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10 Things I Learned: Quadrophenia, By Susan Arosteguy

2. Quadrophenia was made in 1979, at the height of the British punk movement, and the filmmakers contemplated casting a punk musician as the lead, to lend Jimmy an authentic air of rebellion. They considered Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols for the role, but the film’s insurance company refused to allow him to be cast. Rotten apparently would have turned down the role anyway, saying he didn’t want to “live out any of Pete Townshend’s fantasies.”

4. Wingett and Phil Daniels, who ultimately played Jimmy, were reunited a year after Quadrophenia came out, in Brian Gibson’s 1980 cult film Breaking Glass, starring Hazel O’Connor as a singer in a new wave band struggling to get to the top. The film was coproduced by the future boyfriend of Princess Diana, Dodi Fayed.

• Continue reading at The Criterion Collection.

• Listen to the Alternate Mix of ‘Be Proud Be Loud (Be Heard)’, view amazing Toyah 80’s memorabilia or just browse some iconic imagery… all at Fuck Yeah Toyah, the new Toyah photo blog at tumblr.

• Cinema Sentries: Quadrophenia Criterion Collection DVD Review: Dressed Right For a Beach Fight: Quadrophenia is a great coming-of-age story and a wonderful period piece of an era long past. The restored picture and sound make the Criterion Collection a must own for fans of the film.

• National Trust: A letter from the Magazine Editor – Autumn 2012: We’d asked Toyah Willcox, Coast presenter Miranda Krestovnikoff and the novelist and poet Ben Okri – to talk to us about where they like to roam and why, to help us launch our big autumn walking festival. ‘I love the views, the lake and cakes,’ said Toyah of her favoured ramble site, Croome, in Worcestershire…

• The Humans are in Seattle. Recording and… eating!! View the photographic evidence @ Twitter.

• RockURadio: Restored Version of Film Based on The Who’s “Quadrophenia” Arrives Today on DVD and Blu-ray

• Hampton Roads: Criterion hits all the high notes with ‘Quadrophenia’: Has alienation ever looked or sounded so grand?

More articles and reviews for the Blu-ray (Region A/1) release of Quadrophenia, including a feature at ‘GQ’ magazine and a comprehensive article by ‘Movie Metropolis’.

• GQ: God Save The Mods: Director Franc Roddam’s Quadrophenia, newly out on Blu-ray from Criterion, is set in roughly the same era—now half a century ago—as George Lucas’s American Graffiti.

• Movie Metropolis: Quadrophenia – Blu-ray Review: One scene in “Quadrophenia” (1979) captures the absurdity and sincerity of youthful rebellion in all its sure-to-embarrass-you-in-the-future glory. Jimmy Cooper (Phil Daniels) says to his friend Kevin (an incredibly young Ray Winstone), “I don’t wanna be the same as everybody else. That’s why I’m a Mod, see?”

• Gibson.com: Refurbished ‘Quadrophenia’ Out This Week: Looking for a gift for the eternal Who fan” Then you may be in luck, as the restored version of Quadrophenia — the 1979 film based on the Who’s classic 1973 rock opera — is out on DVD and Blu-ray this week.

• The Portland Press Herald: New To Blu-ray: “Quadrophenia”, starring Phil Daniels and Sting. When discussing coming-of-age movies, this 1979 cult classic rarely gets tossed around with widely appreciated youth angst films such as “The Graduate” or “Dazed and Confused.” But the fact that filmmaker Cameron Crowe counts “Quadrophenia” among his favorite films of all time should tell you something.

• Jeffrey M Anderson: Blu-ray Review: Quadrophenia succeeds through its devil-may-care attitude and energy. It feels like a low-budget homemade movie from the period.

Quadrophenia in released on special edition Region A/1 Blu-ray this week by The Criterion Collection. Here are some new reviews and articles focusing on the new Blu-ray.

• Blu-ray.com: Review: (Very comprehensive look at the film, Blu-ray release and extras) As far as I am concerned, Franc Roddam’s Quadrophenia is one of the all-time best British coming-of-age films. It is painfully honest, gritty yet beautiful, superbly acted film.

• The Hollywood Reporter: Quadrophenia: A restored Blu-ray/DVD of The Who’s landmark film recaptures the 1960s.

• Blu-ray Definition: Quadrophenia [Criterion Collection] Blu-ray Review: Going back nearly 50 years in time, Quadrophenia does a creditable job in conveying the fashions and fads of the era.

• The Boston Globe: The Who, why, and how of ‘Quadrophenia’: Flash back to “Love Reign O’er Me” as the soundtrack of a life, as “Quadrophenia” (1979), the immersively scruffy feature riff on the Who’s classic rock opera, arrives this week in a terrific-sounding, meticulously remastered Blu-ray.

