DVD: Control, directed by Anton Corbijn

The story goes that acclaimed photographer and music video director Anton Corbijn moved to London because of Joy Division — and took the band's epochal photo in the London Underground — so there's a nice symmetry in having his feature debut be the raw and beautiful film Control, about the band's lead singer Ian Curtis.

A sufferer of epilepsy — and, as the movie makes clear, dealing with marriage and interpersonal difficulties — Curtis committed suicide in 1980 on the evening prior to embarking on what would have been the band's first American tour. He was 23 years old. The posthumous release of the band's second album Closer and the single "Love Will Tear Us Apart" became the band's biggest hits.

As a pre-MTV band, there's a dearth of Joy Division footage out there — something that has probably contributed substantially to the myth and  deification of Curtis. Corbijn's movie brings the rock icon back down to earth, depicting him as just another confused kid with a job, a wife, a baby and a dream to be a rock star. Sadly, he also had an inability to reconcile with the fact that he couldn't, and maybe even didn't want to have it all.

The music throughout is fantastic — even in its re-recorded form in the movie by Curtis portrayer Sam Riley and his castmates. And, as you can see from the YouTube mash-up of real/movie footage, Corbijn does a faithful job resurrecting the band and its time and place — but an even better job at making sure the movie isnt a mere bipic or recreation of what we missed.

The DVD of Control is out today  (it's on sale for $16.99 at Amazon).

DVD: Radiohead, The Best Of

No Surprises. Everything you love (or loathe) about Radiohead carries over to the videos they've been leaving in their wake. From the slow burn straight ahead performance clip for "Creep" to the increasingly experimental videos that supported breakthrough albums The Bends and OK Computer and on through the twists and turns of everything that followed.

If you need a refresher or a memento, then you should pick up Radiohead: The Best Of DVD, which goes on sale today. 21 videos in total, the set compiles the work of such top directors as Jamie Thraves, Michel Gondry, Jonathan Glazer, Jake Scott and Sophie Muller.

Radiohead: The Best Of 
(DVD) track listing

• Creep — Brett Turnbull, director
• Anyone Can Play Guitar — Dwight Clarke, director
• Pop Is Dead — Dwight Clarke) 

• Stop Whispering — Jeff Plansker) 

• My Iron Lung — Brett Turnbull) 

• High and Dry (UK version) — David Mould, director
• High and Dry (US version) — Paul Cunningham, director
• Fake Plastic Trees — Jake Scott, director
• Just — Jamie Thraves
• Street Spirit (Fade Out) — Jonathan Glazer, director
• Paranoid Android — Magnus Carlsson, director
• Karma Police — Jonathan Glazer)

• No Surprises — Grant Gee
• Pyramid Song — Shynola
• Knives Out — Michel Gondry
• I Might Be Wrong — Sophie Muller
• Push Pulk / Spinning Plates — Johnny Hardstaff, director
• There There — Chris Hopewell, director
• Go To Sleep — Alex Rutterford, director
• Sit Down Stand Up — Ed Holdsworth, director
• 2+2=5 (Live at Belfort Festival) — Fabien Raymond, director

Buy it through this Amazon link, or support your local whatever it is (Best Buy, maybe?) because this is pretty much as big and as good as a videography can be...

DVD: Scissor Sisters "Hurrah: A Year Of Ta-Dah"

Scissor Sisters cap off another year of massive international success — ie: not so much here in their homeland, the USA— with the DVD release of Hurrah: A Year Of Ta-Dah. The set includes a full concert shot at London's O2 arena, four music videos — including the stellar "She's My Man" and "Land Of A Thousand Words" — an acoustic performance, various shorts and a one hour documentary that was directed by Ben Hoffman, produced by Aimee Phillips and edited by Rival Editorial's Steve MacCorkle. Trailers and clips are available at ScissorSisters.com or via YouTube here or here.

It's on sale at Amazon.com for $19.98.

DVD: My Chemical Romance - Atom Rothlein, director

Director Atom Rothlein and the Speedway Films/Revolver Film Company crew was on hand at Mexico City's Palacio De Los Deportes to capture My Chemical Romance perform the full-length, live on stage version of The Black Parade for the final time. A DVD release through Reprise/Warner Bros. is slated for early 2008.

artist: My Chemical Romance
label: Reprise/Warner Bros.
director(s): Atom Rothlein
producer: Jen Rothlein
production co: Speedway Films in association w/ The Revolver Film Co.

