Joy Division

Dir.: Grant Gee
Phot.: Grant Gee
Editor: Jerry Chater
Cast: Bernard Summer, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Peter Saville, Tony Wilson
Format: HD kamera
Color
93 mins
Contact: Independent Endeavour, David Jourdan Katapult Films

Trailer

Joy Division superbly details the backgrounds of the group and its members (especially the lead singer, Ian Curtis, who took his own life in 1980), as well as the cultural context from which they emerged. There are interviews with most of the key figures: the three surviving band members, Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris and Peter Hook; the amazing Tony Wilson, who founded Factory Records and who passed away in August of this year; Martin Hannett, their brilliant producer; and Annik Honoré, Curtis’s Belgian lover. The only figure who does not appear on camera is Curtis’s wife, Deborah; instead, quotes from her biography appear as text onscreen, assuring us of her presence.

“Told through the words of those who were there, Joy Division follows the early days of the band and their first forays into gigs and recordings. But this is also the story of a city and its struggle to revive itself. By returning to the sites and landmarks that defined Joy Division’s history, director Grant Gee shows how much Manchester has changed in the past thirty years. Everyone fondly remembers the past, but Curtis’s shadow casts a sobering pall over the Joy Division project. Brilliant and mercurial, this urban poet captured a moment and immortalized himself in the process.” (Piers Handling)

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