The Screengrab : ian curtis

Screengrab's Favorite Movies About Music: Non-Fiction Edition (Part Three)

Andrew Osborne — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Lauren Wissot's Favorite:

JOY DIVISION (2007)

My first boyfriend when I came to NYC, the lead singer of a local goth band, introduced me to Joy Division – not the band itself, and not the music, since I was already a goth and well-aware of their songs – but the phenomenon. I was a big sound Sisters of Mercy chick who didn’t quite get it, a fan of over-the-top goth like Bauhaus, and the catchy dance beat of the band Joy Division evolved into, New Order. Joy Division itself was more like those minimalist 4AD bands – goth lite. The boyfriend was long out of my life by the time I realized my mistake. You can’t just listen to Joy Division – you have to absorb their aura. Now thanks to Grant Gee’s documentary Joy Division (written by punk rock’s tireless chronicler Jon Savage), which Surround Sounds the story of the band with the feel of Manchester through a collage of images, I understand why this is. The British director, by placing himself in the environment that birthed Joy Division, soaks in the band’s essence. This is something that Anton Corbijn, a Dutch photographer and cinematographer who shot the infamous video for “Atmosphere” (and appears in Gee’s doc), and tread the same material in his biopic Control, completely lost amidst his lush, gorgeous and painfully stark imagery. Corbijn’s certainly got more artistic talent than Gee, but less of an understanding of the band he knew as a young photojournalist. There’s just less substance in Control. (For further details on that film read my review at The House Next Door.)

By combining documentary footage from gigs, talking head interviews, shots of Manchester from the era juxtaposed with present-day imagery, archival materials from notebooks to newspapers, words flashing across the screen, even quotes from Deborah Curtis’ book Touching from a Distance, Gee exhaustively sifts through information like a detective, teasing out clues to the soul of the band and its lead singer Ian Curtis who hung himself right before the scheduled American tour. The actual songs of Joy Division (and its prior incarnation Warsaw) drift in and out, hover above the movie, mirroring the spiritual aspect of the band – the total understanding of which remains elusive, forever out of reach of mortal comprehension. Gee seems to be digging madly, touching from a distance, getting as close as humanly possible. This is admirable filmmaking, full of heart and soul.

For Joy Division was Manchester’s soundscape, one of the shining lights of the punk rock renaissance that emerged from post-war no-man’s land. Talking heads from journalists to music producers describe the bands gigs as shamanistic experiences; surviving members Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook, who went on to form New Order, repeat sentiments of everything just coming together as if preordained. They just “knew” from the very moment they christened their ensemble after the supposed Nazi sex slave barracks. Joy Division evolved from an inexplicable visionary artistry more than from anything else, synthesizing goth and punk and anticipating rave.

And there was no better prophet than Ian Curtis, the tall and lanky, translucent-eyed lead singer whose herky-jerky, puppet-on-a-string dance movements resembled an epileptic fit – and this was before he’d had his first seizure, though his diagnosis with epilepsy occurred soon after he wrote “She’s Lost Control,” inspired by an epileptic girl he had helped at his social services day job, and who later died of an epileptic fit. Preordained. The irony that epilepsy is a disease in which the sufferer seems “possessed,” and that Curtis was always possessed when he went onstage is not lost on anyone, most of all not on his Belgian journalist mistress Annik Honore.

“Ian was pulled into a trance” when performing, Honore explains. Like he was “plugged into a huge electrical voltage” is how artist Genesis P-Orridge describes Curtis, while another scenester offers the analogy of a “performance artist who cuts and bleeds.” This is some heavy shit, the weight of which can be heard in Joy Division’s complicated, densely layered sound, which can be navigated only through Curtis’ deep vocals. From the band members and their d.j. manager Rob Gretton, to the producers and the venue owners, to the journalists and audiences – Joy Division was always more than the sum of its parts, the rallying call of renewal for Manchester, a city whose sewer system was in the midst of collapse, whose children were raised on the concrete streets (Peter Hook reminisces that he’d never even seen a tree until he was about nine). By narrowing the focus solely to Curtis and the band in Control, Corbijn misses Joy Division by a mile.

