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Quadrophenia [VHS]

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Average Customer Rating:	4.0
Release Date:	1991-06-06
Brand:	Rhino / Wea
ISBN:	6302043158
Actors:	Phil Daniels; Leslie Ash; Philip Davis; Mark Wingett; Sting
Audience rating:	R (Restricted)
Format:	Color; NTSC
Writer	Franc Roddam
Producer	Bill Curbishley; David Gideon Thomson; John Entwistle
Writer	Dave Humphries; Martin Stellman; Pete Townshend

Product Categories

Ash, Leslie; Daniels, Phil; Davis, Philip; Elphick, Michael; Sting; Winstone, Ray; Roddam, Franc; VHS; R; Music & Musicals; Coming of Age; Generation Gap; Kids in Trouble; Teen Drama; The Who; British; Rock

Product description

Franc Roddam's terrifically energetic movie, set to music from the Who's Quadrophenia, is--at the very least, the best film ever based on a rock album (and, yes, that includes, Tommy, Pink Floyd: The Wall, and Jesus Christ Superstar). Actually, this tale of the battle between two early '60s youth subcultures--Mods and Rockers--in the seaside teenage wasteland of Brighton, England, isn't so much a cinematic "version" of the Who's 1979 double-record rock opera as it is a story based on the sequence of songs on the album. Quadrophenia is about that crucial time in teenhood when the lion's share of your sense of identity is tied up in the music you listen to, the clothes you wear, and the groups you hang out with. Jimmy (Phil Daniels) identifies himself with the sharp-dressing, scooter-riding Mods, who listen to American soul and British pop-rock (The Who themselves were once rather Mod). The Rockers, on the other hand, are leather-jacketed, black-booted, motorcycle-riding tough guys who listen primarily to classic American rock & roll. The film captures this minor pop-culture revolution perfectly. Look for Sting as a club-hopping slickster, who's shameful secret is that he's a hotel bellboy by day. --Jim Emerson

Customer reviews

« We are the Mods! »

I had to sneak in to see this movie screened at the theatre when it was initially released in 1979. For years, I had a bootleg VHS copy that had been censored for drugs, violence and full frontal male nudity that I would watch and now I can't wait to see it on DVD. The combination of the Who's music, a great story line about an era I knew nothing about and the great English locations simply blew me away.

The story is set during a five-day period in the early 60s and revolves around Jimmy, a young Englishman who is pretty disaffected but who has a job, a crush on a pretty girl and still lives at home. He is a "Mod"-drives a scooter, takes drugs and dresses in suits. He is totally committed to their creedo, not the least of which is a hatred for "Rockers"-guys just like him who wear Levis and leather jackets and ride motorcycles!

We watch Jimmy's world collapse around him during an ill-fated bank holiday in which gangs of Mods and Rockers go to Brighton, a quaint seashore town and fueled by drugs/alcohol/testosterone proceed to tear the place apart.

Director Franc Rodham did a brilliant job with the subtle insights into working class British life-the baths, the food, the clothing, the class differences-and they are backed by an amazing sound track of original Who songs + the great rock and roll songs of the era. Rock star Sting has a small but pivotal part as The Ace Face, an angry sharp-dressed Mod everyone look up to and as the story unfolds you begin to understand the forces that fuel his rage and Jimmy's drug fueled depression.

I really thought by now that opera companies and symphony orchestras would be performing Quadrophenia because Pete Townsend is a musical genius who just chose to wrote and perform rock instead of classical.

Rating: (5 out of 5) @ 2009-12-27

« Its Different 30 Years Later »

Previously, I'd only seen this movie when it was a couple of years old, on HBO. I missed the first 40 minutes or so, and a few key scenes during the movie. I have to say that it hit me MUCH more emotionally thirty years later than it did the first time! At fifty, I have more concentration & patience to watch a movie through (or more than once) than I did at 20. For example, I interpreted the ride-to-brighton scene, where Chalky gets run off the road by Rockers differently this time. His "friends" stop for a few seconds, check him out briefly, then repair to Brighton without even waiting to see if his scooter still works, knowing that the road may be full of Rocker malefactors. The scene shows just how shallow the "friendships" in this set are. Throughout the movie, Jimmy pursues his goal of becoming a "Face" (trendsetter,Scene V.I.P) with manic force, but the quest brings him less gratification & more frustration as the story goes on.
First time around, I thought it was very weird for a couple to take a break from a violent riot to have sex in a alley, then re-join the riot. I now realize that to Jimmy, it is the "finish line" - he naively thinks that he's Got The Girl, the climax (pun intended) of a heroic day. Throughout the movie, Jimmy places great significance upon people & events that really mean nothing to his friends, who simply do whatever feels good whenever they feel like doing it. Steph has 3 boyfriends in the space of about a week, but it doesn't seem to bother anyone, least of all Dave , who seems happy to take his "turn". He even has the nerve to rib Jimmy about it, and seems genuinely surprised when Jim freaks out. Nothing means very much to these people. In the end he realizes that everything he's been pursuing is a fake: his Dreamgirl is the Neighborhood Slut, his Mod Idol is a lowly Bellboy.
The ending is a direct ripoff of "Harold & Maude". Harold "kills" the symbol of his morbid obsessions, Jimmy "kills" the symbol of his hedonistic lifestyle. And BTW, Jimmy does NOT die-the opening scene shows him walking away from the cliff

Rating: (5 out of 5) @ 2009-08-22

« Greatest rock movie »

Quadraphenia is the greatest rock movie ever made. The movie's music is timeless. Very much ahead of its time.

Rating: (5 out of 5) @ 2009-05-14

« Quadrophenia DVD »

I always liked the movie and only had a used VHS copy. The DVD I bought was in good shape and I enjoyed watching QUADROPHENIA ON THE DVD format.
I have watched it a couple of times. I did have some trouble with the extra features (sub titles) coming on when I switched scenes during movie using the main menu. I would have to go back in main menu and keep turning the sub titles off. But if I watch the DVD all the way through without interruption I had no words popping up on me. Just For Today.
James Shoemaker

Rating: (4 out of 5) @ 2008-09-05

« Teenage Wasteland »

There are any number of reasons why rock concept albums do not necessarily translate to cinema, but director Franc Roddam takes the double-album of the same name from The Who and delivers a classic and timeless exploration of rebellion and turf warfare.

With the backdrop of the early-1960s clashes between the Mods and Rockers, Roddam masterfully utilizes the music and coming-of-age themes to weave a story that transcends the era being chronicled.

The impressions from the viewer comes from the lens that is worn - youth, misfit, in-crowd, adult, class - which is arguably the most intriguing aspect of this scorched field of teenage wasteland.