I.D. (1995 film)
I.D. | |
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BBC Films Parallax Pictures Metropolis Filmproduktion Hamburg Film Fund European Co-Production Fund | |
Distributed by | PolyGram Filmed Entertainment |
Release date |
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Running time | 107 minutes |
Countries | United Kingdom Germany |
Language | English |
I.D. is a 1995 British-German film made by
Although set in London, a lot of the film was filmed in South Yorkshire, in particular Rotherham and Sheffield. Millmoor stadium in Rotherham served as Shadwell Town's fictional home "The Kennel". The tagline is "When you go undercover, remember one thing... Who you are." The true events that inspired the movie are chronicled in the 2013 book Running with the Firm written by former undercover detective James Bannon. The film has a cult following.[1] In 2016, twenty one years after the original the film was released, it received a sequel named ID2: Shadwell Army.
Plot
Set in 1988, John (
As a bus of Midchester fans goes past the pub, John tells Trevor that he needs to find out where they are going and runs out of the pub, following the bus which is eventually held up in traffic. The bus is then ambushed and attacked by the Shadwell firm who have followed John from the pub. Firm leader Bob (Warren Clarke) who was initially suspicious of John, now lauds him as a hero for leading the charge against the away fans.
The hard-drinking and hard-fighting macho culture (where Saturday's match and Saturday's fight are all that matters) prove irresistible to John and he finds himself slowly becoming one of the thugs he has been sent to entrap. En route to the next game, Martin informs John of the location of the next fight between Shadwell and an opposing firm. Trevor calls ahead from a service station payphone to inform the police of the details. With the location given away, the police are on the scene and make arrests.
Martin, now heavily suspicious of John and Trevor, accuses them of being police officers. John's answers convinces Bob and Martin that they are who they say they are. Later, John pretends to be unable to read when playing on a pub quiz machine which appears to get rid of any certainty that he is a policeman. John's relationships with Marie (Claire Skinner) his wife, his superiors and even his team become strained. He begins to ignore his wife which causes an argument during which John attempts to violently have sex with her.
In the next round of the FA Cup, Shadwell are drawn away at local rivals, Wapping. Before the game, Bob convinces John and Trevor to come with them to where the home fans are in order to start a fight. Martin and Nik call them mad and the rest of the gang head off to the away end. Trevor sees one of the Shadwell hooligans with a machete, panics and leaves.
Eventually a fight occurs and the group are ejected. John is led away by several policeman but breaks free, running into the Shadwell end where he is greeted as a hero. Marie organises as a beach holiday but after an argument the pair break up and she returns to her parents' house. John, in a drunk stupor, turns up at Linda's house and the pair begin an affair.
Shadwell's next opponent is away at Tyneburn and during a stand off inside the stadium the home fans begin throwing objects, one of which a dart hits and injures Gumbo. Martin and Nik attempt to climb up over the fence separating the two fans but are pulled down by the police. Following the game, the firm chase off a group of Tyneburn fans but this leads them to a deserted market place where they are confronted by their firm who are armed with weapons. With Shadwell outnumbered other members of the gang run away leaving John and Martin who charge at the gang. It is later revealed that one of the Tyneburn fans was fatally stabbed and subsequent CCTV footage viewed by Trevor, Eddie and Charlie shows that John is responsible. Trevor however trashes the video tape to spare John of conviction.
Later back in "The Rock", Bob tells John that one of the "generals" Wynton wants a word with him. Wynton passes John a packet of drugs and tells him that he has been watching him and that he could use his skills in the criminal underworld. The following morning John returns to the investigation HQ to find out that the operation is being closed down and later back at
John, who is now an alcoholic, attempts to reconcile with Marie but his attempts are rebuffed, which leads to a confrontation with her parents and they are forced to scare him off their property with their dogs. Returning to work as a beat policeman he has a mental breakdown when looking at himself in uniform in the locker room. He later returns home and trashes his entire house. As his addiction takes over, John is later seen emptying cocaine into his breakfast cereal as he sits in his trashed house.
