| Author | Message | ||
     Georgina Sheils Member Username: Georgina Post Number: 7 Registered: 10-2007 |
saw it at Nova this afternoon, really liked it and the actor playing ian curtis was fantastic. End scene was very powerful, very sad. Would like to know what others thought? | ||
| Peter_d Member Username: Peter_d Post Number: 36 Registered: 05-2005 |
I thought it was terrific also - beautifully shot and great performances throughout. Sam Riley is excellent as is Samantha Morton. The band scenes seem uncanny (if you leave out the drummer's appearance) - the actor that plays Bernard Sumner looks the absolute image of him - as does the character that plays Peter Hook..actually I think that Sam Riley looks a bit like Stephen Morris but his vocals and movement are so convincing..I read an interview with Peter Hook and he said they had captured the sound of the band much better than '24 Hour People'..interestingly he said that the characters as people were more accurate in 24 hour people - I haven't seen it but I did think the 'Control' Anthony Wilson is a weak link..I suppose it's important to remember that the story is essentially written from Deborah Curtis' perspective - because of this, band members and other characters such as Wilson and Rob Gretton aren't fleshed out to any real degree..the Rob Gretton character steals alot of the scenes - very funny...as is the line where Annik Honore asks Ian Curtis to "Tell me about Macclesfield"..but I suppose, jokes aside, it is still such a tragic chain of events that I came out of the cinema feeling sad and a bit empty. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 807 Registered: 09-2006 |
Glad to hear it, guys...my little town doesn't have it, but when next I go sixty miles to Seattle I'm planning on taking it in. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 794 Registered: 10-2004 |
Well, some fucking day it'll play here in the Bay Area. I'm utterly shocked that the only two greater metropolitan areas in which it's showing in the US are LA and NY. I mean, wtf! | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1864 Registered: 05-2005 |
I take it you are an angry man Jeff!? I watched 24 hour party people at 4am this morning. I like it, the casting was pretty good, but absolutely awful in places. Like some of the guys in the Sex Pistols and ACR looked absolutrely nothing like em! That I found to be absurd. The Ian Curtis guy is great, mannersims and general look, though his nose is a bit too pointy! Hope tobe enjoying Control soon. Jeff get on the bus over here, i'll buy you a cinema ticket and some popcorn!! | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 798 Registered: 10-2004 |
Ha! Thanks Spence! No, I'm just baffled that Control hasn't seen a more widespread release in the US. I mean, Joy Division are HUGE out here, but the theatres and/or film distributors are being very timid and unusually selective about where the movie is showing. I mean, 24 Hour Party People was released more widely than Control, and it seems to me that 24 Hour Party People would resonate far less with Americans than Control. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 2432 Registered: 03-2006 |
Jeff, not to rub salt in the wound, but it's even playing out here in the sticks, in the big OC! You wuz robbed! Wuss that I am, I may not go see it. It sounds just mega-depressing. I may wait for the bowdlerized, sanitized for your protection American version. In it, Ian Curtis will get therapy, raise a gaggle of cute and precocious kids and live happily after, becoming an elder statesman of post-punk, playing golf with Iggy Pop and Steve Jones! | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1592 Registered: 04-2005 |
Going to see it tomorrow or Wednesday. Two Joy Division-worshipping friends of mine have seen it and pronounced it genius. LK's right. It's good Hollywood didn't get its hands on the story. In their version, Curtis would have also lived to sell commercial rights to Joy Division songs, such as "She's Lost Control" to Depends. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 799 Registered: 10-2004 |
Ah, good news! It's *finally* opening this week at a theater in Berkeley, so I'll likely check it out over the weekend. Can't wait... | ||
| C Gull Member Username: C_gull Post Number: 83 Registered: 05-2005 |
Even in Right On Brighton it was only on for a week so I have missed it! Need to go to London or Manchester it seems. Heard its great though. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1410 Registered: 03-2005 |
Just back from seeing it. I don't think it's genius but it's nice and depressing. Beautiful monochrome. I hate to think of all the Mancunian inside jokes I missed. Unless I dozed and didn't know it, I saw no dedication to Tony Wilson. He IS credited as a coproducer. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1837 Registered: 05-2005 |
