Visitors Review

Steve Rhodes (2012-05-23 17:02)

An incomprehensible mess.

Steven Rea (2012-05-23 07:45)

The actors' performances are a mix of eerie mimicry and something more: a portrait of ambitious dreamers kicking around big notions and doing absolutely self-destructive, stupid things.

darknessbeauty666 (2012-05-21 20:33)

A charmingly British film that is both funny and facinating

Alternative music is a passion of mine, so when I heard that there was filmbeing made about factory records/'madchester', I was looking foward toseeing it. I wasn't disapointed.The script is very witty, the soundtrack is brilliant (Buzzcocks, A CertainRatio, Sex Pistols, Joy Division, New Order, Happy Mondays, I could goon....), it probably isn't 100% true to what actually happened, but thatdoesn't matter that much, after all, 24 Hour Party People is only afilm.It also brings you into the lives of those there, and also heavily exploresnot only the music, but the scene too, which is very important because itessentially spawned the rave music of today.A fun filled way to spend a couple of hours. Highly recomended.

(2012-05-21 01:28)

worth it for the music alone...

Don't let the cover fool you, its not that exciting of a movie. In fact, I don't recall ever seeing a tongue ring in the movie at all... and it really begins to drag at points...Still, its an educational flick and worth a watch just for the music. Its a docudrama on the legendary Tony Wilson, his idealistic lovechild Factory Records, his club and his career. Put together like an 80s punk video and with a soundtrack by bands like Joy Division, New Order and Happy Mondays who reigned in Manchester, England, it is an interesting look at the music scene of bands of the era. This movie is basically a VH1 special, but with more swearing. I enjoyed it, but its more of a niche piece than anything.

(2012-05-19 20:36)

24 Hour Boredom

This movie, or whatever it entails itself to be, is nothing but a collection of small parts that make it totally unreliable. It is so boring, that one not only begins to hate British, because they are portrayed as chain smoking, cussing, prostitute visiting, sobs who do nothing but say the F word and sit on the cold sidewalk. The film was supposed to be about the Factory record label which signed up one of the best bands of all time, Joy Division but as the actors are so terrible, all we get is the Ian Curtis look alike who does nothing but prance around the stage all day pretending to look cool. This movie is not recommend to anyone at all because it isn't even a good tool for sleep.

David Sterritt (2012-05-19 09:25)

It's not a perfect movie, but it's the smartest excursion into pop culture in recent memory.

(2012-05-17 16:52)

nice surprise

This review is from: 24 Hour Party People (DVD) I could see this film many times,,, it goes to my very best list of films

(2012-05-17 12:26)

"Should have signed The Smiths.."

Micheal Winterbottom's "24 Hour Party People" is a phenomenal piece of film. From the beginning scene where Tony paraglides to the closing moments of the visitation, all of my senses were indulged with the sweetest drug there is; music! My only complaint is an insufficient amount of newOrder coverage. Joy Division, Vini Reilly [ Durutti Column ], A Certain Ratio, Happy Mondays, new Order etc.. The music is flawless and unmatched. If only had Tony Wilson signed The Smiths.. GOD KNOWS..?!ABSOLUTELY A STELLAR PIECE OF CINEMATIC JOY!!

Laurence (2012-05-12 00:48)

You have to be British.

Whilst this film is not a great piece of cinema it is extremelyentertaining.However,most of joy comes from the subtle irony of thescript. No matter how good your grasp of the English language (if youare not British), you have understand the nuances of meaning, which canonly come from a background of a certain culture. Criticisms that it isnot factually complete or that it misses out on certain significantdetails are irrelevant, its a piece of fiction, it is as our Germanicbrethren might say a reflective zeitgeist. This isn't a defence of thefilm, for I can appreciate that without this understanding it couldseem pretty uninspiring.It just that to get the best from it you haveto British and I guess of a certain age.

(2012-05-11 11:32)

Refreshing honest and funny

This is a perfect example of creative Movie making with excellent andtalented cast.The heady gritty back drop of Manchester has produced more than its fairshare of musical artists, this movie goes some way to convey the pragmaticand creative forces that this great Northern city produces.Steve Coogan serving great timing and observational humour is ruthlesslyfunny in his role as Tony Wilson.The only advice I can give is watch the Movie, buy the CD, buy the T shirt,then buy the DVD. (Oh ,then come to Manchester and party...Mad forit!)