But by interviewing all the players, knowing precisely which questions to ask, Gee hits the heart. What Corbijn didn’t understand is that Joy Division were intertwined not with a random, industrial post-war city but with a living, breathing, specific Manchester. His sensual kitchen sink imagery in Control is beautiful to look at but as empty as those abandoned housing projects. Joy Division was the flower blossoming through the crack in the sidewalk, reflected in everything from those stark album covers to Curtis’ love of Burroughs and his evocations of industrial wastelands (both real and of the mind). In Joy Division, a member even notes that the band expanded punk by declaring that it’s important to say, “fuck you” – but then you need to move beyond and say more (though I’d argue it was The Clash at the forefront of this movement). This too was lost on Corbijn. You can’t capture a poet like Curtis in a biopic if you focus directly on the poet, as he’ll forever elude you – just like you don’t look directly at a solar eclipse, but at that in which it is reflected. Gee doesn’t take Corbijn’s literal direct approach but focuses on the margins surrounding the band, where Joy Division is being reflected, which is a brilliant idea.

Which also mirrors the brilliance of Joy Division’s approach to music. In his lyrics Curtis always referenced the great authors he devoured like Dostoevsky and Kafka so the songs could work on several levels, from the intellectual to the populist. If you want to be enlightened to grand ideas, Joy Division’s your band. If you want to dance to kick-ass raw energy in the form of a tune, listen no further than Joy Division. Towards the end of his life the singer felt the songs were writing themselves, Honore discloses. It was almost as if his artist’s soul was consuming his physical body. Everything was fated, from Curtis’ start as a social services worker (absorbing everyone else’s pain along with his own – including the wife and baby and the girlfriend on the side – is it any wonder “Love Will Tear Us Apart” was such a hit?) to the last album “Closer.” His lyrics read like a bible of his life.

And it’s this “bible” that still haunts the remaining members. How could they not have foreseen Curtis’ suicide? Why didn’t they try to save him? More than a quarter century on it’s near impossible for Gee to get his subjects to open up, all still struggling with the road not taken. So it’s eloquent that he concludes Joy Division on a note of legacy rather than on one of regret, poignantly overlaying images of New Order’s Sumner performing a Joy Division tune alternated with images of Curtis interpreting the same song. It just makes gorgeous sense, including the idea of what a producer describes as the “merchandizing of memory” since Joy Division subsequently became bigger than its actual small output, larger than the sum of its parts. Towards the end of the film when New Order’s music segues into “Atmosphere” over images of modern day Manchester the result is spine-tingling – Curtis’ embodiment of beauty from waste, daisies from pavement, art from pain must be carried on! Joy Division was bigger than one man, even bigger than its rise and fall and rebirth as New Order, paralleling Manchester’s own path. No, Gee might not have Corbijn’s visual chops, but then substance is always more than the sum of visible tangible parts.

Click Here For Part One, Two, Four, Five, Six & Seven

Contributor: Lauren Wissot

DVD Digest for June 3, 2008

Paul Clark — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:00:00 GMT

With Father’s Day coming in less than two weeks, the studios begin to unveil their snazzy new editions of what TNT used to call “movies for guys who like movies.” We’ve got all the manly movies you need to keep dad happy while mom and her friends are out seeing the Sex and the City movie (seriously, how did we not see that coming?).

Before Clint Eastwood became known as an Academy Award-winning filmmaker (or a guy who co-starred with an orangutan) he was first and foremost a grimacing badass. And while some- including yours truly- have a soft spot for his Man With No Name trilogy- the most enduring character from this period would also certainly be “Dirty” Harry Callahan. This week, Warner unveils new DVD and Blu-Ray editions of all five of Eastwood’s Dirty Harry films, featuring all of the features from previous DVD editions plus a number of new ones. Most notably, Warner Brothers’ box set (the films are also sold separately) includes a new feature-length documentary, Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows. In addition, the memorabilia included in the box set includes a 40-page hardcover book and a map of San Francisco detailing Harry’s hunt for Scorpio.

