24 Hour Party People

Manchester, England's music scene spawned some of the most potent pop music of the last three decades, and Michael Winterbottom's exuberant, chaotic film uses a wide array of cinematic tricks to capture the omnipresent atmosphere of edgy creativity, wild drug use, and contempt for social convention that characterized the sonic arc from punk to rave. Presented as a quasi-mockumentary, the film is omnisciently narrated by Tony Wilson (played with amazing energy by British standup comic Steve Coogan), the real-life journalist who reported on the movement and also created venues for bands like Joy Division and Happy Mondays to perform in, later founding Factory Records (where the artist was king). While this device allows for a good deal of witty, sophisticated commentary, all that talk means that the music itself is more often described than actually heard (and the use of digital video, with its washed-out colors and gritty images, doesn't exactly help matters on the visual side either). In the final analysis, 24 Hour Party People will speak primarily to the already converted--i.e., those for whom it will be a nostalgia trip rather than an introduction. Optional. (F. Swietek) [Blu-ray Review—July 2, 2019—MVD Visual, 117 min., R, Blu-ray: $24.99—Making its debut on Blu-ray, 2002’s 24 Hour Party People features a fine transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 audio. Extras include audio commentaries (by star Steve Coogan and producer Andrew Eaton; and by real-life film subject Tony Wilson), deleted scenes (16 min.), a 'Manchester: The Movie' companion featurette (11 min.), a segment 'About Tony Wilson' (6 min.), and a photo gallery (5 min.). Bottom line: Winterbottom’s uneven and deliberately grungy film looks as good as it likely ever will on this Blu-ray release.]