Control is a 2007 British-American
biographical film about the life of
Ian Curtis, singer of the late-1970s English
post-punk band
Joy Division. It is the first feature film directed by
Anton Corbijn, who had worked with Joy Division as a photographer. The
screenplay by
Matt Greenhalgh was based on the biography
Touching from a Distance by Curtis' widow
Deborah, who served as a co-producer on the film.
Tony Wilson, who released Joy Division's records through his
Factory Records label, also served as a co-producer. Curtis' bandmates
Bernard Sumner,
Peter Hook, and
Stephen Morris provided incidental music for the soundtrack via their post-Joy Division incarnation
New Order.
Control was filmed partly on location in
Nottingham,
Manchester, and
Macclesfield, including areas where Curtis lived, and was shot in colour and then printed to
black-and-white. Its title comes from the Joy Division song "
She's Lost Control", and the fact that much of the plot deals with the notion that Curtis tried to remain so in control of his own life, and yet had no control over his epilepsy and pharmaceutical side effects.