Control: Life of Ian according to Anton Corbijn

On May 18th, 1980, a 23-year-old man hanged himself in his flat in North West England: Ian Curtis, front man of legendary Joy Division. What since has become another tragic footnote of rock music history has finally been made into a biopic. Control is the first feature film of acclaimed Dutch photographer and video director Anton Corbijn. He surely did lay hands on the appearance of nearly every greater pop/rock/wave/punk band of the 80s or 90s - from Depeche Mode and Fad Gadget to David Bowie, Björk or U2. That is why PingMag went to the “Control” press conference and also had a little chat with Anton Corbijn in Tokyo.

Written by Chiemi

So, on a frosty January 10th, we attended first the press venue at the Apple Store Ginza. For your delight, we transcribed a couple of questions (and spare you the usual ones about Ian’s eye colour or a rock star’s charisma…)

Reporter #1: I was surprised that the movie was shot entirely in black-and-white. What made you decide that?

A lot of people think because it’s cheaper (laughs), but that was not the case. It’s just that the collective memory of Joy Division really is in black and white. All of the photographers who shot Joy Division at the time made black and white photographs and the band themselves expressed their music in black and white sleeves. My own impression of England at that time, in the late ‘70s, was a very grey country. For all these reasons, I thought it was accurate to make it like this.

Reporter #2: This film portraits Ian’s life from different angles including Ian’s wife Deborah Curtis and his lover Annik. But actually the script is based on the book “Touching from a Distance” written by Deborah. What was the hardest thing about putting all of the stories together?

Yes, the film is not a film about the book. But it was a great source because Ian never had a television interview. So there was no official information, no footage of him walking or talking. The only footage we have is his performing. After we got in touch with Annik, New Order, Tony Wilson, Ian’s mother and sister and a few other, we got all of the info together and tried to depict a coherent picture of this person, Ian Curtis. Sometimes it was difficult because the New Order guys remember events differently. Of course, it was a long time ago but I think there were also some drugs in the 80s… So, their stories are all a little different. But when two people confirmed one aspect, then it is possible that it happened.

Reporter #3: This film is really made beautifully, but were you influenced by anyone else’s work?

For the look of it, I didn’t watch anything specific for this film. Actually I was wary of watching any films because of my limited experience, as I would be very easily influenced by anybody. The only film I looked at some point was Kes by Ken Loach because the main character was a young boy and he was so believable that you thought you were looking at a documentary. I was always hoping that main actor Sam Riley would find a similar characteristic – his person becomes so believable that you partly think it is a documentary.

Reporter #4: The movie uses sound in a very impressive way. Can you tell us about the sound design, please?

We paid a lot of attention to the sounds: For instance, we did a lot of mixing to get incredible effects for the performance scenes. But because this is not a music film and I wanted quite a pure approach. There are a lot of scenes where there’s no sound whatsoever. I guess that’s quite rare because there seems to be always sound in movies these days. So you really notice it when there’s none. I personally like that very much. I felt that it worked really well because when there is no sound you really pay attention to the story.

Reporter #5: It’s been over 25 years since his Ian’s death - but still people seem to care about him a lot. Why is he still so special for so many until today?

I think he was a great poet and that must be the reason why people still listen to Joy Division. I can’t answer for Debbie if she still cares for him or not. But he meant everything to her and because she could never say a proper good bye to him that would stay with her. As for New Order, I can’t speak for them either, but of course they made great music together when they were young, so they won’t be able to forget about him.

So far for the press conference… However, PingMag met Anton Corbijn at a hotel room with a great view of Tokyo actually a day before: A very tall Mr. Corbijn welcomed us with a friendly smile. A little anecdote for you: During the interview, he picked up a copy of Vogue Nippon under the table and said “She was my neighbour, she is very nice.” We had a look - and Kate Moss was on the cover…

PingMag: According to the biography, you saw a Joy Division show on November 9th, 1979. From the next day on, you started taking photographs of bands. Before and after the making this film, how did your view of Joy Division change?

