search

Control

Profile of Singer for Joy Division

Control
Ian Curtis, the lead singer of the band Joy Division, committed suicide at the young age of 23 in 1980. His widow, Deborah Curtis, wrote a book about their relationship called Touching from a Distance. Now photographer and music video director Anton Corbijn has adapted the book to the screen as Control (opening for one week only at Landmarks Ken Cinema).

As with the recent Irish film Once, Control impresses in the way it defies expectations about what a film with music should be like. Once redefined movie musicals with its more realistic approach to staging numbers, and Control redefines the music biopic by also taking a more realistic approach to its material. Control has more in common with the British New Wave films of the '60s, particularly the ones featuring angry young men from working class backgrounds than with such recent music biographies as The Doors, Ray and Walk the Line. And believe me, that's a good thing.

Curtis' life presents a lot of familiar ground for a rock biography yet Corbijn diffuses the cliches with his attention to detail and his insistence that he is making a portrait of a particular individual. His low key, casual approach proves compelling and effective. And because there is an emphasis on character, you don’t have to know anything about Curtis, Joy Division or post-punk bands to appreciate the film.

Dutch filmmaker Anton Corbijn treats Control like a working class story in which one of the characters happens to end up in a band. We find Curtis (played by 10,000 Things’ lead singer Sam Riley) in drab and dreary Macclesfield, a once thriving textile town. He writes poetry, seems a bit solitary, and definitely harbors a rebellious attitude. He hooks up with some other youths and they decide to form a band. At the same time, he takes the very conventional route of getting married early to a local girl named Deborah (Samantha Morton) and having a kid. He also maintains a nine-to-five government job helping to employ the mentally and physically handicapped in appropriate jobs. (B. Accomomando, KPBS.org)

Control

Wed February 27, 2008, 7:00 & 9:15, Muenzinger Auditorium

UK, in English, Black and White, Canada:121 min (Toronto International Film Festival), Rated R for language and brief sexuality., 2.35 : 1 • official site

recommend

Tickets

10 films for $60 with punch card
$9 general admission. $7 w/UCB student ID, $7 for senior citizens
$1 discount to anyone with a bike helmet
Free on your birthday! CU Cinema Studies students get in free.

Parking

Pay lot 360 (now only $1/hour!), across from the buffalo statue and next to the Duane Physics tower, is closest to Muenzinger. Free parking can be found after 5pm at the meters along Colorado Ave east of Folsom stadium and along University Ave west of Macky.

RTD Bus

Park elsewhere and catch the HOP to campus

International Film Series

(Originally called The University Film Commission)
Established 1941 by James Sandoe.

First Person Cinema

(Originally called The Experimental Cinema Group)
Established 1955 by Carla Selby, Gladney Oakley, Bruce Conner and Stan Brakhage.

C.U. Film Program

(AKA The Rocky Mountain Film Center)
First offered degrees in filmmaking and critical studies in 1989 under the guidance of Virgil Grillo.

Celebrating Stan

Created by Suranjan Ganguly in 2003.

C.U. Department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts

Established 2017 by Chair Ernesto Acevedo-Muñoz.

Thank you, sponsors!
Boulder International Film Festival
Department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts

Looking for a gift for a friend?
Buy a Frequent Patron Punch Card for $60 at any IFS show. With the punch card you can see ten films (a value of $90).

We Want Your Feedback

Cox & Kjølseth
: Filmmaker Alex Cox & Pablo Kjølseth discuss film topics from their own unique perspectives.

Z-briefs
: Pablo and Ana share Zoom-based briefs on what's currently playing at IFS

Search IFS schedules

Index of visiting artists

Mon Apr 1, 2024

Hot Shots! Part Deux

At Muenzinger Auditorium

Sat Apr 20, 2024

Super Mario Bros.

At Muenzinger Auditorium

more on 35mm...