24 Hour Party People (2002) User Reviews

great mocku-docu-rockumentary

[jimi99 · 8/10 · 27 July 2003]

This movie is quite hyperbolic about the Manchester scene which is portrayed with so much style, energy, humor, and gutty performances, that even if you weren't a fan of Joy Division & Happy Mondays, this particular musical revolution is extolled on a par with Memphis early 50's, the whole of UK 1963-65, San Francisco 1966-67, or Austin 1972-74. I wasn't a fan of those Manchester bands, but I really enjoyed all of the music in this film. And Steve Coogan's performance and the structure of his charismatic part are wonderful. And very funny.

Like "SLC Punk" and movies like "Rude Boy" and the Sex Pistols movies, "24 Hour Party People" captures the anger of the times and incredible energy of that socio-musical upheaval, and ultimately the sadness at the inevitable passing of a bright moment in popmusic history. When Coogan/Wilson brags about the birth of the rave culture in his club in his beloved city, taking credit for another major movement, I didn't feel his pride or excitement, only that sense of sadness at the techno-evolution of punk...

The Feel, if not the Fact...

[mjcfoxx · 7/10 · 11 August 2013]

So, the history is there, in a sort of hazy blotch of spurtches (those are real words, look them up), but of course it's told to us by one person, Tony Wilson, who everyone in the film repeatedly says is a c*nt, and potentially the worst kind, a charming c*nt that appears to know everything, is married multiple times to women he constantly cheats on, and appears to fail at everything except failure (he's apparently married to a former Miss UK as of the film's making). His specialty is talking out of his ass and spotting the next big thing in music. So, we're treated to the Sex Pistols, we're treated to Joy Division and New Order, the Happy Mondays, bands the kids don't know they know unless they know they need to. It's told tongue-and-cheek, and you know it must embrace the spirit of it because there are multiple cameos by the people who were a part of it. It also comes with a light of mockumentary about it, as though it needs to make fun of itself to keep you off about whether this or that happened that way or if it happened at all (and sometimes they will straight up tell you it didn't). A little too self-aware to be a masterpiece, but it's revetting and loads of fun to watch, all the same.

Music and madness in Manchester

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 11 June 2017]

Found '24 Hour Party People', telling the story of Tony Wilson and the rise and fall of the Manchester Factory Records, an absorbing and very well done biographical comedy-drama. Not a flawless film or among the best biopics or overall films ever seen but there is a lot to admire.

'24 Hour Party People' may go on a little longer than necessary and the final parts are not as strong as the rest of the film, with a sense that it ran out of gas. It would help if one knew and had knowledge of Wilson and the music and mania of the Madchester years, that way they would find that it would make more sense. As a documentary-like film or a biopic it is inaccurate and strays far from the truth, but as it is common in biopics it didn't feel as big an issue.

For its flaws, there is a lot to recommend with '24 Hour Party People'. It is a good-looking film with a good amount of authenticity, and having the touch of Wilson often telling the tale talking directly to the camera was quite a masterpiece. The vintage music is just great.

The script is also strong, with an adept balance of irreverent and genuinely funny comedy, gripping conflict and poignant drama. The story has a huge amount of evocative energy and is always absorbing.

It's very well cast, with a brilliant Steve Coogan who plays Wilson with gleeful relish and expert comic timing.

Overall, very well done. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Worth multiple viewings and a little homework

[DestroyTheFives · 24 June 2003]

I get the general sense from reading some of the reviews that people didn't like this movie because it didn't provide any instant gratification or personal meaning. That's probably true for people who don't know Joy Division, New Order, or the Happy Mondays, but I think it's totally unfair to discredit this film on a basis of a lack of prior knowledge. Many great films and novels aren't great because you get them on the first try, and I think that this movie follows the same path. If you didn't like it the first time, take a look at an old Tony Wilson interview or a concert tape of Joy Division and you will instantly see the quality production and acting that went into this film. Ian Curtis/Joy Division are portrayed with an eerily haunting accuracy (down to the instruments they play, which are rumoured to be the originals from the late 1970s) and you can tell that the cast really did their homework. The concert scenes are spectacularly energetic, the sets (especially the Hacienda) are ripped right out of the time period. Comic relief isn't overlooked, as the dry humour of Steve Coogan and the rest of the cast is pursued to the dime. The unscripted dialogue is also quite good, which is another indication of the actors' homework. This movie is worth the time: it details a very important time and place in pop music history that is often overlooked in the wake of much larger, more commercialized scenes. Rave and post-punk may be fading today, but one need only take a look at the charts to see its influence. Go out and get this movie, learn a little about it, and you will be impressed.

Scaborous but Entertaining Musical Opus

[BJJManchester · 7/10 · 18 August 2007]

A frantic,no-holds barred biopic of the sadly recently deceased Tony Wilson,the Manchester-based regional news presenter turned record label owner turned nightclub owner(influenced by witnessing a sparsely attended gig the infamous Punk Rockers The Sex Pistols did in the city in June 1976),and the trials and tribulations surrounding the pop groups Joy Division and The Happy Mondays.

Director Michael Winterbottom has elected to film 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE in a breathless,hand-held,cinema verite style on digital video,packed with incidents that may or may not be true,plus Brechtian-style interjections by Wilson himself,reminding us that this is only a film we're watching;there are even scenes of UFO's of visions of God thrown in to make sure of this!

