With big budget musical biopics like Ray and Walk the Line the formula is clear: tell a life story and occasionally break for music. Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, the story of British singer and seminal punk artist Ian Dury takes a twist and tells you a life-long story about the composition of a specific song.
Ravaged by polio in his childhood, Dury suffered from limited use of visibly weakened left limbs. In 1981 he wrote a song about how that made him feel.
That feeling wasn't sad.
Also based on the scene from the movie Spartacus where all the rebelling slaves claim to be Kirk Douglas, "Spasticus Autisticus" is a song about demanding to be taken seriously. Pop music scholar George McKay calls it "one of the outstanding protest songs about the place of disabled people in what [Ian Dury] called 'normal land.'"
The non-linear structure of the film cleverly gathers together the important experiences of a rock and roll life that resulted in the composition of this song. It's a fascinating journey.
It's a song that made many people uncomfortable, and consequently it was banned from the BBC. It's still an uncomfortable song, but that's what it's meant to be.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6isXNVdguI8
I love the movie spartacus! im not super clear on how it relates to the movie you are refering to, however if it is as impactful as that flick, I'm sure the film is fantastic.
ReplyDeletei love rock docs.
my favorite has to be The Decline of Western Civilization Part II. check it out if you havent. it chronicles several different artists and their personal struggles coping with fame.
That sounds really interesting. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteDury was a big fan of Spartacus too, and parts of it are spliced throughout this film. Mostly scenes of Dury watching it, but it also figures interestingly in the climax.
This peaked my interest, and now I want to see Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll.
ReplyDelete