Performance (film)
Encyclopedia
Performance is a 1968 British crime
drama film
; the film was produced in 1968 but not released until 1970. Directed by Donald Cammell
and Nicolas Roeg
, Performance stars James Fox
and Mick Jagger
of The Rolling Stones
in his film acting debut.
) is a soldier in an East London gang led by Harry Flowers (Johnny Shannon); his specialty is intimidation through violence as he collects pay-offs for Flowers. He is very good at his job, and has a reputation for liking it. His sexual liaisons are casual and rough. When Flowers decides to take over a betting shop, owned by Joey Maddocks (Anthony Valentine), he forbids Chas to get involved, as he feels Chas' conflicted history with Maddocks may lead to trouble. Chas is angry about this and later humiliates Maddocks, who retaliates by wrecking Chas' apartment and attacking Chas. Chas shoots him, packs a suitcase, and runs from the scene. When Flowers makes it clear that he has no intention of offering protection to Chas but instead wants him eliminated, Chas decides to head for the countryside to hide, but instead winds up hiding out in London, requesting a trusted friend help him get out of the country.
He assumes a new name, Johhny Dean, and appears at the house of Turner (Mick Jagger
), he ingratiates himself with Pherber (Anita Pallenberg
), one of the female inhabitants and moves in. Turner is a reclusive, eccentric former rock star who has "lost his demon" and who lives there with his female friends Pherber and Lucy (Michele Breton), with whom he enjoys a non-possessive and bi-sexual ménage à trois
. At first, Chas is contemptuous of Turner and Turner attempts to return the rent paid in advance but they start influencing each other. Chas also enjoys intimate moments with Pherber during which he shows his homophobic tendencies. Pherber and Turner understand his conflict and want to understand what makes him function so well within his world. To speed up the process they make him take hallucinogenic drugs (Amanita muscaria
). After that evening Chas opens up. He begins a caring relationship with Lucy, implying that he outgrew the psychological boundaries he was stuck in due to having to function as a male man within a gangster world.
Subsequently, at the end of the film, Turner is shot by Chas and Pherber is last seen hiding in a cupboard. Chas seems to agree to be 'welcomed back' to his former boss Harry Flowers by Rosie (Stanley Meadows
), another Flowers thug; we understand that they are going to kill him. As the car drives off, the face we see through the window is ambiguous - it could be Chas or it could be Turner.
as "The Performers" and was to be a lighthearted swinging 60's romp. At one stage, Cammell's friend Marlon Brando
(with whom he later collaborated on the posthumously published novel Fan Tan) was to play the gangster role which became "Chas". At that stage the story involved an American gangster hiding out in London. James Fox, previously cast in rather upper crust roles, eventually took the place of Brando, and spent several months in South London among the criminal underworld researching his role.
As the project evolved the story became significantly darker. Cammell was heavily influenced by the Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges
(a portrait of Borges on a book cover can be seen at a crucial moment in the film) as he redrafted the script to create an intense, intellectual film dealing with issues of identity crisis. Artaud
's theories on the links between performing and madness also influenced Cammell. Cammell and co-director Nicolas Roeg
(mainly responsible for the 'look' of the film) also benefited from a lack of interference from Warner Bros.
studio executives, who believed they were getting a Rolling Stones equivalent of the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night
(1964). Instead, Cammell and Roeg delivered a dark, experimental film
which included graphic depictions of violence, sex and drug use.
It was intended that the Rolling Stones would write the soundtrack but due to the complicated nature of the various relationships both on and off-screen, this never happened. It was widely rumoured that Anita Pallenberg, then in a relationship with Keith Richards, and Mick Jagger played out sexual scenes in the film 'for real' (out-takes of these scenes apparently won a prize at an Amsterdam adult film festival). When Keith Richards heard the rumours, he apparently took to sitting in his car outside the house where the film was being shot. Needless to say, this didn't do much for the Jagger-Richards musical chemistry and the soundtrack came together from a number of sources.