But if dad’s looking for wartime heroism (Blu-Ray only), MGM and Fox both have something that’ll fit the bill. MGM will unveil Blu-Ray editions of A Bridge Too Far and Battle of Britain this week, although these new discs will contain no special features. So if it’s tricked out Blu-Rays (and better movies) you want, go with Fox’s war DVDs. The studio will be releasing three of its classics- Patton, The Longest Day and The Sand Pebbles- exclusively on Blu-Ray, packed with special features and all the bells and whistles he could ever hope for.

But that’s not all, folks. If dad wants some laughs with his testosterone, buy him the new City Slickers: Collector’s Edition (MGM), which gives him some Western action, male bonding humor courtesy of Crystal, Kirby and Stern, and of course Jack Palance, who even in death can still crap bigger than you. Other, more recent dudely comedies releasing this week include Semi-Pro (New Line, also Blu-Ray), Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show (Lionsgate), and for the father whose enjoyment of movies far outweighs his taste, Meet the Spartans (Fox, also Blu-Ray). And what’s a list of guy movies with James Bond? Sony will release a new three-disc edition of Casino Royale, Bond’s best big-screen adventure since the sixties (there, I said it).

Other new releases this week include: Anton Corbijn’s Ian Curtis biopic Control (Weinstein Company); the Jessica Alba remake of The Eye (Lionsgate, also Blu-Ray); Michael Caine and Demi Moore in Flawless (Magnolia); the long-delayed The Onion Movie (Fox); and Asia Argento just the way we like her (i.e. mostly naked and toting a gun) in Olivier Assayas’ Boarding Gate (Magnolia). The week’s most notable non-guy-movie old-school release is Jean-Jacques Beineix’s seminal Cinema du look classic Diva (Lionsgate). Finally, releasing on Blu-Ray only: Cloverfield (Paramount), Signs (Buena Vista), The Recruit (Buena Vista), There Will Be Blood (Paramount).

Cannes 2008: Meet the Jury!

Paul Clark — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Yesterday, The Screengrab was the 152nd blog on the web to post the Competition slate for next month's Cannes Film Festival. But before you start predicting the winners sight unseen, we suggest you get to know the members of the Competition jury. That way you'll know whose names to curse when your favorite filmmaker gets smoked by some little-known furriner whose name you can't pronounce.

This year's Cannes Competition Jury:

Sean Penn (Jury President) is a filmmaker of some note, directing four films since his 1990 debut, The Indian Runner. His most recent film is the memorably Oscar-snubbed Into the Wild. When not behind the camera, Penn is also known for his political and charitable work, which has taken him to Iran and to the post-Katrina New Orleans. Penn has also been known to act on occasion.

Sergio Castellitto has appeared in several films in Competition, including 2001's Va Savoir and 2002's The Religion Hour (My Mother's Smile). Once referred to by Screengrab favorite Mike D'Angelo as "maybe the most underrated thesp alive," he also starred in the popular Mostly Martha, better known as No Reservations, Except Good. Castellitto has also directed two features, including the 2004 film Don't Move, in which he exercised his director's clout in order to give himself several love scenes with Penelope Cruz.

Natalie Hershlag, alternately known as Natalie Portman, made her big-screen debut at age 13 in Luc Besson's The Professional, sometimes referred to as Léon by various talkbackers on Ain't It Cool News. Since that time, she has become one of the most sought-after actresses of her generation, particularly among horny fanboys who despair that she will never get completely naked onscreen. Hershlag is set to make her directorial debut in this year's omnibus film New York, I Love You, where her short film will appear alongside new works by such acclaimed filmmakers as Brett Ratner and Scarlett Johansson. She also wants you to know that the Shins will totally change your life.

