Joe Strummer,
Bono,
Steve Buscemi,
John Cusack,
Johnny Depp
... see more 
Filmmaker Julien Temple takes a look beyond the guise of the late, anti-establishment icon Joe Strummer to offer a warm portrait of the self-described "mouthy little git" who was born John Mellor and ... read more
DVD Release Date: July 8, 2008
Get It:
Stats: 836 reviews
Your Rating
Flixster Reviews (836)
-
January 7, 2011For as much as I love Joe Strummer, for as much as I love The Clash and for as informative as I found Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten, this documentary was a pretentious pile of shit about a seemingly unpretentious man. The archive and interviews with Strummer and people wh... read more
-
September 11, 2009Unflinching documentary of one of the most important figures in the history of popular music. I found it a little hard to watch for a borderline obsessive Clash fan like myself, as the focus was not just on the magic in a bottle that the band found, but rather on Joe, front to ba... read more
-
December 16, 2008The only fault I can find with The Future Is Unwritten is that some of Julien Temple's celebrity interviewees are not particularly insightful, seemingly having been selected purely with a view to marketing his film. However, Temple does an impeccable job of finding a cinem... read more
-
August 14, 2008the clash is the music of my youth. with that said, i have seen most clash films and have all the band's music through the years. This is the best documentary in that it humanizes joe throughout his youth, 101ers, the clash and its demise, the wilderness years, and true joy with... read more
-
December 18, 2007he tried to change the world and not become a commodity. a great time for fans of the only band that mattered. i just don't understand why there's a pirate in it
-
-
-
January 27, 2009This documentary about The Clash?s lead singer debuted at Sundance a couple years ago and then kind of disappeared. I?ve long been a fan of The Clash, in fact I still have a Clash poster up in my bedroom. The problem is that Joe Strummer didn?t really have a wildly interesting ... read more
-
April 6, 2008A really great documentary on one of the best frontmen around joe strummer of the clash from his birth to his death interviews with almost everyone that knew him this is one of the best documenties ive seen about a musician and any fan of the clash should check this out
-
April 21, 2009The best documentary I have seen about a musician, it really followed him closely and went through his best days and his darkest days. I learned a lot from it and have a new deep respect for him not only as a musician but as a great person in general.
Critic Reviews
June 20, 2008
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
February 1, 2008
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
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. Full Review
February 1, 2008
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
Temple, who chronicled the Sex Pistols...offers the full, sometimes bloated, context of Strummer's life through the testimony of his many friends and collaborators. Full Review
January 4, 2008
Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times
A beautiful, evocative collage composed of concert footage, photographs, interviews and film clips, as well as interviews with people who knew him, the film is a rigorously thorough biography and an i... Full Review
January 4, 2008
David Edelstein, New York Magazine
Temple has plenty of cinematic tricks and willing interview subjects. Full Review
January 4, 2008
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Compelling viewing, even for people who don't care a bit for the punk scene. Full Review
December 14, 2007
Tom Long, Detroit News
Future is overlong and will best be enjoyed and understood by fans, but even newcomers will appreciate the essential drive of the man, who died of a sudden heart attack in 2002, and admire his ability... Full Review
December 14, 2007
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
The story illustrates how easily political art can be hijacked by the other side, and it illuminates the anguish of a man who spent the last 20 years of his life wrestling with his legacy. Full Review
November 9, 2007
Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle
The Future Is Written is a loving testimonial to one of rock's true originals. Full Review
November 9, 2007
Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer
Julian Temple has done cinematic justice to the punk humanist born John Graham Mellor. Full Review
Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
