24 Hour Party People
Director- Michael Winterbottom
Cast- Steve Coogan, Lennie James
Country of Origin- U.K.
Distributor - MVD
Number of discs – 1
Reviewed by - Scott MacDonald
Date- 06/17/2019
24 Hour Party People is on my list of personal favorite films of all time. This 2003 film from Michael Winterbottom (Tristram Shandy, 9 Songs) follows "minor character in his own story" Tony Wilson, as he starts Factory Records in Manchester U.K. in the late 1970's, finding and (not) signing bands like Joy Division, Durutti Column, and a Certain Ratio, and making musical history in the process.
The film opens with Wilson hang gliding on his Manchester based TV show, before diving into Wilson at a Sex Pistols show in Manchester, which was deemed by Wilson as being historic and life changing for those there. From there he uses his TV connections to start a show bringing more obscure music to the masses. This is the springboard from which he starts Factory Records, a label that had no contracts with its bands, and split the profits 50/50. Of course, Factory's desire to be outside the mainstream caused some fallout with the various participants as Wilson and company work with bands like the Happy Mondays and New Order to realize their vision. Wilson would also open the famed club the Hacienda which spent most of its life losing money for New Order, Wilson, and Factory.
The film is basically a mix of documentary and drama. Not quite a biopic, as Wilson seems to the tour guide of his story, showing off the events that surrounded his famed existence. It is shot in a very fast video style with era-inspired graphics and design. The performances across the board are fantastic, with Steven Coogan doing a marvelous take on Wilson. I would also point out the excellence of Sean Harris' take on Ian Curtis, and though I cannot decide who I prefer in the role Harris or Sam Riley, Harris' take certainly is effective and fits the film. We also get the quite diverse Andy Serkis in the role of Factory Producer Martin Hannett.
MVD Marquee brings 24 Hour Party People to Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1:85:1 transfer. So to get this out of the way, Winterbottom show a lot of his 2000's films in SD Mini-DV, and this film is no different. Therefore, any upgrade will be quite minor from the DVD. The closing credits are definitely more vivid, and honestly there is less compression and macro blocking than what was on the DVD.
I would recommend it on the sheer basis that Blu-ray is a more stable format than the DVD, and also we get a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track in English that is certainly an upgrade from the DVD and helps bring the music of this film to life. Extras include 2 commentaries one with Steve Coogan and Andrew Eaten, the other with Tony Wilson himself. There is a Manchester the Movie featurette, as well as one about Tony Wilson himself. The disc is rounded off with a photo gallery, deleted scenes, and an SD trailer. 24 Hour Party People is a brilliant docu-drama, that really makes for an excellent depiction of the "Madchester" music scene, and Factory Records. The Blu-ray is a negligible upgrade, but I will find myself recommending it. Now how about a Control Blu-ray?
