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Contrary to some people's belief, gangs aren't a modern day phenomenon. In this adaptation of The Who's rock opera of the same name, we get a sense of the 1960's English youth culture. Groups of uneducated kids still in their teens and early 20's are fed up with authority, having to work for a living and being told what to do. The music scene is changing as well, as rock `n roll begins to mature with American influences from Motown, rockabilly and R & B are added into the mix. The lyrics of the music, heavily influenced by The Who of course, fuel the mad-as-hell attitudes.
The kids fall into two categories. One is the mods and Jimmy (excellent Phil Daniels) is one of the local leaders and most rebellious. The mods drive around on motor scooters which their rivals call "hair dryers" because of the high pitch sound their engines make. The scooters are pimped out with multiple headlights and numerous rear view mirrors. Admittedly I didn't understand the significance of the gaudy additions to these frilly small-wheeled bikes with motors. The mods are generally well dressed. Suits and skinny ties are standard uniforms for guys. And they spend most of their time in clubs, drinking and popping pills.
The rival gangs are caller rockers or sometimes greasers. These are the Elvis or Marlon Brando disciples. That is, long slick hair, jeans, leather jackets and most importantly real motor cycles. While the rockers seem older and tougher there are also fewer of them. One of Jimmy's conflicts concerns his childhood best friend Kev (Ray Winstone) who is a rocker. The focus of both gangs is to go to the seaside town of Brighton for the week-end. It doesn't take long for all hell to break loose.
The film's focus is on Jimmy however. As he goes through what is likely a transition period to adulthood, he loses his job, his money and his respect. His parents kick him out and the girl he loves (Leslie Ash) shuns him after quick alleyway sex. As a final straw, his hero, Ace Face (Sting), turns out to be just a bellhop during the day. This leads to a great concluding scene when Jimmy steals Ace's chrome-fendered and ultra modded out Lambretta and heads off to the steep white cliffs for what may be his last ride. The photography is excellent throughout the film and this final scene is spectacular. You might scratch your head at the outcome, but just pay attention to the opening scene of the film and everything makes sense.
This Criterion Blu ray is very special. The video a 1080p transfer with the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Depending on the lighting in the film, film grain is highly noticeable which may bother some people. The Criterion folks did a nice job cleaning up the film but left the original feel in place. Here are some notes on the transfer from Criterion:
"This new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on a Spirit 4K film scanner from a 35mm interpositive. It was then color graded on a Baselight 8 digital grading system, under the supervision of director of photography Brian Tufano. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS and Pixel Farm's PFClean, while Image Systems' Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction."
The audio is first rate. The original 2.0 stereo track is available but opt for the great DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that was supervised by The Who. The original music was actually released in a quad format as The Who originally intended, so this wasn't a big leap. In fact, I still have a working 8-Track tape in quad. In any case, the film is full of some great music and it is well displayed in surround. Here is a bit more from Criterion regarding the audio:
"For this release of Quadrophenia, we created an all-new, remixed 5.1 surround soundtrack, produced at 24-bit using a variety of sound elements from the original album and the 1979 movie. All the Who music was taken from first-generation sources - 4 track 1/2-inch, 8 track 1-inch, and 16-track and 24-track 2-inch analogue tapes - found in the band's archives. In some cases, the songs were reconstructed from scratch from these original multitrack recordings. The film's dialogue and effects were taken from the original 35mm dialogue/music/effects magnetic audio stems. The availability of these separate dialogue and effects stems enabled us to render a detailed and engaging 5.1 audio image. Under the supervision of the band and the film's editor, Sean Barton, a brand-new mix was created at Deluxe 142, in London, by mixer Alan Sallabank, and approved by director Franc Roddam. The staggering result is an immersive experience, and we suggest you play it loud."
The package is loaded with special features including a 36 page booklet. Here are some others:
New high-definition digital restoration of the uncut version
New audio commentary featuring director Franc Roddam and Tufano
Interview with Bill Curbishley, the film's coproducer and the Who's comanager
New interview with the Who's sound engineer, Bob Pridden
On-set and archival footage
Behind-the-scenes photographs
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Those English subtitles might come in handy, if like me you have a hard time understanding the slang and dialect. Although even when I understood the word, I didn't always get the meaning.
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Top reviews from other countries
Man at the back
USA blu-ray release is the best version!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 29, 2020
USA blu-ray release is the best version!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 29, 2020
Amazon lump all reviews of the same titled product together unfortunately which means you are reading loads of meaningless comments that are NOT pertaining to this particular version...this review is of the USA Region 1 blu-ray Criterion special edition. You will need a multi-region blu-ray player capable of playing back region 1 titles to view this release in the U.K. A multi region DVD player is of no use so please check your equipment playback capability carefully before purchase as many so called multi-region U.K. blu-ray players only have DVD multi playback not blu-ray as well.Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 29, 2020
There are many comments concerning the poor grainy U.K. hi definition transfer on Amazon. Neither the USA or U.K. blu-ray releases have been digitally computer repaired. This means that although colour grading has taken place on this release to fix the washed out dull previous prints, there are still some scenes that have an evident grainy picture and some minor print blemishes such as scratches and dirt. The colour and soundtrack on the USA version are far superior to the previous U.K. DVD releases. Also the American version has around 2 hours of extras and a 40 page booklet which are not included on the U.K. blu-ray.
There are 2 original 1960’s tv documentaries on Mods, an original BBC programme from 1979 about Quadrophenia plus other interviews and the booklet compared to the standard vanilla U.K. version which just has some minor fillers that were on the previous DVD release. If you have a machine capable of playing region 1/A discs from America this is definitely the version to go for.
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Mr M.
Mixed feelings from scooter owner of the era
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 25, 2021Mr. F. P. Moon
Fantastic movie from a time when the 60's were starting to swing .
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 23, 2017Gary A.
You will need a multi-region blu-ray player capable of playing back region 1titles.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 27, 2021Greg Chapman
Must for Who fans!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 14, 2017