The closing sequence shows a
Cast
- Reece Dinsdale as John
- Richard Graham as Trevor
- Perry Fenwick as Eddie
- Philip Glenister as Charlie
- Warren Clarke as Bob
- Claire Skinner as Marie
- Saskia Reeves as Lynda
- Sean Pertwee as Martin
- Charles De'Ath as Nik
- Lee Ross as Gumbo
- Terry Cole as Puff
- Steve Sweeney as Vinny
- Nicholas Bailey as Micky
- Nick Bartlett as David Daley
- David Schaalas Paul Funnell
- Alan Cooke as Wynton Mbula
- Peter Blythe as DAC Evans
- Ian Redford as DI Schofield
- Mark Burdis and Jamie Foreman as Previous Team
- Graham Camball as Licensing Officer
- Max Smith as Tyneburn policeman
- Philip Davis as Duty Sergeant
- Michael Brogan as Shadwell Hooligan
- Jason Moody as Shadwell Hooligan
- Jacqueline Leonard as Stef
- Steve Toussaint as Shadwell Hooligan
- Thomas Craig as Tyneburn Leader
- Paul Brennen as Tyneburn Leader
Development
AFC Bournemouth, Arsenal, Grimsby Town, Portsmouth and Wimbledon are the only real life teams who are mentioned in the film. All other teams are fictional and are Wapping a neighbouring London based club, Midchester described as a club from Birmingham and Tyneburn who are from the North East.
Production
Filming took part in a number of locations largely across
The pub used as "The Rock" was the Rising Sun on Old Jamaica Road in Bermondsey, South London. The pub was demolished shortly after filming.[6] The Tower Hotel in Wapping was also used.[7]
Release
The film was released in the United Kingdom on 15 May 1995. The film was released on VHS video on 9 March 1998[8] DVD's were released in 2005, 2009 and 2012, with a Blu-ray release in May 2012.[9]
Reception
IMDb rate the movie at 7.3 out of 10.[10] Rotten Tomatoes score it at 81%.[11]
Accolades
Phil Davis won the "Audience Award" at the Valenciennes International Festival of Action and Adventure Films in 1996, he was also nominated for the "Golden Alexander" award at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival.[12]
Sequel
A sequel, with the title of ID2: Shadwell Army was released in August 2016. It was directed by Joel Novoa, and was written by Vincent O'Connell. The sequel saw Perry Fenwick, Lee Ross and Richard Graham reprise their roles from the original film.[13][14]
Legacy
Writer, Vincent O'Connell claimed that he was initially very disappointed with how the film turned out and it took him several years to appreciate the film's cult status. “I could never get over how people quote whole chunks of dialogue from the first film, still now, years on. It never stops amazing me,” he began. “People send me photos of tattoos with bits of the script they’ve got on their body. I’ve been in the pub before and no-one has known me from Adam, and loads of football supporters have started singing Shadwell songs.”
O'Connell went on to say that the film failed to reach his artistic goals but had become popular entertainment and after fans had told him he needed to have more respect for the film he decided to re-address his issues with the film. This culminated in him writing the sequel in 2016.[15]
In 2016, British Retro football designer Toffs released a range of Shadwell Town football merchandise.[16]
See also
References
This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2010) |
- ^ "Top 10 Football Hooligan Movies of All Time". February 2020.
- ^ ""I'm Shadwell 'till I die" - screenwriter Vincent O'Connell on the eagerly anticipated sequel to cult-classic ID - HeyUGuys". 12 August 2016.
- ^ O’Connell, Vincent (12 March 2013). "ID". Retrieved 5 March 2017.
- ^ "I.D. (1995) - IMDb". IMDb.
- ^ "I.D. (1995) - IMDb". IMDb.
- ^ "Rising Sun, 72 old Jamaica road, Bermondsey SE16".
- ^ "I.D". 21 February 2007.
- ^ "I.D." Amazon UK. 28 February 2000.
- ^ "I.D." Amazon UK. 14 May 2012.
- user-generated source]
- ^ "I.D." Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "I.D. - IMDb". IMDb.
- BFI. Retrieved March 19, 2019
- BFI. Retrieved March 19, 2019
- ^ ""I'm Shadwell 'till I die" - screenwriter Vincent O'Connell on the eagerly anticipated sequel to cult-classic ID - HeyUGuys". 12 August 2016.
- ^ "Shadwell Town Retro Football Shirts from TOFFS".
External links
- I.D. at IMDb
- Writer's website