On one level,this is all extremely entertaining,funny and inventive.Winterbottom's style does not interfere with the substance too markedly(although that is a double meaning;the substance is not just referring to the script but the illegal chemicals used by virtually everyone on show in every sequence)and is apt for telling this kind of story,which he achieves with considerable aplomb.

Their are problems for the actors involved. Steve Coogan,Andy Serkis,Danny Cunningham,Paddy Considine,Ralf Little,John Simm,etc. are perfectly good in their roles,but because of the ferocious pace that Winterbottom has applied to the film,there are very few opportunities for little more than superficial characterisations,which end up in coming across little better that impersonation.Coogan,an extremely talented comic actor,is not quite as good a serious actor,and he occasionally seems a trifle uncomfortable in several scenes which would have worked better being played straight rather than for laughs.He doesn't remotely resemble the real Tony Wilson in appearance,and his performance sometimes veers into caricature and Alan Partridge-isms.The best performance comes from Sean Harris as the tragic Ian Curtis;this is the nearest we get to any sort of character with depth.But even before the suicide of Curtis (which is shown in a rather too jokey manner),we still don't find the proper reasons why he decided to take his own life;the new film CONTROL will hopefully tell the story of Ian Curtis in full detail.However,there are some amusing cameos from such Manchester musical icons as Mark E.Smith,Clint Boon and Mani,which come off rather well and enhance our interest and enjoyment of the film.

The music itself is great,but to truly tell the story of 'MADCHESTER' in greater detail,you need to mention other groups such as The Stone Roses,The Inspiral Carpets,James,The Charlatans,Northside and 808 State,who are totally anonymous here.Highly influential as Tony Wilson,Factory Records and The Hacienda were,there were many other important players involved to make it so unique and memorable.Perhaps the filmmakers couldn't obtain the copyright for these other great tunes.The recreation of the Hacienda itself is convincing (being filmed where it was actually located),as are the whimsical,if not farcical, reports from the local TV station (GRANADA TV) which was Wilson's day job in between running his record label and nightclub. The contrast from the early,near-empty Hacienda to the jam-packed glory of it's post-punk,rave peak is amusing,but more scenes here with the music and dancing may have given us a better feel of what made the 'MADCHESTER' era so special.The scenes recreated of the Hacienda at it's peak are very well done,but rather too fleeting.The references to the excessive drug intake there (particularly the Mondays) are thankfully not preachy but rather too ambivalent.An interview on the DVD extras with lead singer Shaun Ryder (bloated,prematurely aged and shaking) possibly should've also been included in the film as a warning to the excesses of the rock n'roll lifestyle.The Mondays had proved ability at creating quirky music,but away from the recording studio they seemed grossly inarticulate,repellent-minded oafs whose desire for temporary hedonism soon brought them crashing to earth,though they have made a comeback of sorts in recent years,bruised and battered and a trifle more sensible.

Wilson himself had no sort of business sense;Factory Records went bankrupt in 1992,and the Hacienda finally closed it's doors in 1997 after trouble with various gangs and police objections.Tony Wilson himself sadly died on 10 August 2007 after a battle with kidney cancer aged only 57.He has been much mourned here in the North West of England,particularly around Manchester,a city and people that he loved and stuck with through the bad times,until it briefly became,around 1989-1991,the musical centre of the world.That's what Tony himself wanted everybody to think,with him as the pivotal figure.These statements are perhaps not entirely true,but 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE is generally a fitting epitaph to a true musical visionary,hating the monetary driven London-based music industry,and bucking the trend by being more interested in producing music than making money.Hopefully in the near future,someone may produce a more in depth documentary look at Tony Wilson and 'MADCHESTER',a period I will always recall with fondness as I was attending college at the time,around Manchester.That may be an even more fitting epitaph.

RATING:7 out of 10.

From punk to rave in northern England - a pulsating, highly original, thoroughly entertaining mess of a film.

[Kev-B · 9/10 · 17 April 2002]

24 Hour Party People is the story of Factory Records, a defiantly eccentric independent record label based in Manchester, England, which discovered acts as influential and diverse as Joy Division and the Happy Mondays.

The film is shot in mock-documentary style and narrated by Tony Wilson (Steve Coogan), the founder of Factory. Coogan portrays Wilson's double life as music svengali and cheesy local TV reporter to brilliant comic effect. Although Brits will draw the inevitable parallels between Coogan's Wilson and his ultra-naff TV persona, Alan Partridge, Coogan actually has Wilson off to a tee. Arrogant and pompous, Cambridge-educated Wilson is master of the pseudish sound bite (when he realises they have no tickets for a concert in his nightclub, he retorts `Did they have tickets for the Sermon on the Mount? Of course they didn't, people just turned up because they knew it would be a great gig'). But he also has a perceptive eye for the zeitgeist and his vision to create the Hacienda club transformed Manchester into Madchester, for a brief time the music capital of the world.

The story really starts with an early Sex Pistols gig in Manchester, attended by only 42 people, most of whom went on to have an influence on the Manchester music scene of the next 10 years. Wilson was in the audience, together with members of the band who went on to form the brilliant post-punk pioneers Joy Division. The first part of the film is really focussed on them and their manager, the aggressive and cantankerous Rob Gretton ( played by Paddy Considine), and their producer, the irascible acid-casualty Martin Hannett (another superb cameo by Andy Serkis) - both of whom are no longer alive. Joy Division's lead singer, Ian Curtis, is portrayed so accurately by Sean Harris that it's positively eerie, and the scenes of the band playing in rundown venues seem remarkably true to life and capture effectively the rawness and intensity of their live performances. The film also deals, rather insensitively, with the death of Curtis, who's feet we see swinging after he has strung himself up on a rope in his house. This segues uncomfortably into a town crier announcing his death to the world, and ends with scenes showing Curtis's body in a coffin at the crematorium.

