Julien Temple was born in London on November 26, 1953, and his staggering filmography—approaching 200 works—began in the late 1970s at the peak of punk rock. His breakthrough came with the fictitious parody mockumentary The Great Rock ’n’ Roll Swindle (1980), which depicts the rise and fall of the controversial group the Sex Pistols. The film is particularly remembered for Sid Vicious’s brutally iconic rendition of My Way.
Another significant path in Temple’s career is his impressive résumé as a director of legendary music videos. The list of artists he’s worked with is staggering: among others, Judas Priest, Dexys Midnight Runners, Stray Cats, The Kinks, Jean-Michel Jarre, Depeche Mode, Culture Club, The Rolling Stones, Accept, Sade, David Bowie, Janet Jackson, Iggy Pop, Billy Idol, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Kenny Rogers, Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, Bryan Adams, Duran Duran, Blur, ZZ Top, Van Halen, Paul McCartney, and Paul Weller.
A crucial thread throughout Temple’s career is his long-form, tongue-in-cheek, and often rough-around-the-edges documentaries and biopics. These include The Filth and the Fury (2000), which revisits the phases of the Sex Pistols; There’ll Always Be an England (2008); and Christmas with the Sex Pistols (TV, 2013). He also explored the legend of The Clash in Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (2007), dove into the saga of Dr. Feelgood with Oil City Confidential (2009), and painted a touching portrait of frontman Wilko Johnson in The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson (2015). Temple’s intimate dialogue with the Rolling Stones is captured in Keith Richards: The Origin of the Species (TV, 2016), and he offers a warm-hearted close-up of The Pogues’ singer in Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan (2020).
Temple has also explored relevant geographical milieus in his work. These include the portrayal of urban decay in Requiem for Detroit? (TV, 2010); a nostalgic time-travel through his native city in London: The Modern Babylon (2012); an essay on Rio de Janeiro in Rio 50 Degrees (2014); an ode to Havana in Habaneros (2017); and the sun-drenched mythology of Ibiza: The Silent Movie (2019).
The sovereign collection of all these themes finds its culmination in the masterfully raucous festival history Glastonbury (2006), an enchanting compilation that—much like the early classics of the genre (Monterey Pop [1968], Woodstock [1970], The Isle of Wight recordings)—melds mud, excrement, and performance art with knights, gnomes, goblins, druids, and tribal identity.
In fiction, Temple expressed his love for old Hollywood musicals with the artful and frenetic gem Absolute Beginners (1986), whose production history evokes another underappreciated landmark: Francis Ford Coppola’s painstakingly crafted One from the Heart (1981). In the United States, Temple directed the sci-fi comedy Earth Girls Are Easy (1988), and the heroin-fueled miniature gem Bullet (1996), in which Mickey Rourke delivers an intense performance as a convict and junkie.
In Europe, Temple created Vigo (1998), a tribute to the French master who originally sparked his cinematic passion, and Pandaemonium (2000), a poetic imagining of scenes between Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth.
So, step blissfully into the magic circle of the anarchist Julien Temple—the distinctive visualist, untamed counterculture original, master of Wellesian montage, savior of the flickering camera, and vibrant essayist. At this point, the boldest among us might even predict that In Discussion With will feature a few ferocious tales about musicians from this true insider of rock ’n’ roll…
Lauri Timonen