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Jimmy (Phil Daniels) works in the post-office during the day in a job he hates. He lives for the weekends when he gets together with his mod friends, dresses up in sharp suits, pops amphetamine pills and dances to soul and power-pop in London clubs. The group of Mods decide to head down to Brighton for the weekend and while there, getting drunk and getting high on speed, they clash with a rival gang of working-class youth, the Rockers, whose musical tastes run to the legends of the fifties - Elvis, Bill Haley, Chuck Berry et. al. - and whose dress is blue-collar jeans and t-shirts. Set in 1965 and loosely based on The Who’s conceptual album of the same name, “Quadrophenia” is a kinetic film about youth culture, alienation and working class life. Featuring an explosive musical score by The Who, as well as great soul and rock music from the fifties and sixties, “Quadrophenia” is by turns both a perceptive and critical examination of leisure and work. Jimmy’s job confines him to a drudgery like that of his parents. It is a life that he wants to escape. He is free only through the exhilaration of music and drugs. With Sting, Toyah Willcox and Ray Winstone.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
316150
Language
English
Audience classification
R (18+)
Subject categories
Agriculture, Business, Commerce & Industry → Fashion
Crafts & Visual Arts → Fashion
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Culture - Social aspects - Great Britain
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Gangs - Great Britain
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Great Britain - Social conditions
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Working class in motion pictures
Feature films → Feature films - Great Britain
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Amphetamine drugs
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Fashion
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Youth - Drug use
Hobbies, Recreation & Sport → Youth - Recreation
Music & Performing Arts → Rock music
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)