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24 Hour Party People

Play trailer Poster for 24 Hour Party People R 2002 1h 57m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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87% Tomatometer 100 Reviews 87% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
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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24 Hour Party People

24 Hour Party People

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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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Critics Reviews

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Nell Minow Common Sense Media 08/26/2010
4/5
Excellent movie about punk's origins; older teens only. Go to Full Review Eric Henderson Slant Magazine 01/31/2003
A light and playful look at the Manchester music scene which spans from the punk explosion to the dawn of acid house. Go to Full Review Jamie Russell BBC.com 11/04/2002
4/5
Brilliantly realised and hilariously funny. Go to Full Review Chance Solem-Pfeifer Willamette Week Apr 2
The shifty protagonist lends himself a tone brilliantly managed by director Michael Winterbottom. Go to Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand 04/06/2024
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. Go to Full Review Farah Cheded A Good Movie To Watch 11/25/2023
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. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Luca D. @JoeCamel7 Jan 8 Interesting story, even though most of it is fictionalized. The movie is entertaining at best. The acting is decent and it doesn't really have direction. It's not totally historically accurate but also not well written from a fictional standpoint, so it's kind of just a jumble of loose historical figures, flashing lights, and good music. Probably won't watch again. If you want to watch for the joy division part just watch Control instead. See more Peter F @RT64944199 Jun 7 One of a few essential party movies made in the UK. This, along with Human Traffic, are how party movies should be made. See more Dani G @RT81139271 02/17/2025 Kind of the same with other label record stories, and also a little annoying editing See more Twiggy H @RT13588610 08/13/2024 A 'mockcumentary' movie with a great selection of comedic actors, most gone to waste. The film is quite boring - like someone who wasn't 'edgy' trying to make an edgy film for the edgy youth sort of boring. Really gets flat as it goes along. There's a few golden nuggets in it though, like the depiction of Ian Curtis was well done, plus 'Martin' pretty much was the only highlights worth watching. Would actually be a great film had it gone with the angle of having Martin as the main character throughout on a similar storyline. See more Chris H @RT60525826 02/26/2024 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. See more Jim P @RT08384096 02/07/2024 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! See more Read all reviews
24 Hour Party People

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Cast & Crew

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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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24 Hour Party People

24 Hour Party People (2002) 24 Hour Party People (2002) View more photos

Movie Info

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
Producer
Andrew Eaton
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
Runtime
1h 57m
Sound Mix
Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, SDDS, DTS, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR
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