The Filth and the Fury

The Filth and the Fury is director Julien Temple's second documentary about the Sex Pistols; his first, 1980's The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, had been criticized for foregrounding manager Malcolm McLaren's perspective. This time, Temple filmed fresh interviews with John Lydon, Steve Jones, Paul Cook, and Glen Matlock in silhouette, letting the band tell their own story. The film premiered at Sundance on January 25, 2000, and opened in the UK on May 12, 2000. Critical reception was very strong, holding a 95 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes and 82 on Metacritic; Roger Ebert gave it three and a half out of four stars. It won Best Documentary (shared) from the Chicago Film Critics Association and Best Documentary Film from the Online Film Critics Society. Who it's for: anyone curious about a punk rock documentary told in the band's own words, made as a corrective to an earlier documentary's one-sided perspective. Who it's not for: viewers coming to the Sex Pistols with zero context, since the film is framed as a response to The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle.