As the front man of the Clash from 1977 onwards, Joe Strummer changed peoples lives forever. Four years after his death, his influence reaches out around the world, more strongly now than ever before....( read more
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DVD Release Date: July 8, 2008
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Stats: 779 reviews
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Flixster Reviews (779)
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September 11, 2009Unflinching documentary of one of the most important figures in the history of popular music. I found it a little hard to watch for a borderline obsessive Clash fan like myself, as the focus was not just on the magic in a bottle that the band found, but rather on Joe, front to ba...( read more)
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December 16, 2008The only fault I can find with The Future Is Unwritten is that some of Julien Temple's celebrity interviewees are not particularly insightful, seemingly having been selected purely with a view to marketing his film. However, Temple does an impeccable job of finding a cinem...( read more)
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December 18, 2007he tried to change the world and not become a commodity. a great time for fans of the only band that mattered. i just don't understand why there's a pirate in it
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January 27, 2009This documentary about The Clash?s lead singer debuted at Sundance a couple years ago and then kind of disappeared. I?ve long been a fan of The Clash, in fact I still have a Clash poster up in my bedroom. The problem is that Joe Strummer didn?t really have a wildly interesting ...( read more)
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September 6, 2009Beautiful documentary on a legend of British rock. I've appreciated Strummer much more after watching this, and I have to say it feels very passionate and well-made to be "just another music documentary".
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April 21, 2009The best documentary I have seen about a musician, it really followed him closely and went through his best days and his darkest days. I learned a lot from it and have a new deep respect for him not only as a musician but as a great person in general.
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March 5, 2009I absolutely love The Clash, and i equally enjoyed this fantastic documentary of the life and adventures of "Punk Rock Warlord"/singer/songwriter Joe Strummer. A documentary which is one to go down in the history books of Rock'n Roll.
Brilliantly narrated by the wild howlin' a...( read more)
Critic Reviews
February 1, 2008
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
January 4, 2008
David Edelstein, New York Magazine
Temple has plenty of cinematic tricks and willing interview subjects. full review
November 9, 2007
Pete Hammond, Maxim
A remarkably well-detailed doc that proves 'Rock The Casbah' is not just that song from the cell phone commercials. full review
November 9, 2007
Ty Burr, Boston Globe
Suffused with clear-eyed affection for its subject and times, this is not your little brother's punk documentary. full review
November 4, 2007
A.O. Scott, The New York Times
Leaves behind a surprising afterglow and allows you to appreciate Joe Strummer's warmth. full review
October 28, 2007
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
I've never cared for Joe Strummer and The Clash, but Julien Temple's Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten is, for the most part, some sort of incredible. full review
Comments
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December 20, 2007This movie had great rare footage of Joe with and without the Clash, but has one unforgivable sin--or, rather, two. One: it does not identify any of the talking heads interviewed. Sure, okay, that's Johnny Depp, that's Matt Dillon, that's Martin Scorsese, but otherwise it's mostly old men who knew Joe in the early '70s, or his daughters, relatives, etc., and it would've personalized the movie immensely to've known who these folks were. Two: Joe's lyrics should have been featured prominently on-screen while he was singing them. Joe was widely recognized as a great songsmith, but not necessarily as an intelligible vocalist, and to leave out great lines like "All the power is in the hands of the people rich enough to buy it" distances the film from folks unfamiliar with his work. Julien Temple, what were you thinking?!
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