Control (2007)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Anton Corbijn

Writers:

Deborah Curtis (autobiography "Touching from a Distance")
Matt Greenhalgh (writer)

Release Date:

12 September 2007 (Belgium)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music

Plot:

A profile of Ian Curtis, the enigmatic singer of Joy Division whose personal, professional, and romantic troubles led him to commit suicide at the age of 23.

Plot Keywords:

Band | Singer | Suicide | Musician | Kitchen Sink Realism

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 25 wins & 20 nominations

Cast

Sam Riley	...	Ian Curtis
Samantha Morton	...	Deborah Curtis
Alexandra Maria Lara	...	Annik Honoré
Joe Anderson	...	Peter Hook
James Anthony Pearson	...	Bernard Sumner
Harry Treadaway	...	Stephen Morris
Craig Parkinson	...	Tony Wilson
Toby Kebbell	...	Rob Gretton
Andrew Sheridan	...	Terry Mason
Robert Shelly	...	Twinny
Richard Bremmer	...	Ian's Father
Tanya Myers	...	Ian's Mother
Martha Myers Lowe	...	Ian's Sister (as Martha Myers-Lowe)
Matthew McNulty	...	Nick Jackson
David Whittington	...	Chemistry Teacher
Margaret Jackman	...	Mrs. Brady
Mary Jo Randle	...	Debbie's Mother (as Mary-Jo Randle)
Ben Naylor	...	Martin Hannett
John Cooper Clarke	...	Himself
James Fortune	...	MC
Angus Addenbrooke	...	Colin
Nicola Harrison	...	Corrine Lewis
June Alliss	...	Corrine's Mother
George Newton	...	Studio Owner
Mark Jardine	...	Other Band Manager
Herbert Grönemeyer	...	Local GP
Paul Arlington	...	Hospital Doctor
Tim Plester	...	Earnest Richards
Joanna Swain	...	Maternity Nurse
Joseph Marshall	...	Alan from Crispy Ambulance
Laura Chambers	...	Claire
Eliot Otis Brown Walters	...	Footballing Kid (as Elliot Brown-Walters)
Monica Axelsson	...	Tony Wilson's Girlfriend
Lotti Closs	...	Gillian Gilbert
Eady Williams	...	Baby Natalie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nigel Harris	...	Tramp (uncredited)

Directed by
Anton Corbijn

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Deborah Curtis		autobiography "Touching from a Distance"
Matt Greenhalgh		writer

Produced by
Iain Canning	....	executive producer
Anton Corbijn	....	producer
Deborah Curtis	....	co-producer
Todd Eckert	....	producer
Lizzie Francke	....	executive producer
Megumi Fukasawa	....	co-producer
Peter Heslop	....	co-producer
Satoru Iseki	....	co-producer
Akira Ishii	....	executive producer
Korda Marshall	....	executive producer
Orian Williams	....	producer
Tony Wilson	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Joy Division
New Order

Cinematography by
Martin Ruhe

Film Editing by
Andrew Hulme

Casting by
Shaheen Baig

Production Design by
Chris Roope

Art Direction by
Philip Elton

Costume Design by
Julian Day

Makeup Department
Barbara Taylor	....	hair assistant
Barbara Taylor	....	makeup assistant
Jeremy Woodhead	....	hair designer
Jeremy Woodhead	....	makeup designer
Andy Seston	....	makeup daily (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Andrew Foster	....	second assistant director
Toni Staples	....	first assistant director
Katy Stenson	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Josh Fifarek	....	set designer
Cassie Leedham	....	graphic designer
Chris Richmond	....	stand-by art director
Tim Stevenson	....	set constructor
Matt Wells	....	props

Sound Department
Iain Anderson	....	adr recordist
Nick Baldock	....	assistant sound editor
Peter Baldock	....	supervising sound editor: UK
Grant Bridgeman	....	sound assistant
Ben Carr	....	adr recordist
Daniel Crowley	....	boom operator
Carl Edström	....	sound effects editor
Adele Fletcher	....	adr editor
Linda Forsén	....	sound coordinator
Thomas Huhn	....	sound re-recording mixer
Thomas Huhn	....	supervising sound editor
John Midgley	....	production sound mixer
Lucas Nilsson	....	foley artist
Jamie Roden	....	adr mixer
Jonas Jansson	....	sound effects editor (uncredited?)

Visual Effects by
Mats Holmgren	....	digital colourist
Fredrik Nord	....	digital effects artist

Stunts
Riky Ash	....	stunt coordinator
Riky Ash	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Tim Battersby	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Robert Binnall	....	camera operator
Andy Clarke	....	best boy rigging gaffer
Rachel Clark	....	camera trainee
Warwick Drucker	....	key grip
Brian Fawcett	....	electrician
Dean Rogers	....	still photographer
Christopher Ross	....	camera operator
Basil Smith	....	daily focus puller
Barry Squires	....	camera assistant
Owen Tooth	....	video tape operator
Julian White	....	gaffer
Sophie Wilson	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera

Casting Department
Vanessa Baker	....	adr voice casting
Brendan Donnison	....	adr voice casting
Benjamin Till	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Fiona MacKinnon	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Maria Dahlin	....	post-production coordinator
Barry Moen	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Peter Clarke	....	music editor
Ian Neil	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Rod Patterson	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Lorraine Bagshaw	....	stand-in
Andrew Brand	....	floor runner
Neil Calder	....	completion guarantor: Film Finances Inc.
Vicky Chapman	....	location assistant
Mel Churcher	....	dialect coach
Lee Clyne	....	unit medic
Helen de Winter	....	delivery coordinator
Paul Dray	....	laboratory contact
Zoe Flower	....	unit publicist
Dan Hodgett	....	location services
Rob Jones	....	location manager
Simon Jones	....	tranport coordinator: London
Hakan Kousetta	....	production legal advisor
Alastair Mackay	....	location assistant
Louise Melzack	....	additional floor runner
Keeley Naylor	....	unit publicist
Tina Pawlik	....	assistant production coordinator
Rachel Robey	....	production coordinator
Val White	....	script supervisor
Emma Yeomans	....	assistant location manager

