SID AND NANCY (Cox, 1986)
Criterion Collection, Blu-ray, Release Date Aug 22, 2017
Review by Christopher S. Long
As a portrait of the London punk scene
circa 1977, Alex Cox's “Sid and Nancy” (1986) relies on its fair
share of shortcuts and cliches. Watch the scary punk smash his head
against the wall! See him spray paint graffiti all over some poor
sod's apartment! Yet as the film progresses, the carnivalesque
caricatures resolve into more fully-fleshed personalities, and as the
film's other elements drop off one by one, leaving the two title
characters alone in their tiny pocket universe, it achieves a tragic
resonance.
The film relates the squalid and now
well-known tale of the doomed, co-dependent relationship between Sex
Pistols bassist Sid Vicious (Gary Oldman) and American punk groupie
Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb), a drug-fueled relationship that
culminated with Vicious being charged with Nancy's murder in New
York's Chelsea Hotel. Vicious died of a heroin overdose a few months
later.
The loud-mouthed, heavily pierced punk
rockers and various hangers on seldom appear to be having much fun,
motivated primarily by a need to alleviate the boredom of
(non)working-class life in mid-'70s England. This is hardly a
romanticized vision of an angry outsider movement: the fans pay more
attention to their faux-rebellious fashion statements and Sid's
bandmate Johnny Rotten/Lydon (Andrew Schofield) contributes to the
scene mostly by belching and farting. Under Nancy's expert tutelage,
Sid becomes vastly more concerned with his next drug hit than with
the band though, to be fair, he was never exactly big on practice in
the first place.
After a few stumbles in London, “Sid
and Nancy” picks up considerably when the action shifts to America
for the band's failed tour which would see them break up before its
completion. If Sid was never the most devoted bandmate, he suffers
considerably when cut adrift from the Sex Pistols, now with the
directionless Nancy as his only rudder. Thelovers settle into a
grubby room at the Chelsea Hotel where only their drug dealers any
attention to them as they pass an indeterminate number of blurry days
by shooting up and passing out, too impotent and pathetic even to
achieve Nancy's stated goal of going out in a blaze of glory.
I admit to finding Chloe Webb's
abrasive caterwauling an irritation at times, but the limited
archival footage suggests she was embracing the real Nancy with
admirable gusto, and there's no denying the relentless ferocity she brings to the role. Pale, skinny Oldman, in his first significant film
role, snarls and mumbles his way through an intensely physical
performance; the semi-coherent, largely-inarticulate Sid looks ready
to collapse at any moment, but somehow keeps powering through to the
next day on a mix of spite and apathy. And heroin.
Cox is unflinching in his portrayal of
Sid and Nancy's last-days degeneracy, a sticking point for some punk
historians and fans as well as a few critics who found it
exploitative. Cox and co-writer Abbe Wool certainly have no interest
in depicting Sid and Nancy as star-crossed Shakespearean lovers, or
as the romantic embodiment of the true punk ideal, but I think they
still sympathize with them even at their most pathetic.
Amidst all the cramped, sparsely-lit
bedrooms and dive bars (cinematographer Roger Deakins works wonders
in dim, claustrophobic spaces), Sid gets one glamorous fantasy
sequence. Stumbling down a set of neon-lit stairs that lead to
nowhere, he spits out his own obscenity-laden version of “My Way,”
a show-stopping scene that somehow remains poignant even after it
erupts in gunfire.
Video:
The film is presented in its original
1.85:1 aspect ratio. This new “16-bit 4k digital transfer” is
virtually flawless, with sharp image detail and a vibrant color
palette. It's so strong, I have little to say.
Audio:
The disc offers both linear PCM mono
and DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround options. The film isn't quite as heavy
on punk music as some fans might prefer (OK, as I might prefer) but
in addition to a few Sex Pistols tracks, Joe Strummer provides
multiple contributions to the film's score (with fake credits
obscuring exactly what he did). Both audio options are crisp and
distortion-free, as you would expect from Criterion. Optional English
subtitles support the English audio, and might be needed when Oldman
embodies Sid at his least articulate.
Extras:
Criterion has packed this Blu-ray
release with an overwhelming collection of features, both old and
new.
The film is accompanied by two
different commentary tracks. The first, recorded for the Criterion
laser disc release in 1994, features Oldman, Webb, writer Abbe Wool,
cultural historian Greil Marcus, and filmmakers Julien Temple and
Lech Kowalski. The second, recorded in 2001, features Alex Cox and
actor Andrew Schofield.
In a new interview (2016, 24 min.),
Alex Cox speaks about the film's genesis and production. Neat trivia
bit: casting Sid came down to newcomer Gary Oldman and relative
neophyte Daniel Day-Lewis.
The disc also includes excerpts (14
min.) from Danny Garcia's 2016 documentary, “Sad Vacation: The Last
Days of Sid and Nancy.” We also get excerpts (10 min.) from Lech
Kowalski's 1980 documentary on the Sex Pistols, “D.O.A.: A Right Of
Passage.” The former combines interviews with many commentators.
The latter consists mostly of footage of the real Sid and Nancy
laying about, Sid stoned out of his mind and wearing a t-shirt with a
swastika emblazoned on it.
The rest of the features are all
archival material. We get audio of a phone call (13 min.) between
Vicious and photographer Roberta Bayley, placed on Jan 19, 1978, a
few days after he was hospitalized for a drug overdose on a plane.
In a brief excerpt (3 min.) from the
Dec 1, 1976 episode of the British show “Today,” the smug host
Bill Grundy outright mocks his guests, The Sex Pistols, and can
barely tolerate what he sees as their pathetic, insincere act. The
chaotic appearance helped boost their profile considerably.
We also get an excerpt (13 min.) from
the Nov 28, 1976 episode of “The London Weekend Show” in which
journalist Janet Street-Porter takes a look at the music and fashion
of the London punk scene.
The final feature is a Theatrical Trailer (2 min.)
The insert booklet includes an essay by
author Jon Savage and a compilation of some research conducted for
the film by Alex Cox.
Final Thoughts:
I think “Sid and Nancy” is much
more successful in its American scenes than its London ones, but
perhaps that's because the most moving parts of the story involve Sid
and Nancy in total isolation. With its exceptional transfer and a
bounty of supplemental features, this Criterion release should
provide fans everything they could ever wanted from a “Sid and
Nancy” disc.
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