DVD: Tim Buckley - My Fleeting House

MVD Visual will be releasing a DVD collection of folk singer Tim Buckley performances. Compiled and being released with the full approval of the Tim Buckley estate, the My Fleeting House set includes 11 full-length performances taken from various TV programs stemming from 1967 through his untimely death in 1975. Bonus features include interviews with writer David Browne (author of Dream Brother: The Lives Of Jeff And Tim Buckley), Buckley's songwriting partner Larry Beckett and guitarist Lee Underwood. My Fleeting House was produced by Rick Fuller and will be available on May 15 for list price of $19.95.

Be sure to check out the preview at YouTube or right below...

DVD: Metallica: The Videos 1989 - 2004

Although Metallica didn't bother to make a video until their fourth proper album — and then delivered a clip that was over seven minutes long and incorporated scenes with dialogue from the 1971 film Johnny Got His Gun — they did go on to embrace the form and make some of the more memorable hard rock videos to hit the airwaves. The DVD Metallica: The Videos 1989 - 2004 collects all 21 of the band's clips remixed in 5.1 surround sound.

Highlights include:

• "One" directed by Michael Salomon & Bill Pope
• "Enter Sandman" directed by Wayne Isham
• "The Unforgiven" directed by Matt Mahurin
• "Hero Of The Day" directed by Anton Corbijn
• "Turn The Page" directed by Jonas Akerlund

On sale date for the US  is December 5. Available at Amazon for less than $15.

PS: Visit the exhaustive fan site Metallizone.com for credits and info on all of Metallica's videos.

DVD: Kissology - The Ultimate Kiss Collection

When it comes to combining visuals with music and using imagery to sell records— especially in the pre-MTV days — there's little point in debating the prominence of Kiss. VH1 Classics Records collects early TV appearances, live concert footage and promo clips in the DVD box set Kissology: The Ultimate Kiss Collection Vol. 1 1974-1977. Highlights include the Mike Douglas Show episode where comedian Totie Fields correctly guesses that Gene Simmons is "a nice Jewish boy" and an absurd spot on the 1976 Paul Lynde Halloween Special.

Kiss "Kissology: The Ultimate Kiss Collection Vol. 1 1974-1977" (VH1 Classics)
various directors | Alex Coletti, producer | Roger Coletti, co-producer | Derek Ambrosi, editor

DVD: Prince & The NPG "Diamonds & Pearls"

Prince And The New Power Generation
"Diamonds And Pearls: Video Collection"
(Paisley Park/Warner Reprise Video)
All the videos from the Prince And The N.P.G. album Diamonds And Pearls finally makes it to DVD via the aptly titled Diamonds And Pearls: The Video Collection. The videos are sequenced with a few live concert and interview snippets forming a sort of extended-length piece. The most memorable clips included are the "Cream" and "Diamonds And Pearl" videos directed by Rebecca Blake, "Gett Off" directed by Randee St. Nicholas, and "Money Don't Matter 2 Night" directed by Spike Lee.

DVD: Soul Asylum "The Silver Lining"

Soul Asylum
The Silver Lining - special DVD edition (Sony Legacy)
Rick Fuller, producer | Harder-Fuller Films, production co | Andy Grund, DP | Jolynn Garnes, editor | July 11, 2006, release date | Description: Harder-Fuller's Rick Fuller oversaw the DVD component of the reunited Soul Asylum's first album of new material in eight years, The Silver Lining. The DVD spotlights the reunited band — which includes original members Dave Pirner and Dan Murphy plus fellow Minnesotans Tommy Stinson of The Replacements and drummer Michael Bland — in performance at famed Minneapolis club, First Avenue. -- watch an EPK for the project

NEWS: Dropped Documentary

For every commercially successful band, there are at least another 100 — if not 1,000 — left by the wayside. Although some might tell you that most bands don't make it because they're just not good enough, fans and those behind-the-scenes know that failure often stems from a mixture of bad luck, bad timing and bad decisions. The documentary feature film Dropped is the story of some of these bands — the ones that signed with record labels, released albums and seemed to be on the verge of fulfilling their dreams, only to get abruptly "dropped." Above and beyond that, however, the film was a way for executive producer Nicole Ehrlich to shine attention on a slate of directors she respected and who — through a similar combination of bad luck and bad timing — she had not yet been able to work with in her role as video commissioner at Geffen Records.

The bands and directors featured in Dropped are:

• Hot Karl directed by George Meeker
• Bush Tetras directed by Molly Schiot and Mariah Garnett (aka Molly & Mariah)
• Murphy’s Law directed by Farah Khalid
• Burning Star directed by Av Accius
• Whiskey Biscuit directed by Rosser Goodman
• Spearhead directed by Joyce Williams
• OPM directed by John Logsdon.

Each director had complete creative control and all proceeds from the movie are going to charity. Dropped was acquired by the Sundance Chanel and is available for rent through Netflix.com