# Quadrophenia (film) {#quadrophenia-film .reader-title}
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16-21 minutes
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This article is about the feature film based on the Who. For the album
see Quadrophenia
Quadrophenia
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Several references to the Who appear throughout the film as "Easter
eggs" including an anachronistic inclusion of a repackaged Who album
that was not available at the time a clip of the band performing
"Anyway Anyhow Anywhere" on the television series 'Ready Steady
Go!' pictures of the band and a "Maximum R&B" poster in Jimmy's
bedroom and the inclusion of "My Generation" during a party
gatecrashing scene. The film was almost cancelled when Keith Moon the
drummer for the Who died but in the words of Roddam the producers
Roy Baird and Bill Curbishley "held it together" and the film was
made.[*[citation needed]{title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (January 2021)"}*]
Only one scene in the film was shot in the studio; all others were on
location. Beachy Head where Jimmy considers suicide at the film's
ending is 14 miles (23 km) from Saltdean the site of the real-life
cliffside death of a young mod in 1964 that Roddam has said inspired
Townshend's original concept though Townshend has denied this
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Jeff Dexter a club dancer and disc jockey fixture in the sixties London
music scene was the DJ in the club scenes and was the uncredited
choreographer of 500 extras for the ballroom and club scenes. He also
choreographed Sting's feet in his dance close-ups. Dexter managed
America
Trevor Laird (Ferdy) was scripted to appear in a party scene kissing and
having sex with a white girl but was excluded from the scene by
associate producer John Peverall due to concerns that it could cause
problems with distributors in South Africa and the southern United
States. Toyah Willcox has said that cast members discussed going on
strike over the incident
*Quadrophenia' is the soundtrack album to the 1979 film of the same
name which refers to the 1973 rock opera 'Quadrophenia*. It was
initially released on Polydor Records in 1979 as a cassette and LP and
was re-released as a compact disc in 1993 and 2001. The album was
dedicated to Peter Meaden a prominent mod and first manager of the Who
who had died a year before the album's
release.[*[citation needed]{title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (January 2021)"}*]
The album contains 10 of the 17 tracks from the original rock opera
*Quadrophenia' as not all of the tracks were used in the film. These
are different from those that appear on the 1973 album as they were
remixed in 1979 by John Entwistle. The most notable difference is the
track "The Real Me" (used for the title sequence of the film) which
features a different bass track more prominent vocals and a more
definite ending. Most of the tracks are also edited to be
slightly shorter. The soundtrack also includes three tracks by the Who
that did not appear on the 1973
album.[*[citation needed]{title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (January 2021)"}*]
The film was first shown during the Cannes Film Festival on May 14
1979. The film had its premiere at the Plaza cinema in London on 16
August 1979.[10] It opened to the public the following day and
grossed £36472 in its opening week from four cinemas in London placing
second behind 'Moonraker' at the London box office.[10][11]
Janet Maslin reviewing the film for 'The New York Times' in 1979
called it "...gritty and ragged and sometimes quite beautiful"
creating a "...slice-of-life movie that feels tremendously authentic
in its sentiments as well as its details."[12] Maslin states that
the director's scenes of youth battles "...capture a fierce dizzying
excitement that epitomizes a kind of youthful extreme."[12]
Reviewer Brian Gibson from 'Vue Weekly' (Edmonton Canada) stated that
"Roddam's look back at an angsty young man in '65 is a throwback to
the kitchen-sink dramas that began plumbing the depths of working class
lives then. Reeking with a restless teen spirit 'Quadrophenia' leads us
down adolescence's blind alleys of rebellion."[13][14] Critic
Matt Brunson from 'Creative Loafing' stated that the film "[m]anages
to be both quintessentially British and irrefutably universal" giving
it a 3.5/4 score.[15] Reviewer Eric Melin from Scene-Stealers.com
states that the film has a "...gritty realistic feel and the themes
of youthful rebellion and confusion are absolutely timeless magnified
by the specificity of the setting rather than being limited by it"; he
also gave the movie a 3.5/4 score.[16] Reviewer Christopher Long
from 'Movie Metropolis' commented that "[w]hen you're an angry young
man [like the main character] there's no better way to prove you're
an individual than to dress and act exactly like everybody else"; Long
gave the film a 6/10 score.[17]
Dennis Schwartz from 'Ozus' World Movie Reviews' stated that the
"...film lives through the superb raw angst-ridden performance of
[lead] Phil Daniels"; Schwartz gave the movie a B+.[14] Critic
Cole Smithey from ColeSmithey.com called the film a "...glorious
representational story of male teen angst that transcends its British
locations and great music with a sense of the confused romantic notions
that young men the world over carry with them"; Smithey gave the film
an A+.[14] Reviewer Ken Hanke from the 'Mountain Xpress' (Asheville
NC) called it a "[d]isappointing film version of a great concept
album"; he gave the film a 3/5 score.[14] Film critic Jeffrey M
Anderson from 'Combustible Celluloid' states that where the film
"...succeeds[ it does so] through its devil-may-care attitude and
energy"; on the other hand Anderson states that the film "...feels
like a low-budget homemade movie from the period".[14]
Rotten Tomatoes collected reviews from 16 critics and gave
*Quadrophenia' a 100% rating.[14]
*The New York Times' placed the film on its 'Best 1000 Movies Ever*
list.[18]
[]{#DVD}[]{#DVD_releases} Sirius Publishing released the film on the now
defunct MovieCD format in 1991. The package included three discs for the
movie itself along with other promotional material for the format and
other films offered by Sirius on MovieCD. The packaging also carries the
logo for Rhino Home Video indicating some form of involvement in this
release.[19]
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment first released the film on DVD in
the United Kingdom in 1999 with an eight-minute montage featurette. It
used the VHS print resulting in a much lower-quality video than
expected. Following this in the United States was a special edition by
Rhino which included a remastered letterboxed wide screen transfer a
commentary several interviews galleries and a quiz. However it was a
shorter cut of the film with several minutes of footage
missing.[*[citation needed]{title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (January 2021)"}*]
Rhino Home Video released the film on DVD on 25 September 2001.[20]
On 7 August 2006 Universal improved upon its original UK DVD with a
Region 2 two-disc special edition. The film was digitally remastered and
included a 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.[21] Unlike their previous DVD it was the
complete longer version and it was matted to the correct aspect
ratio.[*[citation needed]{title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (January 2021)"}*]
The Criterion Collection released a special edition version of this
movie on 28 August 2012 on both DVD and Blu-ray formats.[22]
- Ali Catterall and Simon Wells 'Your Face Here: British Cult Movies
Since The Sixties' (Fourth Estate 2001) ISBN 0-00-714554-3