LIVE FROM THE COUCH / Greg Walton

A DVD blog for inveterate couch potatoes.

Greetings, spuds. For the inaugural installment of Live from the Couch, we’re gonna look at two DVD releases concerning the venerated, beleaguered band Joy Division. 

Frontman Ian Curtis was only two days away from taking Joy Division on a US tour when he committed suicide in 1980. The group that was next in line to be crowned Britain’s “Best Band in the World,” and the tour may or may not have put them over the top, but his death made them immortal. Based on the book by Curtis’ widow (Deborah Curtis, played by Samantha Morton) and directed by video auteur Anton Corbijn, Control (Genius Products, 122 minutes) takes a distinctly feminine perspective, painting Curtis as a conflicted husband/father and selfish sod. Shot in B&W—the cinematic equivalent of pressing on vinyl—Corbijn meticulously recreates the Joy Divison’s TV appearances and live shows, while actor Sam Riley does a spot-on impression of Curtis’ droning vocals and epileptic choreography. Control is as brilliantly unglamorous and working-class as the one-bedroom flat Curtis died in.

            Extras: Corbijn contributes a feature commentary and separate on-camera interview to go along with a Making Of featurette and collection of Joy Division music videos.          

Grant Gee’s documentary Joy Division (Genius Products, 96 minutes) is much more than a companion piece to Corbijn’s Control; it’s essential viewing to balance out the story. While the shadow of Curtis’ death looms large over the proceedings, there’s little here about the domestic drama that drove him to suicide. Joy Division looks at the big picture, made up of interviews, bootleg concert footage and TV appearances. From their formative years as Sex Pistols posers to rewriting punk rock diction—the rebellious “fuck you” agenda evolved into a more reflective “I’m fucked” in a matter of three short years. Gee gathers the remaining members of the band, along with Factory Records founder Tony Wilson, to relate the facts and lets the music speak for itself.

Extras: Over 75 minutes of additional interviews and a music video for Transmission.

Straight outta the third most dangerous city in America— Saginaw, Michigan—Greg Walton writes from a basement bunker. His only window to the outside world is a sweet surround sound set-up and 65" inches of hi-def glory.