• The Globe & Mail: The Mods are back, but who were they? They wore their jackets cut slim and checked, maybe a touch of seersucker and an open neck. They rode Vespa GS scooters with their hair cut neat. They were British Mods. But what does that all mean?

• Criterion Corner: Under The Covers: Criterion sure loves their rock odyssees (there’s this, Head, Spinal Tap, that one where Takashi Miike tortures David Bowie for 2 hours…), and they have done some serious justice to Franc Roddam’s Quadrophenia.

• SLT Today: ‘Quadrophenia’ rocks on Blu-ray: On my ever-expanding list of favorite movies, two titles have shared the top spot since 1979: “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Quadrophenia.”

• DVD File: Review: What sets Quadrophenia apart from the pack isn’t as much its achievement as a ‘rock opera’ but its willingness to play among the fringes of the sub-genre.

An excellent new article on Quadrophenia, and the Blu-ray release, from The New York Times.

“Quadrophenia,” which the Criterion Collection is reissuing in a restored version on Blu-ray and DVD on Tuesday, concerns little more than a skinny 18-year-old West Londoner trying to track down some blues (speed) for one of these seaside gatherings turned tabloid-covered riots. But the emotions that “Quadrophenia” elicits and its role in converting troubled souls to smartly dressed members of a movement (one with its own chant: “We are the Mods! We are the Mods!”) can be as forceful as the waves that open both the film and the Who’s 1973 double album.

• Continue reading at The New York Times.

Those are our three reasons. What are yours? (Erm… 1. Monkey, 2. Brighton & 3. Jimmy!!!)

Three more new reviews of The Tempest on Blu-ray.

• Ioncinema: The Tempest | Blu-ray Review: Difficult as ever, Jarman’s take on Shakespeare’s final lone play is definitely a product of his own imagining. Laced with homoeroticisms, cabaret iconography, extravagant but dirty set design, and overall unsettling imagery… Like the original story, the film centers around the magician and ex-Duke of Milan, Prospero (Heathecote Williams), along with his beautiful daughter Miranda (Toyah Willcox) and their downright scary servant, Caliban (Jack Birkett), all of which now live alone in a decrepit mansion on an island.

• Blu-ray.com: The Tempest Blu-ray Review: Stormy weather ends in sunshine: Where Jarman’s The Tempest really differentiates itself is in its unsettling oddities, its ghostly atmosphere and decayed visual style… Karl Johnson makes for a hypnotic Ariel—weird and effete, dressed all in white—and Toyah Willcox is far from the usual, virginal Miranda. Here she’s sensual and erratic, a life-sized wind-up toy doll.

• Cultural Mente Incorrecto: “The Tempest” by Derek Jarman: A different and almost subversive Shakespeare classic: “The Tempest” by Derek Jarman is a different and almost subversive Shakespeare classic. Visually stunning, with that touch of indie with hints of neorealism but a literary question fabulesca, this is a historically important film in the film, required viewing for film fans Jarman, protesters and intellectuals.

• View links to numerous other reviews of The Tempest on Blu-ray here.

The Tempest has just been released for the first time on Blu-ray. Here is the Time Out cover feature/interview from 1980 published the week that the film was originally released. View the magazine cover here.

Toyah reflects… stage actress, rock singer, icon of the New Wave, star of ‘Quadrophenia’ and now Derek Jarman’s ‘The Tempest’, Toyah Willcox on creating her own image. Next Thursday Derek Jarman’s film of ‘The Tempest’ opens. Toyah Willcox, late of ‘Jubilee’ and ‘Quadrophenia’ plays Miranda. Chris Auty went in search of Ms Willcox… 

Click here to read at Dreamscape’s Press Archive. View all of our recent retro Classic Toyah press articles & interviews here. (Thanks to Andi)

• Jelly, the band which includes Stevie Bray of the original Toyah (Sheep Farming/Blue Meaning/Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!) line up, have been playing gigs recently. They are revisiting The Water Rats in Kings Cross for another date later this month (Friday 31st August). Visit the events page at Facebook for more info. Check out Jelly’s Facebook page for links to some of their songs.

• New Wave Photos: Toyah: An excellent selection of photos of Toyah from an appearance on Belgian TV in 1981. (Thanks to Dawn)

• DVD Beaver: Quadrophenia (Blu-ray): Quadrophenia looks highly impressive on Blu-ray from Criterion. Textured grain is prominent and establishes a strong image quality through the 1080P. I can easily state that this is the best I have seen Quadrophenia look. Sweet.

• Spy Vibe: Mod Movie Returns: The long out-of-print Mod classic, Quadrophenia (1979), will be released on DVD and Blu-ray by the Criterion Collection on August 28th.

A few more reviews of The Tempest, released for the first time on Blu-ray (Region A/1) earlier this week.

