Sunday, June 18, 2017

Documentary Filmmaker Phil Strongman’s Anarchy! McLaren Westwood Gang On DVD Aug. 4 From Cadiz Music


DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
Cadiz Music, with sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group, will be bringing a double-disc DVD edition of documentary filmmaker Phil Strongman’s Anarchy! McLaren Westwood Gang.

The street date will be Friday, August 4.

Punk Rock some 40-years on and the story of a most unlikely member of the vanguard of that music revolution is the subject of Strongman’s film.   The individual in question is Malcolm McLaren, a self-style promoter (among other eclectic pursuits) who had the lucky happenstance of being in the right place at the right time to unite Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious and propel the Sex Pistols to stardom in 1977.   McLaren’s promotional stunt during the Silver Jubilee celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign got the ball rolling! 

DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph TribbeyWithin two years the Sex Pistols would go from obscurity to stardom to the death of Sid Vicious (and Nancy would follow).   Legal battles would drag on for another decade, but McLaren was on to something and guided more groups to stardom.

Of note, The Criterion Collection has a new 4K restoration of director Alex Cox’s Sid & Nancy prepped for release as DVD and Blu-ray edition on Aug. 22, so Cadiz and MVD Entertainment Group are spot-on in their time here).

DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
The other half of Strongman’s film title, “Westwood,” refers to Vivienne Westwood, McLaren’s partner and successful fashion designer, who saw the future of Punk Rock and rode the wave to international stardom.

Strongman’s presentation of Anarchy! McLaren Westwood Gang blends his footage from the period featuring McLaren, which are combined with interviews (reminiscences) with the likes of Adam Ant, Boy George, writer Stuart Christie and visual design artist Nick Egan.   Strongman pack some surreal interludes in the proceedings as well … strange, but then so was the late Malcolm McLaren!

DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey


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