Combining fictional characters with archival footage, Chelsea on the Rocks is a look at the famous (or is that infamous?) Chelsea Hotel, where the bohemian clientèle has been immortalized in song and story. The Chelsea's history is both sparkling and squalid; it's where Bob Dylan wrote "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands," it's where Arthur C. Clarke wrote 2001: A Space Odyssey, and it's also where Sid Vicious' girlfriend Nancy Spungen was found stabbed in 1978. The Chelsea's been a temporary home for everyone from Mark Twain to Joni Mitchell, and considering how many things that have happened there have subsequently become legend, Ferrara's mix of fact and fiction seems like an excellent approach.