From then on, the story continues with Joy Division's reincarnation as New Order and the building of the Hacienda nightclub, and the sometimes disastrous business decisions made by Wilson and Factory. When New Order released Blue Monday, the record sleeve was so expensive to produce they lost money on every copy sold. The single went on to become the biggest-selling 12' of all time, paradoxically crippling Factory in the process. The first nights at the Hacienda were also calamitous, with bands playing in front of single-figure audiences. Eventually however, the druggy indie dance kings Happy Mondays arrived on the scene, and acid house was born. Suddenly the Hacienda was the place to be and the Madchester rave scene became famous all over the world. The scenes of drugs-and-sex-excess on the Monday's tour bus and the re-creation of the Hacienda club nights are superbly portrayed.

The final part of the film tells how gang violence led to the closure of the club and the drug-riddled misadventures of the Mondays, especially their singer Shaun Ryder, led to their downfall and had severe financial implications for Factory Records (Wilson had inexplicably sent them to Barbados to record their last Factory album). Eventually, Factory was sold, lock, stock and barrel, to another label (who were perturbed to find Wilson had not signed any contracts with any of the Factory bands, effectively giving the artists total creative freedom).

24 Hour Party People is a real rollercoaster ride. There are some brilliant acting performances, punctuated by cameos from real members of the Manchester music scene (such as Howard Devoto and Mark E. Smith). The merging of legend and reality may make it difficult for people unfamiliar with events to work out what actually happened. But this is no accurate, austere documentary, but a touching, sometimes surreal, and often very, very funny, anarchic portrayal of a time and a place and it's music. Oh, and of course, the soundtrack is fantastic.

Lost my interest after Curtis' death

[cedric_owl · 7/10 · 26 July 2004]

So, the first half of this film deals primarily with the formation and dissolution of Joy Division, probably one the 3 most important rock bands of the past 25 years. Really interesting stuff--particularly the character of Martin Hannett (played by Gollum himself, Andy Serkis), the psychotic music producer who revolutionized modern music. Also a great performance by the guy who played Ian Curtis--the suicide scene was exceptionally done. All in all, very well acted and directed.

The problem with the second half is that the music just isn't as good. Not that there wasn't great music being created after the end of Joy Division. The script just doesn't seem to want to focus on it. Why, for example, do we get all of two minutes spent talking about New Order, and an entire half-hour section of the film devoted to Happy Mondays? I mean, Happy Mondays was a pretty good band, but there is definitely a reason that you are able to choose Bizarre Love Triange on half the jukeboxes in New York, but will be pretty hard pressed to find a single track from Mondays.

Maybe I just don't like raves.

Two words: Fookin' Brellyint!

[Lexx-2 · 10/10 · 24 February 2004]

This is, was and forever will be one of my favourite films of all time. A joyous love letter to the music, magic and madmen of Manchester, 24 Hour Party People is utterly, utterly exhilarating. Even if you don't know your New Order from your Durutti Column, you'll be hard-pressed not to get a kick out of Michael Winterbottom and Frank Cottrel Boyce's freewheeling depiction of a great time in pop culture.

In a nutshell, this is the story of a scene, a scene that grew out of the british punk explosion of the mid seventies. Inspired by the rising vibe in his home town, television presenter Tony Wilson, with the aid of colleagues Rob Gretton and Alan Erasmus created Factory Records. Factory is, as described in the film "an experiment in human nature", with no written contracts (barring one written on a napkin in Wilson's own blood) and total creative freedom for its acts. From the mid seventies to the early nineties, Factory launched a barrage of fresh and exciting talent on an unsuspecting world, ranging from punk (Joy Division, later to become New Order) to house (A Guy Called Gerald) and dance (Happy Mondays). At the centre of it all was Wilson, all the while balancing his empire building with a steady day job with Granada Television.

Winterbottom's film crams sixteen years of music history into under two hours, using and appropriately chaotic mix of storytelling techniques to rocket the story along. It's by no means an accurate account, (just listen to the commentary by Wilson on the DVD) but encapsulates the spirit of the Manchester Movement beautifully. The plot itself is split into two halves. Firstly, the early punk days, spearheaded by a promising quartet called Joy Division. Joy Division were the first notable artistic success of the label, but were hindered by controversy (the name was derived from the Nazi division of women who were used in an attempt to create the master race), gigs that often degenerated into brawls and most crucially, a talented, but troubled, severely epileptic lead singer, one Ian Curtis. The rapid rise and even faster fall of Joy Division anchors the first half.

The second half sees us bear witness to the birth of rave culture, aided along by one of Wilson's acts, the Happy Mondays. Formed by brothers Shaun and Paul Ryder, they blazed through Manchester in a blizzard of coke and heroin and shaped dance music in no small way. Oh, and they pretty much helped to run Factory into the ground.

