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''Control'' is a 2007
biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...
about the life of
Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, lyricist and occasional guitarist of the band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown Pleasures'' (197 ...
, singer of the late-1970s English
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
band
Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...
. It is the first feature film directed by
Anton Corbijn Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director, and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner" ...
, who had worked with Joy Division as a photographer. The
screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...
by Matt Greenhalgh was based on the biography '' Touching from a Distance'' by Curtis's widow Deborah, who served as a co-producer on the film.
Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager and impresario, and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder ...
, who released Joy Division's records through his
Factory Records Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order (band), New Order, A Certain Ra ...
label, also served as a co-producer. Curtis' bandmates Bernard Sumner,
Peter Hook Peter Hook (born 13 February 1956) is an English musician. He was the bassist and co-founder of the post-punk band Joy Division and its successor New Order. He often used the bass as a lead instrument, playing melodies on the high strings wi ...
, and Stephen Morris provided incidental music for the soundtrack via their post-Joy Division incarnation New Order. ''Control'' was filmed partly on location in
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
,
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, and
Macclesfield Macclesfield () is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. It is sited on the River Bollin and the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east; the town lies south of Ma ...
, including areas where Curtis lived, and was shot in colour and then printed to
black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...
. Its title comes from the Joy Division song " She's Lost Control", and alludes to the fact that much of the plot deals with the notion that Curtis tried to remain in control of his own life, and yet had no control over his
epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...
and pharmaceutical side effects.
Samantha Morton Samantha Jane Morton (born 13 May 1977) is an English actress. She is known for her work in independent film with dark and tragic themes, particularly in period dramas. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including the BAFTA Fellowship ...
and Sam Riley star as Deborah and Ian Curtis, and the film portrays the events of the couple's lives from 1973 to 1980, focusing on their marriage, the formation and career of Joy Division, Ian's struggle with epilepsy, his
extramarital affair An affair is a relationship typically between two people, one or both of whom are either married or in a long-term monogamous or emotionally-exclusive relationship with someone else. The affair can be solely sexual, solely physical or solely em ...
with Belgian journalist Annik Honoré, and culminates with Ian's suicide in May 1980. Alexandra Maria Lara plays Honoré, while James Anthony Pearson, Joe Anderson, and Harry Treadaway play Sumner, Hook, and Morris, respectively. The film also features
Toby Kebbell Tobias Alistair Patrick Kebbell''Births, Marriages & Deaths: Toby is married to Arielle Wyatt. They got married in 2020 and they have one child together. Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 9 July 1982) is an English ...
as band manager Rob Gretton and
Craig Parkinson Craig Parkinson (born 11 March 1976) is an English actor and podcaster. He has played Shaun in the E4 series '' Misfits'', twins Jimmy and Johnny Kray in the ITV series ''Whitechapel'', and DI Matthew "Dot" Cottan in ''Line of Duty''. He has a ...
as Tony Wilson. ''Control'' premiered at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
on 17 May 2007 where it won several awards including the Director's Fortnight, the CICAE Art & Essai prize for best film, the Regards Jeunes Prize for best first/second directed feature film, and the Europa Cinemas Label prize for best European film in the sidebar. It also received a special mention for the
Caméra d'Or The Caméra d'Or ("''Golden Camera''") is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes selections (Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight or Critics' Week). The prize was created in 1978 Ca ...
prize for best debut feature film. It went on to win five
British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports, and promotes British independent cinema and film-making talent in the United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early Nov ...
including Best Film, Best Director for Corbijn, Most Promising Newcomer for Riley, and Best Supporting Actor for Kebbell. It was named Best Film at the 2007
Evening Standard British Film Awards The Evening Standard British Film Awards were established in 1973 by London's '' Evening Standard'' newspaper. The Standard Awards is the only ceremony "dedicated to British and Irish talent", judged by a panel of "top UK critics". Each ceremony ...
, and Greenhalgh was given the
Carl Foreman Carl Foreman, CBE (July 23, 1914 – June 26, 1984) was an American screenwriter and film producer who wrote the award-winning films '' The Bridge on the River Kwai'' and ''High Noon'', among others. He was one of the screenwriters who were bla ...
award for outstanding achievement in his first feature film at the 61st British Academy Film Awards.


