Julien Temple’s 1980 film The Great Rock ‘N’ Roll Swindle about the rise and fall of The Sex Pistols, is a perfect combination of all the criteria one looks for in a rock ‘n’ roll documentary. “Rock docs” should contain a few key elements. Clearly the rock group’s music should be first and foremost - a representation and sampling of the music the band is attempting to propagate. The Sex Pistols, along with other punk groups of the time, created the film’s high-energy soundtrack. The rock doc should contain live performances from the band to solidify and idealize the experience one will have if they venture out to a gig. If the band is no longer touring, like was the case in this film, the live aspect also serves as either a nostalgic reminder of “how it once was” to those that experienced it or a glimpse into the world that was missed by an unfortunate and miserable few. Lastly, the rock doc should contain some kind of slanted narrative that places the band in a position of influence, popularity, importance, relevance, and/or artistic intention (the film lists ten lessons on manufacturing a group). These ideas can manifest in overt and stylized ways, or can be explored through subtlety (the film straying from the latter). I would describe Swindle, in this regard, as being part Hard Day’s Night (Lester, 1964), part Jubilee (Jarman, 1978). Often the individual band members of rock docs are each given “roles” to play in these narratives – in this case the film specifically liststheir roles as the Collaborator, the Tea-Maker, the Gimmick, the Crook, and the manager, Malcolm McLaren, as the Embezzler. If the audience believes these characters, an emotional response is achieved solidifying an impassioned and personalized fan base. The film unapologetically lets its audience into the fabricated(?) fold. Despite the band’s best efforts of maintaining “punk cred” using chaotic/anarchic and stylized cinematography and editing, even animations and moments of pure art house cinema, the band, along with McLaren as the villain, are elevated to infamous pop icons and remain there to this day.