MovieChat Forums > Quadrophenia (1979) Discussion > Theory - the film is actually set in 197...

Theory - the film is actually set in 1979


This explains all the 1970s cars, clothes, haircuts and shopfronts in the background.
Jimmy and his mates are actually part of the late-70s mod revival, and are living it to the max !

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For me, the most howling example of 70s was one of the mods at Brighton in green parka, lnog hair and beard like a hippy!

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No it was set in the 60s, as when Jimmy paid for his suit he paid with shillings, if it was set in the late 70s, British money went into decimalisation in the mid 70s, shillings went out then

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Heaven Can Wait was playing at cinema in Brighton.

me thinks it was the Warren beatty version and not a rerelaes of the Don Ameche one

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[deleted]

like any other film there are mistakes during the production, but according to the synopsis this film is set in 1965, and this film is based on the whos album called Quadrophenia which was released in 1973, but its definity set the 60s, you can tell by the fashion sense and also the use of the money, shillings etc which went out of use in 1971

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like any other film there are mistakes during the production,


Maybe Kieth Moon was the real producer :)

I don't love her.. She kicked me in the face!!

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The movie is set in the 60's. But I'm sure they didn't have a huge budget, so they had to make due with what they had. Like ordinary cars on the street, modern advertizing billboards in the background, extras walking around with modern clothes, and so on.



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There were various moments that clearly looked like late seventies, including hairstyles, cash registers, cars, and clothing.

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yeah. what they could control, they did. Like closed sets and primary cast's clothes and hair styles. But for all the location shooting, I'm sure they didn't have the budget to remove billboards and modern signage, clear streets of all cars and so on.

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At least they weren't wearing crash helmets which did not become compulsory until 1973.

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During the streetfight there's a shot where they run across a road an in huge close-up is a Pelican crossing control, which didn't appear until 1969. Nowadays they'd probably just CGI it out.

Interesting that the '73 album is almost nostalgia for The Who's early years, but the musical style is almost progressive.

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Obviously the film is set in 1965.
Many years ago at the Edinburgh Film Festival they had the premiere of a FRANK RODDAM film called LORDS OF DISCIPLINE(good film but not a well known)so the director was there doing a Q AND A (not that they called it that then)one of the first things he said was that the film was set in the early 1960s but despite trying hard he expected people would spot some faults in the period look.

He explained that after QUADROPHENA was released people had discovered 20 things that were 1979 in it,but he explained that it was impossible to make a perfect period film.

For what it is worth I don't see much wrong with the look of QUADROPHENIA,I am a huge WHO fan and saw the British premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival and interviews with Pete Townshend at the time mentioned that they had tracked down old mods to use them as technical advisers,was one of them called IRISH JACK LYONS?

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Top tip: watch it in black and white. Works really well.



She's a man, it's a sled, he's dead already.

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Just watched Quadrophenia again tonight (I've seen it many times before), and there are an awful lot of cars from the 1970s (as well as the cinema that is showing Heaven Can Wait). But these anachronisms are due to budget constraints. It is clear from the fashions and the music that the film is set in 1965, despite all of the signs of the late 1970s throughout the film.

"You can dish it out, but you got so you can't take it no more." - Caesar Enrico Bandello

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This movie doesn't look 60's at all. But I really didn't care. It works anyway.

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the music,the costumes,most of the cars and so on are 1960s,see my previous comments,we know there are mistakes but don't see how anybody can say it is does not look 1960s.

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Sorry, I meant 70s, as the OP suggested. By the late 70's time New York was more dirty, sexual and dangerous (see Taxi Driver).

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