He was still alive when all the prints would have been made Randy. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1411 Registered: 03-2005 |
I'm sure you're right Padraig. I thought they'd have added a little tribute but I suppose that's more of a high-budget thing, re-doing prints like that. I don't know if the turnout when I saw it was typical but that theater was no more than 1/4 filled on a Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m.. It was shown in a stupid location, on Los Angeles' vapid bourgeois westside. It should have been booked into a Hollywood or Los Feliz venue. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 822 Registered: 10-2004 |
Finally saw Control on Saturday. I can confirm that it's beautifully filmed and gut-wrenchingly depressing (no matter how well you know the story). Quite well done. Was a nice surprise to see John Cooper Clark as himself. | ||
| C Gull Member Username: C_gull Post Number: 87 Registered: 05-2005 |
Also saw it at last, it was fantastic. Just reminded me how fantastic the music and lyrics are, and how grim the UK was in the late 70s - but I nearly miss it. I agree with Peter's comment kept thinking that Sam Riley was Stephen Morris | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1421 Registered: 03-2005 |
Jeff, who is John Cooper Clark? (I suppose I should be googling). Was he the guy doing the on-stage rap thing before one of the performances? That was one of those moments when I knew I was missing something that was supposed to be obvious to the audience. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 824 Registered: 10-2004 |
Randy, yeah, that was John Cooper Clark - the tall guy with the big hair doing the poetry riffing or whatever. On his own, he's kind of amusing, but on record - WOW. On his records he recites his stuff over the incredible music of Martin Hannett's Invisible Girls, a revolving cast of Mancunian musicians, at different times including Pete Shelley, Vini Riley (of the great Durutti Column), Bill Nelson, Karl Burns (from the Fall), among others. The music was usually stunning. It took me a few listens to get used to Clark's spoken word ranting over the music, but the music is so unbelievably good (catchy pop, sometimes pretty, sometimes dark/moody, filtered through Hannett's art-damaged studio treatments), that I got over that quickly. Hannett and Clark make it work pretty well, anyhow. The album "Snap, Crackle, & Bop," from 1980 is among one of my favorite albums ever. To me it's an unsung masterpiece. The album after that, "Zip Style Method," is also quite good, and the one preceding "Snap," called "Disguise in Love," has its moments. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1898 Registered: 05-2005 |
Jeff's on the ball with "Johnny Clarke" Randy! He plays local pubs around here, me and the wife have seen him many times. The uy based his whole look around Dylan's Blonde on Blonde sleeve. He's hilarious, go buy or borrow! | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 310 Registered: 04-2005 |
Anyone tell me on what record JCC's original of 'A Heart Disease called Love' in on? I just know it because Miracle Legion covered it, but it is a wonderful song. I once saw the great man supporting the Banshees at the Hammersmith Odeon. He was a little the worse for wear and managed to drop his notebook into the front row. There was a pause while the audience picked up all the loose sheets and passed them back! Punk rock eh? Anyway the film is coming to my local art-house cinema. Thank god for French state funding of the film industry. Apparently one of the big US distribution chains is currently attempting to sue the French government over its' "protectionist" stance, claiming that it is unfair. I have no problem with this American form of capitalism, except it knows no bounds and I personally have no desire to only have access to Hollywood blockbusters. Here endith the rant. | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 339 Registered: 07-2006 |
i saw it last night....most people i know didn't like it much, i actually thought it was rather spectacular. the rest of the band came off like walking punchlines (though oddly good looking..they've got to be impressed there), but quite liked the rest of the cast. seeing ian curtis go to work was pretty otherworldly too. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1906 Registered: 05-2005 |
Saw a clip last night on jools Holland. looks good. I really like and admire Anton, his background to the whole thing, there's a real honesty and sincerity to all of this. The blackand white style too, sounds like it'll be worth it when me get round to seeing it. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1425 Registered: 03-2005 |
