Film subjects are often like London buses. You wait around for ages, and then 2 or 3 turn up at the same time. It happened with generation-body-swap movies (Big, 17 Again, 18 Again, 13 Going on 30, Freaky Friday, Like Father Like Son, Vice Versa, and way too many more), gritty, modern remakes of classic Westerns like Open Range, Appaloosa, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, etc.), and it happened with Joy Division documentaries. I don't understand why, 16 years after Ian Curtis' death, 3 documentaries went into production at virtually the same time. In Hollywood, I'm sure it's down to one person hawking a script around several studios, not getting picked up but sparking other producers to assemble almost identical propositions. But this is (or was) England, and grimy Manchester to boot.New Order Story (1994)
Shabby first 10 minutes, with toe-curlingly horrible excerpts from The No Show, hosted by Lily Allen's dad, Keith, doppelganging Noel Edmonds. Inexcusable inclusion of several Bono quotes. Starts with Blue Monday, then flashes back and forth in time. Good live studio stuff from the band, but repeated reminders that Barney Sumner could never fill Curtis' vocalist shoes. Definitely the weakest of the 4 band documentaries - and arguably shouldn't be held up alongside the genuine Joy Division films. Don't get me wrong, I like New Order, but the vignettes from Neil Tennant reveal where New Order's true comparisons lie. They lost their Mojo long before they slumped into Electronic, Monaco and Revenge. It was telling that the film closed with Joy Division's Atmosphere, perhaps unintentionally reminding everyone how deep was that slump.
Joy Division: In Review (2006)
Good, in that any film covering JD must be good, but band interviews have been substituted with music author and journalist reviews. Interviews with everyone BUT the band members. Even featured the ex Mrs. Tony Wilson, but no Wilson himself. Consequentially, has a more NME Review style of Joy Division's discography than the other films. Music journos being what they are, there are eyebrow-raising (but in the end, valid) comparisons between Joy Division's Atmosphere and The Ronettes' Be My Baby, and Love Will Tear Us Apart and Frank Sinatra's output. More of a critique than an homage to Joy Division. Footage of Sex Pistols and The Clash that I hadn't seen before, which was good. Not sure that anyone seeing this version, without an earlier exposure to Joy Division, would come away a fan.
The best of the 3 or 4 Joy Division documentaries, by a squeak. Great live footage, interviews with band members, very atmospheric - goose-bump inducing. Focuses more on Ian Curtis' life than do the other films.
Joy Division (2007)
Not to be confused with the 2006 film of the same name, which is nothing to do with the world's best band, this 2007 documentary is almost as good as Control. "Which one should newbies watch first, Control or Joy Division?" is a question posed and answered on IMDB at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1097239/board/nest/108706429.
24-Hour Party People (2002)
While not dedicated to Joy Division, the band features heavily, and this is the best film of the 5. Fantastic collage of punk, Manchester post-punk, baggies and the Factory scene. And funny.
