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Poster for Performance

Performance

See them all in a film about fantasy. And reality. Vice. And versa.

1970 · 1h 46m · R Crime, Drama
Directed by Nicolas Roeg , Donald Cammell

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Overview

In underworld terms, Chas Devlin is a 'performer,' a gangster with a talent for violence and intimidation. Turner is a reclusive rock superstar. When Chas and Turner meet, their worlds collide—and the impact is both exotic and explosive.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
84%
Tomatometer
Rotten

Pop stars continue to have bad luck in films.

Jay Cocks, TIME Magazine
Rotten

The movie is a facile enough pastiche of underground pyrotechnics and Euro-art pretensions, but far more evocative now is the fast, offhand repartee between the principals.

J. Hoberman, Village Voice
Rotten

Rapture and boredom both seem valid responses.

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Fresh

Roeg's debut as a director is a virtuoso juggling act which manipulates its visual and verbal imagery so cunningly that the borderline between reality and fantasy is gradually eliminated.

Tom Milne, Time Out
Rotten

It isn't altogether successful, largely because it tries too hard and doesn't pace itself to let its effects sink in.

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

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