Oh yeah, Spence, YOU have to see it. | ||
| Catherine Vaughan Member Username: Catherine Post Number: 356 Registered: 05-2005 |
As far as I can work out, it's only on in one cinema in Ireland, and that's 100 miles away from me. Looks like I'll be waiting until it's DVD release. Don't anyone go ruining the ending for me!!! | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1058 Registered: 08-2006 |
The ending is very sad, Catherine. Curtis survives his suicide attempt, gets born again, does two albums of duets with Amy Grant, co-writes a Christmas record for Celine Dion and eventually opens his own dinner theater in Branson, Missouri, said to be a favorite haunt of Pat Robertson, Ralph Reed and none other than George W. Bush. He also re-records "Love Will Tear Us Apart" under the title, "Love Will Strengthen Our Hearts." | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1926 Registered: 05-2005 |
Bloody hell Rob, theres no point me going now! Having missed it in the mainstream Cinema complex due to being on the wrong shift at work, I was pleased to see it was playing the Arts Centre at the local university this week. I am going tomorrow night. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1914 Registered: 05-2005 |
Enjoy Kev! Enjoy Kev! Enjoy kev! | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1059 Registered: 08-2006 |
Sorry, Kev! I should have indicated a spoiler alert. You'll still enjoy it, if only for the casting. Pat Robertson is played by Yoda. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1928 Registered: 05-2005 |
Control was as excellent as I had hoped it would be. Sam Rileys portrayal of Curtis the performer was scarily accurate, his performance of Curtis the man less convincing - he's too good looking for a start. I expected humour, but not as much as the film actually contained. The Rob Gretton character was hysterically funny (Crispy Ambulance singer: "Wheres my £20? Gretton: Its in my "fuck off" pocket), as to a lesser extent was the Hooky character. The ending was not actually the same as Rob's, did see it coming a mile off though!! | ||
| Charles Coy Member Username: Coy Post Number: 33 Registered: 10-2006 |
Control...was the tale told...Stephen Morris drummer was played to perfection, Curtis by Riley 'Danced to the radio for me'..I had read the book, the film told me more about how Ian had not come to terms with the affair, Debbie, the demands, the Band, the success and how frightened he was of his illness...am I wrong to say, why did'nt anybody recognise this and help...I'm dreaming I suppose.. | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 312 Registered: 04-2005 |
Saw the film a couple of nights ago and thought it was excellent too. Have some criticisms in terms of the portrayals of the other members of the band, and 'yes' Riley looks more like Stephen Morris than Ian Curtis, but on the whole Anton and his team are to be congratulated. It deserved more than the 9 people in the cinema with me. I was bowled over by the live footage: must be the most convincing recreation of live music in a film ever? Normally those club gig scenes in films are so naff ("Breaking Glass" anyone?). I read in one on-line article that up to one week before filming started, it was still the intention to have the actors mime to recordings. Eventually they all learnt to play their instruments and that is exactly what is on screen. I find this a slightly unbelievable story, but what the hell... In terms of no-one recognising the signs of what was to come: they were all so young and unworldly? The line from Curtis (after his suicide attempt) about the fact that everyone wanted more from him and didn't they realise that he couldn't give more or keep up operating at that level was heart-rending. I dragged out my battered old copy of 'Here are the Young Men' (Fact 37) last night and the quality wasn't quite as awful as I remembered. The Eindhoven + Brussels clips are great. Roll on the big screen documentary now: it got rave reviews in Toronto....anyone here seen it? Shown in Sheffield as well I believe. By the way the Guardian has some photos taken by Curtis' daughter Natalie on the set of the film http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/gallery/2 007/sep/22/joy.division.control?picture= 330791425 | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1920 Registered: 05-2005 |
Looking forward to Control and this documentary on JD, http://www.cerysmaticfactory.info/joy_di vision_film_documentary.html | ||
| Charles Coy Member Username: Coy Post Number: 34 Registered: 10-2006 |
..thank you very much for the tipping me into the Guardian site, pics were a treat, very interesting self pose with Natalie Curtis....yes I do remember the lines you have noted, believe that 'he couldn't give anymore'did smash through the defences at the time. |