Plot

In 1975,
Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, lyricist and occasional guitarist of the band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown Pleasures'' (197 ...
and Debbie Woodruff marry in their home town of
Macclesfield Macclesfield () is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. It is sited on the River Bollin and the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east; the town lies south of Ma ...
, south of
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, England, at ages 19 and 18 respectively. Ian retreats from domestic life, preferring to write poetry in solitude. On 4 June 1976 they attend a
Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...
concert with Bernard Sumner,
Peter Hook Peter Hook (born 13 February 1956) is an English musician. He was the bassist and co-founder of the post-punk band Joy Division and its successor New Order. He often used the bass as a lead instrument, playing melodies on the high strings wi ...
, and Terry Mason, who are starting a band. Mesmerized by the concert, Ian volunteers to be their singer. They name themselves Warsaw, and Terry moves into a managerial role with the addition of drummer Stephen Morris. The band debuts on 19 May 1977 and soon rename themselves
Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...
. At year's end, Ian and Debbie finance the group's first EP, ''
An Ideal for Living ''An Ideal for Living'' is the debut EP by the English rock band Joy Division. It was released on 3 June 1978 by the band's own label, Enigma, shortly after the group changed their name from Warsaw. Background All songs were recorded at Pe ...
''. During his job as an employment agent, Ian witnesses his client Corinne Lewis suffering an
epileptic seizure A seizure is a sudden, brief disruption of brain activity caused by abnormal, excessive, or synchronous neuronal firing. Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, o ...
. Unsatisfied with the brief mention Joy Division receives from television host
Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager and impresario, and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder ...
, Ian demands that he put the band on his programme. In April 1978 Joy Division plays a battle of bands, impressing Tony and Rob Gretton, who becomes their new manager. They perform " Transmission" on Tony's programme and sign to his
Factory Records Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order (band), New Order, A Certain Ra ...
label; Tony signs the contract using his blood. In December 1978 Ian suffers a seizure on the way back from the band's first
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
gig. He is diagnosed with epilepsy and prescribed medications that leave him drowsy and moody. Learning that Corinne has died of a seizure, he writes " She's Lost Control" about her. He begins to neglect Debbie, who gives birth to their daughter Natalie in April 1979. Ian quits his job to go on tour, leaving Debbie to work and care for the baby. Ian admits to Belgian journalist Annik Honoré that he is miserable at home and considers his marriage a mistake. The two begin having an affair during Joy Division's January 1980 European tour. On returning home, Ian tells Debbie he is unsure if he still loves her. During the rehearsing of "
Love Will Tear Us Apart "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is a song by English rock music, rock band Joy Division, released on 27 June 1980 as a non-album single. Its lyrics were inspired by lead singer Ian Curtis' marital problems and struggles with epilepsy. The single was r ...
", Rob informs the band that they will be departing 19 May for a tour of the United States. Debbie finds evidence of Ian's infidelity and confronts him. He promises that the affair is over but continues to see Annik during the recording of '' Closer'' in
Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...
. Ian suffers a seizure mid-performance and is comforted by Annik, who admits she is falling in love with him. He attempts suicide by overdosing on
phenobarbital Phenobarbital, also known as phenobarbitone or phenobarb, sold under the brand name Luminal among others, is a medication of the barbiturate type. It is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the treatment of certain types of ...
but doctors save his life. He continues to perform but is exhausted by the strain and overwhelmed by the audience's expectations. At a performance at Bury's Derby Hall the stress proves too much and he is only briefly able to go onstage. The audience riots when Alan Hempstall of Crispy Ambulance steps in to cover for Ian and the gig is ruined. Ian tells Tony that he believes everyone hates him and that it is all his fault. When Debbie learns that Ian is still seeing Annik, she demands a divorce. Bernard attempts to use
hypnotherapy Hypnotherapy, also known as hypnotic medicine, is the use of hypnosis in psychotherapy. Hypnotherapy is generally not considered to be based on scientific evidence, and is rarely recommended in clinical practice guidelines. However, several p ...
on Ian, who then goes to stay with his parents. He writes to Annik admitting his fear that his epilepsy will eventually kill him and confesses that he loves her. On 17 May 1980, two nights before Joy Division is due to depart for America, Ian returns home and begs Debbie not to divorce him. When she refuses, he angrily orders her out of the house. After drinking alone and writing Debbie a letter, he has another seizure. Regaining consciousness the following morning, he hangs himself from the Sheila Maid in the kitchen. Debbie discovers his body and staggers into the street, crying for help. The news of Ian's death leaves the remaining Joy Division members stunned, while Tony consoles Annik. As Ian's body is cremated, the group gather in a café with Gillian Gilbert, foreshadowing the future of the band.


