Starring James Fox, Mick Jagger and Anita Pallenberg, <i>Performance</i> was made by Donald Cammell and Nicholas Roeg in 1968, but not released until 1970. When the studio backers saw the directors cut, they were so shocked by its sexual explicitness and formal radicalism that attempts were made to destroy the negative. <i>Performance</i> really is one of the most extraordinary British films. An almost magical concoction, it melds the worlds of rock music and street violence, reality and fantasy, politics and art. Having conducted extensive interviews with surviving participants, Colin MacCabe presents in this book the definitive history of the making of <i>Performance</i> as well as a new interpretation of its consummate artistry.