(2012-05-11 19:15)

Great, but too much emphasis on the Happy Mondays

I love this movie!Steve Coogan is absolutely hilarious in his delivery and angst when dealing with that guy who refers to "Brian Martin" and "George Epstein." The look of irritance on his face is classic, as is his incredibily polite request to the girl when he's in the back of the van. "Thank You!"What is the best, however, is the emphasis the movie places on Joy Division, clearly one of the most influential and best bands ever to come out of England (or anywhere else for that matter). The actor playing Ian Curtis was excellent and you feel the emotion of him especially in the scene where they're driving around in the car listening to the recording of "She's Lost Control." When they focus on him and the film changes to black and white there is the sense of the dread he felt at success. I note that the soundtrack to the movie includes the excellent song Ceremony, which was omitted from the movie itself, as far as I could tell. A great song that deserved more attention, even if it was recorded with Sumner on vocals, not Curtis. The soundtrack also has the song "Temptation," which is the best song New Order ever released, in my opinion. I don't recall this being in the movie, either.I thought there was too much of the Happy Mondays in the movie, although they were a great band as well, though I never knew Shaun Ryder was such a jerk. What about The Stone Roses, Inspiral Carpets, Charlatans UK, Northside, 808 State, etc? Didn't they all play at the Hacienda as well during this time?A great movie all in all. Highly recommended.Oh, in the scene at the Hacienda where no one's there and the one guy finishes his set and comes to talk to Wilson, is that supposed to be Billy Bragg? Sort of looked like him, yeah?

(2012-05-10 23:04)

Great

I rented and then bought this movie because I am a Joy Division and early punk fan, but I ended up learning a lot about the Manchester rave scene.Tony Wilson's commentary is a great thing to listen to, if only for his clarification of the film's myths. Steve Coogan is great as Tony Wilson, as is Sean Harris as Ian Curtis. About the Happy Mondays section. Though there are plenty of myths they could have chosen from, most of the ones used in this movie are fictional. But they portray Bez and Shaun Ryder in a very funny way.This movie is both extremely funny and depressing. If you're a music fan, it's good to own. I could watch it very many times.

brenfels (2012-05-07 22:10)

Well made comedy with great music

This is a gem that apparently breezed right by most people, getting abriefart-house run and little of the considerable attention it deserves. Fromtheopening ``Icarus'' sequence to the end, it confounds expectations,generatesbig laughs and propels itself with great music. (The soundtrack CD isquitegood as well.) Highly recommended.

Marshall Fine (2012-05-07 08:49)

Thanks to a wonderfully deadpan, offhand performance by Steve Coogan and the construction of the film, the Tony Wilson sections are consistently entertaining and revealing about the period.

(2012-05-05 13:20)

What not to do with your artist money

Factory records it had some of the greatest pop acts of all-time:Joy division,new order,happy mondays.But tony wilson didn't manager money very well.This movie was fun,sad,and made me mad.Good buy this dvd it under $10 just about anywere that sells dvd trust me it's great movie about the music biz.

Jamie Russell (2012-05-04 20:32)

Brilliantly realised and hilariously funny.

Cliff van Ooststroom (2012-05-03 06:46)

Shattered dreams

My musical roots are Factory Records, i.e. Joy Division and A CertainRatio. And this movie really shatters my image of this record companyand its bands. It wasn't and idealistic record co., it was Tony Wilsonand his image and in his vision the bands were just a means to an end.In the movie the death of Ian Curtis was just something that happened,but it didn't really showed the impact it had (I'm curious about themovie my fellow dutchman Anton Corbijn is making about Ian Curtis). Butthen again I loved the way the movie showed how the whole second summerof love grew and came to an ultimate high. Something I experienced inthe late 80's on Ibiza. So, all in all, great movie with some flaws,especially the way the late 70's and early 80's were envisioned.

Paula Nechak (2012-05-02 12:54)

Winterbottom grafts fact and fiction (for comedic and artistic license) to good effect.

Rogue-32 (2012-04-30 01:16)

Manchester, here I come!

Excellent pseudo-documentary about the emergence of the Hacienda club inManchester, England, grounded by a superb performance by Steve Coogan (whowas actually born in Manchester), playing club-creator Tony Wilson. Themovie deftly shows what happens when a club is run by ARTISTS rather thanbusinessmen. Could have been shortened by perhaps a good half hour butotherthan that, a solid effort. I'm on the plane now.

kosso (2012-04-29 16:23)

"Turn it up! Ya should be in 'ere!". Step on. Amen

What can I say? Brilliant! The film tells the story of the rise and fallFactory Records. Steve Coogan's Tony Wilson is spot on. The soundtrack ispredictably brilliant. Shame there wasn't more info on the the other(non-Factory) Manchester bands which played a huge part in the scene asmuchas the Factory bands (The Stone Roses, The Smiths, etc) I think many peoplewill find this film hugely entertaining, whether they were in to the sceneor not. "Turn it up! Ya should be in 'ere!". Step on, indeed.