One of the most incendiary rock classics of all time, "God Save the Queen" by Sex Pistols was a lot more than an attack on monarchy and the establishment institutions in UK, it's a wild, rebelled and anarchic yell of self preservation and the youth generation of the late 1970's presenting itself to the mainstream media. And this very music video directed by Julien Temple ("Absolute Beginners") is a clear proof of the band's authenticity, punk rock at its greatest, with a somewhat primitive presentation of visuals, style and a loud, electric performance from its members.
John Lydon, Sid Vicious and company are all comfortable with their act, with lead singer being the strongest presence on scene with his crazed mad expresions, at times smiling and joking for the camera. His act is of pure madness and contempt, positively suitable for his speech and the song message, to see the hopeless future of a doomed generation living under a critical time period. Yet they were at the top of a new game in town, creating a new form of rock music, along with The Clash and others, a real sonorous revolution.
Despite its slight amateurish settings, the video offers a great technical form with an apparent one-take video style (cuts were barely used but they're there) that alignes with perception with the loud fast rhythms of the song. Every single moment of Pistols performance in this clip became iconic and defined a generation's sound expression and attitude. 10/10.
