Control (The Miriam Collection)
by Anton Corbijn
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DVD details
Actor: Alexandra Maria Lara, Joe Anderson (VI), Sam Riley (II), Samantha Morton, Toby KebbellDirector: Anton Corbijn
Brand: WELLSPRING/GENIUS
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Widescreen
Running Time: 122 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-06-03
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: The Weinstein Company
DVD Reviews of Control (The Miriam Collection)
DVD Review: the life and death of yet another British rocker
Summary: 4 Stars
Joy Division is a British working class rock band of the late 70's
that have a very intense sound which is mostly based on the
very personal lyric poetry of Ian Curtis.
The film is a black and white biography based on his wife's book.
Success means that he attracts more attention and
a new groupie who begins to spoil his love based marriage
while his epileptic fits get worse and less controlled.
The pressures of his world seem to have been too much for this young poet.
The movie has a very real honest feel to it
that harks back to a better era of 50's British cinema.
DVD Review: Fine film, bit of a whitewash though
Summary: 4 Stars
I remember first hearing Ian Curtis' haunting, gloomily dictatorial croon in the 2001 semi classic "Donnie Darko" and as a kid listening to Nine Inch Nails' version of "Dead Souls" on "The Crow" soundtrack. They struck me, and still do, as one of the darkest bands I have ever heard--move over, all you candya** contemporary posers like Manson or Evanescence. One might even say that they went full circle with the lyrics of insanity, impending doom, etc with Curtis' absurdly early demise. They were the real thing.
Anton Corbjin's "Control" is not so much about the band Joy Divison itself as Curtis' life. Shot in a sort of sepia black and white style typical of his photography, a minimalist approach to this enigmatic and ultra tragic figure is employed to maximum effect. Inspired by Deborah Curtis's "Touching From A Distance", a biopic on her tumultuous relationship with Curtis, I couldn't but feel that some of the uglier aspects of Curtis' personality--and the very real possibility that he faked his epilepsy--were glossed over. We don't see much of the monstrous behavior Curtis would often display, like dumping a Bloody Mary on his wife's head for dancing with a friend at their wedding, or nearly kicking in Tony Wilson's door (the scene makes his verbal assault on the legendary music producer seem "cool") when he didn't get his way.
Don't get me wrong, this is a fine film and illustrates well how Curtis' infidelity and non-communicativeness, worlds apart seemingly from everyone else, may have led to his tragic demise. It is also a fantastic portrayal of the post industrial punk scene of that time. But I can't help wondering if there was something else going on besides these things. Ian Curtis was a person who did not want help. Deborah Curtis suggested he see a psychologist on numerous occasions and he absolutely refused to do so.
The film illustrates some very real possibilities, but I doubt that the final book or film on Curtis has been written or made. That said, this is a nearly great film everyone who has any interest a classic band and a sad musical figure should see.
DVD Review: Ian Curtis Movie not a Joy Division movie.
Summary: 5 Stars
First and most important, this movie is about Ian Curtis, not about the band itself. Anyone going into this movie who wants to see the best bio on Joy Division will be disappointed. The director himself says this is about Ian's life, his troubles etc...
Second it is a beautiful movie, what I loved about it is you really get a sense of what Ian was going through, you can feel it. The lyrics in his songs make so much sense and bring new meaning to the songs based on what he was going through in life. One conception I always had about Joy Division that was squashed in this movie is the fact I was always pissed Ian took his own life. His music was so good, timeless, and brillant. After seeing this film I doubt, even if he would have not killed himself he would have continued. Joy Division would not have survived.
Again this is a wonderful movie about a troubled man and one of the most important figures in rock. Any TRUE Joy Division fan will enjoy this movie which is entirely in black and white.
DVD Review: 'A cloud hangs over me, marks every move, deep in the memory of what once was love'.
Summary: 5 Stars
I remember when I first saw this in the Corner House in Manchester, THE place to watch this movie for obvious reasons. I was not into Joy Division at the time, but this movie, and the lyrics in the songs sent shivers through my soul. I have since watched the film several more times and cannot get enough of it. The emotion and the bleakness of life in Manchester in the late 70's is portrayed excellently, and Sam Riley puts EVERYTHING into his performance and he was cast perfectly by Corbijn.
A must see for anyone with intelligence, and a passion for art, and the beauty and darkness of life and the 'human condition'. Who says young people can't be depressed?
DVD Review: Artsy, Stark, and Compelling
Summary: 4 Stars
Who the bleep is "Joy Division". You know what, they were pretty damn good in their time (1979-80). And the band that re-enacts them in the movie, and does it for real, in live performances, is as good as the original, no kidding. It's a shame this band never made it to America. The flight was booked, they were ready to go. But something really nasty happened. That may sound like a familiar rock & roll tune, but I thought this film was particularly well done, with a sense of realism and fine performances.
Description of Control (The Miriam Collection)
Control tells the remarkable story of Ian Curtis, lead singer of the influential band Joy Division and one of the most enigmatic figures in all of rock music. Based on his wife's memoir, Control follows Curtis' humble Manchester origins and his rapid rise to fame, tormented battle with epilepsy, and struggles with love that led to his death at the age of 23.In his elegiac debut, Anton Corbijn combines the music film with the social drama to stunning success. Based on Deborah Curtis's clear-eyed biography, Touching from a Distance, Control recounts the wrenching tale of a working-class lad about to hit the highest highs only to be waylaid by the lowest lows. Born and raised in Macclesfield, a suburban community outside Manchester, Ian Curtis (newcomer Sam Riley in a remarkable performance) dreams of fronting a band. Just out of high school in the mid-1970s, he finds three like minds with whom he forms post-punk quartet Warsaw--better known as Joy Division (Riley and castmates ably recreate their somber sound). All the while, he falls in love, marries, and fathers a child with Deborah (Samantha Morton, turning a thankless role into a triumph). While Curtis should be enjoying parenthood and newfound fame, he's plagued by seizures. A diagnosis of epilepsy leads to powerful medications with unpredictable side effects. Then, while on tour, he falls in love with another woman. His solution to these problems is a matter of public record, but Corbijn concentrates on Curtis's life rather than his death. Just as Control establishes a link between such disparate black and white works as fellow photographer Bruce Weber's Let's Get Lost and kitchen-sink classics like The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, the Dutch-born, UK-based director presents his subject not as some iconic T-shirt image, but as a deeply flawed--if massively talented--human being. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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