Bouncing from hilarious comedy (a great deal of it improvised)to genuine poignancy (the decline of Curtis is heartbreaking stuff) the film is an utter triumph of wit, wonderment and technique. As Wilson, comedian Steve Coogan is nothing short of dynamic. Teetering on the right side caricature (and injecting a great deal of his Alan Partridge persona in to the mix) Coogan is the lynchpin for an otherwise wildly chaotic narrative. The entire cast do sterling work impersonating the Manchester luminaries of old (and by old, I mean young, before the drugs and booze). From Danny Cunningham's uninhibited Shaun Ryder to John Simm's gentle Bernard Sumner and Andy Serkis's fearsome Martin Hannet, (an arguably more fearsome character than Gollum if you ask me....) they're all great. But best of all is Sean Harris, who is simply unforgettable as Ian Curtis. He's so dead-on accurate its almost scary, from the haunted eyes and cheeky humor (witness his first meeting with Wilson) to the eccentric dance moves, its a performance that deserves every award in the book.

Oh and the music. Well if you're already a fan, I sure as hell don't need to say it, do I?

As it was, so it goes and so do I. See this movie before you die. Go on, rent it tonight, rent it now, buy it if you have to or if you're really desperate, just steal a copy. But please, see this movie, you won't regret it.

Ian Curtis' death leaves a big hole

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 21 July 2015]

It's a semi-true story as Coogan would himself tell the audience as he breaks down the 4th wall. In 1976 Manchester, TV presenter Tony Wilson (Steve Coogan) is risking his life hang gliding for silly Granada Reports and he's not happy about it. Then he is one of the 42 people to see the first Sex Pistols gig along with others like the kids in Joy Division. He would tout the overlooked music scene on his small show "So It Goes". He rents out a club to play his type of music on Fridays. He turns that into Factory Records where he signs up Joy Division among others. Joy Division would attract skinheads because of their Nazi inspired name. Lead singer Ian Curtis commits suicide just when the group is on the verge of their American tour. Tony continues with the creation of the infamous dance club The Hacienda.

The movie starts pretty funny with Coogan breaking down the 4th wall within the first 10 minutes. Ian Curtis becomes the second most important character in the movie. That's why his lost leaves a big hole in the emotional feel of the movie. It's like the comedic air is let out and the movie feels flattened. The funny is gone. The movie still works but it's just not as much fun.

how did I miss seeing this movie till now?

[Quinoa1984 · 9/10 · 3 August 2005]

24 Hour Party People is just one of those movies that has that click with the subject matter. The actual style of the film corresponds with the music, the irreverence, and the energy of it all. But there's more than just the unconventionality of the script and direction; the film has that sort of stream-of-thought, wry, distinct British humor to it, and a sincerity beneath the absurdist parts. It follows its main character down the line, in a surreal way like a documentary, if that makes sense- we move between Tony Wilson addressing the audience (played by Steve Coogan, who is so on target with the honesty of the portrayal you can't picture anyone else in the role), an almost behind-the-scenes filming of it (I think), and a dramatization shot on pure digital, independent vibes.

Wilson, who sees the Sex Pistols play in Manchester (his hometown, and the main base and heart in the location of this film), is also a journalist on television. He gets so enamored with what he sees as an extremely important part of history (the viewer will get a good idea of this), he gets involved with the bands, the locals, and goes from just bands, to maintaining the Hacienda, a club. Some parts of the film one might expect, if considering it includes the rise and fall of fame (or rather, in this film, a lot of times in the mind), and the drug scene coinciding with the music. One knows that Tony Wilson is the main character, the protagonist, basically in every scene, but somehow he does not become the only important part of the film's success. The music too is a huge factor, and the speed it sets for a movie like this.

As much biography as musical, 24 Hour Party People brings to light the scene of Manchester as a history lesson, but an entertaining one to boot. Bands like New Order (the form after Joy Division split) will be known to most who follow music, but unless if you're not really steeped in the new-wave/dance scene of the 80's and 90's, some of the bands may sound totally unfamiliar. Still, this is not an automatic deterrent- the music is what it is, and most who will want to see the film will know what they're getting (in truth, the ratio of British punk and new-wave vs. electronica is fairly balanced). But even when some of the music doesn't stand the test of time, it serves the story all the same (some of the more interesting and darkly funny scenes are when no one comes to the club the sort of 'mix-way' between the two musical eras).

And all through this, Coogan plays it like a pro. The Coogan Wilson, of course, is far from the real Tony Wilson (one of the DVD interviews says he's a 'Jerry Springer'-looking type), so it becomes more of being a character in this whole environment that springs up around and by him. In a way he's kind of like a British Andy Warhol with the idealistic, serious journalist instead of the painter/filmmaker. There's a sort of checked insanity that underlays some of his performance, and yet for most of the time, like a lot of the better British actors, he doesn't play it more for laughs than he needs, and when serious drama/tragedy comes up it's still kept to this reality. So, along with him, and the music, and the strange form of putting together a dramatized, documentary/musical/black comedy by director Michael Winterbottom and writer Frank Cottrell Boyce, it all gels. This is one of the finest sleepers I've seen in a while.

highly enjoyable

[DrDVine · 7/10 · 5 April 2003]

highly enjoyable

first of all I have to say, that my music knowledge of the time period considered by the movie tends to zero. Most of the reviews came to the conclusion, that in this case it's impossible to enjoy this movie. Well, in fact I did. A lot of the shortcomings that are claimed, I have to agree on, especially concerning the script. But never the less this movie does something what only good movies do. It takes you to a different point of view. Right, I normally might don't care about a band like "Joy Division", but through the eyes of Tony Wilson I do. I was taken back to a different time, space and lifestyle, more or less to an other universe and I very much like it, though I have no idea if the thing experienced with the movie has anything to do with what it really was like. Beside this the movie is a fine piece of filmmaking and there fore just a pleasure to watch. Good acting, well done pseudo documentary style approach, loads of dry humor. Sometimes it gets a bit sentimental, but this you have to stand through, which is not this hard, because thankfully the film doesn't take it self to serious. This doesn't mean it would not be totally devoted to it's subject, but it just takes it with a twinkle in it's eye. The most important point of course is the music. Even being no fan of it and having no clue about the bands, the music alone is worth seeing this movie All in all it's of course not a masterpiece or a work of genius, but it's highly enjoyable for anyone who will allow to be take with to a place where (supposedly) history was made.

