16 + GUIDE - British Film Institute

MACCABE, Colin
Performance.
British Film Institute, 1998. 87p. illus (some col.). bibliog.
Describing it as “the finest British gangster film ever made” this is an essential study of the
film. Taking in all aspects of its production and having conducted interviews with many of the
key players MacCabe paints a vivid picture of the making of the film and its aftermath.
RAKOFF, Ian
Inside the prisoner: radical television and film in the 1960’s.
B. T. Batsford, 1998. 192p. illus. bibliog. index.
PERFORMANCE only gets two brief mentions in this book, but one of them throws light on the
working relationship between Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg.
SALWOLKE, Scott
Nicolas Roeg: film by film.
McFarland, 1993. v-ix, 222p. illus. bibliog. filmog. index.
Each chapter of this book is devoted to Nic Roegs’ films in chronological order. The first
chapter on PERFORMANCE concentrates more on the themes and ideas of the film than how it
was made. Salwolke provides an interesting critique of the film.
SWAIN, John
Bleeding images: Performance and the British gangster movie.
British Film Institiute/Birkbeck College MA.
Though predominantly focusing on PERFORMANCE, Swain’s dissertation also takes in other
films such as GET CARTER and THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY. Swain notes how PERFORMANCE
both embodies and deconstructs the British gangster genre. It examines the influence of the
American gangster films and real-life influences such as The Kray’s with a lot of the emphasis
of Swain’s dissertation placed on the idea of the ‘mirror-image’ and how this is a factor in both
the films and real-life counterparts. This is an interesting and thought-provoking examination
of the film.
Press Articles
THE INDEPENDENT
1 st May 1998, pp.8-10
What a great performance, by Geoffrey Macnab
This feature focuses on the co-director and screenwriter of PERFORMANCE, Donald Cammell.
Starting with the possible reasons for his suicide in 1996, this article looks back on his life and
career (and in particular PERFORMANCE). The film is described as “a moment when the art
world, the gay world, the gangster world and the high society world all seem to overlap”.
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