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In 1976, just as the fire of Britain s first wave of Punk was burning at its brightest in the south of the country, in the north, a band of four men were developing a sound that would take the genre into new directions. They were, and will be always remembered, as Joy Division. Theirs was a noise borne of a youth spent listening to forward-thinking US influences such as The Stooges and Iggy Pop, of a classicism borrowed from great literature, and, more importantly, of the mental turmoil inherent in their lead singer and master lyricist, Ian Curtis. In this young voice the group had a performer who, once witnessed, could never be forgotten. His songs spoke of a deep confusion, but never once dipped down into self pity. Joy Division provided the world with just two albums of taught, fraught post punk, played with a swiftly-developed musicianship more befitting of a group twice their age. Moreover, the band had a lyricist seemingly operating out of time writing poetry that retains its beauty fantastically even now. The significance of Joy Division, neatly encapsulated in their mere three-year lifespan - tragically cut short by the suicide of their one true spokesperson, remains as strong today as it ever was also. Today, as fans come on pilgrimages from around the globe to visit Curtis graveside in lowly Macclesfield, or trek to long-closed punk venues the band played in the nearby city of Manchester, we take a look, at their visual and critical history. Joy Division Under Review features long-thought lost live performances from the band, originally shot for both for promotional purposes and other, more spontaneous live outings. Their recorded work is assessed and dissected by Manchester luminaries as lofty as Factory label manager Anthony Wilson, band members Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner, and music critics writing at the time, Mick Middles and John Robb, among numerous others.
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76 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing is an understatement.,
By
This review is from: Joy Division - Under Review [DVD] (DVD)
I wouldn't say I am a massive Joy Division fan but I have always really liked the band having bought 'Unknown Pleasures' and 'Closer' when they were first released. The band has always fascinated me and, to this end, I have eagerly awaited the release of this DVD. I was enormously disappointed when I watched it. It had the potential to be so good. The first thing that disappointed me was the fact that the surviving band members are not interviewed. Nor was Tony Wilson? I could have overlooked this but the main reason I feel compelled to write this review is due to the brief and poor quality video clips during the documentary. There are so few good video clips of Joy Division in existence that what there is should be shown in the best quality possible and certainly in their entirety. Even if it wasn't appropriate to show the full clips during the documentary they could have been included in the 'Extras' section of the DVD. All the clips are very fuzzy with a large amount of colour bleed. I do know that better copies exist. The band did a couple of songs on a programme called 'Something Else', She's Lost Control and Transmission. The actual programme still exists as the `Transmission' clip was shown a few years back on 'The Sounds of the 70s'. I have it on Video and the quality is faultless. So why is the quality on this DVD so poor? I would absolutely love to see the full performance of 'She's Lost Control' from the same programme. Again, this DVD shows a few seconds of the performance in poor quality. Also, the bands very first TV appearance on a Granada programme introduced by Tony Wilson of the band performing a great rendition of 'Shadowplay' was shown on a Punk documentary a few years back. Again the picture quality was perfect. The brief clip you see here is appalling, almost unwatchable. Instead of making the effort to go to the original master tapes, which clearly exist, the producers must have gone to a record fair and bought a dodgy bootleg 5th generation VHS of the performances. As I say, this could have been a brilliant DVD but they blew it big time. Don't waste your money.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Missed Opportunity,
By "Hawky" (Leicester (UK)) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Joy Division - Under Review [DVD] (DVD)
I'm a month shy of my 47th birthday and have been a huge Joy Division fan ever since I belatedly discovered them back in 1979, just after "Unknown Pleasures" was released. I bought this DVD a couple of days ago and only got around to watching it earlier tonight. Whilst the insight provided by the likes of Middles, Robb et al is interesting at best I nonetheless feel that a great opportunity has somehow been missed. This DVD feels to me as if it's been thrown together too quickly ahead of the forthcoming "Control" film due for release in September.
As with an earlier reviewer, I agree that that the absence of interviews with Wilson, Hook, Sumner and Morris detract from what could have been a much more comprehensive, caring and involved appraisal of the greatest and most influential band to come out of the post-punk era. If you're new to Joy Division, this is at best an adequate introduction, but if you're a full-on diehard fan then maybe you're best advised to keep your hand away from your wallet and enjoy the albums and/or box-set instead.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not brilliant but not bad,
By
This review is from: Joy Division - Under Review [DVD] (DVD)
Ok, not brilliant but not bad - worth renting but not buying i think (as i did). I am a massive JD fan having seen them twice in 1980 and thought this film gave a good insight for people who may not know a lot about the band. cant stand the 24 hour party people clips and was a shame they didnt talk about the single Ceremony.
Definately worth a look
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