It’s my go-to feel good movie, it never fails. My review.
My Review through the playlist.
As fate would have it, I was in the mood to watch Stop Making Sense again tonight. Probably because the last film I saw was called Life During Wartime and after two doses of the dark humanity of Todd Solondz I wanted to see something fun and upbeat.
This viewing was for me. I didn't plan on commenting, but now that I am, this is moving up my list for 1984. The performances of "Life During Wartime" and "Girlfriend is Better" are easily two of the greatest concert performances I've ever seen, and there are lots of delights peppered throughout. I can't even think of a challenger to this film's reputation as the greatest concert film of all time.
I think maybe Stop Making Sense is one I have to live with a little more. MT's reaction especially opens me up to the idea that it's more than just a great concert film. I thought it was really good, but not particularly transcendent in the way actually going to a concert is. That being said, I'd agree with 1SO, I have no idea what would be the competition for greatest concert film of all-time, since most of the ones I've seen are generic pieces of junk, and I'm surprised the approach with Stop Making Sense hasn't been more repeated, at least to my knowledge. It's kind of a back-to-basics way to throw a concert, if you consider that the visual highlight is a dance with a lamp. Then, there is the whole not showing the audience thing that is incredibly effective in making it feel like they're performing in your living room. It's nothing dramatic, but I don't know how many other bands would be able to pull something off like this. You think Demme and Byrne thought this thing would take-off and be considered a cinematic classic? I would say they didn't have a clue, but sometimes that's how brilliance manifests itself, when you're not totally expecting it.
I'm just going to make my next post here, because this 14.4K modem speed stuff is getting ridiculous:
Control
I'm a huge Joy Division fan. I was a bigger fan of this film the first time I saw it than now, but still really like it. I think it just might drag a little at some points. The music performances provide some of the biggest highlights as they are exceptionally well-done considering these actors are definitely not Joy Division, though Ian Curtis' descent into deeper depression and difficulties with his epilepsy are the most important aspects of the film. This is the most genuinely recognizable portrayal of mental health problems I have probably seen in a film. Through it, there is no need to patronize Curtis or "make" us feel something for him, because his truth is right there. Regarding his relationships with women and others, how much of that he can help and how much of it is a proclivity toward self-destruction brought about by mental health problems is hard to say. And it
should be hard to say, because we cannot directly draw a point on a graph and say, "This is where the mental health condition takes over," and, "This is just him being a prick." The scene toward the end when he has his major seizure after his wife, Deborah, had left, and all that ensues, remains very difficult for me. Playing "Atmosphere" during the fall out makes it all the harder, but is the perfect time to put on one of Joy Division's greatest and most tragic songs. (Biggest disappointment, btw, is not getting a proper performance of Disorder, as this is the song where Curtis is unable to take the stage and subsequently causes a riot. It's a very good scene, but damn if it couldn't be during a number that isn't my favorite Joy Division song.)
Since watching Control for the first time, I've also read Deborah Curtis' account of this time period in her book Touching from a Distance. I think if you take into account his extremely young age along with his deteriorating mental condition, you can forgive him some of his sins, maybe not all, but it's a tough read and you rightfully feel for Deborah and his daughter Natalie. It's an eye-opening account, as is Control.
Speaking of Natalie,
you can read her reaction to Closer from 2007 here.Wanted to add a note on mental health issues in Closer: I know that epilepsy is not, in and of itself, a psychological disorder. However, Curtis is documented to have had dramatic mood swings and be prone to extreme depressive states, which is not uncommon for someone with epilepsy, especially considering all of the changes in Curtis' medications over time. In that, although his epilepsy was efficiently diagnosed, his exact psychological conditions aren't necessarily as neatly defined, which of course does not mean they weren't/aren't present or able to be diagnosed.