The film has gained notoriety due to the difficulties it faced in getting on screen. The film's content was a surprise to the studio. It has been reported that during a test screening, one Warner executive's wife vomited in shock. The response from the studio was to deny the film a cinematic release. It has been claimed that at one stage Warner Bros.
wanted the negative to be destroyed.
Performance was finally released in 1970 after several recuts, dubbing of Cockney accents and changes in Warner's administration. Different edits were shown around the world. Home video
versions of the 1990s used the US edit.
A commemorative event was held at London's ICA
on 18 October 1997, incorporating a talk by film theorists (including Colin MacCabe
, who went on to write a guide to the film), a screening of the uncut UK edition and finally a question and answer session. Those in attendance included James Fox (and family), Pallenberg, set designer Christopher Gibbs and Cammell's brother who introduced part of a video interview with Donald Cammell shot just before his death. Mick Jagger was originally to appear but was committed to the Rolling Stones' Bridges to Babylon Tour
.
The Region 1 DVD
was released on 13 February 2007 and elsewhere soon after. Although the film has undergone significant restoration, one famous line of dialogue - Jagger's "Here's to old England!" heard during the Memo From Turner
sequence - has been removed. This is because at this crucial stage of the film (the music sequence) one of the stereo channels has been used on both channels. Other music and sound effects are also missing from this scene on the DVD release (some drums, the throbbing sound as Turner plugs a lead into his music generator and the shrieking sound at the climax of his fluorescent light tube dance). These sounds, the dialogue and the music are all audible on other releases of the film. Also, the voices of Harry Flowers and the young maid in Turner's mansion have been restored to the voices of the original actors. When the film was first released in the United States and also on the VHS releases, their voices were dubbed by other actors as the studio had feared that Americans would find their Cockney
accents difficult to understand.
) described it as "the most completely worthless film I have seen since I began reviewing."
Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, Performance gradually acquired a cult following on the late night and repertory cinema circuits. By the 1990s the film had undergone a complete critical reappraisal. In 1995 Performance appeared at number 30 in a Time Out magazine "all-time greats" poll of critics and directors. After Cammell's death in 1996 the film's reputation grew still further. It is now frequently cited as a classic of British cinema.
In the September/October 2009 issue of Film Comment
, Mick Jagger's Turner was voted the best performance by a musician in a film.
type music video
s (particularly the 'Memo from Turner' sequence in which Jagger sings) and many popular films of the 1990s and 2000s.
was released by Warner Bros. Records
on September 19, 1970. The album features Mick Jagger, Ry Cooder
, Randy Newman
, The Last Poets
, Buffy Sainte-Marie
, and Merry Clayton
.
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
; the film was produced in 1968 but not released until 1970. Directed by Donald Cammell
Donald Cammell
Donald Seaton Cammell was a Scottish film director who enjoys a cult reputation thanks to his debut film Performance, which he co-directed with Nicolas Roeg.-Biography:...
and Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Jack Roeg, CBE, BSC is an English film director and cinematographer.-Life and career:Roeg was born in London, the son of Mabel Gertrude and Jack Nicolas Roeg...
, Performance stars James Fox
James Fox
James Fox, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:James Fox was born in London, England to theatrical agent Robin Fox and actress Angela Worthington. He is the brother of actor Edward Fox and film producer Robert Fox. The actress Emilia Fox is his niece and the actor Laurence Fox is his son. His...
and Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
of The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
in his film acting debut.
Plot
Chas (James FoxJames Fox
James Fox, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:James Fox was born in London, England to theatrical agent Robin Fox and actress Angela Worthington. He is the brother of actor Edward Fox and film producer Robert Fox. The actress Emilia Fox is his niece and the actor Laurence Fox is his son. His...
