4. Quadrophenia

Quadrophenia:

Quadrophenia is a rock opera album written by ‘The Who’. It’s about a working-class mod called jimmy and his social, musical and psychological happenings. The album was made into a film titled ‘Quadrophenia’ in 1979 and is set in 1965 London. Just like the album it tells the story of Jimmy and his gang of mods, who travel to Brighton for a weekend of dancing and fighting there gang rivals the rockers. I think it’s quite a good representation of teenagers at the time and I like it because it gives me an insight into the life of people at the time.

During the film I can spot things in Jimmy’s friends that I see in mine and can relate to. For example they go to a party and the song changes to one they all know (The who - My Generation), they all sing together, the light goes off and bottles get thrown in the air. I’ve watched it with friends and every time the scene is comes up I stair at them to wait for there reaction to it. Apart from that my favorite scene is closer to the end and jimmy has pretty much lost his mind; he’s on a train with the blues (pills) that he brought with his last wages, wearing a maroon suit (which is my favorite in the film) and black eyeliner. He throws his parka out of the train window and sits in a carriage with two upper-class men. It’s a really short scene but I like it because it’s almost the end of his journey in the whole film.

A lot of the mods have original Vespas and Lambrettas; I think I’m quite fond of the whole style. The men wear some brilliant ‘peacock’ (patterns and statement pieces) items of clothing during the film; Ace who is played by ‘Sting’ (The Police) has a silver Vespa and wears a silver suit. He’s quite different from the other mods and you can tell that he has more money than the majority of them from the quality of the clothes that he wears.

The sound track includes a lot of Motown and classic 60’s tunes in additional to songs by The Who like ‘Be My Baby’ by 'The Ronetts’ and ‘Da Doo Ron Ron’ by ‘ The Crystals’. Which makes it seem even more as if you’re in the 60’s yourself. Quadrophenia is one of my favorite films becase it’s very authentic and of its time.

3. Moonrise Kingdom

Moonrise Kingdom:

Moonrise Kingdom is directed by Wes Anderson and is set in the 60’s, on an island off the coast of New England. It is about a young Boy Scout called Sam who falls in love with a girl called Suzy, both aged around 12. Suzy and Sam meet at a church nativity play and start writing to each other. Suzy is unhappy with her family and Sam is an orphan, they decide to run away together. They both act like they are older than they actually are; they have certain maturity about them. I think this may be part of Wes Anderson’s style. Overall the film is about very young love and the town’s search for them. The film is very stylized a yellow, green and blue color theme runs thought. Everything is quite ordered and the costumes have lots of detail on them. It is set mostly out doors in woods and on a beach. It’s really arty and that’s the main reason why I like it.

My favorite character is Scout Master Ward because he understands that Sam and Suzy should be together, and helps Sam when social services try to take him into a care home. I don’t like the mother and father of Suzy because they attempt to separate her from Sam. 

2. Submarine

Submarine:

Submarine is a coming of age film set in 1980’s Wales. The main characters are Oliver Tate and Jordana Bevan (Oliver’s first love). Thought the film Oliver has to deal with falling in love, heartbreak and his mother having a brief affair. It was originally a book but made into a film by the comedian Richard Ayoade. The film is very stylized and parts of it were shot using a Super 8. The consumes (large duffel coats and wooly jumpers) and tones (blues and grays) that are in the film are all tied together by this. The sound track was written and produced by Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys) which as been just as successful as the film. It’s very light and feels quite pure just like the sea. The lyrics are quite poetic and I think that this fits in really nicely with the style of which the film is shot and arranged.

My favorite character is Oliver’s father Lloyd Tate because he’s just a genuine person. In the film Oliver shows concern for his as he notices him becoming depressed. He’s a marine biologist and I think has quite a good sense of humor, my favorite thing he says in the film is ‘Listen, look, I know you think I'm very boring, you know... but once I ripped my vest off in front of a woman, and err... it was very effective actually. It produced a very atavistic response.’ Even though he has been depressed I think he’s a great roll model for Oliver because he’s kind and caring. 

1. This Is England

This is England:

This is England tells the story of 11 year old Shaun who during his summer holidays befriends a group of local skinheads. The film shows the process of Shaun grieving his father who died fighting in the Falklands War. This is England is set in 1983 in the North of England; it shows lots of examples of racial issues being solved but simultaneously destroyed thought the skinhead community. The film also is a good representation of what gangs and friendship would have been like at the time but is still relatable to people in the present day.

Shane Meadows is the director and writer for this is England, he almost has a rule of locally sourcing the actors for his films to preserve authenticity. Quite a lot of the film is improvisation so the script feels quite genuine. He tends to set films in the midlands staying local to his roots. With This is England it literally looks like it could have been shot in 1983 and this is one of my favorite properties that it has.

I also love the soundtrack as it features ska and reggae tracks from bands such as ‘The Specials’ and ‘Toots & The Maytals’. The costumes (Levi Jeans, Fred Perry, Ben Sherman, Harrington’s, Over coats, Dr Martens and Monkey Boots) and haircuts of the cast are classic and also authentic, which adds to the fact of it being one of my favorite films. Shane Meadows also made sure that the cast had authentic tattoos, crosses and swallows. This is England has also been made into two follow up series and a third is being filmed.

My favorite character is ‘Woody’ because of his kind nature and loyalty to his friends. He’s the one that first takes Shaun into the group when he sees him walking alone looking upset. Woody and his girlfriend ‘Lol ‘ then help Shaun to become a skinhead. Even though woody is almost the leader of the group sometimes he can be can be a wimp and become emotional. I like how this contrasts with his hard exterior. I think that it shows that when someone is with a gang that they feel comfortable in there personality can alter.

Favorite Films

Ten Favorite Films

1.   This Is England

2.   Submarine

3.   Moonrise Kingdom

4.   Quadrophenia

5.   Pulp Fiction

6.   The Blues Brothers

7.   Amélie

8.   Billy Elliot

9.   Snach

10. Trainspotting