POST-PUNK JUNK / Made In Sheffield March 19, 2009

Two docs covering the post-punk history of northern England! The town of Sheffield's barren industrial panorama gave birth to an equally stark musical scene in the 1970s, dominated by bands who eschewed the traditional guitar route in favor of "drum machine dreams and bleep-blip bop" (DVDTalk.com). Made In Sheffield is the story of groups like Cabaret Voltaire, The Human League and Heaven 17, who, far away from the scenester showdown of London, used new technology to create uncompromising and prophetic musical visions of the future-now. Also showing is Shadowplayers, a rich oral history film chronicling the rise and fall of the unparalleled Factory Records label, based out of the city of Manchester. Home to heavy hitters such as Joy Division, New Order and A Certain Ratio, the label has long been steeped in myth, thanks in part to recent films like 24 Hour Party People and Control. Shadowplayers features a host of Factory insiders like label founder Tony Wilson and designer Peter Saville telling it like it really was--or, at least, how it was to them.
Made In Sheffield Dir. Eve Wood, 2001, DigiBeta, 52 min.
Shadowplayers Dir. James Nice, 2006, digital presentation, 135 min.