History YMMV / Performance

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: The violence, sex and drug use still pack a punch because of their contribution to the overall MindScrew of the film, but by themselves they don't seem too remarkable by today's standards. But they were genuinely shocking for a mainstream film in 1970, to the extent that theaters allegedly had problems with people vomiting in their seats.

* HilariousInHindsight: Chas taunting Turner with "Comical little geezer. You'll look funny when you're 50!", since Music/MickJagger is in his 70s now and still has the same basic look he had at the time.

* MyRealDaddy: The film is credited to two directors (Cammell and Roeg) and of the two Roeg went on to have the more successful career as a director, commercially and critically (Cammell made three other films, including ''Film/DemonSeed'' and ''White of the Eye'' which are CultClassic) . Nonetheless film scholars and researchers, such as Colin [=MacCabe=] affirm that Cammell really is the true visionary of the film, from writing/casting/tone and for his first hand knowledge about the Krays, and that he had the major role in determining the look of the film, and also finding the right collaborators, chiefly editor Frank Mazzola.

* VindicatedByHistory: Critics loathed it upon release, calling it an extended exercise in bad taste. Now it's regarded as one of the greatest films of its era.

* OlderThanTheyThink: The "Memo from Turner" sequence is often considered a prototype for the music video. It covers all the bases for the form (abstract narrative, musician directly addressing and singing to the camera, visuals and audio telling a narrative), and it certainly does seem to exist apart from the rest of the film. However, others note that even ''Performance'' isn't innovative in this regard. Creator/FrankTashlin's ''Film/TheGirlCantHelpIt'' has the famous "Cry Me A River" sequence which is also an abstract BLAM narrative of video and music to tell a story.

* HeReallyCanAct: Music/MickJagger's turn as an actor was highly commended by critics in its time and afterwards. [[https://www.filmcomment.com/article/film-comments-trivial-top-20-expanded-to-50-best-acting-performance-by-a-mu/ It's often ranked the best performance by a musician in a film]]. Especially since Mick Jagger's performance is quite against his usual stage persona.

* HeReallyCanAct: Mick Jagger's turn as an actor was highly commended by critics in its time and afterwards. [[https://www.filmcomment.com/article/film-comments-trivial-top-20-expanded-to-50-best-acting-performance-by-a-mu/ It's often ranked the best performance by a musician in a film]]. Especially since Mick Jagger's performance is quite against his usual stage persona.
* HilariousInHindsight: Chas taunting Turner with "Comical little geezer. You'll look funny when you're 50!", since Mick Jagger is in his 70s now and still has the same basic look he had at the time.

* MyRealDaddy: The film is credited to two directors (Cammell and Roeg) and of the two Roeg went on to have the more successful career as a director, commercially and critically (Cammell made three other films, including ''Film/DemonSeed'' and ''White of the Eye'' which are CultClassic) . Nonetheless film scholars and researchers, such as Colin [=MacCabe=] affirm that Cammell really is the true visionary of the film, from writing/casting/tone and for his first hand knowledge about the Krays.