Some movies fall through the cracks and then are rediscovered years later by movie geeks who are amazed that such formerly “lost films” even exist. Such is the case with Corrupt (1983), which was also released in some markets as Copkiller and Order of Death, the title of the psychological thriller by novelist Hugh Fleetwood which was adapted for this film. An international production with Italian and French financing, the movie marked the dramatic film debut of John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten of The Sex Pistols fame (he had previously played a version of himself in Julien Temple’s The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle [1980], which was a semi-autobiographical/fantasy account of Malcolm McLaren and his promotion/management of The Sex Pistols). Corrupt also featured Harvey Keitel in the other major role and the music score was composed by Ennio Morricone. Due to poor distribution and marketing (those alternate titles didn’t help), the film quickly vanished from theaters but it holds up today as a fascinating precursor to Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant (1992) while channeling some of the yin-yang duality of Donald Cammel & Nicolas Roeg’s Performance (1976).
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The Pogue Mahone Prodigy

When it comes to world famous Irish rock bands, you’d probably be hard pressed to come up with ten. U2 from Dublin is certainly at the top of the heap but who else comes close? Thin Lizzy, The Boomtown Rats, The Cranberries, The Undertones and maybe a few other cult fringe favorites might make the list but the only other contender for the number one spot would have to be The Pogues and they really can’t be classified as simply a rock ‘n’ roll band. Some music critics have classified their music as celtic punk for the way it reinvigorated Irish folk music with an anarchic rebelliousness and politically tinged songs usually performed using traditional instruments like the mandolin, accordion and the tin whistle. Certainly Shane MacGowan, the hellraising singer/songwriter of the group, is as beloved as U2’s Bono and director Julien Temple has put MacGowan front and center in the enthralling documentary portrait, Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan (2020).
