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Summary: Perfect in all respects - Great Tale of Teen Identity Crisis
Review: If you haven't seen this movie, I recommend it to anyone that was ever a teenager that just wanted to belong. It's a story of Jimmy, and his discovery of the phoniness of the mod lifestyle. See what he does when he realizes he's the only full-time mod.
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Summary: Addictive viewing
Review: I have seen the film over a hundred times. I first saw it as an impressionable teenager in London in 1979. As soon as I came out of the cinema I wanted to be a Mod, ride a scooter, wear a Parka, take pills and visit Brighton. It's that type of film, it shows the need for an identity, and mirrors the need of every teenager, to rebel. Franc Roddams' direction is immaculate and extracts the best from a superb cast. Phil Daniels will always be Jimmy, Leslie Ash will always be Steph, My Generation will always be an anthem for teenagers all over the World.
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Summary: How it influences the Mod revival
Review: This movie is an absolute must for anyone who is into the 60s in England and who is also into the Mod culture, (anyone who is a true devotee to it), which started in London in 1959 and ended in mid-1965. Also good for anyone who is a Who fan, because in the movie, besides the songs from the original Quadrophenia album, they also play the record single of "My Generation," which came out in 1965. END
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Summary: A review of Quadrophenia
Review: There may be a misprint. Sting has a minor supporting-cast role in this movie, and the music was actually done by The Who. The story deals with the clashes of the Mods and Rockers in Britain. Beatiful scooters and wonderful period costumes. A must for Vespa and Lambretta fans. END
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Summary: Underrated classic of 1960s English working class youth
Review: Though I still have my original double LP album of the Who's "Quadrophenia," I must confess that I had never seen the filmed version until it played on the Bravo television network (in a toned down version) a few years back. While Rhino's DVD is not perfect, it does provide, arguably, the best home viewing experience of this film to date. The Who's music is used to good advantage in the film, though it never dominates the story. "Quadrophenia" should definitely not be classified as a musical in the way that the film version of "Tommy" is. In fact, the Who only acted as musical directors and allowed director and co-screenwriter Franc Roddam to bring his own vision to Pete Townshend's original story. The result is one of the best profiles of English working class youth, though it may be a tough view for U.S. audiences too young to remember the "British Invasion" of the 1960s.Make no mistake about it, "Quadrophenia" is a very English film that pulls no punches, and features a memorable performance from Phil Daniels. Daniels, who's in virtually every scene, convincingly portrays Jimmy Cooper, the "Mod" who ultimately becomes disillusioned with everything around him. In the DVD's accompanying audio commentary, Franc Roddam claims that all of the young actors in "Quadrophenia" were treated equally, i.e., there were no stars, but Daniels clearly carries the film. What's remarkable is that he was only 19 when the film was made. U.S. audiences will probably not recognize any of the cast members other than Sting who has a small, but important role as a "Mod" who's not exactly what he appears to be. Rhino crams in the usual extras that DVD viewers have come to expect (the trailer, production stills, etc.) but, for me, there are two standout extras here. Director Franc Roddam provides one of the best running audio commentaries that I've heard to date. His is a nice balance of some of the technical aspects of making the film, as well as some of the artistic choices that he made in this, his first theatrical film. The other great extra is a compendium of English films made during and immediately after the Mod era. It covers the span from serious dramas to comedies and everything in between. I'll be searching out a number of these films as a direct result of this feature.
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Summary: All the Young Mods
Review: Franc Roddam's adaptation of the the Who's concept album(not "rock opera") "Quadrophenia" is a great depiction of young adulthood during a specific time and place. This film not only gets all of the physical details right but it also touches on all of the emotional ones, too. The themes here are universal. Who among us has not, to some degree, wasted our lives by trying to forge an identity by associating with a clique and make all the wrong decisions not by personal choice but through imagined peer pressure? Our everyman here is Jimmy Cooper, masterfully played by Phil Daniels. Jimmy, when not working at his dead-end mailroom job at an ad firm, lives for the opportunity to club and get an amphetamine high with his mod friends. The climax of this life choice is a weekend at Brighton Beach on the English coast where Jimmy and his friends can intimidate vacationers and rumble with their chosen rivals, the leather-clad rockers. What Jimmy doesn't anticipate is that after all is said and done you have to wake up the next morning and return to reality. I was fortunate to have seen this film as a teenager in the theatres but it didn't do much box office outside of the arthouses. The Cockney accents here are a little thick so you have to strain your ears somewhat. But there is no mistaking the powerful lyrics by Pete Townshend that act as a greek chorus to what is happening on screen. The film and it's soundtrack some thirty years on have lost none of their staying power.
