Nicolas Roeg1961-1970ClassicsCultDonald CammellUnited Kingdom

Donald Cammell & Nicolas Roeg – Performance (1970)

Quote:
Performance is a 1970 British crime drama film directed by Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg, written by Cammell and starring James Fox and Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, in his film acting debut. The film was produced in 1968 but not released until 1970. 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).

Performance was initially conceived by Donald Cammell 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.[1]

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.[2] 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.[3] James Fox notes in Richard Lester’s TV series British Cinema of the Sixties that a Warner exec said of the scene depicting Jagger in a bath with Pallenberg and Breton, “Even the bath water was dirty.” 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.Performance is a 1970 British crime drama film directed by Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg, written by Cammell and starring James Fox and Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, in his film acting debut. The film was produced in 1968 but not released until 1970. 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).

Performance was initially conceived by Donald Cammell 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.[1]

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.[2] 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.[3] James Fox notes in Richard Lester’s TV series British Cinema of the Sixties that a Warner exec said of the scene depicting Jagger in a bath with Pallenberg and Breton, “Even the bath water was dirty.” 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.

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Language(s):English
Subtitles:English,English SDH

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