Joe Strummer - The Future Is Unwritten [2007]

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Product Details:

Studio: 4dvd

Region: 2

Number of Discs: 1

Format: PAL,

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Sales Rank: 3449

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Customer Reviews:

For fans only (04 September 2008)
Really for fans only, and undiscriminating fans at that. Some fascinating archive footage which really takes you back to the grey, grim days of England in the 70s, some good concert footage (though not a lot that you can't get elsewhere), but for me the relentless mythologising, by the various (largely un-named and uncredited) interviewees, and by Joe himself gets a bit wearying. The Clash made some tremendous music, but Joe himself, while his constant seeking after some kind of truth and justice is laudable, wasn't the clearest or most consistent of political thinkers and shouldn't be celebrated as such. I also lost patience with the Julian Temple style; the free-association of loosely-related images with the Strummer story quickly came to seem less playfully amusing and more like tiresome padding (to put it politely)... to be honest, I'd have preferred a shorter film that told it straight.
Best bits: generous contributions from Mick and Topper, some great footage from the States, where they really do look like the last great rock and roll band. More from Paul Simenon would have been great.
Conclusions: If you're a big and unquestioning fan of Joe and the Clash you're going to love this film. If you're anything less, you may find your hand starting to wander towards the remote...

watch this ! (31 January 2008)
`saw this for the 1st time 8months ago in a tiny cinema with only 3 people in it !! didn`t realise at the time what a treasure i`d stumbled across . if you like the clash you`ll love it , if you like strummer its wonderful , funny & poignant & even as a reflection of the time it is well worth a viewing ....go on you know it makes sense

A great standard (31 October 2007)
This is a well made documentary and it is interesting socially and historically. It is still a little long for my taste, but as it managed to keep me watching for way over two hours, the pace was just about right. It is a 'proper' politically correct biography, packed with information for fans and laymen - like me - alike. I thought the best stretch of the movie was the second hour, when things start getting 'tricky' for the band and fame, fortune, politics, ideals and human nature make The Clash a huge commercial enterprise and sign the beginning of the end for 'the only band that mattered'. The lowdown: I love campfires, but making it the theme of someone's biography, no matter how famous or how much they loved compfires, is a little pathetic. The highlight: about 10 minutes of an extremely fascinating, good looking and peaceful Topper Headon telling the story in his own words. Good movie, good music, some good interviews, especially with Mick Jones, and some intriguing lines by Strummer, but it just feels a little stretched and academic.

Joe Strummer, The Man. (18 October 2007)
Julien Temple's biography of Joe Strummer, "The Future Is Unwritten", brilliantly captures the labyrinth that was Joe Strummer while reminding us that every stage of Joe's evolution - born John Graham Mellor, to the communal 'Woody' Mellor, to Joe Strummer - was part of Joe's constant struggle to define himself while concomitantly asserting his basic humanity.

"The Future Is Unwritten" provides us with a glimpse into all that comprised Joe Strummer: Joe's rootless childhood with a distant father and troubled brother, Joe's embrace of the communal lifestyle that would follow him throughout his life, Joe's ascent into rock stardom beginning with the 101'ers and then The Clash, Joe's ultimate disillusionment with rock stardom, his wilderness years, followed by Joe's embrace of his entire legacy and the peace at which he arrived in his final years.

The film does not engage in hagiography, however. We see all that comprised Joe Strummer the man including his flaws. Joe admits as much in the multitude of observations from the man himself that are interspersed throughout the film.

In the end, Julien Temple's film captures the life of Joe Strummer with a mood and feeling evocative of one of Joe's beloved campfires, so much so that by the end you feel that you actually are there in some way. I walked away from this film with the reaffirmation of Joe's very accessible genius: through his music Joe wanted to touch humanity in some way while attempting to transcend humanity at the same time.

Joe remains very much missed. Julien Temple's film reminds us why.

Five stars.

Revolution Rock (16 October 2007)
This film is worthwhile viewing for any fans of the legendary rock band The Clash who were fronted by the charismatic Joe Strummer. Against a backdrop of amateur film footage, interviews and concert clips , the narrative tells the story of Strummer's life from his early days spent in boarding school and travelling the globe with his diplomat father to his latter days spent around campfires and touring with his new band. Most of the film of course deals with the heyday of Strummer and The Clash between 1977 and 1982 as the band's gritty punk music of their first few albums evolved into the more commercial reggae based music of their excellent "London Calling" and "Sandinista" albums.By the time "Combat Rock" was released in 1982 The Clash were mainstream rock artists making it big in America. Then Strummer dissolved the band. This film portrays Strummer as an idiosyncratic, passionate ,free spirited anti authority figure who was held in high esteem by his peers. I would have liked to have heard more of The Clash's music during the film and captions introducing the numerous interviewees would have helped as well.Overall this was an interesting insight into the late musician's life.