Originally I moved to England because that is where they were from. So obviously Joy Division was very important for me. I really was in awe of the music they made, and I really wanted to meet them. I took pictures of them twice, but when Ian passed away I thought “That’s it.” Eight years later, I did a video for “Atmosphere,” and then I thought “Surely, that must be it…” Then came the film. Now I’m really good friends with New Order.

What was your initial reaction when you were first offered to direct? Did you feel something special?

To be honest, I turned it down! Because I was afraid that if I was going to direct a film that had to do with music somehow, people would call it a “rock film.” But if you call it a “rock film,” you deny a possible larger audience the chance to join in. Later I told the guys “I think I should actually direct it,” because he was an important part of my life. I looked at it differently after a while and I needed it to do it, in a way, for myself.

You met a lot of actors, some very famous, for the role of Ian Curtis. You ended up using an unknown actor, Sam Riley, who was working in a factory in Leeds at that time. What was so fascinating about him?

Firstly, I did meet a couple of people including well-known actors, but I never met Jude Law, for instance. I know he was mentioned in all the articles, but actually he was never an option for me. However, there was something so fresh about Sam Riley, something so not-actor-like, like a real person. Of course, he resembles Ian Curtis facially and that was my initial element that drove me into him. But when I met him, there was something else about him that I really liked. I think, at that point, he had nothing going on for him in his life. So he grabbed it as he really needed to focus on and he gave it everything. We didn’t shoot the film in chronological order, so one day he was 23, another day he was 17, one day he was happy, the same day he had to do a crying scene - but he really managed to do it. It was amazing! When you see the film, you realise there’s nobody else who could’ve played that role.

When you usually photograph someone, I guess you try to capture the best moment of that person. But with this film you had to describe a story of someone’s life in two hours. What did you keep in mind during the process of the making?

Originally, I wanted to make a feature film. I’ve made a little film on Captain Beefheart before and I did it because I really liked them, but also because no one else could do it. I felt the same about this film for Ian Curtis. Sometimes, you feel the responsibility to actually make things, because you feel it needs to exist. In general, I felt it was a film worth making because it was a love story, quite universal, and there was a chance that people would go see it.

You met Ian Curtis twice and, by now, you probably know quite a lot more about him. What do you think of him?

Yes, I do know a lot more about him, that’s true. My English was very basic when I met him for the first time, and I couldn’t have much of a conversation with him. He was kind of shyish and he seemed like a nice guy. But by reading the book, doing research for the film, and talking to a lot of people, you realise that there are so many layers to Ian Curtis. In the sense of him being a nice guy but also a control freak that could be aggressive and withdrawn, and yet he was making this beautiful work and was very observant… So I really wish I had had more conversations with him. But people remember it all so differently. I remember Hooky (Peter Hook from New Order) saying in an interview, “Anton was a friend of ours and a friend of Ian’s.” Though I met the guy twice and I couldn’t even have a conversation properly… I would have been very honoured if Ian thought of me as a friend. (Laughs)

If you could speak to Ian now, what would you say to him?

I would say two things: Ian, you are a stupid boy but I hope you are proud of this film.

Mr. Anton Corbijn, thank you so much!

Info:
Anton Corbijn’s Control will be shown at Shibuya Cinemarise and other cinemas from this March 2008 in Japan! Check their website for international release dates.

53 Comments

1. control is really good… I saw it a few months ago here in the US.

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2. Love can tear you apart.

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3. Anton Corbijn rules!

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4. Just saw a new documentary on Joy Division last week, called Joy Division, and it was great! Using what little footage they had, it told a very interesting story… and they interviewed most of the original people involved with all this.

   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1097239/

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5. I loved this film. samantha morton is the queen of cool

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6. why would he be in love with a girl if he’s already married maybe he shouldnt have married that first girl in the first place. PS click my link!

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7. Nice interview. Making a film after having made photographs for more than 40 years seems to me like a natural thing to do.

   Posted by: mattus on January 28th, 2008 at 6:21 pm

8. I pre-ordered the DVD at amazon! It comes out on 11 feb. and I’m so curious!!

   Posted by: Lisa on January 28th, 2008 at 11:13 pm

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