Anton Corbijn

Directing

Anton Corbijn

Born 1955-05-20 · Strijen, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɑntɔ ɲoːˈɦɑnəsˈxɛrɪt kɔrˈbɛiɱ vɑɱ ˌʋɪlənsˈʋaːrt]; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director, and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2, having handled the principal promotion and sleeve photography for both bands over three decades. His music videos include Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence" (1990), U2's "One" (version 1) (1991), Bryan Adams' "Do I Have to Say the Words?", Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box" (1993), Travis's "Re-Offender" (2003) and Coldplay's "Talk" (2005). He directed the films "Viva la Vida" (2008), the Ian Curtis biographical film Control (2007), The American (2010), and A Most Wanted Man (2014), based on John le Carré's 2008 novel of the same name; and Life (2015), after the friendship between Life magazine photographer Dennis Stock and James Dean. Description above from the Wikipedia article Anton Corbijn, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acting credits

Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming with Dave Letterman poster
7.6

Filmmaker Morgan Neville captures Dave Letterman on his first visit to Dublin to hang out with Bono and The Edge in their hometown, experience Dublin, and join the two U2 musicians for a concert performance unlike any they’ve done before.

Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming with Dave Letterman

2023

Grönemeyer – Alles bleibt anders poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Grönemeyer – Alles bleibt anders

2026

Unknown Brood poster
6.4

“When I do my suicide for you, I hope you’ll miss me too,” Herman Brood sang in “Rock ‘n’ Roll Junkie” – just one of many announcements of his own death Brood worked into his songs. It’s a subject Brood, who jumped off the roof of the Amsterdam Hilton 15 years ago, often sang about. In Unknown Brood, a whole range of people look back on the rock and roller’s turbulent life, including fellow musicians, his manager, a former girlfriend, photographer Anton Corbijn, Brood’s wife and their daughter. Video footage shot by Brood himself and never seen before is intercut with a rich collection of archive material, including a humorous clip of Brood barking the Dutch national anthem. His sister Beppie Brood stresses her brother’s split personality: on the one hand the shy, vulnerable man wary of other people, and on the other the one who played Herman Brood – an extravagant, hedonistic junkie and rock and roll star.

Unknown Brood

2016

The Making of A Most Wanted Man poster
NR

Behind-the-scenes look at making the film adaptation of John le Carré's A Most Wanted Man.

The Making of A Most Wanted Man

2015

Like Tears in Rain poster
7.7

His entire life, the charismatic actor Rutger Hauer kept the outside world at a distance. His inner circle included only a small group of people, among them director and goddaughter Sanna Fabery de Jonge. In this film, she unravels the mystery surrounding Rutger and reveals a man even more fascinating than the roles he played.

Like Tears in Rain

2024

Joy Division poster
7.6

A chronological account of the influential late 1970s English rock band.

Joy Division

2009

Depeche Mode: Strange Too poster
7.6

Strange Too - Another Violation by Anton Corbijn is the third music video compilation by Depeche Mode, featuring more videos directed by Anton Corbijn, released in 1990. Unlike the previous video, Strange, all the videos are fully in color. There are six videos, all songs from the album Violator, released in the same year. There is one for each of the four singles, plus two bonus videos, for "Halo" and "Clean", exclusive to "Strange Too". As with its predecessor, Corbijn shot all six videos in Super-8. The tallest woman in the "Halo" video is a young Jenna Elfman. The Drive-In featured in the introduction to the compilation is the "Motor Vu Drive-In", located in Erda, Utah, west of Salt Lake City, near the town of Tooele, this part of the video being shot the day after the band's concert in Salt Lake City in July, 1990.

Depeche Mode: Strange Too

1990

Anton Corbijn Inside Out poster
5.5

An intimate portrait of Anton Corbijn as he travels the world as a photographer, film maker and video artist…

Anton Corbijn Inside Out

2012

Depeche Mode - Strange & Strange Too poster
NR

Freshly Restored from Original Super 8 Sources, the Compilation of Groundbreaking Depeche Mode Videos, Directed and Filmed by Anton Corbijn, includes 11 Music Videos + 6 Previously Unreleased Outtake "Vignettes". Previously available as individual titles in VHS and Laserdisc formats, Strange (1988) and Strange Too (1990) are compilations of the provocative and visionary short films lensed by master photographer/director Anton Corbijn, in collaboration with Depeche Mode, to create a new visual iconography for the band and their music. When assembling the final edits for Strange and Strange Too, Corbijn created a visual running order where the individual music videos are perceived as one continuous film, with additional interstitial content not seen in the original clips.