) is a soldier in an East London gang led by Harry Flowers (Johnny Shannon); his specialty is intimidation through violence as he collects pay-offs for Flowers. He is very good at his job, and has a reputation for liking it. His sexual liaisons are casual and rough. When Flowers decides to take over a betting shop, owned by Joey Maddocks (Anthony Valentine), he forbids Chas to get involved, as he feels Chas' conflicted history with Maddocks may lead to trouble. Chas is angry about this and later humiliates Maddocks, who retaliates by wrecking Chas' apartment and attacking Chas. Chas shoots him, packs a suitcase, and runs from the scene. When Flowers makes it clear that he has no intention of offering protection to Chas but instead wants him eliminated, Chas decides to head for the countryside to hide, but instead winds up hiding out in London, requesting a trusted friend help him get out of the country.
He assumes a new name, Johhny Dean, and appears at the house of Turner (Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
), he ingratiates himself with Pherber (Anita Pallenberg
Anita Pallenberg
Anita Pallenberg is an Italian-born actress, model, and fashion designer. She was the romantic partner of Rolling Stones multi-instrumentalist and guitarist Brian Jones and later the partner of the guitarist of the same band Keith Richards, from 1967 to 1979, by whom she has two surviving...
), one of the female inhabitants and moves in. Turner is a reclusive, eccentric former rock star who has "lost his demon" and who lives there with his female friends Pherber and Lucy (Michele Breton), with whom he enjoys a non-possessive and bi-sexual ménage à trois
Ménage à trois
Ménage à trois is a French term which originally described a domestic arrangement in which three people having sexual relations occupy the same household – the phrase literally translates as "household of three"...
. At first, Chas is contemptuous of Turner and Turner attempts to return the rent paid in advance but they start influencing each other. Chas also enjoys intimate moments with Pherber during which he shows his homophobic tendencies. Pherber and Turner understand his conflict and want to understand what makes him function so well within his world. To speed up the process they make him take hallucinogenic drugs (Amanita muscaria
Amanita muscaria
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita , is a poisonous and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita...
). After that evening Chas opens up. He begins a caring relationship with Lucy, implying that he outgrew the psychological boundaries he was stuck in due to having to function as a male man within a gangster world.
Subsequently, at the end of the film, Turner is shot by Chas and Pherber is last seen hiding in a cupboard. Chas seems to agree to be 'welcomed back' to his former boss Harry Flowers by Rosie (Stanley Meadows
Stanley Meadows
-Selected filmography:* The Mummy * Payroll * A Prize of Arms * Panic * The Main Chance * The Masque of the Red Death * Clash by Night * The Ipcress File...
), another Flowers thug; we understand that they are going to kill him. As the car drives off, the face we see through the window is ambiguous - it could be Chas or it could be Turner.
Cast
- James FoxJames FoxJames Fox, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:James Fox was born in London, England to theatrical agent Robin Fox and actress Angela Worthington. He is the brother of actor Edward Fox and film producer Robert Fox. The actress Emilia Fox is his niece and the actor Laurence Fox is his son. His...
as Chas/Johnny Dean - Mick JaggerMick JaggerSir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
as Turner - Anita PallenbergAnita PallenbergAnita Pallenberg is an Italian-born actress, model, and fashion designer. She was the romantic partner of Rolling Stones multi-instrumentalist and guitarist Brian Jones and later the partner of the guitarist of the same band Keith Richards, from 1967 to 1979, by whom she has two surviving...
as Pherber - Michèle Breton as Lucy
- Ann Sidney as Dana
- John BindonJohn BindonJohn Dennis Arthur "Biffo" Bindon was a British actor and bodyguard who had close links with the London underworld. In numerous films, he played gangsters or tough police detective. Bindon has been described as "the archetypal actor-villain, and an all-round 'good geezer'". He was also notable for...
as Moody - Stanley MeadowsStanley Meadows-Selected filmography:* The Mummy * Payroll * A Prize of Arms * Panic * The Main Chance * The Masque of the Red Death * Clash by Night * The Ipcress File...
as Rosebloom - Allan CuthbertsonAllan CuthbertsonAllan Cuthbertson was a naturalised Anglo-Australian actor.-Early life:Born Allan Darling Cuthbertson in Perth, Western Australia, son of Ernest and Isobel Ferguson Cuthbertson, he performed on stage and radio from an early age.During World War II, he served as a Flight Lieutenant with the RAAF...