• TCM: Movie News: The Tempest – Derek Jarman’s Acclaimed 1979 Adaptation of the William Shakespeare Play: The jump to Blu-Ray for The Tempest is a substantial improvement here, given that transfer technology has improved considerably in the several years since its last telecine pass and the obvious benefits of 1080p.

• DVD Direct: The Tempest: Like most of Derek Jarman’s work, The Tempest is strange and difficult to access, but remains one of my favorite Shakespeare adaptations in all of film.

• DVD Beaver: The Tempest (Blu-ray): Jarman’s The Tempest is certainly interesting as a unique take on The Bard’s work and still recognizable to the play on many fronts but there are notable omissions. I suspect that this Blu-ray can only find an audience for those who appreciate Jarman.

The Tempest was released on Region A/1 Blu-ray yesterday. View a comprehensive article on the film and Blu-ray remastered edition at DVD Talk.

How do you follow up an apocalyptic punk-rock satire that seemed to offend even more people than A Clockwork Orange, up to and including the purist punks whose energy it was inspired by and meant as a tribute to? If you were celebrated British underground auteur Derek Jarman in 1979, having just shocked and rocked the world with your prior year’s film, the scorched-earth, anti-royalist comic nightmare Jubilee, why, of course, your next step would (un)naturally be to take on Shakespeare!

…Prospero’s daughter, Miranda (Jubilee’s sinisterly lisping girl-woman Toyah Willcox, here sporting a no less punkish ‘do of straggly dreadlocks, along with a stripped skeleton of a period dress that looks like something out of vintage Vivienne Westwood).

• Continue reading at DVD Talk.

• Sound + Vision: New Blu-rays for August 7, 2012: The Tempest (1979) is Jarman’s campy adaptation of William Shakespeare’s theatrical masterpiece which includes a full-scale Hollywood production number of Elisabeth Welch singing “Stormy Weather”…

• Indiewire: Playlist: DVDs You Should Know About Including ‘Jaws,’ ‘Quadrophenia,’ and A Pair of Derek Jarman Films.

• Coming Soon to BBC4: Love & Marriage: A new three-part BBC series on the story of love and marriage in Britain from the 1930s up to the present day, based on the personal memories of those who have the strongest tales to tell.  This will include Toyah & Robert (no transmission date available yet).

• Lytham Proms 2012: More than 25,000 people attended the three Lytham Proms concerts to see Olly Murs, Alfie Boe and the “Here and Now” stars of the 1980s. The three-day extravaganza was hailed by Fylde Council’s tourism chief as a “great success” in attracting crowds – and tourism cash – to the area. (News Source: Fylde Borough Council)

• The Acoustic Pineapple: The Concert: In 1980, I become aware of a diminutive, flame-haired singer called Toyah Willcox. Imaginative lyrics, containing elements of mysticism and science-fiction, were often backed by thumping, tribal rhythms. From the outset I am intrigued by Toyah.

• The 1980 BBC version of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde has now been released on DVD in Sweden. This release has a slightly different cover to the UK version (released in 2007). The cast includes David Hemmings, Diana Dors and Toyah. View a larger version of the Swedish cover here.

• Derek Jarman’s 1979 version of The Tempest is just about to be released on Blu-ray (Region A/1) for the first time. There’s a new review of the film at the Criterion Cast website: A less easy choice however came in the casting of Miranda, which went to punk rock mega-star (and also star of Criterion-approved Jubilee also from Jarman and the soon to be released Quadrophenia) Toyah Willcox. Always seen as a virginal young woman, Willcox’s punk rock persona far from fit the character, but her performance was really quite entertaining, and the relationship between she and Williams’ Prospero is vital and engaging.

• A larger version of The Tempest Blu-ray cover is also now available. View here.

• Qudrophenia Region A/1 Blu-ray: Read more details on this forthcoming release at Modculture: As they say “You can get a UK Blu-ray already, but the Quadrophenia Criterion Collection Blu-ray release is a considerable step up from that.”

• Also at Modculture: View a limited edition Quadrophenia poster by Piper Gates Design, and read a new article on the movie by Eddie Piller.

The cover for the forthcoming Region A/1 Blu-ray release of Derek Jarman’s The Tempest has been made available. The Blu-ray edition, remastered by Kino International, will be released on 7th August.

The photo used, of Toyah as Miranda, is the same iconic shot used on the Region 1 DVD release from the early 2000s. A different photo is used on the Region 2 release. There’s no word on when, or if, there will be a European Blu-ray release of The Tempest.

SYNOPSIS: Shot on location at the ancient and ghostly Stoneleigh Abbey, The Tempest tells the story of Prospero the magician, who lives with his nubile daughter on an enchanted island and punishes his enemies when they are shipwrecked there. It’s a study of sexual and political power in the guise of a fairy tale. Jarman presents Shakespeare’s intricate comedy of magic and revenge in a form that is at once faithful to the spirit of the play and an original and dazzling spectacle mixing Hollywood pastiche, high camp, and gothic horror. His film recalls the innocent homoeroticism of Pasolini’s versions of classics, while its lush sense of decor and color is worthy of Minnelli. Remastered in HD and available for the first time on Blu-ray!

