Sex Pistols on TV

A documentary comprised of TV segments, filmmaker Mark Sloper's Sex Pistols on TV begins with the formation of the Sex Pistols in 1975 and ends in 2007, long after the band broke up. Presenter Janet Street-Porter of The London Weekend Show starts by profiling the band and their fans (one enthusiast says that if you're into punk, "You're not a mouse, like Mike Oldfield fans."). Joe Strummer of the Clash shows up to talk about the economic prospects for British youth, while manager Malcolm McLaren laments the fact that dates were cancelled due to fears of violence. From there, the coverage shifts to 1978, after the short-lived group had called it quits. The famously contrarian lead singer Johnny Rotten—who established a cordial rapport with Street-Porter—claims, “I don't have any heroes, they're all useless.” When she asks what he thinks of the Rolling Stones, he quips, “I don't.” Sid Vicious next comes to the fore after stabbing girlfriend Nancy Spungeon to death in 1979. Upon being released on bail, Sid is asked by an American interviewer if he's having fun, since he claimed that was his ultimate goal. “No,” Vicious responds, “I'm not having fun.” (Days later, he was dead of a heroin overdose.) Subsequent pieces focus on Alex Cox's biopic Sid and Nancy, designer Vivien Westwood, and Public Image Ltd, the group Rotten founded in 1978. Rotten is expectedly surly in conversation, although this documentary doesn't include the notorious interview with Bill Grundy or the PiL-era contretemps with Tom Snyder. Still, journalists could be cruel too, such as the reporter who describes the Pistols—who reunited in 1996—as “decomposing 40-year-olds.” Presented in Dolby Digital stereo, extras include a profile of Sid Vicious. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)