as The Lawyer - Anthony Morton as Dennis
- Johnny Shannon as Harry Flowers
- Anthony Valentine as Joey Maddocks
- Kenneth ColleyKenneth ColleyKenneth Colley is an English actor. A long-time character actor, he came to wider prominence through his role as Admiral Piett in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....
as Tony Farrell - John SterlandJohn SterlandJohn Sterland is an Canadian film and television actor.Sterland was born in 1927 in Winnipeg to English-born parents.-Films:* The Dirty Dozen – Ambulance driver*The Man Outside - Spencer...
as The Chauffeur - Laraine Wickens as Lorraine
Production
Performance was initially conceived by Donald CammellDonald Cammell
Donald Seaton Cammell was a Scottish film director who enjoys a cult reputation thanks to his debut film Performance, which he co-directed with Nicolas Roeg.-Biography:...
as "The Performers" and was to be a lighthearted swinging 60's romp. At one stage, Cammell's friend Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
(with whom he later collaborated on the posthumously published novel Fan Tan) was to play the gangster role which became "Chas". At that stage the story involved an American gangster hiding out in London. James Fox, previously cast in rather upper crust roles, eventually took the place of Brando, and spent several months in South London among the criminal underworld researching his role.
As the project evolved the story became significantly darker. Cammell was heavily influenced by the Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
(a portrait of Borges on a book cover can be seen at a crucial moment in the film) as he redrafted the script to create an intense, intellectual film dealing with issues of identity crisis. Artaud
Antonin Artaud
Antoine Marie Joseph Artaud, more well-known as Antonin Artaud was a French playwright, poet, actor and theatre director...
's theories on the links between performing and madness also influenced Cammell. Cammell and co-director Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Jack Roeg, CBE, BSC is an English film director and cinematographer.-Life and career:Roeg was born in London, the son of Mabel Gertrude and Jack Nicolas Roeg...
(mainly responsible for the 'look' of the film) also benefited from a lack of interference from Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
studio executives, who believed they were getting a Rolling Stones equivalent of the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night
A Hard Day's Night (film)
A Hard Day's Night is a 1964 British black-and-white comedy film directed by Richard Lester and starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—during the height of Beatlemania. It was written by Alun Owen and originally released by United Artists...
(1964). Instead, Cammell and Roeg delivered a dark, experimental film
Experimental film
Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...
which included graphic depictions of violence, sex and drug use.
It was intended that the Rolling Stones would write the soundtrack but due to the complicated nature of the various relationships both on and off-screen, this never happened. It was widely rumoured that Anita Pallenberg, then in a relationship with Keith Richards, and Mick Jagger played out sexual scenes in the film 'for real' (out-takes of these scenes apparently won a prize at an Amsterdam adult film festival). When Keith Richards heard the rumours, he apparently took to sitting in his car outside the house where the film was being shot. Needless to say, this didn't do much for the Jagger-Richards musical chemistry and the soundtrack came together from a number of sources.
The film has gained notoriety due to the difficulties it faced in getting on screen. The film's content was a surprise to the studio. It has been reported that during a test screening, one Warner executive's wife vomited in shock. The response from the studio was to deny the film a cinematic release. It has been claimed that at one stage Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
wanted the negative to be destroyed.
Performance was finally released in 1970 after several recuts, dubbing of Cockney accents and changes in Warner's administration. Different edits were shown around the world. Home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
versions of the 1990s used the US edit.
A commemorative event was held at London's ICA
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
on 18 October 1997, incorporating a talk by film theorists (including Colin MacCabe
Colin MacCabe
Colin MacCabe is a British writer and film producer. He is distinguished professor of English and film at the University of Pittsburgh, professor of English and humanities at Birkbeck, University of London, and a visiting professor at the University of Exeter....
, who went on to write a guide to the film), a screening of the uncut UK edition and finally a question and answer session. Those in attendance included James Fox (and family), Pallenberg, set designer Christopher Gibbs and Cammell's brother who introduced part of a video interview with Donald Cammell shot just before his death. Mick Jagger was originally to appear but was committed to the Rolling Stones' Bridges to Babylon Tour
Bridges to Babylon Tour
The Bridges to Babylon Tour was a worldwide concert tour by The Rolling Stones in support of their then-latest album Bridges to Babylon, followed by 1999's No Security Tour.-History:...