Depeche Mode - Strange & Strange Too

2023

Depeche Mode: The Videos 86-98 poster
7.5

The Videos 86>98 is a music video compilation by Depeche Mode, featuring almost two dozen music videos directed by a variety of directors, released in 1998. It coincides with The Singles 86>98. The original movie was released on VHS and DVD. There was however a special edition, DVD only, called Videos 86>98 + (without "The", and with "+") released in 2002. The DVD was two discs, the first disc being identical to the only disc in the original DVD, while the second DVD contains bonus material not found in the original release.

Depeche Mode: The Videos 86-98

1998

The Work of Director Anton Corbijn poster
7.8

Legendary photographer and director Anton Corbijn is responsible for many of the most indelible and important images of the past two and a half decades. His recently released book U2 & I is a photographic retrospective of his 25 year collaboration with U2. Later this year, Anton will direct his first feature film, Control, based on the life of the late Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis.

The Work of Director Anton Corbijn

2005

Shadow Play: The Making of Anton Corbijn poster
7.0

Most rock fans may not know the name Anton Corbijn, but they've certainly seen his work. Corbijn shot the iconic cover artwork for U2's The Joshua Tree and Depeche Mode's 101, and gave both groups a new and more dramatic visual persona in the process. Since them, Corbijn's work, bearing his trademark dark shadows and deep, textural details, has graced the covers of recordings by R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen, Morrissey, Nick Cave, John Lee Hooker and even Bon Jovi. Corbijn has also directed a number of music videos for the likes of Nirvana, Johnny Cash and Metallica, and made his debut as a feature film director in 2007 with Control, a screen biography of Ian Curtis of Joy Division (who Corbijn photographed several times in the group's heyday). In Shadow Play: The Making of Anton Corbijn, filmmaker Josh Whiteman offers an intimate look at the life and career of this celebrated visual artist, featuring interviews with Bono, Chris Martin, Michael Stipe, Dave Gahan and Bernard Sumner.

Shadow Play: The Making of Anton Corbijn

2009

Don Van Vliet: Some YoYo Stuff poster
7.2

Don van Vliet, alias "Captain Beefheart", is one of the most influential, misunderstood, talked about, admired, copied, treasured, loved and quoted musicians and yet he is still an obscure and mysterious artist. His quite abrupt artistic transformation from working with a microphone to a paintbrush in 1982 and his consequent move from the desert to the ocean meant even less direct contact with the outside world than before. Subsequently there is very little information about Don from this time onwards and this short black-and-white film made in 1993 is an unique opportunity to see and hear this unique man

Don Van Vliet: Some YoYo Stuff

1994

Depeche Mode: The Best Of Videos Vol. 1 poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Depeche Mode: The Best Of Videos Vol. 1

2007

Anton Corbijn: Geen Stil Leven poster
9.0

Documentary about the life and works of Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn.

Anton Corbijn: Geen Stil Leven

2000

Classic Albums: U2 - The Joshua Tree poster
6.5

Release in March 1987, U2's The Joshua Tree quickly became the fastest-selling album in British chart history, selling almost 250,000 copies within the first week of release. In the US, it was equally successful, topping the Billboard album chart for nine weeks, spending 58 weeks in the Top 40 there and earning a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The story of the making of The Joshua Tree is told here, via interview and archive film footage, with contributions from band members Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. U2’s long-time manager Paul McGuinness reveals how the album catapulted the band into the category of rock superstars, and there are contributions from Elvis Costello in the role of a major U2 fan, re-mix producer Steve Lillywhite, and of course co-producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. Packed with reminiscences and powerful performances, this is the story of one of the most famous and best records of the Eighties, a true Classic Album.

Classic Albums: U2 - The Joshua Tree

1999

Depeche Mode: 1987–88 “Sometimes You Do Need Some New Jokes…” poster
8.5

"Sometimes You Do Need Some New Jokes…" - In both musical and commercial terms, Depeche Mode had been building slowly but steadily by the time of Music for the Masses in 1987. The album really did feel like a great leap forward. It was the start of a new chapter. This short film tells the story of that album, it's aftermath and the impact on the band. The DVD also contains a 5.1 surround sound mix of the original album.

