Today we watched ‘Control’, a film by Anton Corbijn that was released in 2007. It’s fair to say that I absolutely LOVED the film. It’s been forever since I’ve seen a movie that captivated my attention so wholeheartedly for the entire duration.

The film was about Joy Division’s frontman Ian Curtis, his life, struggles and eventual demise at the young age of 23. The whole film was shot in black and white, which was stunning paired with the bleak streets of England and the minimalistic way in which the shots were set up. I definitely had many little moments of video clip inspiration come up for me whilst watching the film, some of which I’ve listed below:

• A slow, close-up pan of a crowd that looks sweaty and entirely hypnotised by the band that they’re watching play at a live gig. This came about from watching the scene in ‘Control’ where Joy Division play their first live set I’m pretty sure. The shot of the crowd just perfectly captured what seeing Joy Division for the first time would feel like.

• A mid-shot of a person sitting on an off centre couch with a wall light or lamp dimly glowing above their heads while they sing. I thought of this in the scene where Ian is writing the lyrics to ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’  sitting on a couch with a light just like I mentioned.

• A person’s lips are all you can see moving against a frosty train window as they sing. This from a scene where Ian is arriving at a destination where Annik soon comes to meet him as well as his band members.

As sad as the story behind ‘Control’ is, the film offers many points of inspiration and will definitely be one that I keep re-watching over and over.