.
The Region 1 DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
was released on 13 February 2007 and elsewhere soon after. Although the film has undergone significant restoration, one famous line of dialogue - Jagger's "Here's to old England!" heard during the Memo From Turner
Memo from Turner
"Memo from Turner" is a solo record by Mick Jagger, featuring a guitar solo by Ry Cooder, from the soundtrack of Performance, where Jagger played a major part. It was re-released in October 2007 on a seventeen-song retrospective compilation album The Very Best of Mick Jagger, making a re-appearance...
sequence - has been removed. This is because at this crucial stage of the film (the music sequence) one of the stereo channels has been used on both channels. Other music and sound effects are also missing from this scene on the DVD release (some drums, the throbbing sound as Turner plugs a lead into his music generator and the shrieking sound at the climax of his fluorescent light tube dance). These sounds, the dialogue and the music are all audible on other releases of the film. Also, the voices of Harry Flowers and the young maid in Turner's mansion have been restored to the voices of the original actors. When the film was first released in the United States and also on the VHS releases, their voices were dubbed by other actors as the studio had feared that Americans would find their Cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
accents difficult to understand.
Critical reputation
On its release the film received mixed reviews. Most reviewers focused on the graphic sexual elements. One reviewer (Richard SchickelRichard Schickel
Richard Warren Schickel is an American author, journalist, and documentary filmmaker. He is a film critic for Time magazine, having also written for Life magazine and the Los Angeles Times Book Review....
) described it as "the most completely worthless film I have seen since I began reviewing."
Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, Performance gradually acquired a cult following on the late night and repertory cinema circuits. By the 1990s the film had undergone a complete critical reappraisal. In 1995 Performance appeared at number 30 in a Time Out magazine "all-time greats" poll of critics and directors. After Cammell's death in 1996 the film's reputation grew still further. It is now frequently cited as a classic of British cinema.
In the September/October 2009 issue of Film Comment
Film Comment
Film Comment is an arts and culture magazine published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, of which it is the official publication. Film Comment features critical reviews and in-depth analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world...
, Mick Jagger's Turner was voted the best performance by a musician in a film.
Influence
Several aspects of the film were novel and historically it foreshadows MTVMusic television
Music television is a type of television programming which focuses predominantly on playing music videos from bands, usually on dedicated television channels broadcasting on satellite or cable. Music TVs may host their own shows charts, award prizes. Examples are VIVA, Scuzz, MTV, JBTV, MuchMusic,...
type music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s (particularly the 'Memo from Turner' sequence in which Jagger sings) and many popular films of the 1990s and 2000s.
- Performance was the first feature film to employ the cut-up techniqueCut-up techniqueThe cut-up technique is an aleatory literary technique in which a text is cut up and rearranged to create a new text. Most commonly, cut-ups are used to offer a non-linear alternative to traditional reading and writing....
(although the technique was employed in experimental shorts in the 1960s and 1970s, notably by Antony BalchAntony BalchAntony Balch was an English film director and distributor, best known for his screen collaborations with Beat Generation author William S...
). Directors CammellDonald CammellDonald Seaton Cammell was a Scottish film director who enjoys a cult reputation thanks to his debut film Performance, which he co-directed with Nicolas Roeg.-Biography:...
and RoegNicolas RoegNicolas Jack Roeg, CBE, BSC is an English film director and cinematographer.-Life and career:Roeg was born in London, the son of Mabel Gertrude and Jack Nicolas Roeg...
also went on to use this technique in later movies, before it became commonplace in popular cinema. - The gangster aspect of Performance has been imitated by many popular directors such as Quentin TarantinoQuentin TarantinoQuentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
, Guy RitchieGuy RitchieGuy Stuart Ritchie is an English screenwriter and film maker who directed Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Revolver, RocknRolla and Sherlock Holmes.-Early life:...
and Jonathan GlazerJonathan GlazerJonathan Glazer is an English director of films, commercials and music videos.-Biography:After studying theatre design at Nottingham Trent University, Glazer started out directing theatre and making film and television trailers, including award-winning work for the BBC...