Alfonso Cuaron first gained international critical attention with his 1995 film A Little Princess, and subsequent films like Y Tu Mama Tambien and Children of Men have proven him a formidable talent (he also allegedly made a low-budget adaptation of a little-known English fantasy novel, but no one knows what became of this). In 2006, his high-profile friendship with fellow Mexican filmmakers Guillermo Del Toro and Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu let to the trio briefly becoming known as "The Three Amigos" for several months before they were sued by Chevy Chase, Martin Short and Steve Martin.

Apichatpong Weerasethakul has such a long name that I run the risk of hitting my character limit simply by typing it. Luckily for me, he prefers to simply be called "Joe." Joe has garnered widespread critical acclaim for his whimsical, magical-realist films, which include Mysterious Object at Noon, Blissfully Yours, and Syndromes and a Century. His 2004 film Tropical Malady won the Jury Prize at Cannes, and Roger Ebert called the film "a meditation on portentous but incoherent themes." By which we're guessing he meant "awesome."

Alexandra Maria Lara, a ravishing Romanian who moved to Germany at age 4, made her movie debut at 16. However, the role that brought her international acclaim came in 2004's Downfall, in which she portrayed Hitler's personal secretary Traudl Junge. Since then, she costarred in Francis Ford Coppola's Youth Without Youth and in last year's Ian Curtis biopic Control, where she met current boyfriend Sam Riley (isn't that cute?). Lara will next appear in Stephen Daldry's The Reader, as well as taking a supporting role in Spike Lee's WWII drama Miracle at St. Anna, a role you won't find out about by looking her up on IMDb.

Rachid Bouchareb is a French director-producer who last appeared at Cannes with his 2006 drama Days of Glory. In addition to his own films, he has also produced the work of numerous other filmmakers, including all four features to date by Bruno Dumont. Sorry, I have nothing humorous to say about this guy.

So there you have it. Seven jury members, down from nine last year. How will they vote? Will Penn insist on a political bent, or at least something appeals to his artier side? Will Cuaron stump for his fellow Latin Americans? Which Bouchareb will show up- the one who directed the rousing WW2 or the guy who produces Bruno Dumont movies? Will Joe gravitate to fellow talking-primate lover Charlie Kaufman? Will the paparazzi devote most of their attention to Portman and Lara (yes, they will)? Let the blind prognosticating commence in 5, 4, 3...

Joy for Joy Division Fans

Peter Smith — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:00:00 GMT

When Sean Harris perfectly captured the hope and despair of Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis, twitching on the stage like a broken electrical cable, in Michael Winterbottom's brilliant 24 Hour Party People, there seemed good reason to assume that it would remain the last filmic word on Curtis and his band for quite a while. Instead, Curtis will be returning to haunt movie screens this fall in two separate projects, both of them labors of love with contributions from Curtis's surviving associates. (Curtis hanged himself in 1980, at the age of twenty-three.) Photographer Anton Corbijn makes his feature-directing debut with Control, a biopic starring Sam Riley, which opens this week; it's based on a book by Curtis's widow, Deborah. (She's played in the movie by Samantha Morton.) Meanwhile, Joy Division, a documentary directed by Grant Gee and written by Jon Savage, features a mix of performance footage, TV appearances and interviews with surviving band members. It's also got interview footage of Tony Wilson, who was played by Steve Coogan in 24 Hour Party People and who himself died last August. Curtis's death threatened to make him the official Rock and Roll Suicide figure of post-punk, a cheesy honor if ever there was one, so it's good to hear Deborah Curtis and other representatives of both films insist that their real concern is depicting the accomplishments of his life, not celebrating his means of leaving it. Even the huckster antihero of 24 Hour Party People, who was not above marketing his dead star as a martyr, finally told the camera that he wished people who never knew Curtis or saw him perform could be made to understand how much fun he was. — Phil Nugent