Control

The transfer of Control onto DVD is just about immaculate. Given the fact that the film was shot in black and white, contrast is crucial and even in crowded club scenes the different shades of black and grey are very well realised. The soundtrack is also as good as you would expect from such a recent film.

The commentary track is by Anton Corbijn - who, interestingly, pronounces his surname 'Corbine', despite Sam Riley and many others opting for the more anglicised 'Corbin'. He is certainly informative and keen to talk about his wonderful cast - Morton, in particular, is described as everything from "fabulous" to the "actor of her generation". However, Corbijn has a rather laidback, hushed tone which doesn't exactly inspire. It might have been better to have one of the actors, perhaps Riley, alongside him, to help pep things up a bit. It is interesting in places - he reveals, for example, that Curtis never had a sexual relationship with 'other woman' Annik and that Curtis' daughter Natalie has a bit-part in a gig scene - and his description of a 'working men's club' for other countries in Europe is well worth a listen. However, you are probably not going to want to listen to it in a single sitting.

Much more engaging is the 23-minute Making Of featurette. Corbijn is a little more dynamic here as he describes what led to the film being made. He says he tried to compensate for his lack of technical experience of filmmaking with "drive and energy" and, generally speaking, followed his instinct rather than watching hosts of other biopics. Writer Matt Greenhalgh also explains his motivations, revealing that he "never met the band" and saying he didn't want to meet them while writing for fear he would be "overawed". It seems both he and Corbijn are speaking after the shooting has been wrapped.

The members of the cast who play the band members, including Sam Riley, meanwhile, appear to be being quizzed on their roles in between shooting scenes. They talk about how they came to play the songs themselves and how difficult it is to play characters who, for the most part, are still alive.

All in all the Making Of is one of the better of its type, with those involved coming across as relaxed and committed, rather than the usual over-rehearsed nonsense that Hollywood tends to produce.

There are three extended performance scenes from the film also included, of Transmission, Leaders Of Men and Candidate, plus Joy Division's Atmosphere 88 Video, which was directed by Corbijn. Looking at the latter - with its strange, self-consciously arty Tataouine like landscape filled with black and white-clad monks - it is clear, and something of a relief, to see that Corbijn's creativity has come a long way.

Rounding out the disc are 12 photo stills from the film and the trailer.

Despite this being a neatly packaged disc, there are a couple of questions hanging over it. Why is there no input at all from any of the people portrayed in the film, particularly Deborah Curtis, who was one of the producers. Equally, there is no nod to the actual band themselves. Although there isn't much video footage in existence of them - according to an interview I heard with Riley recently, there is little more than an hour or so - surely a few additional stills (perhaps even taken by Corbijn) would not have gone a miss?