Sid and Nancy(1986)

R
1h 52m

Release Date: Nov 7, 1986

The relationship between Sid Vicious, bassist for British punk group Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen is portrayed.

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Director & Top Cast

Alex Cox
Director

Gary Oldman
Sid Vicious

Chloe Webb
Nancy Spungen

David Hayman
Malcolm

Debby Bishop
Phoebe

Andrew Schofield
John

Xander Berkeley

Bowery Snax

Perry Benson

Paul

Tony London

Steve

Sandy Baron

Hotelier - U.S.A.

Sy Richardson

Methadone Caseworker

Edward Tudor-Pole

Hotelier - U.K.

Biff Yeager

Detective

Courtney Love

Gretchen

Rusty Blitz

Reporter

John Spacely

Chelsea Resident

Coati Mundi

Desk Clerk

Ed Pansullo

Detective

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo

Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Language: English

Summaries

Plot Summary

The film opens on 12 October 1978, with several police officers dragging Sid Vicious (Gary Oldman) out of the Hotel Chelsea following the death of his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb). Sid is soon driven to a police station and upon arrival is asked to describe what happened. Police officers become frustrated when Sid is visibly troubled and unable to speak.A little more than a year earlier, in 1977, close friends and band members Sid and Johnny Rotten (Andrew Schofield) meet Nancy, a heroin-addicted groupie who had come to London to bed the Sex Pistols. Sid dismisses her at first, as her sexual intentions are obvious, but begins dating her after feeling sympathy for the rejection she faces from fellow punk stars and after she sells him heroin; it is implied that she introduces him to the drug. The two fall deeply in love, but their self-destructive, drug-fueled relationship frays Sid's relationship with the rest of the band, which eventually breaks up on 17 January 1978, in the midst of a disastrous American tour which features Sid strung out of his mind, often drunk or on meth, and physically violent. Although several of his friends and acquaintances warn him of Nancy's devastating effect on his life, Sid stubbornly ignores these warnings.Sid, now living in New York, attempts to start a solo career with Nancy as his manager, only to be dismissed as a has-been. By now, both he and Nancy are heavily addicted to heroin, and Nancy has spiraled into a deep depression. Sid loses interest in Nancy sexually and wants out of a suicide pact he made with her. Their love affair ends tragically one night when, during an argument in which Sid announces his plans to stop using heroin and return to England to re-start his life, a suicidal Nancy begs him to kill her. She attacks him and they fight in a drug-induced haze, leading to him stabbing her, although whether or not it was intentional is left to interpretation. They fall asleep and later Nancy awakes and stumbles into the bathroom, where she collapses and dies. Sid is bailed out temporarily by his mother who is also a heroin addict. After getting a pizza, some kids convince him to dance with them. Some time later, a taxi picks Sid up and he believes he finds Nancy alive in the back seat. The two embrace as the cab drives off. A postscript says that Vicious died of an intentional heroin overdose, and he now shares a grave with Nancy. Their gravestone reads: "R.I.P. Nancy and Sid."

Storyline

Sid Vicious , bassist for British punk group Sex Pistols , and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen is portrayed. In January 1978, after their success in England, the punk rock band Sex Pistols venture out on their tour of the southern United States. Temperamental bassist Sid Vicious (Oldman) is forced by his band mates and their manager to travel without his troubled girlfriend, Nancy Spungen (Webb), who will meet him in New York only after a traumatic event. When the band breaks up and Sid begins his solo career in a hostile city, the turbulent couple definitely falls into the depths of drug addiction and co-dependency, a last journey with no return. Morbid biographical story of Sid Vicious, bassist with British punk group the Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen. When the Sex Pistols break up after their fateful US tour, Vicious attempts a solo career while in the grip of heroin addiction. One morning, Nancy is found stabbed to death and Sid is arrested for her murder. — Alexander Lum <aj_lum@postoffice. utas.edu. au> Based on the true story of Sid Vicious, bass player for the legendary punk rock band "The Sex Pistols", and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen. Their the music of the Sex Pistols, their relationship was always volatile. — Murray Chapman <muzzle@cs. uq. oz. au>