Rock Docs: The Filth and the Fury (2000) - Reviewed

Scott reviews the 2000 documentary on the Sex Pistols. 


I have to admit, I was never a huge Sex Pistols fan, or should I say never as huge of a Sex Pistols fan as I was told to be I guess.  Now let me be clear, "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols" is a great, great record that gets a spin more often than not here in the depths of my estate.  But, I have always preferred Cock Sparrer, a contemporary over the Sex Pistols. The songs had more power and were way more catchy in my humble opinion.

Even with those opinions, I did not take them with me into my viewing of the The Filth and the Fury.  Frankly, I was really looking forward to learning a lot about the band due to my lack of attention to them for reasons I mentioned previously.


The Filth and the Fury does what I would expect from a rock documentary, it keeps it simple and tells the story.  That is all I really want to know when it comes to documentaries on bands.  We get to hear the story straight from the surviving members themselves from that era about their rise to fame and their quick fall and self-combustion as a band.  It is a sad story really that I will not spoil, but it is also empowering to see individuals with the whole world in their hands and still not giving a honest fuck about any of it.  I think that is what made the Sex Pistols so special, and also how they were able to create such a massive impact with just one studio album.

The Filth and the Fury does dive deeper though which can really be appreciated.  As a viewer you get a glimpse into why the punk movement started in the UK in the mid to late seventies and why these people were frustrated and had something to say.  You get to see why these people broke off and threw their middle fingers up at the establishment in the UK at the time.  This obviously was reflected in the way they dressed, their attitudes and most importantly, their music, which truly was “their music”.

The Filth and the Fury is a fantastic view into a band that was uncompromising before the the term uncompromising was ever associated with music.  So, spike out your hair, dig out your old spiked bracelets and enjoy this great film if for anything, the killer soundtrack.


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Scott W. Lambert