Julien Temple Movies
A graduate of the National Film School, British director/screenwriter Julien Temple is noted for his music-oriented features and documentaries. He first gained critical acclaim with his 1980 rockumentary look at the Sex Pistols in The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (the film was originally to have been directed by Russ Meyer, but creative differences over the interpretation of Temple's script led him to take over the film himself). Fictional features include Earth Girls Are Easy (1989) and Bullet (1996). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 2009
Outside of the United Kingdom, only the most obsessive music fans were aware of what was known as "Pub Rock" during its brief heyday in the early to mid-1970s. But in England, Pub Rock was a important precursor to the punk and new wave scene; the Pub bands rejected the growing pretension of glam and progressive rock, and instead embraced a back-to-basics sound rooted in stripped down R&B and country rock. The toughest of the Pub Rock bands was Dr. Feelgood, a quartet whose revved-up, no-frills music was more tuneful and celebratory than punk but communicated much of the same swagger and sense of menace. Dr. Feelgood -- Lee Brilleaux on vocals and harmonica, Wilko Johnson on guitar, Sparko (aka John B. Sparkes) on bass and The Big Figure (aka John Martin) on drums -- never earned more than a tiny cult following in the United States, but for a spell they were a major draw in the UK, and their wild rags to riches to rags again story is brought to the screen in Oil City Confidential, a documentary by Julian Temple that features extensive interviews with the surviving members of the band (Brilleaux died in 1994) and live footage of the group in their prime. Oil City Confidential received its world premiere at the 2009 BFI London Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2008
The inimitable Julien Temple (The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, The Rolling Stones: Live at the Max) headlines this unusual, offbeat documentary portrait of an eccentric Australian icon. Arthur Stace endured a grueling bout with alcoholism, and then - upon attaining sobriety - spent 40 years of his life inscribing the word "eternity" on the streets of Sydney. With The Eternity Man, Temple tells his strange life story. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 2007
- Add Sex Pistols: There'll Always Be an England to QueueAdd Sex Pistols: There'll Always Be an England to top of Queue
When the Sex Pistols arrived on the British music scene in 1976, they were regarded by many as pariahs, a threat to both music and the culture at large, and they were banned from nearly every major venue in the U.K. by the time they broke up after a poorly-received American tour in early 1978. Three decades later, time and the very English habit of embracing misfits and underdogs had transformed the Sex Pistols from a national scandal to national heroes, and after a handful of reunion gigs, the group played a sold-out five night stand at London's Brixton Academy in November 2007 to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of their only studio album Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols. Director Julian Temple, who had previously made two films about the band (The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle and The Filth and the Fury) brought a camera crew to one of the shows, and The Sex Pistols: There'll Always Be An England documents John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten), Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock roaring through the Pistols' best known song for a rowdy and wildly appreciative audience. Selections include "Anarchy In The U.K.", "God Save The Queen", "Pretty Vacant", "Holidays In The Sun", "Problems" and many more. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- The Sex Pistols
- 2006
Filmmaker Julien Temple takes a look beyond the guise of the late, anti-establishment icon Joe Strummer to offer a warm portrait of the self-described "mouthy little git" who was born John Mellor and was destined to become the frontman for one of the most influential punk bands ever. A complex figure who would learn to use his gift for music as a means of decompressing his conscience, Strummer is revealed here through unearthed interviews and the illuminating recollections of his closest companions. At times idealistic to a fault, the flawed Clash singer/songwriter had a special gift for compelling listeners to think as they moved to the music. Vintage performance footage and excerpts from Strummer's popular BBC radio program offer the ideal musical backdrop for an affectionate tribute to a punk-rock legend. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Strummer
In 1970, a music aficionado and entrepreneur named Michael Eavis staged a "pop, folk, and blues" festival on a dairy farm in the English community of Glastonbury, not far from Stonehenge. 1,500 attended the "Glastonbury Fayre," and a second festival followed in 1971. By 2005, The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts had grown into the biggest pop music festival in the world, playing host to the biggest names in rock, reggae, electronic, blues, and world music for a crowd of up to 150,000 people over the course of a three-day weekend in June. Filmmaker Julien Temple offers a backstage look at the history of this event, as well as a cross section of the memorable performances which have taken place on the festival's stage in the documentary Glastonbury. Performers featured in archival footage include R.E.M., David Bowie, New Order, Radiohead, Coldplay, the Velvet Underground, Nick Cave, Oasis, Blur, Björk, and many more. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Eavis, T. Rex, (more)
