Tony Wilson Movies
Prolific music-video helmer and award-winning photographer Anton Corbijn makes his feature directorial debut with this biographical drama concerning the late Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis. Based on the book Touching from a Distance: Ian Curtis & Joy Division by the enigmatic singer's wife Deborah Curtis, Control documents the life of a legend who changed the face of modern music but never lived to witness the remarkable impact of his life's work. The time was the late 1970s, and the post-punk explosion was just gaining momentum in England. At the forefront of this movement was a band named Joy Division. Formed in 1976 and first calling themselves Warsaw, Joy Division favored mood and expression over the aggressive stance that had come to define punk rock. The band was championed by Factory Records founder Tony Wilson, and collaborated with producer Martin Hannett on the album that would become their undisputed masterpiece -- 1979's Unknown Pleasures. But despite the band's rising popularity, lead singer Curtis was not in good mental or physical health due a debilitating battle with epilepsy and an extramarital affair, and hanged himself in his Macclesfield home on the eve of the band's first U.S. tour. Newcomer Sam Riley stars opposite Samantha Morton in the film that sets out to tell the definitive story of a true rock & roll legend. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samantha Morton, Sam Riley, (more)
Filmmaker Grant Gee speaks with now-deceased Factory Records founder Tony Wilson; legendary producer Martin Hannett; surviving Joy Division band members Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris, and Peter Hook; and the late Ian Curtis's Belgian lover Annik Honoré in order to offer a vivid snapshot of the fleeting moment in time when Manchester's Joy Division changed the face of modern music. Born in the bleak landscape of industrialized Manchester -- a city that once thrived as a center of 19th century manufacturing but was far removed from its halcyon days by the time the band was founded -- Joy Division combined the energy of punk rock with the anger and alienation of their generation to stunning effect. When he wasn't pouring every ounce of his personal energy into penning poetic lyrics for a band that seemed to thrive on chaos, volatile frontman Curtis supported his family by working in the civil service as an Assistant Disablement Resettlement Officer. In 1980, as the band was set to embark on their first-ever North American tour, Curtis took his own life at the age of 23. In addition to offering the remarkable story of Joy Division as told by the very people who were privileged enough to have been there at that crucial moment in musical history, Gee's film also offers a meditation on the city that was struggling to reinvent itself following a devastating collapse. While Curtis's widow Deborah does not appear onscreen, text from her biography Touching from a Distance appear as a constant reminder of her presence in the talented musician's brilliant but fleeting life. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2007
One needs look no further than Factory Records to find out how Manchester, England rose from being a depressive industrial wasteland to the center of a musical revolution, and in this documentary filmmaker Chris Rodley examines just how - with more than a little help from Joy Division and Happy Mondays - music impresario Tony Wilson played a pivotal role in shaping that impressive transformation - all the while hemorrhaging millions in profits due to a series of tragically shortsighted business decisions. Wilson was never about making a profit, but instead releasing the best product possible - even if it wound up costing him a fortune rather than making him one. So while Factory Records played a key role in pioneering Britain's independent pop culture and reshaping the modern musical landscape for decades to come, their fifteen-year reign was bound for self-implosion from the very moment of conception. Punctuated by playful, self-deprecating interviews with everyone from a typically crusty Wilson (at the time receiving intense cancer treatment) to the surviving members of Joy Division, the Happy Mondays, and A Certain Ratio - not to mention various music journalists and other notable contributors to the scene - the film never shies away from addressing the financial hardships endured by the bands and their fearless leader while joyously detailing the experience of being present for what was the musical equivalent of the Big Bang. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Wilson
This digital-video biopic uses the life of journalist, record mogul and club owner Tony Wilson to frame the story of the Manchester, England, music scene from the heyday of punk through the late-'80s "Madchester" era. As the founder of staunchly independent Factory Records, Wilson (Steve Coogan) shepherded the careers of doomed post-punk combo Joy Division, synth-pop superstars New Order and hedonistic louts the Happy Mondays. Along the way, he helped bring rave culture to Britain under the aegis of the legendary Hacienda nightclub. 24 Hour Party People follows Wilson from his conversion to punk at a seminal Sex Pistols concert through the suicide of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, the overwhelming success of New Order and the eventual dissolution of the Factory empire thanks to bad business decisions, underworld ties and the hedonistic excess of the Happy Mondays. Directed by Michael Winterbottom and written by frequent collaborator Frank Cottrell Boyce, 24 Hour Party People features cameos from a large number of Manchester music luminaries. The supporting cast includes Shirley Henderson and John Simm, both of whom appeared in Winterbottom's Wonderland, while the film's title comes from a Happy Mondays song. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Coogan, Shirley Henderson, (more)