. - Performance pushed boundaries by featuring explicit sex scenes and drugs, which have been rumoured to be real instead of simulated. Although Andy WarholAndy WarholAndrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
's (and other underground filmmakers') films had featured such behaviour before Performance, it was unprecedented that they appeared in a studio production. - Big Audio DynamiteBig Audio DynamiteBig Audio Dynamite are a British musical group formed in 1984 by the ex-guitarist and singer of the Clash, Mick Jones. The group are noted for their effective mixture of varied musical styles, incorporating elements of punk rock, dance music, hip hop, reggae, and funk...
's song "E=MC²E=MC² (song)"E=MC2" is a 1985 single by Big Audio Dynamite, released as the second single from their debut album This is Big Audio Dynamite. The song was the group's first Top 40 hit on the UK Singles Chart and peaked at #11. Additionally, it peaked at #37 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in the...
" includes extensive dialogue samples from Performance. The song "Further Back and Faster" by Coil (on Love's Secret DomainLove's Secret DomainLove's Secret Domain is the third album by Coil and was released in 1991. The album marked a departure from the brooding synthesizers and melodies of their first two albums, focusing more on acid house sampling. The singles released from the album were "Windowpane" and "The Snow"...
) also samples dialogue from the film. - Happy MondaysHappy MondaysHappy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...
' second album, BummedBummedBummed was the second album by British band Happy Mondays. It was released in November 1988.Warner later released a 2CD Collector's Edition on . This release collected the original 1988 album with a second disc of remixes from the era.- Production :...
, features several songs inspired by the film, including "Moving In With', "Performance" and "Mad Cyril". "Mad Cyril" is explicitly inspired by the film and included the following dialogue samples:- "I like that, turn it up"
- "It was Mad Cyril!"
- "What about the detector vans, they be right with you?"
- "We've been courteous"
- "Put the frighteners on the flash little twerp"
- "Let's have a look, let's have a look, excuse me, but... Come in!-take it off, take it off"
- "Its a right pisshole, long hair, beatniks, druggers, freeloaders, tsk, freeloaders"
- "I need a bohemian atmosphere"
- Also inspired by the movie were the '79 Mod RevivalMod RevivalThe mod revival was a music genre and subculture that started in England in 1978 and later spread to other countries . The mod revival's mainstream popularity was relatively short, although its influence has lasted for decades...
act, Secret AffairSecret AffairSecret Affair were a mod revival band, formed in 1978 and disbanded in 1982. They reformed to perform and record in the 2000s.-Career:In a period of a little over two years, Secret Affair posted five releases in the UK Singles Chart and released three albums...
whose East End following known as 'The Glory Boys' were based on the South London gangsters portrayed in the film. Glory Boys was also the title of their first album. - In keeping with the intellectual bent of Jagger's character, legendary Argentine writer Jorge Luis BorgesJorge Luis BorgesJorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
is quoted numerous times during the film. His photograph appears in the brief montage which follows Turner's shooting. - Beat the Devil, the BMW promo film directed by Tony ScottTony ScottAnthony D. L. "Tony" Scott is an English film director. His films include Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Last Boy Scout, True Romance, Crimson Tide, Enemy of the State, Spy Game, Man on Fire, Déjà Vu, The Taking of Pelham 123, and Unstoppable...
and starring James BrownJames BrownJames Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
, Gary OldmanGary OldmanGary Leonard Oldman is an English actor, voice actor, filmmaker and musician.A member of the 1980s Brit Pack, Oldman came to prominence via starring roles in British films Meantime , Sid and Nancy and Prick Up Your Ears , with his performance in the latter bringing him his first BAFTA Award...