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Summary: OVERLOOKED COMING OF AGE MOVIE
Review: Quadrophenia is an overlooked coming of age movie. It is the type of movie that is usually always available at you local video store, because most people don't know about it. This film was made by the Rock Group THE WHO!! Completely different format than THE WHO's Tommy. Quadrophenia is also historically acurate, in that it takes place in Great Britian during the Mod and Rocker gang riots. Quadrophenia is about a mod teenager named Jimmy who is questioning authority and life in general. He is taking drugs, kicked out of his house by his parents and is contimplating sucide. This film is very relivent even today to most teenagers.
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Summary: We are the Mods, we are the Mods!!!!!!!!!
Review: Motorbikes with multiple rear view mirrors and headlights, pills, snack bar hangouts, gang rumbles, and music by the Who. Quadrophenia, executive produced by the Who, with music produced by bassist John Entwistle, captures a slice of Britain in the 1960's. True, the strong accents may not be understandable to untrained American ears, but to an Anglophile such as myself, it was music to my ears. The interraction between Jimmy and his friends. He's really taken with Steph, a prize blonde in their circle who seems to be hanging around another Mod. However, he ignores Monkey, who's a nice enough girl, but who in his eyes pales when put aside Steph. Her reaction at his not noticing her is telling, as she seems to have a thing for him. He does okay around the others, such as Dave, Spider, and a black guy named Ferdy, who's the one to go to for buying blues, pills that is. Most curious is the way he sees Kevin, a friend of his who went in the army and left, only to become a Rocker. Jimmy's life as the post-room boy seems unrewarding. In fact he steals some cheesecake photos he was supposed to deliver and keeps them. Hmm, were those "pictures of Lily"? His late nights also cause consternation to his parents, and he answers them with equal vituperation. He is a typical enough boy, with ... pin-ups, newspaper clippings of Mods versus Rocker riots, and pictures of the Who on his bedroom wall. A telling scene about what the movie's thematically about comes during a conversation between Kevin and Jimmy. Kevin says he doesn't care one bit about the whole Mods and Rockers nonsense. Jimmy then says, "I don't want to be the same as everybody else. That's why I'm a Mod, see? I mean, you gotta be somebody, ain't ya? Or you might as well jump in the sea and drown." Yet there's the contradiction of being a Mod just to be somebody. Jimmy's father tells him to have a mind of his own instead of being in a gang. For Kevin, it seems to be just the difference in musical tastes, i.e. Gene Vincent versus The Kinks. Jimmy has nailed his Mod colours to the mast to the hilt. When Jimmy is watching The Who performing "Anyway, Anywhere, Anyhow" on Ready Steady Go, and turns up the volume on the tellie while jamming to it, his father tells him, "That'll make you deaf, you know", which is ironic given Pete Townshend's later hearing problems and the Who's notoriously high decibel concerts. Apart from Cathy McGowan's show, the non-Who music such as the Ronettes, Crystals, and the Kingsmen There are a few gang confrontations, ranging from jeering from motorbikes, down to fisticuffs. When Spider, a Mod, "gets a right kicking" from Rockers, that means reprisal time, and woe be to any Rockers hanging out. The climactic riot scene in the holiday seaside resort of Brighton on the Bank Holiday is the most memorable part of the movie. At first, it's almost like a convention or motorbike rally before things get nasty. While I don't condone the violence and property damage, this exciting scene plays a crucial part of 1960's Britain, very reminiscent of similar gang rumbles in the America in the 1950's. Second in memorability is the break-in at the chemist's to get some blues, and the frantic tension broken by moments of comedy works very well. And when everybody is jamming to "My Generation" at a party, the way the Mods get into the song is very high energy. Phil Daniels plays Jimmy as someone who wants to fit in, yet remain an individual, equally befuddled and disillusioned.
Many of the other leads, particularly the Mods, stand out as their vivid personalities capture the period detail, Leslie Ash as Steph, Mark Wingstad as Dave, Gary Shail as Spider, and in particular, Raymond Winstone as Kevin. Pop singer Toyah Willcox does well as Monkey. Despite having a small role as Ace, Sting's role is important in the Brighton scene. Hey, he even got to yank a cop off his horse and do some serious messing about. The Who's contribution to rock operas translated into movies should not be understated. Quadrophenia remains as it ever will be, a classic, nostalgic time capsule of a time sadly long gone. Love Reign O'er It!
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Summary: A Scooter love story?
Review: This is basically the same story as Saturday Night Fever. Two gangs, hanging out and one guy (focus of the story) likes Girl A but Girl B is the one that likes him. He won't have it and will do anything to get Girl A. This is a bit more dark than Saturday Night Fever. Is it the grey English weather? The 60's film? I don't know - but Sting is a stylin' mod on a Vespa GS and is the envy of the entire Mod community. It shows how old he really is. Watch this to truley see the historic rivalry between the Mods and the Rockers. Plus it has tons of scooters and a riot in Brighton.
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