Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (2007)

Director

• Julien Temple

Starring

• Joe Strummer
• Mick Jones
• Topper Headon
• Paul Simonon
• Terry Chimes

Last On

01:15-03:40 Tue 16th Jul 2019 140m
Film4

Synopsis

British film-maker Julien Temple made his name documenting The Sex Pistols' rise to infamy in The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (1979) and its companion piece The Filth and the Fury (2000). He returns to his roots with this intimate and deeply affecting biography of Joe Strummer, frontman of that other great British punk band The Clash, who died in 2002 aged 50. Charting Strummer's turbulent life and career, from his early childhood in Turkey to his self-proclaimed role as "punk rock warlord", the film paints an affectionate, warts-and-all portrait of a musical genius with a passion for politics and a talent for reinvention. Fascinating archive footage captures the spirit of the times, from the 1970s squatting scene to The Clash in America and Strummer's later enthusiasm for rave culture. And illuminating campfire interviews with everyone from Bono to Strummer's childhood friends suggest his influence both on a personal level and as an icon of British music.