Grant Gee has previously made documentaries about Radiohead and the Gorrillaz and turns his attention now to Joy Division, subject of the recent hit Control. The band’s formation was deeply influenced by the bleak urban surroundings of Manchester and influenced by the anti-rock punk rebellion.
Icons such as the Sex Pistols inspired them by articulating the anger, despair and alienation of British youth.
All the important people involved in the band’s success are interviewed in the film, the three surviving band members Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris and Peter Hook; the legend that was Factory Records founder Tony Wilson who died last year; Martin Hannett, their brilliant producer; and Annik Honoré, Curtis’s Belgian lover.
Absent only are Deborah Curtis who is represented in quotes from her biography which was source material for Control, and of course Ian Curtis himself, represented here by his lyrics.