Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten Reviews

For as much as I love Joe Strummer, for as much as I love The Clash and for as informative as I found Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten, this documentary was a pretentious pile of shit about a seemingly unpretentious man. The archive and interviews with Strummer and people who worked with and I don't know, actually KNEW Strummer (like Mick Jones, Topper Headon, Jim Jarmusch, Steve Buscemi, etc) were cool, BUT... who's idea was the hobo camp-style interviews? There's a city behind them so I'm guessing they're not camping. And while we're on the subject of the interviews, why should I give a fuck what Johnny Depp has to say about The Clash? Or The Red Hot Chili Peppers or Bono? Oh, you saw The Clash once? Great, fuck off. And how about Matt Dillon and John Cusack? You hung out with Strummer once? AWESOME, now fuck off! At the same time its essential viewing for even the most fair-weather of Clash fans. There's just a lot of bullshit to wade through...

Unflinching 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 back... meaning that there was a lot more to learn about his departure from the 101ers, his attempt to keep the Clash going with Mick and Topper gone, and his time in the wilderness before finally starting to make music again with the Mescaleros.

And, despite the tinge of iconoclasm, Joe still comes out looking great. The mythology is debunked, and the man is raised up, with the result being an exciting portrait whose true beauty is in its style: Julien Temple is a great documentarian, and he lets this story out in just the right way. A winner.

The 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 cinematic style to match the urgency of Strummer's music, weaving a dazzling collage -- of stock footage, home movies, film and television excerpts, animations and live performances -- around some excellent interview material. I think those people who bleat about the lack of identifying titles for the talking heads are missing the essential point: to single those people out would be to elevate them above the common (wo)man, which would be the very antithesis of everything Joe Strummer stood for. Temple's decision is absolutely right; in this film, the rich and famous, spurned bandmates, ex-girlfriends and family are communally anonymous! (Many thanks to s.d. for ushering me to my seat!)

the clash is the music of my youth. with that said, i have seen most clash films and have all the band's music through the years. This is the best documentary in that it humanizes joe throughout his youth, 101ers, the clash and its demise, the wilderness years, and true joy with the mescaleros. i still need to view the bonus footage for the complete portrait.

he 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

I'd have to watch it again to remember why I didn't like it.

A consummate portrait of the Clash and Strummer in particular.

This 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 life after he left the band, I probably would have preferred a doc that focused on The Clash. That said, this is pretty well made. They assemble all the interview subjects around a campfire, and that give the whole thing a pretty unique and homey feel.

A really great documentary on one of the best frontmen around joe strummer of the clash from his birth to his death interviews with almost everyone that knew him this is one of the best documenties ive seen about a musician and any fan of the clash should check this out

The 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.

i usally don't cry while
watching movie or
documanrys no matter
how sad or tuff the flim
is but this flim made me
ball in away ai never
thought i would. it
was just so incradbly
buetful. i don't know
how to put my feeling
to word but will
difintly try my best
because i think people
should see this flim even
if you never hear of the
man. in all honsty I
know his music but
before sseing this flim
i did not know much
about him. for the
frist time in my life after
watching aflim I felt
that the world me is
beutful and should be
enjoyed. it was like I
was seeing clare after
i was done i theink this
was the best flim
expernse in my life.
Watch this flim and
enjoy it as much as i
did.

Its about Joe Strummer. So yeah, its one of the most interesting movies ever.

I can't wait to see this movie!

I've heard accounts that this film largely glosses over Joe's image and casts him in a light unfairly lionizing him post humously. Some of the interviews do come off as hero worship and of course anything that Bono attaches his name to is bound to draw the ire of the anti-arena indie crowd. But none-the-less an interesting glimpse of a man and his band that changed rock history.

Great documentary about Joe Strummer's life. I still prefer The Clash: Westway to the World documentary that was made 6 years before though.

An interesting look into the front-man of one of the world's most popular punk-rock bands of the late 70's and early 80's. A must-see for fans of the Clash.

An honest story of my hero.

I watched this Documentary the other day and I was interested by the whole story of Joe Strummer and I also thought his name sounded cool. but the story of this film is about the road of Joe Strummer and his career but it focuses more on his privacy and awkwardness which made him cool self . If you don't know ho is Joe Strummer his is the singer from the band The Clash. very deep thought and capturing moments in the biopic and it's sadly lovely with hope of a better future. At the end you sit there thinking about how life could be different if one thing is changed.

Como documento periodistico es invaluable, gran cantidad de material sobre el britanico nacido en Turquia Joe Graham, mas conocido como Joe Strummer, fundador, cantante y guitarrista de la gran banda "The Clash". Pero como documental es un fracaso, son dos horas continuas de entrevistas con algun material de conciertos pero la mayoria son solo monologos de amigos y admiradores.
Solo para entusiastas de la banda, de resto es para dormir seguro.

Probably the best biopic I have seen. A great insight to a songwriter in a group whose reach into music people are still feeling to this day