Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten

More emotionally than factually driven. Has some great and unexpected editing choices, but doesn't go far enough in either the story-based or feeling-based direction.

Definitely something to watch if you're a fan of the Clash or Joe Strummer. If not, I'm not sure if the story is compelling enough to hold your interest. A nice tribute to an important human being though.

It's okay to watch this film if you're really into Joe Strummer and are completely in tune with the idea of a bunch of other big names sitting around a staged fire back-slapping each other about how great he was and how great they are for having known him. But for someone exploring a mild interest in Joe (ie. me) you might find yourself put off by a bunch of other big names sitting around a staged fire back-slapping each other about how great he was and how great they are for having known him.

The stuff before and after The Clash is fascinating, however the Clash years is a typical rock star story, and presents a narrow view of the band focusing on certain aspects.

Sweet doc about one of my favorite musicians. My favorite part is when Scorsese meets Joe and talks about how his source of creativity for Raging Bull was from The Clash. Very cool. Probably not as interesting for people who aren't fans, but if you aren't a fan, you're doing something wrong with your life.

"I've never cared for Joe Strummer and The Clash, but Julien Temple's Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten is, for the most part, some sort of incredible." - Nick Schager

In JOE STRUMMER: THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN, we learn how Strummer transformed from earnest folkie to sneering punk icon practically overnight--a complicated mythology that's barely explored among endless celebrity testimonials and a genuinely fascinating first-person glimpse of the Clash's rise and fall. The documentary never seems to find its true focus, but even so it comes across as a sincere tribute with plenty of fascinating archive footage of a singular epoch in rock music.

Enjoyable insight into the man.......slightly frustrated by the lack of labelling on who was actually speaking on camera...fine for those that know, but perhaps bemusing for those that didn't recognise or know of the contributers

Its flaws are in its focus and it focuses a bit too much on the early Clash, but its an otherwise great documentary with a great running motif.

Starts out sort of sloppy, but picks up to really get in depth for the definitive clash years

LOVED it the first time. Noticed some flaws the second. I was initially blown away by the emotion, and the reveal for why the campfire motif was used. Temple also injects much energy into the first 2/3 of the film. But Joe's post-Clash life was not fleshed out as it should have (not one clip of him with The Pogues?). I also thought that the The Clash's final years were treated like an afterthought. One minute devoted to "Sandanista"? Still, a very good movie about a talented and principled man.