Manchester Music Scene Perfectly Evoked

[gundo · 10/10 · 4 March 2005]

I will start off by saying that if you're American then don't bother watching the film unless you're a big New Order/Joy Division/Factory Records fan otherwise your arrogant, narrow minded small town sensibilities will be pricked.

I grew up in Manchester for a while and was at UMIST in mid 80's (New Order came out with Low Life whilst I was there and it changed my musical tastes overnight) and this film really evokes the atmosphere of Manchester and it's music.

I'll readily admit it's not going to be a film that's easily understood if you're from Wichita Falls and only listen to Guns & Roses/Patsy Cline/Shania Twain...

A fan's film really and therefore will appeal most to those into the music and the personalities of the place the film's talking about.

True to Its Heritage, I Guess

[derek-duerden · 7/10 · 3 September 2021]

Inevitably coloured by the fact that I've never seen the attraction of the Happy Mondays but was a big fan of Joy Division and New Order, I found the second half of this fairly tedious - but overall I think it captured the (variable and evolving) tone pretty well throughout. Also, the blending of real footage with the newly-shot material is well-done.

Given the huge cast of characters, I'm not sure how well this will come across to those unfamiliar with the times and the wider careers of people such as Howard Devoto - but for people of a certain age there's a lot here.

I wish I could love this movie...

[dbdumonteil · 5/10 · 23 September 2004]

As I am a big fan of the bands who secured the glory of Factory Records, especially Joy Division and Durutti Column, I was quite impatient to discover "24 Hour Party People". I watched it last night and the first thing i will say will be the following one: how disappointed I was! The scriptwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce and especially the director Michael Winterbottom did a really bad work and I will try to explain why.

For me "24 Hour Party People" is an enjoyable movie to listen to, mainly thanks to the music. Someone has written on this site that you had to be British to appreciate the music. Not necessarily. I am myself French and I love most of the bands who signed for Factory Records. Obviously, you have to like this time (English independent music of the eighties), this culture. That said, these bands aren't very known in France where they remain at the stage of cult-bands. Michael Winterbottom's flick was apparently successful in Great-Britain, but in France it was belatedly launched (on the 4th June 2003) and it went unnoticed. But the main problem is that "24 Hour Party People" is, visually an exhausting movie to watch. I must say that I don't appreciate very much the making adopted by Winterbottom. There's an amateurish side, reinforced by a granular and quite dirty photography in his way of filming that I highly disapprove. It seems that his camera can't stand still even in the quietest moments. On another hand, when the movie arrives at the end of the eighties (the golden age for Manchester), as if he wanted to recreate the crazy atmosphere of the town in 1989-1990, he didn't skimp on the flashy effects which ends up annoying the spectator. Then, Winterbottom must have been influenced by "Trainspotting" (1996) because in his directing, we can sometimes detect a video clip side.

To go on, the authors of the movie seem to have forgotten one important thing. Factory Records wasn't only limited to Joy Division and the Happy Mondays. There was also Durutti Column and New Order. All right, the movie doesn't forget them but you can only see them for a few minutes. Given that, the film nearly skips the mid-eighties and quite obviously Joy Division and the Happy Mondays's careers especially interested the authors. Due to this, you can easily separate the movie in two parts. The first one mainly focuses on Joy Division while the second involves mostly the Happy Mondays. This characteristic is confirmed with the cover of the original soundtrack which depicts Tony Wilson (of course) but also Ian Curtis and Shaun Ryder. By way of consolation, we can object that Winterbottom had intuition for the cast because the actors he hired to play the musicians are very true to life, especially the ones in the roles of Ian Curtis and Bernard Sumner. Furthermore, the actor who acts Martin Hannett is very convincing in the shameless personality of this extraordinary producer.

Tony Wilson's voice-off is necessary to guide us through the most important stages. So as to give the spectator interest in the film, it can also be a good thing to make Wilson directly speak to the camera to make us share his feelings, his thoughts on Manchester, the music. So long as this idea doesn't overload the movie and I have unfortunately this impression. Winterbottom and Boyce should have restrained these too frequent apparitions.

The screenplay retained the most outstanding moments in the history of Tony Wilson and Factory Records but it doesn't stop it from having neglecting important stages as well. For example, I am sure that the fans of Joy Division would have liked to see the band recording their great disembodied album, "Closer" (1980). Then, in the first part of the work, the "punk" and "new-wave" spirit are well rendered (in one sequence, we see one character taking off from the wall a poster depicting Pink Floyd's album "Dark Side Of The Moon" (no Pink Floyd in 1977!) as well as the festive one in the second part through the Hacienda and ecstasy. But because, the director wanted to dazzle the spectator, at a visual level, it is difficult to fully enjoy this exhausting film. So you are never touched by a movie that is meant to take a nostalgic look at a past time.