BONUS FEATURES: Three short films by Derek Jarman: ”A Journey To Avebury”, ”Garden Of Luxor” and ”Art Of Mirrors”, trailers and more.

“Full of magic and surprises…the most truly spectacular British film in years.” – The London Times

The film airs on TV at least once every couple of months, most recently on BBC4, STV, ITV4 and Sky Indie, it’s just about to be released on Region 1 Blu-ray, and it seems to be as popular now as it was when first released 33 years ago! Quadrophenia! Here are a few rare items related to the film that I’ve spotted over the years: An advert for the soundtrack album; Japanese promo poster for the film; Japanese movie program, a car bumper sticker; and the Quadrophenia poster magazine. View a larger version of these and the full poster mag.

• Jelly, the band which includes Stevie Bray of the original Toyah (Sheep Farming/Blue Meaning) line up, play their very first gig this weekend: The gig is at the The Water Rats, Grays Inn Road, Kings Cross. Visit the events page at Facebook for more info and details on how to be added to the guest list. Check out Jelly’s Facebook page for links to some of their songs.

• A full transcript of Toyah’s recent ‘Radio Chorley’ interview at Blackpool Pride is now available at The Toyah Willcox Interview Archive.

• Kevin Tucker’s brilliant Mermaid Days website, photos and memories of Toyah in Trafford Tanzi at the Mermaid Theatre in 1983, has been resurrected as a Facebook group. The site ran for a number of years through the Noughties and it’s great to see it return.

• A Quadrophenia Club Night, in association with Falkirk Steeple Scooter Club, is taking place at Falkirk Town Hall on Saturday 18th August. You’ll be in for a great night of non-stop entertainment starting with the the screening in magnificent Blu-ray of Quadrophenia (first time on a Falkirk cinema screen for 33 years!!) and then dance the rest of the night away in a re-creation of the legendary Goldhawk Club where Alex Carnaby will be playing all the authentic sounds of the sixties, Truly not to be missed! View further info and ticket details here. (Thanks to Mark Leonard)

Another new review of Jubilee, this one from Death Rattle. Includes some good screenshots: Toyah Willcox (Mad) went on to be somewhat of a New Wave icon. Please click below to read.

This evening is Quadrophenia/The Who night on ‘BBC Four’. Beginning at 9pm.

Jubilee is showing tonight at the Rio Cinema in Dalston, London.

The midnight movie lives on in Dalston!
SAT 9 Jun • Late Night | JUBILEE (18) 11.30pm

(UK 1977) dir. Derek Jarman. 100m. Jenny Runacre, Toyah Willcox, Adam Ant, Orlando, Ian Charleson, Richard O’Brien.

Celebrate the 2012 Jubilee with Derek Jarman’s safety-pin and barbed-wire vision of a 1977 London in ruins (all burning prams and castrated policemen) which combines a meditation on English mysticism guided by a time-travelling Queen Elizabeth I and a wild ‘n’ crazy tale of the rampages of a gang of personality punk psychos. Soundtrack contributions come from Adam and the Ants , Wayne County and the Electric Chairs , Chelsea, Siouxie and the Banshees, the Slits and Brian Eno. Rule Britannia!

Get those miniature Union flags at the ready, put on your Chinese made Union Jack HQT (High Quality Tat) and get down to the ICA to watch Jubilee… Oh wait, it’s not that sort of thing. It’s the 1978 film by Derek Jarman about time-travel and punk, set in 1970’s London, with Adam Ant, The Slits and Siouxsie And The Banshees making appearances and Brian Eno doing the score.

• After playing Mad in Jubilee in 1977 Derek Jarman wanted Toyah to play Joan of Arc in a new film he was planning to make. This isn’t just a rumour, Toyah talked about it when she guested at ‘Derek Jarman: A Celebration’ at The Tate in October 2001. Unfortunately Joan of Arc didn’t go past the planning stages but they worked together on The Tempest instead. View a larger version of our “Toyah of Arc” photo.

• Return to Falling To Earth soon for some screen caps from yesterday’s Saturday Cookbook.

• An interview with Phil Davis at the Mirror. This includes that iconic Quadrophenia photo!

• More new blog posts on Jubilee, from In The Dark, Film Fan and Random Ramblings, Thoughts and Fiction, The film is also showing this evening at 7pm at The Cube in Bristol.

• Toyah at BBC iPlayer: Hole In The Wall, with Toyah guesting, from November 2009, is available to watch online at iPlayer until Monday evening.