Cast

*
Samantha Morton Samantha Jane Morton (born 13 May 1977) is an English actress. She is known for her work in independent film with dark and tragic themes, particularly in period dramas. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including the BAFTA Fellowship ...
as Deborah Curtis, wife of Ian Curtis. The film is based on Deborah's
memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...
on the experience with Ian Curtis and Joy Division. Though Morton dislikes
biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...
s, she said ''Control'' was different in that she is a fan of Joy Division, and likes Deborah's book as well as Corbijn's
photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...
. * Sam Riley as
Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, lyricist and occasional guitarist of the band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown Pleasures'' (197 ...
, the vocalist of Joy Division. Riley was relatively unknown before the film, and the director initially considered Cillian Murphy for the role, but later changed his mind because he viewed Murphy as "a little shorter than Ian".
Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He began his career in theatre before landing small roles in various British television productions and feature films. Law gained international recognition for his role in An ...
was also considered, but the director wanted an unknown actor instead. * Alexandra Maria Lara as Annik Honoré, a journalist from Belgium who has an affair with Ian Curtis after interviewing the band. * Joe Anderson as
Peter Hook Peter Hook (born 13 February 1956) is an English musician. He was the bassist and co-founder of the post-punk band Joy Division and its successor New Order. He often used the bass as a lead instrument, playing melodies on the high strings wi ...
, the
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
player of Joy Division. *
Toby Kebbell Tobias Alistair Patrick Kebbell''Births, Marriages & Deaths: Toby is married to Arielle Wyatt. They got married in 2020 and they have one child together. Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 9 July 1982) is an English ...
as Rob Gretton, the manager of the band, succeeding Terry Mason. *
Craig Parkinson Craig Parkinson (born 11 March 1976) is an English actor and podcaster. He has played Shaun in the E4 series '' Misfits'', twins Jimmy and Johnny Kray in the ITV series ''Whitechapel'', and DI Matthew "Dot" Cottan in ''Line of Duty''. He has a ...
as
Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager and impresario, and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder ...
, the owner of Factory Records, the company that distributes Joy Division's recordings. * James Anthony Pearson as Bernard Sumner, the guitarist and keyboardist of Joy Division. * Harry Treadaway as Stephen Morris, the drummer and percussionist of Joy Division. In addition: Ben Naylor appears as Factory Records co-founder
Martin Hannett James Martin Hannett (31 May 1948 – 18 April 1991) was an English record producer, musician and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. Hannett produced music by artists including Joy Division, the Durutti Column, A Cert ...
;
performance poet Performance poetry is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an audience. It covers a variety of styles and genres. History The phenomenon of performance poetry, a kind of poetry specifically made for and offer ...
John Cooper Clarke John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet and comedian who styled himself as a "punk poet" in the late 1970s. In the 1970s and early 1980s, he released several albums and performed on stage with punk and post-punk ...
appears as himself, performing his poem " Evidently Chickentown" in a re-creation of a 1970s concert; Lotti Closs plays Gillian Gilbert, Stephen Morris' girlfriend, and future member of New Order; Richard Bremmer and Mary Jo Randle appear as Ian's father and Deborah's mother, respectively.


Production

Corbijn had been a devout Joy Division fan since the band's early days in the late 1970s. After moving to England, he befriended the band and shot several pictures for ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'', which boosted his career as a photographer. Some of his pictures taken are featured in the film. He also directed the
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
for the 1988 rerelease of "Atmosphere". He said that the film overlapped with his own life in some ways. "I had moved to England to be close to that music at the time, and I was very into Joy Division. I worked with them, took pictures of them that became synonymous with their music, and I was forever linked. Then eight years after an Curtis'death, I did the video for "Atmosphere." So in other people's eyes I was always connected with them." ''Control'' is Corbijn's debut as a film director, and he paid half of the €4.5 million budget out of his own pocket. The film was shot on colour stock and printed to black and white to "reflect the atmosphere of Joy Division and the mood of the era". Todd Eckert and Orian Williams are the producers. Deborah Curtis, Ian Curtis' widow, is a co-producer, along with music mogul Tony Wilson, who died months before the film's release. It was Wilson who gave Joy Division their TV break on the local magazine programme ''Granada Reports'', and he also founded Factory Records, which released most of Joy Division's work. After the script for the film was finished in May 2005, the film was shot at the former Carlton studios in
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
, and on location in Nottingham,
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
and Macclesfield,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, as well as other
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an venues. Filming began on 3 July 2006 and lasted for seven weeks. Filming in and around Barton Street (where Curtis lived and died), Macclesfield took place on 11 and 12 July 2006. EM Media, the Regional Screen Agency for the East Midlands, invested £250,000 of
European Regional Development Fund The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and se ...
s into the production of ''Control'' and supported the film throughout the shoot. Ian Curtis' daughter, Natalie, was in the crowd as an extra for the Derby Hall gig. The final scene of the film is shot in the exact position where Ian Curtis's memorial stone is located in Macclesfield with the camera panning out to reveal the crematorium which can be seen directly from his memorial.