After the breakup of the wildly influential punk rock band the Clash in 1986, the band's guitarist and frontman, Joe Strummer, largely stayed out of the musical spotlight, and while he released a solo album in 1989 and contributed music to several film soundtracks, he kept out of the public eye for most of the 1990s. In 1999, Strummer returned to active duty with a new band, the Mescaleros, and a new album, Rock Art and the X-Ray Style. The album was not well received either critically or commercially, and when Strummer started work on the follow-up, Global a Go-Go, in 2001, he was determined to make himself heard this time out (and to see that the album sold well enough to break even). Filmmaker and longtime friend Dick Rude tagged along as Strummer and his band completed the album and stormed Japan and the United States on tour, and the documentary Let's Rock Again! is an insider's portrait of Strummer and Company as they dig into the hard work of reestablishing the name of one of rock's great rebels after a decade away from the music scene. Let's Rock Again! includes footage of Strummer meeting the press in interviews, showing up unannounced at a radio station in hopes of plugging his show, passing out handmade flyers on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, and chatting with a handful of teenage punk fans as he discusses the past, present, and future of his music. Also included are concert performances in which Strummer and the Mescaleros play hits from his days with the Clash as well as new material from Global a Go-Go. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Although their career lasted a bit less than two years, few rock bands have made a more dramatic impact than the Sex Pistols, who quickly rose to international infamy as the best-known British punk band, then fell apart shortly after their first American tour in a tempest of drugs, ego, and infighting. Manager Malcolm McLaren began making a film about the group while they were at the height of their fame, but by the time McLaren and director Julien Temple completed The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, the group's best-known member, bassist Sid Vicious, was dead, and the remaining Pistols -- vocalist Johnny Rotten (aka John Lydon), guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook, and original bassist Glen Matlock were in litigation against McLaren and refused to participate. In 1998, Temple began working with the group's surviving members (who reunited for a brief tour in 1996) for this definitive documentary of the Pistols' career, which combines new interviews with footage of legendary live performances (such as their infamous Jubilee Day show on a ship sailing past the Houses of Parliament), as well as newsreels of the chaos that followed in their wake, including the TV appearance that changed them overnight from a little-known cult band to national pariahs. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2000
- PG13
The troubled friendship and occasional rivalry between two of England's greatest poets, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth, is explored in an unorthodox light in this historical drama from renegade director Julian Temple. As Coleridge (Linus Roache), Wordsworth (John Hannah), and Lord Byron (Guy Lankester) await the news of who will be Great Britain's new poet laureate in 1816, Coleridge finds himself thinking back to 1795, when he and Wordsworth were two struggling writers involved in radical politics. Embracing the ideal of an agrarian society, Coleridge moves to the country, accompanied by his wife Sarah (Samantha Morton) and their infant son. Wordsworth soon follows, joined by his often argumentative sister Dorothy (Emily Woof). However, the two writers discover the hard work of maintaining a farm is not as conducive to their literary endeavors as they might have imagined, despite taking most available opportunities to shock the local bourgeoisie. It's not until Coleridge discovers laudanum (a tincture of alcohol and opium) that he finds the inspiration to create his first masterpiece, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Wordsworth soon finds his friend's fame is far surpassing his own, which brings an uncomfortable jealousy into their relationship; Coleridge, meanwhile, has developed a dangerous fondness for opium, which threatens to drown the creative spirit that it once sparked within him. Pandaemonium received its North American premiere at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linus Roache, John Hannah, (more)
- 1999
