Donald Cammell: The Ultimate Performance

1998
1h 15m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Donald Cammell: The Ultimate Performance (1998)

A documentary look at the frustrated life of Donald Cammell, who wrote and partly directed the film PERFORMANCE, which starred Mick Jagger and James Fox. Cammell was hailed by some as a geni... Read allA documentary look at the frustrated life of Donald Cammell, who wrote and partly directed the film PERFORMANCE, which starred Mick Jagger and James Fox. Cammell was hailed by some as a genius, but he only made another two films. When he decided to end his life, in 1996, he chose... Read allA documentary look at the frustrated life of Donald Cammell, who wrote and partly directed the film PERFORMANCE, which starred Mick Jagger and James Fox. Cammell was hailed by some as a genius, but he only made another two films. When he decided to end his life, in 1996, he chose to do so in a manner that brought to mind the murder at the end of his most memorable wor... Read all

Directors
- Kevin Macdonald
- Chris Rodley
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

141

YOUR RATING

Directors
- Kevin Macdonald
- Chris Rodley
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win total

Photos3

Top cast18

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Donald Cammell

Self
(archive footage)

Nicolas Roeg

Self

James Fox

Self

Mick Jagger

Self

Myriam Gibril

Self

Johnny Shannon

Self

Kenneth Anger

Self

Patrick Bauchau

Self

David Cammell

Self

Drew Hammond

Self

Elliott Kastner

Self

China Kong

Self
(as China Cammell)

Sanford Lieberson

Self
(as Sandy Lieberson)

Frank Mazzola

Self

Stanley Meadows

Self

Cathy Moriarty

Self

Anita Pallenberg

Self

Barbara Steele

Self

User reviews1

7.0141

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Infofreak

Absolutely fascinating eye-opener!

This is one of the most interesting movie related documentaries I've ever watched. British director and screenwriter Donald Cammell has almost been totally forgotten by history. 'The Ultimate Performance' attempts to explain why this has happened and redress the situation. Cammell was a fascinating figure who moved from the bohemian art world into movie making with spectacular results.

Cammell had a bad experience as writer for late 60s thriller 'Duffy' - his original ideas not ending up on the screen (a situation which would plague him throughout his whole career). While making that movie he formed a friendship with actor James Fox which would soon become very important. He joined forces with noted cinematographer Nicolas Roeg, and they decided to film his script 'Performance'. Fox co-starred with another Cammell friend Mick Jagger. What they came up with together was one of the most innovative and influential movies of the late 60s/early 70s, 'Performance'. A movie that still confounds and amazes, even today. In fact, it gets better and better as the years go by.

The documentary then sheds light on what happened to Cammell after this career high point. Seduced by Hollywood he spent many years seeing projects fall apart, or get lost in "development hell". The very few films he managed to get made (eg 'Demon Seed', 'Wild Side') were interfered with by studios, often re-cut without his consent, and generally ended up NOTHING like he intended. This eventually became too much for Cammell, and may have contributed to his suicide.

Whatever the truth, Nicolas Roeg's post-'Performance' success with classics like 'Don't Look Now', 'The Man Who Fell To Earth' and 'Track 29', that featured similar fragmented narratives and blurring of reality and fantasy, has meant that Cammell's major contribution to cinema has been discounted. 'Performance' was essentially HIS vision, and this needs to be remembered. Try and see 'Donald Cammell: The Ultimate Performance' if you can. It's a real eye-opener.