|
|
The Movie:
Ask someone on the street about what they think of when they think of "punk rock", and I would bet that most often, the answer would be "the sex pistols". The band only lasted about a couple of years in all, but the impression that they left still stands today, and their history is revealed in-depth in Julien Temple's documentary "The Filth and the Fury", which takes a look at the ups and the downs of all of it.
Formed apparently as a result of conditions in England, the band rebeled against, well, I'd guess they'd rebel against whatever you'd have. The film itself is punky and edgy in the way it's done, offering tons of different clips from archival footage of all different kinds, while the band often narrates their two-year life. The way the film is presented is certainly far from the usual rock "documentary" and is almost an artistic chaos itself, throwing scenes and footage together and yet, having it all make sense and work.
They go over everything from their point of view, talking about their early years, the magical moments of playing together at their best, the reaction of the public and their thoughts on their manager, Malcolm McLaren. Interview footage with the band members provides further details into their thoughts on what happened during their short time together.
The only problem with the film is that at nearly tow hours, it feels a little long at times, and would probably prove to be of more interest for fans of the band. As a documentary, though, I think director Julien Temple did a fine job at taking the usual "rockumentary" and giving it a fresh spin from the usual.
The DVD
VIDEO: This is definitely a hard release to talk about the video quality on, but as usual, I think New Line has done the best possible job with a varied mix of footage. There are clips taken from many different dates, it seems, and they all show different image quality. At best, they look clear and clean, with good sharpness. Middle of the road, we see some noticable grain and flaws such as marks and scratches. At worst, images look hazy and worn, but thankfully, the materials rarely display this kind of quality. Colors are generally well-presented, looking solid and occasionally, fairly bold - again, seemingly depending on the age of the footage.
SOUND: The stereo soundtrack is a pretty fine presentation of the documentary material. The music comes through very well - although it's not nearly as smooth as recent recordings, the raw edge to the sound sort of adds to the tone of the whole film, although there are times when it sounds a bit too thin. Narration is also clear and easily heard. Certainly not showy, but captures the material and tone of the film right.
MENUS:: Menus are non-animated, with very basic images serving as backgrounds. It would have been cool to have the bands music in the background.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: Director Julien Temple contributes a fair commentary to the film, talking about how he learned about filmmaking and discussing the music of the band. There are some fairly long pauses on occasion throughout the commentary, and the director's tone remains fairly unenergetic. Still, if you're willing to listen, there are some interesting insights on occasion throughout.
Original Documentary: Similar to what they produced for their other release this week (Love and Basketball), New Line offers here a 36 minute documentary feature that interviews quite a few people in the "punk" music industry today to talk about their feelings on the meanings and ideas behind the music.
Trailer: The film's theatrical trailer.
Final Thoughts: I think the movie will mainly appeal to fans of punk rock. New Line has done the best they can with the varied footage used in the documentary for the DVD. It's nice that they've also included some extra features for the film.
Film Grade
The Film B-
DVD Grades
Video 80/B- =(320/400 possible points)
Audio: 79/C = (316/400 possible points)
Extras: 83/B = (249/300 possible points)
Menus: 70/C = (140/200 possible points)
Value: 82/B = (246/300 possible points)
TOTAL POINTS:1271/1600
DVD GRADE:C+/79%
FILM GRADE: B-
DVD GRADE: C+
|