French filmmaker Jean Vigo made only four films prior to his death in 1934 at the age of 29 (only one a full length feature), but all of them are today recognized as landmarks of the European cinema, and Zero For Conduct and L'Atalante are often cited among the greatest films of their time. Vigo: Passion For Life is a dramatic biography that explores his brief life and tumultuous career. Born the son of a famous figure in the French anarchist movement, Jean Vigo (played here by James Frain) suffered from poor health throughout his life; he contracted tuberculosis as a young man, and met his wife Lydu Lozinska (Romane Bohringer) when both were receiving treatment in a sanitarium. Vigo made A propos de Nice in 1929 as an attack on bourgeois French society; the premier led to a riot, the first of many controversies surrounding Vigo's work (Zero For Conduct was completed in 1932, but its anti-authoritarian stance caused it to be banned until 1945). Vigo's fragile health was already beginning to fail him while he was filming L'Atalante; a fall into an icy river while trying to retrieve a camera only added to his ills, and he edited most of the film at home, too sick to leave. However, he was passionate about his art to the end, constantly battling producers and authorities to make films as he chose to make them. He died in 1934, the same year L'Atalante was released. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Romane Bohringer, James Frain, (more)
Seven years after his comedy Earth Girls Are Easy (1988), former music video director Julien Temple returned to feature films with the direct-to-video crime melodrama Bullet (1995), which featured a fine supporting cast. Mickey Rourke stars as Butch "Bullet" Stein, a Jewish junkie from the mean streets of Brooklyn who is paroled after eight years in prison. Butch rips off a runner for local drug dealer, Tank (Tupac Shakur), and is soon right back into his old habits of snorting coke and shooting up heroin with his best friend Lester (John Enos III). Enraged by Butch's affront and already determined to get revenge on him for a past wrong, Tank sets about getting even with his old enemy by hiring a hulking brute, Gates (Ray Mancini) to beat Butch. When the confrontation occurs, however, Gates breaks his hand on the battle-hardened Butch. Besides Lester, the only people in Butch's corner are his two brothers, the mentally-unhinged Vietnam War veteran Louis (Ted Levine) and aspiring artist Ruby (Adrien Brody), neither of whom can be counted on to help him in the inevitable showdown. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Rourke, Tupac Shakur, (more)
- 1991
Enjoy this selection of titles from the latest album by Neil Young and band including "Farmer John" and "Mansion on the Hill." ~ All Movie Guide
- 1990
- NR
The central figures in this documentary/performance are The Rolling Stones: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ron Wood et. al. Filmed at various Stones concerts in Turin, Berlin and London, the film manages to capture the euphoria of a live event due to the IMAX system format: a huge 70mm image projected on 50 X 70-foot screen, accompanied by 6-track "surround sound." Thus, by its very nature, At the Max cannot be properly experiences within the dimensions of the TV screen, nor was it intended to. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- The Rolling Stones, Chuck Leavell, (more)
In this madcap comedy, Geena Davis plays Valerie, a manicurist living in the valley with her cold fiancé, Dr. Ted Gallagher (Charles Rocket). At the Curl Up and Dye beauty salon where she works, Valerie enlists the help of her boss, Candy Pink (Julie Brown), for some style advice to try and win back Ted's affections. After undergoing a brand-new hairstyle, Valerie learns that Ted is having an affair and she kicks him out of the house. Soon, while lounging around in her bikini, a spaceship from the planet Jhazzalan crash-lands in her swimming pool. Curious, Valerie befriends the ship's inhabitants -- three horny aliens covered in fur named Mac (Jeff Goldblum), Whiploc (Jim Carrey), and Zeebo (Damon Wayans). Introducing her new friends to Candy, the aliens get a shave and a total makeover transformation into hot, available dates. They all go out dancing at L.A. nightclubs and party. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Geena Davis, Jeff Goldblum, (more)
An international collection of well-known directors contributed to this compilation film, each fashioning a short film inspired by an aria from a famous opera. The approaches vary broadly, from the playful abstraction of Jean-Luc Godard's segment, which illustrates Armide with exercising body-builders, to the more literal approach of Franc Roddam, who transports Tristan und Isolde's story to modern-day Las Vegas. A particular stand-out is Julian Temple's take on Rigoletto, which recasts Verdi as the accompaniment to a contemporary Southern California sex farce. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Theresa Russell, Nicola Swain, (more)
The rise of teen culture in 1950s Britain provides the backdrop for Julien Temple's unconventional rock musical Absolute Beginners. The film centers on Colin, an 18-year-old with a talent for photography and a fondness for the neon nightlife of British jazz clubs. He also is in love with Crepe Suzette, an impulsive, ambitious young beauty who abandons him after attracting the attention of a powerful fashion designer. Depressed and aimless, Colin turns for help to a flashy ad executive (David Bowie) who promises to make him a star photographer. The former lovers take parallel paths to success, capitalizing on the youth mania gripping the nation. The film's nostalgic yet gently satirical look at teen culture is tempered by a recognition of the era's social tension, particularly a disturbing rise in racism. Despite these serious undertones, however, the film tells its story with a colorful vibrancy reminiscent of both MTV and old Hollywood musicals, filled with such show-stopping numbers as a memorable sequence in which Bowie dances on a giant typewriter. Critical reception was mixed, with some hailing the film's spectacular cinematography and ambitious scope, while others found the mixture of tones and style too inconsistent. The film also drew lukewarm response at the box office, with the memorable soundtrack receiving more attention than the film itself. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie O'Connell, Patsy Kensit, (more)
