Ryan McNeil
What a difference a week makes. Last Saturday, I sat down to watch Anton Corbijn’s CONTROL knowing precious little about Joy Division. This week, I went with friends to watch the documentary JOY DIVISION ( * * 1/2 ), and felt like somewhat of a seasoned expert as I watched much of the same material play out.
The film features all new interviews with the surviving members of the band, along with others from the band’s inner circle. The doc chronicles the group’s career, including inspirations, impact, and even the influence of their hometown of Manchester. Much like AMAZING JOURNEY: THE STORY OF THE WHO, JOY DIVISION plays as a straight-up rock doc. I found it very informative, including some thoughtful interviews, and great music…but it’s not the sort of movie that offers much more than a VH1 special.
There were two aspects that I found rather interesting about the movie. JOY DIVISION features fresh interview clips with Annik Honore, Curtis’ mistress…but strangely none with his wife Deborah. Also interesting is the fact that both CONTROL and JOY DIVISION end with the same song (“Atmosphere”).
The film is scheduled for a limited theatrical release, and should be on dvd in the near future. I recommend it to any fan of music documentaries.