Who Killed Nancy?

This film is structured around the question of who killed Nancy Spungen, companion to Sid Vicious. The weakness of the film is that the filmmakers have not structured the film in a rigorous way to make their case questioning the conventional wisdom on the matter.

The actual effect of this lack of strict focus, is paradoxically, a masterpiece in capturing the character and spirit of both the people involved, and of the music scene that they came from.

Punk was, and is, purposely confrontational, and many punk documentaries are effectively impaled on these clashes; stuck on the 'spikes' of punk, and never really capturing a complete image of either the people or the scene. In setting out to chronicle a death, this film has actually captured that life.

It would probably be foolish to imagine that any film can actually tell you all about punk; who has seen a documentary that actually even had all of the important bands in it? This film is not all of punk by any means, but it is one of the best documentaries to have come out of it, and that is what really matters.

If you are focused on the film from the perspective of the mystery however, this film is still a great success, at least if you would like to make up your own mind. Most films of this sort would have the filmmaker smacking away with remark after remark, all up and down the length of the film, like a cook tenderizing a piece of meat. In this case, it seems like such remarks had to be pasted onto the end of the film, but since both sides of the evidence are presented relatively naturally along the course of the film, the effect is to create overall, an unusually unbiased presentation. This documentary is rough around the edges, but it is great.

On October 12th 1978, Nancy Spungen was found dead, slumped against the bathroom wall of room 100 in the Chelsea Hotel, New York City. Nancy was the girlfriend of Sex Pistols base guitarist, Sid Vicious. Barely coherent from drug abuse and other excess', and with a history of violence and unruly behaviour, Vicious was quickly charged with the killing and then promptly died of a drug overdose before it went to trial...

Case closed, police happy, but many knew that there was far more to tell...

Director of this piece is one Alan G Parker, a self confessed punk rock fan and a man who has made something of a living out of writing about punk and Sid Vicious in particular. Alan is the same age as myself, someone who was in the first year of senior school when punk rock exploded on to the British public, and just like me, it impacted to the point that we still wear our punk ethos like a badge of belief more than honour. Does that make him biased for finally presenting facts about the events surrounding Nancy's death? Does it make me foolish or in biased league with him for trumpeting this picture? All I can personally say is that many many punks from back in the day have always been baffled as to why no in-depth investigation was forthcoming after Vicious left the mortal coil and thus closed the Nancy Spungen case. Here, finally you are presented with evidence and interviews that will at least give you the chance to make an informed decision. Rest assured, tho, that I'm fully aware that Sid may well still have done it, but presented with the facts, both medically, and incredibly by unreleased police evidence, it appears unlikely - but that's just me of course!

If many outside of the punk rock circles actually care is another thing? But if you are reading this then one would like to think you have an interest in the subject at the very least. Already the first reviews on IMDb point to the film being amateurish, hello! Do you know what the punk mantra is? No sane person who knows their onions with British punk rock could claim Vicious was a hero, we all know he was limited in ability, prone to cruelty, and by and large a cretinous (acting) persona. He however holds a place in many people's hearts as the guy who defined a look, with the iconography being hard (impossible) to ignore. Whilst the fact that with his, and Nancy's death, actually signalling the end of real punk rock as many of us knew it, any story involving him is obviously of special interest to the discerning British punk rocker.

It's just nice to see a film prepared to show what a dope he was whilst simultaneously giving credence to us punky cover up conspiracy theorists? And then some.

The film plays out more as a story of Sid and Nancy with out the gloss of a Hollywood production, in fact the subject of who actually did kill Nancy is merely a strand in an all encompassing story. Do not be fooled into thinking this is an hour and half of detective work, because it's not. We are taken thru a time line that fleshes the bones of these punk rock skeletons. Those in search of a Sex Pistols soundtrack should also be advised that it's not here, we do however get a fabulous and rich soundtrack by the likes of The Buzzcocks talented guitar man Steve Diggle, and honestly it's worth a listen.

It's no Filth and The Fury, and it's far removed from the arty veneer provided by Alex Cox's wonderful, but ill portrayed, Sid and Nancy (1986). But Who Killed Nancy? is not only an essential watch for old punkers like me, but also for those who like to have a peek at the other side of the coin once it has been tossed. 9/10

This is not as much of a who-did-it as it is a profile of Sid and Nancy. If you take it as that, its very good. I've seen several films that detail their lives, but this one is the best.

Clocking at about 100 minutes, this film has an excellent soundtrack that will take you back to the time of Sid Vicious and the Sex Pistols.

After viewing this documentary, you may not know who killed Nancy but you will feel this need to take a shower after being exposed to a lot of seedy people who knew Sid and Nancy at the time of their deaths.

If you are interested in Punk Rock or just looking to pass a couple hours, you'll be pleased with "Who Killed Nancy?"

This is an intriguing murder mystery chocked full of junkies and punk rock stars. A must see!!

I've long outgrown the phase of my life when I was deeply fascinated by Sid and Nancy but I have read Nancy's mother's biography And I Don't Want to Live This Life about Nancy's schizophrenia and troubled adolescence, as well as seeing the ubiquitous Sid and Nancy fictionalization of their strange short lives. So I walked into this doc with pretty low expectations, curious as what it would even be about.

It's a fair representation of the underground pre-punk and punk scene in New York City by the people who lived through it, which is honestly probably the most compelling aspect of Who Killed Nancy? Rather than solving the mystery of the title person's 1978 murder. Let's face it - most of us bought into the story that an angry, mentally ill, and addicted Sid Vicious "accidentally" committed manslaughter in the middle of an argument accompanied by domestic violence.

But now I don't know, there are so many details that never came to light publicly until this documentary was made, apparently. It tracks because it was difficult to solve murders 40-50 years ago compared to today and no one really cared about a couple of "has been" junkies living in the latter days of the Chelsea Hotel.