Depeche Mode: 1987–88 “Sometimes You Do Need Some New Jokes…”

2006

No artwork available
6.5

Documentary covering Tovey's life and career up to his untimely death in 2002. It includes rare and unreleased tracks and live footage of legendary performances, as well as classic songs recorded both under his own name and his alter ego, Fad Gadget. Put together by Frank's family in conjunction with Mute, utilising the Mute and family archives, this collection features the very first Fad Gadget demos and footage of the reborn Fad Gadget supporting Depeche Mode in 2001.

Fad Gadget by Frank Tovey

2006

Depeche Mode: 1991–1994 “We Were Going to Live Together, Record Together… and It Was Going to Be Wonderful…” poster
7.3

"We Were Going To Live Together, Record Together… And It Was Going To Be Wonderful…" - As part of the band's Documental series about their history, the documentary short about the making of Songs of Faith & Devotion and its eventual tour showcases the band moving into different directions where they nearly killed each other followed by a tour that broke the band leading to the departure of its longtime member Alan Wilder.

Depeche Mode: 1991–1994 “We Were Going to Live Together, Record Together… and It Was Going to Be Wonderful…”

2006

Behind the camera

The American poster
6.0

Dispatched to a small Italian town to await further orders, assassin Jack embarks on a double life that may be more relaxing than is good for him.

The American

2010

A Most Wanted Man poster
6.5

A Chechen Muslim illegally immigrates to Hamburg and becomes a person of interest for a covert government team tracking the movements of potential terrorists.

A Most Wanted Man

2014

Control poster
7.5

The story of Joy Division’s lead singer Ian Curtis, from his schoolboy days in 1973 to his suicide on the eve of the band's first American tour in 1980.

Control

2007

Control poster
7.5

The story of Joy Division’s lead singer Ian Curtis, from his schoolboy days in 1973 to his suicide on the eve of the band's first American tour in 1980.

Control

2007

A Talent for Murder poster
NR

A young man travels from New York to Switzerland to try to persuade acclaimed thriller writer Patricia Highsmith to write one final installment of her Tom Ripley series, with his efforts gradually turning more sinister.

A Talent for Murder

2026

Life poster
6.0

In 1955, young photographer Dennis Stock develops a close bond with actor James Dean while shooting pictures of the rising Hollywood star.

Life

2015

Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis) poster
7.4

In 1968, art students Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey “Po” Powell made a trippy photo collage for their musician friends Syd, David and Roger. The resulting album and album cover, A Saucerful of Secrets, helped launch two careers: that of Pink Floyd, one of the 70s megabands, and of Hipgnosis, which, over the course of the next 25 years, designed a stream of iconic album covers.

Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)

2023

Linear poster
NR

The film is based on a story by Corbijn and Bono, and includes several of the characters Bono created for the album. The plot focuses on a Parisian motorcycle officer, played by Saïd Taghmaoui; the character has become disillusioned with his life and the conflict between immigrants and the police in the city, causing him to leave to see his girlfriend in Tripoli.

Linear

2009

Linear poster
NR

The film is based on a story by Corbijn and Bono, and includes several of the characters Bono created for the album. The plot focuses on a Parisian motorcycle officer, played by Saïd Taghmaoui; the character has become disillusioned with his life and the conflict between immigrants and the police in the city, causing him to leave to see his girlfriend in Tripoli.

Linear

2009

Spirits in the Forest poster
7.2

A look at Depeche Mode's final moments of their 2017 Global Spirit Tour, featuring intimate stories from select fans.

Spirits in the Forest

2019

Joy Division: Plan K, Brussels 16th October, 1979 poster
NR

The full show previous unreleased till now.

Joy Division: Plan K, Brussels 16th October, 1979

2026

Depeche Mode: One Night in Paris poster
7.5

This video release by Depeche Mode features an entire concert from their 2001 Exciter Tour, shot at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy on 9 and 10 October 2001.

Depeche Mode: One Night in Paris

2002

LiVE SPiRiTS Depeche Mode At The Waldbühne poster
9.0

'LiVE SPiRiTS' features a full-length Depeche Mode concert performance filmed at the final two shows of the band's Global Spirit Tour at the Waldbühne in Berlin.

LiVE SPiRiTS Depeche Mode At The Waldbühne

2019

Joy Division: Apollo Theater, Manchester  27 and 28th October 1979 poster
NR

The full uncut shows previous released in low quality.