This is my opinion about "24 Hour Party People": excellent music but an average movie. If a director wishes to make a film about Alan McGee, the former boss of Creation Records (Oasis and Primal Scream's former record company), I hope he won't do the same mistakes as Michael Winterbottom with this flick.

Terrific music bio with award-worthy acting by Steve Coogan

[gortx · 11 September 2002]

Ignore the awful ads for 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE (which are bollocks!), and run out and see the film while it is out in limited release. Anybody with an interest in Alternative Music in general, and the British Punk/New Wave & Rave scenes should see this examination of the past 25 years of British rock as filtered through the eyes of Factory Records' Tony Wilson.

Perhaps a bit too "inside" for general audiences, it is a rare example of a music based film that its actually good cinema to go along with it's raucous soundtrack. Well done, wry and entertaining. My only quibbles are that the filmmakers seem to be preaching to the converted. Except for the tragic Ian Curtis (JOY DIVISION), little attempt is made to inform the uninitiated as to why these bands mattered (NEW ORDER in particular, is just tossed around almost as a brand name, rather than a living breathing artistic unit). Also, we are constantly told how wonderful Manchester is as a city, but we are never really shown why. Steve Coogan's portrayal of Wilson really makes the film flow and live. It's not the kind of role that usually wins awards, but here's hoping some critics group somewhere notices. He's that fine.

enjoyable

[onepotato2 · 7/10 · 17 February 2008]

This was basically thrown away by MGM, to audiences which had to find it themselves. Which is somewhat in keeping with a record label whose products had to be sought out, then correctly deciphered (Factory products weren't labeled, as such). Only here, all the promotional materials were limp and half-hearted (poster, DVD box, marketing, etc). Never hand the marketing of counterculture to the timid drones who work at a mass-market studio like MGM.

This assembles the Factory/Joy Division/Happy Mondays/Manchester story for those who came late to the game, or were geographically out of the picture. Tony Wilson (Steve Coogan) acts as historian, tour guide, and chronicler of the Manchester scene that produced the hideously over-valued and mythologized Joy Division. The technique is to acknowledge that we're watching a movie now and again which spares it from a typical plot line, and emotional arc. Plot-schmott, just enjoy yourself watching a maverick music guru getting dragged down by a nightclub that's become an anchor around his neck. The movie has gotten way off track by the time Tony is taking credit for rave culture which has zero to do with the the initial impetus of putting together a label for a bunch of angry, anti-social, post-punk bands. Rave culture is about as angry as numbing yourself with drugs to look at pretty colors; and disappearing into your own baby-boomer-offspring selfishness ethos. The original Factory acts would have been punching these big babies.

Still I'd trade anything to live in a world of thirty billion Tony Wilsons (as remade here). He's always either smart, or funny, except when it comes to business. And the movie is infinitely better and more enjoyable than the similar 'Studio 54,' with Mike Myers as Steve Rubell. As everyone has noted it runs too long, and loses steam.

Mr. Manchester

[andrewburgereviews · 9/10 · 9 March 2021]

Tony Wilson was so full of nonsense that he had no idea what a spirituality-mongering blabbermouth he came off as despite the fact that nearly every single person in his circle of friends called him the C-word multiple times. These sort of highbrow college-educated heavyweights casually throwing their weight around are the type of characters Steve Coogan is made to play. He melts into the flow of the fast-talking Manchester legend.

What makes Michael Winterbottom's sorta biopic great is the fact that he's not bothered with the financial how-to and technical tinkering of how the man founded the underground Factory Records label and the infamous Haçienda nightclub. Why should he? The only piece of paper tying the bands to the label is a contract written in Wilson's own blood which says that the bands can do whatever they want anyway! In the business world, this is insanity as Factory Records are now completely swallowed and forgotten by their parent London Records. Winterbottom was aware he was capturing a moment worthy of psychological analysis.

Among the bands who became made at Factory, Joy Division stands out the most. To think both of their only two albums were made in such a volatile environment speaks multitudes about the visions of these people. Some of whom were powered by drugs, but for a few, it was all that mattered. Yet the real fun part here comes from the illuminist ambitions of working class people. But what other class of people would need the luxury of a well-rested spirit rather than the aforementioned? Wilson and his peers know they deserve better and his casual approach to anything really is almost irritating. Take the scene in which he is caught by his wife receiving oral sex from a prostitute only to then having him catching her performing sexual intercourse in his club's bathroom. No biggie. An eye for an eye, I guess.

Wilson might've talked a lot of smack, twisted his tongues referencing and comparing his work to the likes of philosophers and scientists. His BA in English also helped him to skillfully charm prophecies to a generational youth ready to attach themselves to whatever meaning they can find but he was never a crook. His nightclub barely broke even, his bands were under no contracts, even when he was broke he spent tens of thousands of dollars on a new-age-looking office table. You quickly get that these people did not care much for money.

Joy Division, despite being name after a Nazi group, were not fascists, not even close! They just liked the name. "Haven't you heard of postmodernism" Wilson would tell reporters. Still, that did not stop skinheads from attending their concerts much to the band's dislike. This lack of understanding from the outside overly-political world is the sole reason why this type of art remains underground. To explain that everything is pure expression, admittedly, sounds far-fetcher and a cowardly excuse but it really is as simple as that! It is probably the reason why Ian Curtis also gave up on life by tragically hanging himself. For him, the fight was pointless, but for Wilson--he is unbreakable and whoever doesn't get it can just bugger off.

