Quadrophenia (film)
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| Quadrophenia | |
|---|---|
 Phil Daniels on the U.S. DVD cover for Quadrophenia |
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| Directed by | Franc Roddam |
| Produced by | Roy Baird Bill Curbishley |
| Written by | Dave Humphries Franc Roddam Martin Stellman Pete Townshend |
| Starring | Phil Daniels Leslie Ash Philip Davis Mark Wingett Sting |
| Music by | The Who Various Artists |
| Cinematography | Brian Tufano |
| Editing by | Sean Barton Mike Taylor |
| Distributed by | The Who Films |
| Release date(s) | September 14, 1979 (Toronto Film Festival) |
| Running time | 120 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | N/A |
| IMDb profile | |
Quadrophenia is a 1979 British film based on the 1973 rock opera album Quadrophenia by The Who. The film stars Phil Daniels in the leading role as a Mod named Jimmy. The film also stars Toyah Willcox, Mark Wingett, Leslie Ash, Ray Winstone, Timothy Spall, Phil Davis, Michael Elphick, Kate Williams, Sting and John Altman. It was directed by Franc Roddam in his feature directing debut.
In 2004 the magazine Total Film named Quadrophenia the 35th greatest British film of all time.
Contents |
[edit] Story
It's London, 1964, and Jimmy is a member of a Mod gang (well-dressed youths who ride Vespa and Lambretta scooters). Mods are always fighting with Rockers, who in turn wear black leather and ride motorcycles. Disillusioned by his parents and a dead-end job in an advertising firm, Jimmy only finds an outlet for his teenage angst with his mod pals Dave, Chalky and Spider. A three-day bank holiday provides the excuse for the rivalry between the two gangs to come to a head, as they both descend upon the seaside town of Brighton.
But when Jimmy is arrested during the Brighton riot, his life begins to go down the slopes. He is fined and kicked out of his house by his mother (who found his stash of blues. He also quits his job, blows his severance package on blues, finds out that his girl, Steph, has left him and is now the girlfriend of his mate Dave, which leads to a physical blowout, wrecks his scooter, and finds out his idol, the suave Ace Face (Sting), is in reality a bellboy. He steals Ace's scooter and heads out to the cliffs, leading him to an uncertain fate...
The film is a reflection of the proto-punky, pre-Thatcherite Britain, documenting the amphetamine-fueled narcissism of youth culture in the 1960s. Central to the story are the clashes between Mods and Rockers of the time, culminating with a bloody battle on a beach at Brighton, which was based on a real life event.
[edit] The ending
In the famous ending, Jimmy supposedly drives himself off a cliff in a form of suicide. Although we don't see Jimmy, we see the scooter fly through the air and crash on the rocks. This has led people to debate on whether or not Jimmy went off the cliff and died.
Debate on the ending scenes of the film is largely misplaced, as a figure (Jimmy) is clearly seen on the top of the cliffs in a split second (entirely deliberate) shot as the scooter flies through the air. The opening scene of the film is, indeed, Jimmy walking back up the incline from the cliff-edge. He's symbolically trashed the culture of mod (and trashed the Ace Face scooter at that) due to the easy-to-follow disillusionment with friends, lifestyle and 'politics' of youth culture. Ace Face is not all he seems, and Jimmy realizes that the whole raison d'etre of mod is built on fragile foundations.
On the DVD Commentary, director Franc Roddam states that the ending can be perceived as ambiguous, and that many viewers disregard certain facts and have their own beliefs concerning Jimmy's fate.
A featurette included on the VHS release, featuring photos of the production, includes several shots of Jimmy falling from the scooter as it approaches the cliff edge. The final shot shows him standing on the cliff edge, looking out to sea.
[edit] Response
The film was received mostly negatively by critics and was panned for its large amounts of sex, violence, profanity and drug use, which at the time was fairly uncommon. It did acquire a large word of mouth reputation amongst teenagers too young to go and see it. Today it is considered a cult classic and is recognized as a realistic reflection of youth culture in the 1960s. Many have praised Phil Daniels' intense performance.
It was a major influence on the mod revival in music and fashion which provided a launching pad for the careers of bands such as Secret Affair, The Chords and The Lambrettas while boosting the popularity of The Jam previously perceived as a punk act. Sting's appearance in it also benefitted his band The Police despite their music being wholly incongruous with traditional mod tastes.
[edit] Soundtrack
- The Who - I Am the Sea
- The Who - The Real Me
- The Who - I'm One
- The Who - 5:15
- The Who - Love Reign O'er Me
- The Who - Bell Boy
- The Who - I've Had Enough
- The Who - Helpless Dancer
- The Who - Doctor Jimmy
- The High Numbers - Zoot Suit
- Cross Section - Hi Heel Sneakers
- The Who - Get Out and Stay Out
- The Who - Four Faces
- The Who - Joker James
- The Who - The Punk And the Godfather
- James Brown - Night Train
- The Kingsmen - Louie Louie
- Booker T. & the MG's - Green Onions
- The Cascades - Rhythm of the Rain
- The Chiffons - He's So Fine
- The Ronettes - Be My Baby
- The Crystals - Da Doo Ron Ron
- The High Numbers - I'm the Face
[edit] Differences with the original
The film neglects the four-way split personality aspect to the original Who album, focusing more on the album's subplot of the Mod vs Rocker battles of the 1960s.
[edit] Production notes
Several references to The Who appear throughout the film, including an anachronistic inclusion of a repackaged Who album that was not available at the time. The film was almost canceled when Keith Moon, a member of The Who, died, but in the words of Roddam, the producers, Roy Baird and Bill Curbishley, 'held it together' and the film was made.
Only one scene in the whole film was shot on the studio; all others were on location. Beachy Head, where Jimmy may or may not try to kill himself at the end of the film, was the location of a real-life suicide that influenced the soundtrack and film adaptation (Beachy Head is a well-known suicide spot with locals). The stunt coordinators underestimated the length that the scooter would fly through the air after being driven off Beachy Head. Franc Roddam, who shot the scene from a helicopter, was almost hit.
[edit] DVD releases
Universal first released the film on DVD in 1999 with an 8-minute montage featurette. It notoriously used the VHS print, which was extremely grain and washed-out and full of print damage.
Following this in the US was a special edition by Rhino, which included a remastered but matted wide screen transfer, a commentary, several interviews, galleries, and a quiz. However, it was shorter cut of the film, with several minutes of footage missing, so it still truly wasn't considered the definitive DVD of the film.
On August 7 2006, Universal improved upon their original DVD with a Region 2 two-disc special edition. The film was digitally remastered and included a brand new commentary by Franc Roddam, Phil Daniels and Leslie Ash. Disc 2 features an hour-long documentary and a featurette with Roddam discussing the locations. Like their previous DVD, it was the complete, longer version, and like the US DVD it was a mattered wide screen version rather than the original full screen. [1]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Ali Catterall and Simon Wells, Your Face Here: British Cult Movies Since The Sixties (Fourth Estate, 2001) ISBN 0-00-714554-3
[edit] External links