- 1986
- R
In a story powered by the songs on an LP by Mick Jagger, this film is really one long video clip advertising Jagger's album. The plot takes the music from one number to the next, and begins with the rock star and his wife having an argument in Rio which leads to his being mugged and taken to the interior of Brazil to work on a plantation. Once there, the lady of the manor chases him around, but he manages to escape back to Rio only to find that someone else has been impersonating him and making off with the big bucks. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mick Jagger, Jerry Hall, (more)
- 1986
The Kinks have performed together for more than two decades, and unlike many other bands, they have kept their original members. In this film, The Kinks: Come Dancing with the Kinks, the band demonstrates their ability to cover dark subjects like paranoia and confusion, in a light, danceable way. Ray Davies provides the vocals. The tracks featured are performed live and include "You Really Got Me," "Come Dancing," "Predictable," "Do it Again," "Celluloid Heroes," "Lola," and "State of Confusion." ~ Alice Day, All Movie Guide
- 1984
The Secret Policeman's Private Parts, the second of two concert films produced on behalf of Amnesty International, is better photographed than the first (The Secret Policeman's Other Ball) but not quite as enjoyable. As in the earlier film, the show is stolen by the Monty Python aggregation: John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Graham Chapman and Terry Gilliam. Also on hand are former Beyond the Fringe-er Peter Cook and musicians Pete Townshend, Phil Collins and Donovan. Fans of the artists will probably get a bigger kick out of Private Parts than casual moviegoers. Like Other Ball, Private Parts fully deserves its R rating. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
- R
The highlights of two benefit concerts staged in support of Amnesty International are collected in this British performance film, which features ample helpings of both music and comedy. The members of the Monty Python comedy troupe serve as headliners, performing live variations on some of their most famous sketches. Additional humor is provided by such luminaries as Peter Cook, while the musical segments include performances by Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, and Sting, amongst others. While all of the performers deliver the goods, the film's overall effectiveness is unfortunately limited by the purely functional direction and often poor image quality. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pete Townshend, Rowan Atkinson, (more)
While he later became world famous as the front man for heavy metal heroes Iron Maiden, in 1980 Bruce Dickinson was the singer for up-and-coming New Wave of British Heavy Metal band Samson. That year, Samson made a short film at London's celebrated rock venue the Rainbow Theater, designed to be used as videos for a pair of their songs, and Samson: Biceps of Steel presents this long-lost footage to fans of vintage NWOBHM sounds and Iron Maiden obsessives. Songs featured are "Hard Times" and "Vice Versa." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1980
- NR
- Add The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle to QueueAdd The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle to top of Queue
Let Malcolm McLaren show you how to achieve fame and fortune by making your pop group the most despised band in the world! This film about the brief but eventful career of The Sex Pistols primarily focuses on McLaren, their manager, as he presents his ten-point program on how to achieve success through chaos, ineptitude, and abusing the music industry. Despite some remarkable footage of The Sex Pistols' infamous Jubilee Day performance and clips from their final concert in San Francisco, there's surprisingly little screen time devoted to the group actually performing. Instead, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle offers McLaren's agit-prop philosophies on music, culture, politics, and the entertainment industry, as well as an amusing (if often inaccurate) account of the band's rise and fall. Along the way, we're also offered some curious animated sequences, "film noir" episodes starring guitarist Steve Jones, footage of the band recording with exiled British train robber Ronnie Biggs, and Sid Vicious singing "My Way" (he had been dead for over a year by the time the movie was released). The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle began life as "Who Killed Bambi?", a project written by Roger Ebert and directed by Russ Meyer, which closed down after two days of shooting when funding fell through. By the time McLaren and Julien Temple got it off the ground (with a radically different script), Johnny Rotten had left the group, which explains why the band's front man is hardly in the movie. The rest of the group broke up a few months later. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Malcolm McLaren, John (Johnny Rotten) Lydon, (more)
Julien Temple's punk documentary U.K. Subs: Punk Can Take It presents live footage of the seminal punk band and is structured like a parody of WWII era British documentaries. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