On the Haçienda's closing night, he gracefully invited the attendees to burn it to the ground and take everything they want. Despite his highbrow attitude, he was a man of the people who also mourned Manchester's industrial past. How could he not be? He was the one person in the music industry who infamously didn't make any money.

Good fun and good music make a good film

[snake77 · 6/10 · 6 September 2002]

Everything about 24 Hour Party People is good enough to keep you interested. It's really the epitome of the independent film - take a unconventional storytelling approach to a neglected subject, get some good actors and improvise a little. The result in this case is wholly satisfying. Sure, I had some minor complaints - the titles are impossible to read and some parts of the story get passed over so fast you get confused. But this film more than makes up for those drawbacks in good acting, spirited direction and of course music.

The film is made in the spirit of the culture it is documenting - artistically ambitious, loose and willing to take chances to be different. To this end it makes use of a great script device - every so often the character of music impresario/TV host Tony Wilson (played brilliantly by Steve Coogan) will pause in the middle of a scene and explain to the camera what's going on, who's involved, and why it's important. In another film this might seem precious and contrived but here it works beautifully. The film begins with Wilson attending the Sex Pistols first performance in Manchester in the late 70's (along with a lowly forty or so other people, many of whom figure into the story later) and ends up with the closing of his renowned Hacienda club in the late 80's. In between we get the birth and death of Joy Division, the rise of New Order, money, sex, drugs, dancing, Factory Records, the death of several thousand pigeons, The Happy Mondays, record contracts, drugs, tours, shootouts, divorces, drugs, marriages, the birth of rave culture and more drugs.

Everyone involved does a great job, and by the time it's over you will have had a great time and possibly a much better understanding of a very interesting time in musical (and social) history.

Yes I was there.

[stevelomas-69401 · 8/10 · 12 April 2020]

I've been in the places featured, including the places masquerading as others, and I've met a fair few people (only in passing). Add to that I love the music.

Having said all that the film does play fast and loose with history, being a heady mix of fact, half-truths and utter fantasy (with a lot missed out). It's a fun film at heart with good acting. Use it to find out what really went on.

Critical mess

[=G= · 6/10 · 25 January 2003]

"24 Hour Party People" is another film which reaches critical mess with a vast chasm between the salivating film critics and a dumbfounded public. A very smart docudrama about a very boring subject with an even more boring, trite, and conceited story, "24 Hour...." follows Coogan through the genesis of a Manchester, England punk band (sort of). Bottom line here is, if you never heard of Joy Division, New Order, Factory Records, or Tony Wilson then you probably won't care about this film. I don't listen to punk, never attended a rave, etc. and was pretty much bored through-out the film. It's clever quirkiness (sheep herding goose, poisoned pigeons, etc) is the only thing which kept me awake and mildly amused. For 24 hour party people only. (B-)

Passion, energy, and rock n roll

[howard.schumann · 9/10 · 31 May 2004]

If you are nostalgic for the British post-punk rock scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s and want to learn more about bands like Joy Division, Happy Mondays, and New Order, Michael Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People is your ticket. Shot on digital video, Party People is a wild and often dizzying ride that has passion and energy, great music, and playful humor (along with the obligatory "f" words, drugs, and sex). The soundtrack features bands such as the Sex Pistols, Joy Division, the Clash, New Order, and A Certain Ration, music that keeps the energy popping from start to finish. Part documentary and part fiction, the film is narrated by impresario Tony Wilson (Steve Coogan) who was the driving force behind Factory Records, an indie label that played an important role in the spread of the new wave sound, overseeing early works of such bands as Big in Japan, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Cabaret Voltaire.

The film is not a comprehensive look at the total Manchester scene that included such great bands as The Charlatans, Stone Roses, Inspiral Carpets, and The Smiths but concentrates solely on the impact of Wilson and Factory Records. It follows Wilson as he goes from promoting Friday night sessions at the Factory Club to opening the birthplace of rave, the famous Hacienda Dance Club, while keeping his day job as a TV reporter and host for a local TV station in Manchester. After a hilarious opening sequence showing journalist Wilson hang gliding, the film turns to a Sex Pistols concert in 1976 where actual footage of the Pistols is interspersed with actors performing the songs. Although only 40 people attended, Wilson had a vision of what was possible and the small number in attendance didn't faze him, "How many people", he asks, "were at the Last Supper"?

Wilson persuades his station to televise a Sex Pistols performance, an event that led to Wilson being asked to manage several of Manchester's rock groups. We soon meet Ian Curtis (Sean Harris), lead singer for the band Joy Division, his producer Martin Hannett (Andy Serkis) and Happy Monday's singer Shaun Ryder (Danny Cunningham), bands that helped put Factory Records on the map. Harris conveys Curtis' electric energy and manic stage personality while performing great Joy Division songs such as "Love Will Tear us Apart" and "Atmosphere". Unable to come to terms with growing fame and faced with crippling epileptic seizures and an impending divorce, Curtis committed suicide on May 18, 1980 at age 23, a sad end for a consummate artist whose personal agony translated into music of sublime melancholy.

