Joy Division (2008) Synopsis:
Like a companion piece to Control, this lucid, meticulous documentary chronicles one of the most influential bands to emerge from the Manchester music scene.
Told as the story of a city, the film looks at Manchester in the 1970s, a grimy and dirty place where the industrial revolution has given way to urban blight and personal hopelessness. It's no wonder that the Sex Pistols emerged from this place, and that in 1976 they inspired four young men (Sumner, Hook, Morris and Ian Curtis) to say, "I could do that," and form their own band, taking their name from Nazi propaganda. But after some early wannabe punk songs, they turned into something much more interesting, adding a personal, emotive expression that broke new ground.
Joy Division (2008) Movie Review:
Like a companion piece to Control, this lucid, meticulous documentary chronicles one of the most influential bands to emerge from the Manchester music scene.
Told as the story of a city, the film looks at Manchester in the 1970s, a grimy and dirty place where the industrial revolution has given way to urban blight and personal hopelessness. It's no wonder that the Sex Pistols emerged from this place, and that in 1976 they inspired four young men (Sumner, Hook, Morris and Ian Curtis) to say, "I could do that," and form their own band, taking their name from Nazi propaganda. But after some early wannabe punk songs, they turned into something much more interesting, adding a personal, emotive expression that broke new ground.
Filmmaker Gee assembles this fluidly, telling the story in sequence with artful editing that draws on the musical themes. While his "story of a city" angle is a bit strained and pretentious, the film includes a fascinating array of carefully captioned archive footage, from scratchy scenes of early performances to intimate glimpses backstage. And then there's the terrific interview material, including a rare appearance by Curtis' lover Honore and extensive commentary from music guru Wilson before his untimely death last year.
And of course the music is vital as well, including rare recordings, bootleg sessions and aborted tracks. The film vividly traces the band's evolution over its short lifespan, while interviews with Sumner, Hook, Morris and others (including on-screen captions from Curtis' wife Deborah) add key facts and telling observations. The film cleverly parallels Curtis' increasingly introspective lyrics, with references to the likes of Kafka, Dostoyevsky and JG Ballard, as he and his bandmates struggled to cope with his sudden epilepsy. Not to mention the brutal irony of their biggest hit, Love Will Tear Us Apart.
This is a strong and lively film that really gets under the skin, edited with clarity to tell much more than the saga of an iconic rock group. At the end, it's the personal stories that linger in the mind, especially as the three surviving members rechristened themselves New Order on the Monday after Curtis' funeral and carried on with their musical innovation. But they've hardly ever played their old songs.
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Joy Division (2008) review written by: Rich Cline
7th September, 2008 
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