, and Clive OwenClive OwenClive Owen is an English actor, who has worked on television, stage and film. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for portraying the lead in the ITV series Chancer from 1990 to 1991...
contains at least two references to Performance. At one point Owen's character says "I know a thing or two about performing" - a quote from Chas. The Devil, played by Oldman, dances with a fluorescent tube, just as Turner does in Performance. In addition, in the earlier Tony Scott film True RomanceTrue RomanceTrue Romance is a 1993 American romance crime film written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott. The film stars Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette with an ensemble cast consisting of Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Chris Penn, Tom Sizemore, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin...
Gary Oldman (as Drexl) is seen swinging a lampshade back and forth in front of someone, as Turner does during the "Memo From Turner" sequence. - Cult filmCult filmA cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
director Harmony KorineHarmony KorineThe story is told from the perspective of a young man suffering from untreated schizophrenia, played by Ewen Bremner, as he tries to understand his deteriorating world. Julien's abusive father is played by Werner Herzog...
was possibly inspired directly by Performance in casting James FoxJames FoxJames Fox, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:James Fox was born in London, England to theatrical agent Robin Fox and actress Angela Worthington. He is the brother of actor Edward Fox and film producer Robert Fox. The actress Emilia Fox is his niece and the actor Laurence Fox is his son. His...
and Anita PallenbergAnita PallenbergAnita Pallenberg is an Italian-born actress, model, and fashion designer. She was the romantic partner of Rolling Stones multi-instrumentalist and guitarist Brian Jones and later the partner of the guitarist of the same band Keith Richards, from 1967 to 1979, by whom she has two surviving...
as an impersonating couple (the Pope and the Queen) in his film Mister LonelyMister LonelyMister Lonely is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Harmony Korine, and co-written with his brother Avi Korine.-Plot:A young American man living in Paris scratches out a living as a Michael Jackson look-alike, dancing on the streets, public parks, tourist spots and trade shows. During a show in...
. - The video for The Charlatans single "Just When You're Thinking Things Over" was inspired by the film with singer Tim Burgess adopting the Mick Jagger slick-backed hair look. Also, in the video for "Jesus Hairdo" we see him dancing with a neon strip light lifted from the film.
- Writer-director Paul SchraderPaul SchraderPaul Joseph Schrader is an American screenwriter, film director, and former film critic. Apart from his credentials as a director, Schrader is most notably known for his screenplays for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Raging Bull....
has often cited Performance as one of his favorite films. In a 2007 article for Film CommentFilm CommentFilm Comment is an arts and culture magazine published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, of which it is the official publication. Film Comment features critical reviews and in-depth analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world...
, he describes the film's influence. - Alan MooreAlan MooreAlan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
and Kevin O'NeillKevin O'Neill (comics)Kevin O'Neill is an English comic book illustrator best known as the co-creator of Nemesis the Warlock, Marshal Law , and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen .-Early career:...
's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III: CenturyThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III: CenturyThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III: Century is the third volume of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill. Co-published by Top Shelf Productions and Knockabout Comics in the US and UK respectively, Century will be published in...
, makes several references to Performance in its second issue, "Paint it Black", prominently featuring Mick Jagger's Turner character.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack albumSoundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television program. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the trailers that do not appear in...
was released by Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
on September 19, 1970. The album features Mick Jagger, Ry Cooder
Ry Cooder
Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder is an American guitarist, singer and composer. He is known for his slide guitar work, his interest in roots music from the United States, and, more recently, his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries.His solo work has been eclectic, encompassing...
, Randy Newman
Randy Newman
Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
, The Last Poets
The Last Poets
The Last Poets is a group of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s African American civil rights movement's black nationalist thread...
, Buffy Sainte-Marie
Buffy Sainte-Marie
Buffy Sainte-Marie, OC is a Canadian Cree singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. Throughout her career in all of these areas, her work has focused on issues of Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Her singing and writing repertoire includes...
, and Merry Clayton
Merry Clayton
Merry Clayton is an American soul and gospel singer , and an actress...
.
External links
- Performance (1970 at DBCult Film Institute
- Performance by Colin MacCabe (book)