sneering out the words to 'Anarchy in the U.K', and a veryaccurate scene along the Thames where the band performed 'God Save TheQueen'. A particular highlight is Sid Vicious's bizarre rendition ofFrank Sinatra's 'My Way', performed almost identically by Gary Oldmanto that of the real video. Overall a very good film that willdefinitely leave an unusual taste in the mouth after watching.

evilpays

05 May 2012

Anarchy in the UK

The movie is pretty good. Not perfect. The performances are good.Courtney Love makes a small appearance. It's an inspired and intriguinglove story about two radical people who basically get along so wellbecausethey're both a little nuts. I loved the scene where Sid and Nancy aremaking out and everything starts literally falling from the sky. Get it?It's called symbolism! Very clever, no? Anyways, I liked it a lot.Checkit out.