Control(2007) Apr 2026

The choice to shoot in black and white wasn't just a stylistic nod to the era’s photography. It serves as a visual manifestation of Ian Curtis’s internal state. In Control , there are no vibrant colors to distract from the mounting dread.

Most music films are about the ascent—the noise, the crowds, the dopamine hit of fame. But Control is a film about walls. Shot in high-contrast black and white, Anton Corbijn (the photographer who helped define Joy Division’s visual identity) creates a world that feels as cold and claustrophobic as a Manchester winter in 1979. 1. The Monochrome of the Soul Control(2007)

The title is the film’s cruelest irony. Ian Curtis was a man losing control of everything: The choice to shoot in black and white

Here is a deep dive into the film’s exploration of isolation, the burden of genius, and the stark monochrome of Ian Curtis’s reality. Most music films are about the ascent—the noise,

Control remains a masterpiece because it captures the specific frequency of Joy Division’s music—the tension between the driving, mechanical bass and the fragile, human voice. It asks us to look past the "Unknown Pleasures" T-shirts and see the boy who was simply too sensitive for the world he helped create.