Quadrophenia

Based on The Who's rock opera of the same name, Franc Roddam's 1979 film stars Phil Daniels as Jimmy Cooper, a Mod teenager circa 1964, who dabbles in sex, drugs and rock 'n roll; spars with his clueless parents; and battles the Mods' mortal enemies: the Rockers. A proverbial tempest in that peculiar teapot known as adolescence, Quadrophenia rises above its rock film peers somewhat in its excellent attention to period detail, realistic dialogue, and solid soundtrack (which includes a number of '60s pop hits, as well as songs by The Who). Kudos to Rhino for some of the best extras I've seen all year on disc, including Roddam's commentary track, a time-lapse drive to Brighton Beach (scene of a key fight in the film), and outstanding and very funny text trivia pop-ups during the film on topics ranging from the origin of Tampax and the various uses of ketchup to employee absenteeism rates and a discourse on bay windows. In addition, the disc features trivia questions, a Mod filmography, an interview with Sting (whose film debut is a bit part here), and more. While the transfer is a bit grainy, the restoration work is nevertheless impressive and the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is reasonably robust (if weighted towards treble). Recommended. (R. Pitman)[DVD/Blu-ray Review—Aug. 14, 2012—Criterion, 120 min., R, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its second appearance on DVD, and first on Blu-ray, 1979's Quadrophenia boasts an excellent transfer with Dolby Digital stereo on DVD, and a DTS-HD stereo soundtrack on Blu-ray. Extras include audio commentary by director Franc Roddam and cinematographer Brian Tufano, a 1965 episode of the French youth-culture program Seize millions de jeunes (35 min.), a segment from a 1979 episode of the BBC series Talking Pictures featuring behind-the-scenes footage and interviews (26 min.), interviews with co-producer and Who co-manager Bill Curbishley (14 min.) and sound engineer Bob Pridden (8 min.), a clip from the 1964 French news program Sept jours du monde on mods and rockers (8 min.), trailers, and a booklet featuring an essay by critic Howard Hampton, as well as guitarist Pete Townshend's liner notes from the 1973 album. Bottom line: a welcome Blu-ray debut of a fine rock ‘n' roll film.]