24 Hour Party People

MVD Blu-ray. Looks and sounds better than ever. Subtitled in English, French and Spanish.LOTS of bonus features: one with Steve Coogan and one with Tony Wilson ( primary subject of film). A few featurettes, a dozen deleted scenes and more.Directed by Michael Winterbottom and photographed by the late Robby Mueller, who's worked with Alex Cox, Bogdanovich, Jim Jarmusch, Wim Wenders and many other greats.Cool cameos by the late Mark E. Smith (The Fall), Howard Devoto (The Buzzcocks) and many more.The story of Factory Records is a comedy of errors (the money losing Blue Monday 12"), wanton bullishness over professionalism (the Joy Division contract giving them the right to 'f*** off' written in label boss Tony Wilson's blood) and a series of successful accidents (the initially cash hemorrhaging club Hacienda).With all the above situations then it made total sense for Steve Coogan to take control of telling the story as the label’s head protagonist, Tony Wilson.Releasedi n 2002, 24 Hour Party People is based on Factory Records legends; some real, some not, but why let the whole truth gets in the way of a good story?A surprise hit considering the majority of the big bands on the label, although deeply influential, could hardly be considered part of the mainstream. Joy Division had one minor hit in Ian Curtis' lifetime, Happy Mondays had a handful and New Order only had one chart-topping single, that being a god-awful football song.The star of the show is of course Steve Coogan as Tony Wilson; he portrays the endearing but pretentious mannerisms of Tony Wilson perfectly as Paddy Considine shines as a particularly unpredictable Rob Gretton.The film, like Factory’s existence is in three thirds; the depressing monotone Manchester is a backdrop for big ideas for a little city, slowly morphing into optimism cut short by THAT suicide. (As the film has it, Ian Curtis was watching Werner Herzog's Stroszek - complete with the dancing chicken.)The middle; New Order and Happy Mondays ruling the charts, the Hacienda running Manchester nightlife and ecstasy making previously repressed Northerners love one another. If you experienced the Hacienda at its heights you’ll be forgiven for thinking that they used footage of the actual place in the film as it was that realistic.The final third is the messy fall of the empire; the success of the Hacienda caught the inevitable attention of the dodgy dealers and gangsters wanting a piece of the pie as Tony Wilson’s drug addiction culminated in the closure of Factory and The Hacienda as bands failed to provide decent albums. Regular appearances of guns in the club ended up with regular closures until it did so for good. Factory’s legacy lives on in Hacienda Heights, luxury city centre apartments and Manchester has Factory to thank for its current thriving city status.A hit, mainly because of the story of success over tragedy, a brilliant soundtrack (what, no Northside?), hilarious throughout and one of the best music based films of all time.

The seller contacted me to make sure I knew this was a Region 2 Blu-Ray. I assured them my multi region player could play it (and it did). Love this movie. Love the music.

Whip-smart and completely immersive, "24 Hour Party People" almost impossibly takes an epic real-world time and space and makes it even more glorious and mythical. This is a music drama-comedy film of its own mind and build, transcending the specificity of its tale to exact an influence on how stories can be told in movies.Does one need to know of Manchester's Factory Records to squeeze all the juice from "24 Hour Party People"? History says no, as the transcendent wit, clever structure, and aspirational breaking the fourth wall technique in Steve Coogan's portrayal of charismatic and unabashedly pretentious Factory boss Tony Wilson has for many made this an engrossing introduction to musical mainstays Joy Division, New Order, and Happy Mondays.Now firmly in the Pantheon of our greatest music films, "24 Hour Party People" flies no less high than the legendary history it's built upon. – (Was this review of use? If so, let me know by clicking "Helpful." Cheers!) WATCHED IT? THEN WATCHLIST: "Stadium Anthems," "Joy Division."

"24 Hour Party People" is a unique docudramedy about the port city of Manchester, England, and the man who reigned over not one but two separate musical & cultural revolutions in that city, "TV personality" Tony Wilson. While it has some hilarious moments rivaling the mighty "This is Spinal Tap" in how it nails rock culture so succinctly, and some surreal touches (like the seaside funeral of Ian Curtis), it's a compelling blend of "Lipstick Traces"-style underground history with a verite, documentary feel and great characterization of Wilson's massive ego by comedian Steve Coogan. He's by turns irritating and endearing, but always ironic (and one has to be when dealing with the likes of record producer Martin Hannett and the Happy Mondays, as Wilson did). Winterbottom's film embodies a world-weary and wizened viewpoint on the whole thing by employing a loose & episodic structure as we witness Wilson/Coogan struggling to keep everything in perspective for himself and the viewer. All talk of Renaissance Florence aside, he's not the 20th century equivalent of Lorenzo de Medici (and he knows it) but you feel his half-serious attempts to justify himself and Manchester while the British economy collapses and his personal life tanks while he struggles to keep from selling out (not selling out being the only true way to succeed) and honor the vision of his incomparably influential Factory record label artists like Joy Division/New Order and the Happy Mondays. Then comes rave culture, born in his very nightclub, the Hacienda. It's quite an extraordinary story (I knew nothing about Wilson's hand in any of this, so I learned a lot while being thoroughly entertained by Coogan and the cast, who do a great job). And all the music is great of course! Highly recommended...