Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten

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Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten

2007

2h 5m

Documentary

Biography

Music

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

89%

Tomatometer

64 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Julien Temple's film is a fitting tribute to one of Britain's most influential and best-loved musicians, best known as the frontman of The Clash, who mellowed in later life into fronting his new band, the Mescaleros. Temple's advantage is that as a chronicler of punk from its earliest days, he could call on his own archive footage as well as that shot by others over the years.

Critics Consensus

Displaying Joe Strummer warts and all, The Future is Unwritten succeeds as both an engrossing documentary and a comprehensive examination of one of music's most legendary figures.

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Wendy Ide

The Times (UK)

Jun 21, 2023

Articulate, argumentative and influential: the Clash frontman Joe Strummer makes a rewarding subject for a documentary.

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Amy Nicholson

I.E. Weekly

Feb 3, 2008

B

The big unanswerable question is: Do we wish Strummer would have listened to David Lee Roth's advice that "You don't have to take life so seriously, honey"?

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Peter Howell

Toronto Star

Feb 1, 2008

3/4

Miracle of miracles, a valuable portrait of Strummer manages to emerge from the chaos, helped by the film's one consistent thread: tapes of a BBC World Service radio show he hosted in his final years.

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Toni Vall

Cinemanía (Spain)

Nov 5, 2020

3/5

An at times exciting, restless and absorbing film. [Full review in Spanish]

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Benjamin H. Smith

Decider

Jan 24, 2018

... effectively paints a three dimensional portrait of Strummer, unafraid to confront his philosophical contradictions, though neither dwelling on his flaws, and showing how by finding his humanity, he ultimately lived up to the ideals he espoused.

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Dave White

Movies.com

Apr 4, 2011

5/5

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Joe Strummer

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Interview: Julien Temple on Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten

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Synopsis

Julien Temple's film is a fitting tribute to one of Britain's most influential and best-loved musicians, best known as the frontman of The Clash, who mellowed in later life into fronting his new band, the Mescaleros. Temple's advantage is that as a chronicler of punk from its earliest days, he could call on his own archive footage as well as that shot by others over the years.

Director: Julien Temple
Producer: Amanda Temple, Anna Campeau, Alan Moloney
Distributor: IFC First Take
Production Co: Parallel Film Productions Ltd., Nitrate Films, Film4
Genre: Documentary, Biography, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 2, 2007, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 9, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $248.2K
Runtime: 2h 5m

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