Wilson is often exasperating, throwing around words like semiotics and postmodernism, but his good-natured humor asserts itself as when he talks directly to the camera saying "you won't see this scene now but it might turn up on the DVD outtakes". In spite of all the absurdity, Wilson comes across as a man of integrity who was offered a large sum of money for his empire but refused, explaining to the audience that he "avoided selling out by never acquiring anything worth selling". Personally, I would have liked to have less laughs and a bit more information about these musicians, what kept them going or, as in the case of Curtis, what drove them to an early death. 24 Hour Party People, however, is not an in-depth character study but a fast-paced, offbeat paean to rock 'n' roll history, the people who made it, and the music we still remember.

Manchester, here I come!

[Rogue-32 · 7/10 · 15 August 2002]

Excellent pseudo-documentary about the emergence of the Hacienda club in Manchester, England, grounded by a superb performance by Steve Coogan (who was actually born in Manchester), playing club-creator Tony Wilson. The movie deftly shows what happens when a club is run by ARTISTS rather than businessmen. Could have been shortened by perhaps a good half hour but other than that, a solid effort. I'm on the plane now.

Filming the legend, perhaps not the truth.

[ProperCharlie · 8/10 · 15 September 2005]

The story of Factory Records is one I lived through by reading the UK music press whilst growing up in the 80's and 90's. I read about the parties, the drugs, the fights, the splits and the deaths. The people were larger than life caricatures, in a time before 'celebrity' had reached the nadir it has plumbed today. The best soap opera set in Manchester... What I read were legends, the truth hidden behind the ink. Having watched it brought to life, I'm still not certain what really happened. As Steve Coogan as Tony Wilson quotes in the film 'if I have the choice between the truth and the legend, print the legend'. Here the legend has been filmed.

And largely, they've played if for laughs. The real-life Tony Wilson is someone is often laughed at true, but when he speaks there's a hard edge, a confidence and edge, maybe even a whiff of intellectual brutishness, that Steve Coogan's portrayal doesn't have. The Tony Wilson in the film reminds me most of other Steve Coogan roles such as Alan Partridge. Unfortunate that the central role is lacking, as all the many other roles revolving round this centre of levity are wonderful. Most especially good are Andy Serkis as Martin Hannett and Sean Harris as Ian Curtis.

This film's brilliance is in showing the life of a large, amorphous group of people brought together for the purpose of making music. There is an ill-defined boundary round the edge of Factory Record through which people slip quietly. From within, all is energy and life. Relationships fizzing off one another bringing tragedy and comedy, art and manure in equal measure. Lives lived brightly with a heart that still beats today, even though the body has been scattered to the major labels around the world. This thing really did exist, here is the testament.

Help, I'm beginning to sound like Tony Wilson.

There are other successes and failures. The Hacienda is resurrected to the smallest detail. The claim to show the real Manchester of the time rings hollow. This maybe their Manchester, but it isn't the real one. The in-flight narrative by Coogan as Wilson is simple, yet doesn't work. The cameos by many of the 'real' people is great if you know who they are. If you don't 'get' Factory, you'll probably not 'get' this film.

As an attempt to bottle the Factory spirit, this is a roaring success and for that it gets high marks. This is not the real story, something that would make for a great documentary all of its own. One for re-living the legends rather than looking at them critically.

Fan of Music? Be a Fan of This Film

[paulkayefan · 7/10 · 6 March 2005]

24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE hits you like a quick flick to the forehead. While not a sledgehammer, the film is a roller coaster ride in the ups and downs of the club scene in the UK, following the journey of Tony Wilson (and his Factory Records) and the likes of Joy Division (which is now New Order). Steve Coogan puts in a brilliant performance as the rascal Tony Wilson. There are a couple of "what the f!!!" moments, but all in all, a quick fast history lesson in the realm of Brit Dance Music.

The scene with the pigeons, while supposedly true, is truly horrid, though it made me laugh with pride watching these "rats with wings" meet their untimely demise.

A great film for true enthusiasts, a good film for music lovers, and not recommended for anyone who doesn't know New Order or UK dance scene.

Fun, but no soul

[paul2001sw-1 · 5/10 · 2 March 2007]

One is first tempted to greet 'Twenty Four Hour Party People', the story of the rise and fall of Factory Records, with a groan on discovering that 80s (and even 90s) nostalgia is already with us. But at least the film is made by Michael Winterbottom whose movies, some brilliant and some not, at least have the merit that each one is quite unlike the others. Which means that some freshness is virtually guaranteed, and Witnerbottom tells this story in an irreverent, self-knowing fashion that is at least lively, although it does sometimes give the film the feel of low-budget sitcom. This feeling is also enhanced by the casting of comedian Steve Coogan, an actor of little depth, as Factory Records boss Tony Wilson. Like Coogan's famous alter-ego Alan Partridge Wilson was a TV presenter, but it is hard to tell whether he was quite as similar to Partridge as this film suggests, or if Coogan simply isn't up to the job of playing a different character. And the decision to tell the story of Wilson also seems strange: he was not a kid whose life was transformed, or a singer whose songs were sung the world over: he even kept his day job, and there's little underlying character development in his story. Rationally, this isn't a very good film, although it's actually quite watchable, and all the more so if you have lived through this era, and listened to the music as it was new. But there are lots of potentially interesting stories, like the death of Ian Curtis, or the wave of idealism that briefly flourished with the coming of Ecstasy, which could have been covered with a bit more feeling. This movie is fun, but perhaps also a wasted opportunity; others who revisit this era will surely have more to say.