With Johnny Rotten doing ads for butter and becoming a comfortable talk show guest, it might be difficult to remember that at one time he and the rest of the Sex Pistols were volatile, captivating, and controversial outsiders who burst onto the pop culture sphere with two fingers stuck up in the air. And while Rotten was the frontman, it was bassist Sid Vicious who was the dangerous, drug addled heart. And 1986’s portrayal of the musician in “Sid & Nancy” by Gary Oldman remains the definitive take (though a few have tried since).
Directed by Alex Cox, “Sid & Nancy” tracks the unhealthy relationship between Vicious and Nancy Spungen (played by Chloe Webb), lovers and heroin addicts, whose end came when the bassist was accused of murdering Spugen at the Chelsea Hotel during a drug induced fight. Oldman brings a lot of heart to his take on Vicious, and the film is one of Cox’s finest efforts.
“Sid & Nancy” celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, and will be headed back to the big screen in a newly restored edition in the U.K. on August 5th, with a new DVD and Blu-ray release arriving on August 29th.