QUADROPHENIA (1979)
Director: Franc Roddam
The Who FilmsPicture London, full of hip teenagers who just want to eat hot chips, pash with the opposite sex and dress like it’s their last day on earth. It may sound like present-day folly but this is 1964 and the kids just wanna ride.
Quadrophenia is film about the Mods versus the Rockers versus Society in general.
Jimmy and his Mod pals Dave, Chalky and Spider are purveyors of swanky attire, immaculate hair, winkle-pickers and tricked-out Vespa scooters. Kevin and his Rocker mates are street-fightin’, black leather jacket wearing wildcats obsessed with slicked back hair and motorcycles.
Jimmy is the anti-hero of the film, a suburban kid hooked on Blues (blue pills of amphetamine), who is constantly clashing with his moralistic parents. A three-day bank holiday gives Jimmy the chance to ride to the seaside town of Brighton with his Mod crew. Things turn nasty when the Rockers show up and simmering rivalry ignites into all out anarchy.
Mods and Rockers from all over the Britain race down to join the mayhem and Jimmy’s idol, the suavest Mod of them all, Ace Face (played by Sting), shows up and dispatches of Coppers and Rockers with ferocious ease.
Who’s gonna’ come out on top? Does Jimmy get the girl? Is Sting the dandiest Mod in history? And most importantly, after seeing this riotous masterpiece: will YOU become a Rocker or a Mod?
“I don’t wanna be like everybody else - that’s why I’m a Mod see?”Fricken sweet!
- Review by Jordan BloomerHere's the film's trailer: