Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
A rather incoherent post-breakup Sex Pistols "documentary", told from the point of view of Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, whose (arguable) position is that the Sex Pistols in particular and punk rock in general were an elaborate scam perpetrated by him in order to make "a million pounds."
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle is a gloriously chaotic, self-mythologizing mess that is genuinely unlike almost anything else in music documentary history. Its Novelty is exceptional — McLaren's meta-revisionist framing, the anarchic collage of animation, mockumentary, concert footage, and brazen fiction makes it a singular artifact. But the Plot is incoherent by design and by accident, the 'acting' from non-performers is amateurish, the cinematography is functional at best, and the ending is abrupt and unsatisfying. Its reputation rests almost entirely on its cultural provenance and sheer audacity rather than craft.