24 Hour Party People

R

Released Aug 9, 2002

1 hr. 57 min.

Comedy

Drama

List

87%

100 Reviews

Tomatometer

87%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Manchester, 1976. Tony Wilson (Steve Coogan) is an ambitious but frustrated local TV news reporter looking for a way to make his mark. After witnessing a life-changing concert by a band known as the Sex Pistols, he persuades his station to televise one of their performances, and soon Manchester's punk groups are clamoring for him to manage them. Riding the wave of a musical revolution, Wilson and his friends create the legendary Factory Records label and The Hacienda club.

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Critics Consensus

The colorful, chaotic 24 Hour Party People nimbly captures the spirit of the Manchester music scene.

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Chris H

Coogan is very good in this but there are spot on turns aplenty from the rest of the cast. The story itself begins with the stirring and brilliant punk music of the late 70s, but turns (too) rapidly to the turgid, trippy noises of the Happy Mondays. Between these two lie Joy Division and their songs in this film inspired me to listen to a lot of their music online. The contrast between innovative talent (JD) and drug fuelled nothingness (HM) is disappointing to behold, but it is what the Hacienda was all about; so it goes.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/26/24

Full Review

Jim P

As an old guy from the North of England I grew up loving this kind of music. But I didn't think much of this movie the first time I saw it, back in the day… However, I've just seen it again and it's brilliant! Tongue-in-cheek with an awesome soundtrack!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/07/24

Full Review

Torin F

Factory Records. Joy Division. New Order. Happy Mondays. Manchester. From punk to rave, 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE chronicles a unique period in music history with an engaging stylistic approach. In depicting the excesses of its title, the film does drag a bit during its two-hour run time. Overall, however, and regardless of your affinity with this particular music scene, its an artful and thoroughly entertaining excursion.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/02/23

Full Review

Gareth v

One of the best music movies to be made, and one of 2002's best. A tale of madness, excess, success, and tragedy in this story of the influential Factory Records and Manchester music scene. Did I mention how good the music is?

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/20/23

Full Review

Shioka O

Maybe not everything in this is true, but the documentary-like direction looks real and believable, also entertaining. I'm not a big fan of the music genre, but it's interesting to see music scene evolved from New Wave to rave that flourished in the English industrial city Manchester.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

12/17/22

Full Review

isla s

This is very much an energised, music based docu-drama set in Manchester, of course. I wasn't quite old enough in the 80s to have memories of the time it covers but it features some decent music and the story of the main character is mildly interesting. It felt a little dis-jointed but overall its ok, I'd say.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Michael Winterbottom

Director

Steve Coogan

Anthony Wilson

Lennie James

Alan Erasmus

Shirley Henderson

Lindsey Wilson

Paddy Considine

Rob Gretton

Andy Serkis

Martin Hannett

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Excellent movie about punk's origins; older teens only.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 26, 2010

Full Review

Eric Henderson

Slant Magazine

A light and playful look at the Manchester music scene which spans from the punk explosion to the dawn of acid house.

Jan 31, 2003

Full Review

Empire Magazine

Rated: 4/5

Dec 23, 2002

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Director Michael Winterbottom’s sprawling, jagged film is happily, even willfully unreliable as history and it embraces the tug-of-war between factual events and the stories and legends that have around them.

Apr 6, 2024

Full Review

Farah Cheded

A Good Movie To Watch

24 Hour Party People takes the same punk approach to storytelling as its subjects did to music, playfully throwing off the dull constraints that often make based-on-a-true-story movies feel like uninspired celluloid translations of a Wikipedia page.

Nov 25, 2023

Full Review

Chris Ludovici

The Spool

It may not be all true, necessarily, but it's super entertaining, and that's what matters in the end, right?

Jan 18, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

Manchester, 1976. Tony Wilson (Steve Coogan) is an ambitious but frustrated local TV news reporter looking for a way to make his mark. After witnessing a life-changing concert by a band known as the Sex Pistols, he persuades his station to televise one of their performances, and soon Manchester's punk groups are clamoring for him to manage them. Riding the wave of a musical revolution, Wilson and his friends create the legendary Factory Records label and The Hacienda club.

Director: Michael Winterbottom
Executive Producer: Henry Normal
Screenwriter: Frank Cottrell Boyce
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Miramax
Rating: R (Sexuality|Drug Use|Strong Language)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 9, 2002, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.1M
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, SDDS, DTS, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR

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