+ Best Music Movie of the Year + Best Debut Movie of the Year: Anton Corbijn + Best B/W Movie of the Year
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| The stylish poster with Sam Riley cigarette-in-mouth for Anton Corbijn's Control |
QUICK REVIEW:
Control is a music drama biopic based on Joy Division front singer Ian Curtis' life from 1973-'80, when he took his own life.
The movie covers him from the assembly of his first band Warsaw, to his early marriage and child, the building of Joy Division, perhaps the most important post punk band of all, the music, the success, the mistress, his epilepsy and finally, his suicide. His struggles with love most of all, perhaps, is the center here.
I love the music of Joy Division, though being a fan is not a prerequisite for watching or enjoying Control, which is very well-produced; especially the cinematography (by Martin Ruhe (The American (2010)) is excellent and at its best moments poetic like Curtis' lyrics.
The English reality portrayed in Control is incredibly crude and dreary, - similar to Hamburg in the film's Dutch director Anton Corbijn's (The American (2010)) newest film, A Most Wanted Man. (2014). The script is also rather stiff and hard, at times tragicomic. It deals with hard topics.
Control was Corbijn's debut feature. He comes from a background in photography and music videos and has had a long history with Joy Division in this role. He is now in post with his next movie, Life (2015), about a photo-shoot with James Dean for Life Magazine.
Related posts:
Anton Corbijn: 2007 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
A Most Wanted Man (2014) - Hamburg anti-terror spies in lean, serious picture
Watch the trailer here
Cost: 4.5 mil. euros
Box office: 8.1 mil. $
= Minor flop
[Corbijn put up half of the budget himself and won considerable critical praise and prizes for Control, including a BAFTA for the film's writer. His next film was the low-budgeted George Clooney-starring The American, which had a better commercial result, making 67.8 mil. $ on a 20 mil. $ budget.]
What do you think of Control?
Other good movies about punk bands?
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