Release

The
Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company, LLC (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film production and film distribution, distribution company, which was founded in New York City by Bob Weinstein, Bob and Harvey Weinstein on March 10 ...
secured the rights to release the film in North America after its success at Cannes. The DVD was released in the UK on 11 February 2008, followed by the Australian DVD on 12 March 2008, and the North American DVD on 3 June 2008.


Box office

The film grossed $8.9 million worldwide.


Reception

Peter Bradshaw Peter Nicholas Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire'' magazine. Early life and education Bradshaw was educat ...
, the chief film reviewer for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', described ''Control'' as "the best film of the year: a tender, bleakly funny and superbly acted biopic of Curtis". Prominent American film critic
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
gave the film a three and a half stars rating, out of four, and wrote that "The extraordinary achievement of ''Control'' is that it works simultaneously as a musical biopic and the story of a life."
Review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
reports an 88% approval rating with an average rating of 7.5/10 based on 119 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "''Control'' is a work of art, thanks to its evocative black and white cinematography and sensational performances from Sam Riley and Samantha Morton. Even those not familiar with Joy Division can still appreciate the beauty of the film."
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
reports the film as having an average score of 78 out of 100, based on 27 reviews, claiming the film had "generally favourable reviews". However, some reviewers were less positive. Ray Bennett from
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
described ''Control'' to be a "disappointment" and said the film "features lots of music from that time and has decent performances, but it fails to make the case for its fallen star".


Reaction from band members

Peter Hook and Stephen Morris, two of the founding members of Joy Division, generally praised the film. Morris disputed its accuracy, saying " ne of it's true really", but acknowledged the need to bend facts because "the truth is too boring." Hook criticised the preview audience's reaction, saying how at the end of the film "it really hurt and everybody started clapping. It would've been nice to have a dignified silence". Hook also remarked that "''Control'' is a hell of a lot more accurate than '' 24 Hour Party People''. You can tell that Anton knew us, and he knew us well and he took the original script, which was very English and quite subtly he made it deeper and have a broader appeal so that it would not just make sense to an English audience but to an international audience".Morley, Paul (2008). Joy Division: Piece By Piece. London: Plexus Publishing Limited. 349-350. After viewing the film at Cannes, Hook said he "knew it was a great film and that it would be very well received because, even though it's two hours long, only two people went to the toilet the whole time. In fact, one of them was umner The other one was a 70-year-old woman".


Soundtrack

The Killers The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bas ...
cover the 1979 Joy Division song " Shadowplay" on the soundtrack. However, all live Joy Division performances in the film are performed by the actors. The actors contribute a cover of an original Joy Division song ("Transmission") to the soundtrack. Incidental tracks by 1970s artists including
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
,
Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...
and
Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band that singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto formed in Manchester in 1976. During their career, the band combined elements of punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. The ...
are the original recordings. New Order provided the original incidental music for the soundtrack.


Track listing


References


External links


Controlthemovie.com - Official website

The official website in Canada
(archived) * * *
IONCINEMA.com interview with Anton for Control


by Natalie Curtis, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', 30 September 2007
Photos from the German premiere in Berlin on AEDT.de

Best of British: 2007 Evening Standard film awards, Judges' assessments
{{Authority control 2007 biographical drama films 2007 films BAFTA winners (films) Biographical films about singers British biographical drama films British black-and-white films British independent films British rock music films Drama films based on actual events Films about suicide Films directed by Anton Corbijn Films set in the 1970s Films set in the 1980s Films set in Manchester Films shot in Cheshire Films shot in Greater Manchester Films shot in Nottinghamshire The Weinstein Company films Joy Division Punk films Cultural depictions of British people Cultural depictions of rock musicians 2007 directorial debut films 2007 independent films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films Works about epilepsy English-language biographical drama films English-language independent films