24 Hour Party People (2002) or, Tony Wilson's Factory

6/02/2020

24 Hour Party People (2002) or, Tony Wilson's Factory

♥♥♥

Steve Coogan's large head and the styles of the European dance set of the latter part of the 20th century make up this poster for Michael Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People

Tony Wilson is a TV-host and a music pioneer in 1970s Manchester, and in the dozen or so years to come he helps punk and rave groups to emerge and break out on his Factory Records.

24 Hour Party People is written by Frank Cottrell Boyce (Millions (2004)), based on the actual Wilson and his record company, and directed by Michael Winterbottom (Butterfly Kiss (1995)).
Steve Coogan (The Look of Love (2013)) is terrific as Wilson, and the film has an original concept, in which Wilson himself comments the story directly to us from time to time, breaking the fourth wall.
24 Hour Party People has some funny episodes, and the title sequence seems designed to induce epileptic seizures. The music, save for that by Joy Division, is unimpressive, and the majority of the musicians around Wilson appear to be faceless losers.

Related post:

Michael Winterbottom: The Killer Inside Me (2010) - Despite minor qualities, Winterbottom's adaptation is a nasty failure

Watch a trailer for the movie here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: 2.8 mil. $
= Uncertain
[24 Hour Party People premiered 13 February (the UK) and runs 117 minutes. Shooting took place in England. The film opened #59 to a 34k $ first weekend in 2 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #32 and in 37 theaters (different weeks), grossing 1.1 mil. $ (39.3 % of the total gross). The rest of the film's gross sheet is incomplete; but it only grossed 379k $ (13.5 %) from its apparent 2nd biggest market, production home the UK. It won 1/2 British Independent Spirit award nominations and was shown in competition in Cannes, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to 3 notches higher than this review. Winterbottom returned with In This World (2002). Coogan returned in 6 TV and video projects before his theatrical return in Coffee and Cigarettes (2003). 24 Hour Party People is certified fresh at 86 % with a 7.27/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

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6/02/2020

24 Hour Party People (2002) or, Tony Wilson's Factory

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Eagerly anticipating this week ... (16-24)

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