Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (2007)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Julien Temple

Release Date:

18 May 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

A celebration of Joe Strummer - Before, during and after The Clash

Plot:

As the front man of the Clash from 1977 onwards, Joe Strummer changed people's lives forever. Four years after his death...

Plot Keywords:

Clash | London 1960s | Boarding School | London England | London

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Brigitte Bardot	...	Herself (archive footage)
Bono	...	Himself
Steve Buscemi	...	Himself
Terry Chimes	...	Himself
John Cooper Clarke	...	Himself
John Cusack	...	Himself
Peter Cushing	...	Winston Smith (archive footage)
Johnny Depp	...	Himself
Matt Dillon	...	Himself
Tymon Dogg	...	Himself
Joe Ely	...	Himself
Dick Evans	...	Himself
Flea	...	Himself
Alasdair Gillis	...	Himself
Ian Gillis	...	Himself
Topper Headon	...	Himself
Mick Jagger	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jim Jarmusch	...	Himself
Mick Jones	...	Himself
Steve Jones	...	Himself
Anthony Kiedis	...	Himself
Don Letts	...	Himself
Bernie Rhodes	...	Himself
David Lee Roth	...	Himself (archive footage)
Joe Strummer	...	Himself (archive footage)

Also Known As:

Strummer (International: English title) (informal short title)
Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (Australia) (poster title)

Runtime:

USA:123 min (Sundance Film Festival) | UK:124 min

Country:

Ireland | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:15A | UK:15 | Finland:K-11 | USA:Unrated | Japan:PG-12

Company:

Parallel Film Productions

Movie Connections:

Features Walker (1987)

Soundtrack:

Crummy Bum Blues

Don't Miss This Intensely Moving Film – The Spirit and Essence Of An Interesting and Inspiring Subject, Brilliantly Captured.

This is a film which will be essential to those of us who found their own lives inspired and enriched by the works and legend of Joe Strummer. However, The Future Is Unwritten proves itself more than just a music biography, by being a crystal clear platform for Joe Strummer's heartfelt (though often contradictory) humanist views, by being outstanding as a creative work in its own right, and by demonstrating just how good, and how engaging, a well made documentary can be.

Julien Temple's film had me weeping (frequently), laughing aloud and made me feel at times like I was running back through my own, damaged and painful, memory tapes. Tender, intense and intimate, the film is cleverly held together by the campfire 'motto' - which adds to the intimacy and is perfect for this squat-hippy-punk history.

Best music film of all time? I can only think of that long-ago BBC2 Arena doc on Jerry Lee Lewis to rival it. This film really is THAT good. Thanks, Julien Temple. You done the world and Joe's memory a very good thing.