Thanks
Monica Axelsson	....	special thanks
Rebecca Boulton	....	special thanks
David Bowie	....	special thanks
Bart Chabot	....	special thanks
Natalie Curtis	....	special thanks
Paul Dray	....	special thanks
Steve Ellis	....	special thanks
Josh Fifarek	....	special thanks
Brandon Flowers	....	special thanks
Martin Gore	....	special thanks (as Martin L. Gore)
Herbert Grönemeyer	....	special thanks
Charles Hannah	....	special thanks
Annik Honoré	....	special thanks
Laura Kanerick	....	special thanks
Henric Larsson	....	special thanks
Alexandra McGuinness	....	special thanks
Paul Morley	....	special thanks
New Order	....	special thanks
Kate Ogborn	....	special thanks
Iggy Pop	....	special thanks
Tracey Pryor	....	special thanks
Lou Reed	....	special thanks
Mick Rock	....	special thanks
Peter Saville	....	special thanks
Siouxsie and the Banshees	....	special thanks
David Sultan	....	special thanks
Robert Walak	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• 3 Dogs and a Pony
• Becker Films
• Claraflora
• EM Media (executive production)
• NorthSee
• Three Dogs and a Pony
• Warner Music

Distributors

• Alliance (2007) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2008) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Atlantic Film (2008) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Atlantic Film (2008) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Barbar Film (2008) (Turkey) (all media)
• Capelight Pictures (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Cinema Without Frontiers (2008) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Daylight Films (2008) (Brazil) (all media)
• Future Film (2007) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Future Film (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• La Fabrique de Films (2007) (France) (all media)
• Momentum Pictures (2007) (UK) (all media)
• Paradiso Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Style Jam (2008) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Weinstein Company, The (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Weinstein Company, The (2008) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Weinstein Company, The (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Chimney Pot, The

Other Companies

• Arion Facilities  dailies telecine transfers
• Art4noise  ADR recording
• Art4noise  dialogue editing
• Art4noise  sound post-production
• Cinema Investment  funding
• Kodak  motion picture film supplied by
• Ljudligan  sound post-production
• Offline Editing Company, The  post-production facilities
• Panavision UK  camera equipment provided by
• Sapex Scripts  post-production services
• Warner Bros. Records  soundtrack

MPAA:

Rated R for language and brief sexuality.

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

UK | USA | Australia | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:15A | Canada:14A | USA:R | Netherlands:6 | France:Unrated | Australia:MA | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-13 | Germany:12 | Sweden:7 | Japan:PG-12 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Norway:15 (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Macclesfield, Cheshire, England, UK

Company:

3 Dogs and a Pony

Trivia:

The poem being recited before their first gig is "Evidently Chicken Town" by John Cooper Clarke.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In a song performance scene the guitarist is using Marshall Speaker Cabinets (model 1960A and 1960B). The speaker cabinets were not introduced until several years after Ian's death.

Quotes:

Ian Curtis: So this is permanence; love-shattered pride. What once was innocence, has turned on its side.

Movie Connections:

References Apocalypse Now (1979)

Soundtrack:

Isolation

A stunning and moving portrait.

Making the leap from photographer to music video director to film director, Anton Corbijn's feature length debut 'Control' is quite simply stunning. Shot entirely in black and white it tell the story of Ian Curtis the lead singer with Manchester band Joy Division but its also much more than that it also tells of one mans journey into the heart of darkness (Apocalypse Now is mentioned in the film) a journey of fear, paranoia, illness and depression. Curtis has been played in films before but only as bit parts (24 hour party people etc) here he is portrayed breathtakingly by Sam Riley who played Mark E Smith in 24 hour party people and when he first appears on the screen I have to admit I wasn't convinced but as Ian the person grows so too does Riley into the role and at times he has him so down to a tee its hard to imagine its not the real Curtis up there. The rest of the band are pretty good as well but are only really second fiddle to Riley but you have to give them credit for learning all the songs and playing them live rather than mime. Samantha Morton is great as the put upon wife Deborah and Craig Parkinson is convincing enough as Tony Wilson but apart from Riley's stand out performance its Toby Kebbell as manager Rob Gretton who has some of the best lines and has come so far since his role in 'Dead Man's Shoes'. The cinematography is a visual feast for the eyes, being shot in black and white adds to the mood and gives a haunting feel that echo's the music and lyrics of the band, it also means (and I guess its Corbijn's photography background) that so many of the shots in the movie could be still images they are framed so well. Although never really explained in terms of answers, Curtis's illness from the seizures to the depression and the hopeless sense of falling apart reminded me of Catherine Deneuve in Polanski's 'Repulsion' another black and white film that deals with madness. I guess that treating mental illnesses was still in its infancy in the seventies, yes we'd stopped electro-shocking people but medications were still being developed and trialled. It seems it was very easy for Curtis to reach a certain point what with juggling home, life on the road, his condition and the pressure of increasing fame but when it came to helping him out he really was on his own and did feel a sense of 'isolation'. But with a story that has a widely known end point its more about the journey and here Corbjin punctures the narrative with some truly witty moments while leading up the incredibly moving and inevitable finale. Handled brilliantly by all involved this is another example of a great British film that deserves all the accolades it is receiving and if this performance is anything to go by expect Riley to be very big indeed.