Joy Division: Apollo Theater, Manchester 27 and 28th October 1979

2026

Depeche Mode: Strange Too poster
7.6

Strange Too - Another Violation by Anton Corbijn is the third music video compilation by Depeche Mode, featuring more videos directed by Anton Corbijn, released in 1990. Unlike the previous video, Strange, all the videos are fully in color. There are six videos, all songs from the album Violator, released in the same year. There is one for each of the four singles, plus two bonus videos, for "Halo" and "Clean", exclusive to "Strange Too". As with its predecessor, Corbijn shot all six videos in Super-8. The tallest woman in the "Halo" video is a young Jenna Elfman. The Drive-In featured in the introduction to the compilation is the "Motor Vu Drive-In", located in Erda, Utah, west of Salt Lake City, near the town of Tooele, this part of the video being shot the day after the band's concert in Salt Lake City in July, 1990.

Depeche Mode: Strange Too

1990

Depeche Mode: Devotional poster
8.7

This video release by Depeche Mode features almost an entire concert from their 1993-1994 Devotional Tour, filmed in Barcelona, Liévin and Frankfurt.

Depeche Mode: Devotional

1993

Depeche Mode: LiVE SPiRiTS poster
8.8

LiVE SPiRiTS captures Depeche Mode’s 2018 concert in Berlin, Germany as part of their “Global Spirit Tour”. The film is also being packaged alongside the group’s new documentary, Depeche Mode: SPiRiTS in the Forest. Directed by Anton Corbijn, the documentary was originally screened in 3,000 threaters across 80 countries in 2019.

Depeche Mode: LiVE SPiRiTS

2020

Coldplay: Unstaged Live From Madrid poster
NR

This concert is part of the “American Express Unstaged” series, which brings together musical artists with renowned film directors. Coldplay is paired with award-winning filmmaker and celebrated photographer Anton Corbijn. Known for his masterful use of black and white and striking imagery, Corbijn provides fans with a visually stunning digital viewing and in-venue experience.

Coldplay: Unstaged Live From Madrid

2011

Depeche Mode: Strange poster
8.1

Strange - A Black and White Mode by Anton Corbijn is the second music video compilation by Depeche Mode, featuring the first five Depeche Mode videos directed by Anton Corbijn, released in 1988. Corbijn shot the entire video album in Super-8. The five videos are mostly in black and white, except for some random megaphones that were colored red. There were the three main singles for Music for the Masses, the final Black Celebration single "A Question of Time", and "Pimpf", the instrumental closer to Music for the Masses. The "Pimpf" video is currently exclusive to "Strange".

Depeche Mode: Strange

1988

Depeche Mode: The Videos 86-98 poster
7.5

The Videos 86>98 is a music video compilation by Depeche Mode, featuring almost two dozen music videos directed by a variety of directors, released in 1998. It coincides with The Singles 86>98. The original movie was released on VHS and DVD. There was however a special edition, DVD only, called Videos 86>98 + (without "The", and with "+") released in 2002. The DVD was two discs, the first disc being identical to the only disc in the original DVD, while the second DVD contains bonus material not found in the original release.

Depeche Mode: The Videos 86-98

1998

The Work of Director Anton Corbijn poster
7.8

Legendary photographer and director Anton Corbijn is responsible for many of the most indelible and important images of the past two and a half decades. His recently released book U2 & I is a photographic retrospective of his 25 year collaboration with U2. Later this year, Anton will direct his first feature film, Control, based on the life of the late Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis.

The Work of Director Anton Corbijn

2005

Don Van Vliet: Some YoYo Stuff poster
7.2

Don van Vliet, alias "Captain Beefheart", is one of the most influential, misunderstood, talked about, admired, copied, treasured, loved and quoted musicians and yet he is still an obscure and mysterious artist. His quite abrupt artistic transformation from working with a microphone to a paintbrush in 1982 and his consequent move from the desert to the ocean meant even less direct contact with the outside world than before. Subsequently there is very little information about Don from this time onwards and this short black-and-white film made in 1993 is an unique opportunity to see and hear this unique man

Don Van Vliet: Some YoYo Stuff

1994

Kleinste Kortste Film poster
NR

There‘s a finger. She bites it.

Kleinste Kortste Film

2010

Depeche Mode: Live in Berlin poster
7.4

Filmed on location at the O2 World in Berlin on November 25th and 27th 2013 during the band’s extremely successful Delta Machine Tour, which saw them play to over 2.4 million people in 32 countries. The concert not only includes performances of tracks from Delta Machine but also some of their most memorable and biggest hits including “Personal Jesus” and “Enjoy the Silence”.

Depeche Mode: Live in Berlin

2014