Home :: DVD :: Drama :: Cult Classics  

African American Drama
Classics
Crime & Criminals
Cult Classics

Family Life
Gay & Lesbian
General
Love & Romance
Military & War
Murder & Mayhem
Period Piece
Religion
Sports
Television
Sid & Nancy - Criterion Collection

Sid & Nancy - Criterion Collection

List Price: $39.95
Your Price:
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 .. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >>

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Bad
Review: I'm a Sex Pistols fan, but I really think you have to be utterly OBSESSED with them, and especially with Sid Vicious, to think this movie any good. I thought it stank. (Johnny Rotten hates this movie.)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "They may be dead but their souls are free!" Dee Dee Ramone.
Review: Gary Oldman's portrayal of Sid Vicious (né John Simon Richie) is perhaps the greatest in a long line of rock star biographies. This is ironic since the real Sid Vicious was virtually talentless, a heroin junky at twenty, possessed by a bizarre urge to smash those around him, "blessed" with the inability to feel pain, had a childish, disturbed ego and was only a replacement in one of the most reviled, mocked, despicable rock bands to have ever existed, the Sex Pistols.

Who would have thought such an unsavory character would have made such a good movie? Call it the "Raging Bull" syndrome, where a less-than-exemplary figure can illuminate and entertain. You don't have to care about punk, rock'n'roll, anti-authority figures or pop culture to find this movie fascinating. Brilliantly acted, strongly directed, told with power and poetry, "Sid and Nancy," simply, rocks. Besides Oldman's powerhouse, legendary performance, Chloe Webb gives an equally amazing performance as Nancy Spungen. What a horrible, horrible, horrible person. If you have any doubt of that, check out interview footage with the real woman. Blech. Evil, foul, dangerous, nasty, classless. At least Sid was good-looking--ha, ha!

Fans of punk in general, and the Pistols in particular, also will find much in this movie to admire and disdain. The clothes are perfect, from Sid's T-shirts and Ramones buttons to Johnny Rotten's syringe-festooned dinner jacket. The songs are good, although the actor playing Rotten does only a fair job singing and his accent's all wrong, as are the crowds in the performance scenes: mohawked kids that seem to be from 1981 or so (check out "24 Hour Party People" if you want to see a movie that gets the audience's look right). ULtimately, all this doesn't matter. This is a sobering, harsh film; certainly not light entertainment. I do recommend it to people who might be turned off by punk rock; believe me, this is a movie for those who like strongly-acted, character-driven films.

Cox has taken a minor footnote in rock'n'roll history and blown it up into a full Romeo and Juliet tragedy. Despite Sid and Nancy's obnoxious, immature, irresponsible and hurtful lives, you'll find yourself moved at this film's conclusion. Bet on it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: punks not dead
Review: this was a really good movie, in fact, it's the only good love story i've ever seen. the actor for johnny rotten isn't very good but the overall feel of the movie is great. Gary Oldman bares a remarkable resemblence to Sid. Sex drugs and Rock and Roll.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good, great, grand...
Review: When I first saw 'Sid and Nancy' I was 11 years old and I couldn't quite figure out what the hell the movie was about. Now, a little older, a little wised, and a lot more cynical and jaded, I must say this is the best (hell, most likely the only) fiction account of the punk generation of the 1970s. Opinions in punk today as to the quality of the Sex Pistols differ, to be sure, and even if you don't like their music, you have got to appreciate the amazing attempt at accuracy that the director, screenwrite and actors have made. This movie is a must see for any late-90s punk -- and every suburban housewife as well. Oh, and Courtney Love's colourful cameo is rather entertaining as well ... sort of like staring at someone with Turette's Syndrome at the supermarket. Just see it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Nancy Spungen is a Legendary Goddess
Review: Sid and Nancy is the best punk rock real life based film ever made, and the most interesting story ever told. It was based on fact, and after reading And I Don't Wanna Live This Life, by Deborah Spungen, and 12 Days on the Road:Sex Pistols, you can easily see the realism that the movie was formatted on. Nancy Spungen was a creative. beautiful punk rock godess, even though she was loud, and *unfortunately* a heroin user. Webb portrays her fairly, the real life Nancy was much sexier and charming. Sid was her life, they were romantic, and as every couple, had their ups and downs. The movie shows this, as well as several classic Sex Pistol songs, as well as Sid's solo efforts, managed by his loving girlfriend Nancy. I highly reacommend this film. Plus, Courtney Love, is also in it briefly, which is a plus as far as I'm concerned. It is a film loaded with talent.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Romantic tragedy
Review: Sid & Nancy were two people made for each other. Unfortunately, this love story does not end well. Unlike Romeo & Juliet, Sid & Nancy's biggest enemies were not feuding families, but themselves. Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb are nothing short of amazing. They're so good in this movie that you actually think you're watching the real Sid & Nancy! BTW, Being a Courtney Love fan, I give this movie bonus points for her being in it. But even without Ms. Love, Sid & Nancy is a 5 star movie. Rent it, buy it, but by all means, please experience it. It's a gem.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: First class directing+first class acting=First class Movie
Review: Alex Cox has created a visionary cinematic masterpiece of Pop Culture. This film is filled with anger, passion and honesty. I feel as close to the characters as I would to a deviant sibiling thanks to the realism and epic direction. Symbolism and foreshadowing create the canvas that Cox has used to tell a story of love beyond all bounds.

Gary Oldman, Probablly one of the finest and under-rated actors trying to break into the Hollywood Machine, takes a very true to life approach to the character. Oldman melds his acting skills with real life pain to recreate the Character. Gary olman is Sid Vicious.

Don't let the Punk Rock fairy tale of The Sex Pistols elude the underlying allegory of the purest love story since Romeo and Juliet. The Punk Rock band "The Circle Jerks" once Screamed "Love Kills", and this time it did. One of the ironic twists is that Courney Love, wife of troubled Punker Kurt Cobain, has a small part in this film. Love and Cobain have been compared to Sid and Nancy on many occaissions.

I would highly recomend this film to anyone from Cinematic Connoisseurs seeking fine direction and acting to Gen Xers who want a violent love story with all the Punk Rock trimmings.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Hard to take, but hooking none the less
Review: While the whole movie is uneven and all over the place, plus completely off-putting, it's great just for it's performances. Especially from Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb. I also liked the risk of the film, even if it never worked all the time.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Sad but beautiful
Review: I don't know why Chloe Webb didn't go on to do more movies. Or maybe I missed them(?) Anyhow: Chloe Webb and Gary Oldman ARE Sid and Nancy--screeching, obnoxious, addicted, unhappy and all too human. Favorite scene: Sid and Nancy kissing in a New York alley while garbage tossed from a roof floats around them. Next favorite: Sid and Nancy, in a fantasy sequence, kissing on a neon-white-lit stairway to heaven, Nancy adorned in a wedding gown and a crown of thorns. EDITING MISTAKE: The scene in the tour bus. Some New Age jerk is singing to Johnny Rotten. In the background we can see green farmland. But in the long shots, the bus is traveling through cindery desert! How did that ever get through the editing process? Talk about careless. But besides that: what a documentary of sorrow and waste. Terrific movie: great script, bad editing, superb acting. Two out of three ain't bad.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: RIPPED MY HEART OUT
Review: You could take this story, which is so painfully beautiful that it still takes my breath away after 100 viewings, and put it anywhere in history. It (in my opinion) is THE timeless tale of obsessive and self destructive love, good, bad, and beautiful. I love this movie above all others.


<< 1 .. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates