Opiniones de usuarios

i.d. is directed by Philip Davis and written by Vincent O'Connell. It stars Reece Dinsdale, Warren Clarke, Claire Skinner, Richard Graham, Perry Fewick, Philip Glenister, Saskia Reeves and Sean Pertwee. Music is by Will Gregory and cinematography by Thomas Mauch.

Four policemen go undercover and infiltrate a gang of football hooligans who follow Shadwell Town. There mission is to root out their leaders, the ones pulling all the strings. But for one of them, John (Dinsdale), the longer the operation goes on, the more he finds he loves this world of hard drinking and fighting.

It became something of a cult hit back in the 90s, at a time when football hooligan films were still rare. Nowadays they are two a penny, with a ream of wide boy directors mining the source for easy cash while turning the topic into pop culture matter of fact. i.d. (it is spelt that way on the film) is a different animal to the MTV styled other hoolie movies in a lot of ways, it is set in the 80s but it feels archaic, in fact it feels much earlier with its clothing choices, fans decked out in scarves, admission fees into grounds only £3.50/£4.00 and the way supporters are caged on the terraces. Even the terrace songs hark back to the 70s. This old time feel, coupled with the low production value, is a world away from the likes of The Football Factory and Green Street, where dress codes were as important as toughness! i.d. does have realism, but it's a realism long before football hooliganism became a source of books, films and trendy badge of honours.

Davis' film is more concerned with showing how the thrill of it all can drag down the most upstanding citizen. In this case Dinsdale's (terrific and a splendid shift from sit-com niceties) young ambitious copper. His descent into being a full blown hooligan is very real, the addiction of the fight, the camaraderie of the gang, the wine women and song that replaces the humdrum of everyday working life. It doesn't offer up any answers, in fact things are deliberately left ambiguous in the end, but the message is sharply etched into the story and the pic is high on social value. It should have been bolder by making more on racism of the time and expanding upon police overkill at football matches, but it never glorifies the topic to hand and backed by a very watchable cast, rounds out as football hooligan film of some substance and standing in the genre pantheon. 8/10

This is quite simply the best football/realistic portrayal of the English working class for some time.

It pits a middle class suburbanite home owner, a true product of Thatcher's Britain, who curiously appears in a picture on the wall of several offices during the film, against the white working classes, the forgotten men of England at the time.

The film truly shows that despite all his middle class ideals, he and his friends are still the people they once were, perilously close to the edge and the violence of the impoverished forgotten young male.

The films greatest strength is perhaps that it stays away from the game of football and sticks very firmly with the soccer hooligan. You cannot ignore this film. Its charecterisation and portrayal of individuals is flawless... no wooden acting here.

Without a doubt one of the better movies to be made at this time, long forgotten and overlooked, it can actually offers an almost historical insight into the social influences of our history, and goes some way to explaining the origins annd causes of the English disease

I.D. tells the story of four policemen on an undercover assignment in East London. They are supposed to infiltrate the notorious hooligan firm of (non-existing) Shadwell Town Football Club. At first they are not particularly interested in football or Shadwell but they gradually learn to appreciate the particular atmosphere that is only known to football fans. John is the most fanatic of the lot. He is slowly turning into a proper hooligan. And it seems that choosing between the job and Shadwell becomes more and more difficult.

I.D. is one of my favourite films and it is definitely my favourite football-related film. It shows us what is going on in and around an unfashionable London football ground on Saturday afternoons. The character development that the main characters experience is wonderfully portrayed by the cast.

I saw this film on Dutch television for the first time. I had a very hard time finding this film on video in Holland. In fact, I never succeeded but I was delighted when I noticed that every High Street video retailer in England had a copy in stock. A must-see

This is the best football film I have ever seen, yet strangely enough not a single football match is shown. Instead, it deals with the violence off the pitch.

The story is about four police officers who go undercover to find out who is the ringleader of a group of violent thugs at a fictitious East London football team, Shadwell FC (possibly but not necessarily based on Millwall FC, a real East London team with its own share of crowd trouble). This violent drama shows how easy it is to get drawn into the whole scene, to the extent that the policemen find their mission and dedication to justice is slowly being taken over by their newly found love of Shadwell.

It is a superb character study, well acted by Reece Dinsdale and Sean Pertwee, among others, although it is Warren Clarke who really steals the show with a superb performance as the ringleader.

Non-football fans will enjoy this film as well, possibly because of the lack of any football action. It is, for example, one of my wife's favorite films, although her interest in football per se is fairly insubstantial. However, if extreme violence or 'foul' language offends you, avoid this film.

As an Eastender, I have to say this film is one of the most accurate portrayals of football violence in the area. It is also a far better 'film about football' than other recent attempts such as WHEN SATURDAY COMES or FEVER PITCH. Although it has been out on video now for over three years at the time of writing this, it is still today one of the hardest videos to get out of the video-club in the East End, as it is almost always on loan.

Enjoy! I know you will.

John (Reece Dinsdale)is a smug copper who along with a colleague is assigned to go undercover to delve into the violent world of the football hooligan in 1980's East London. John becomes more and more obsessed and embroiled in this world until it becomes a part of him, which is certain to lead to trouble.

This is an extremely well made and engrossing film with top notch acting and some highly convincing characters. Reece Dinsdale, Sean Pertwee and Warren Clarke ,the pub landlord Bob, are excellent and ensure that this film is a success. We are presented with restless, dissatisfied angrey working class males whose way of letting out frustration is through football violence against enemy firms.

I have seen this many times over the years and it is a film I often come back to as it always guarantees excellent entertainment, a good story, great acting and characters. Definitely watch it

Not bad hooligan film in 1980's Britain. Interesting story and a brilliant performance from the main character John, it was over the top but spot on. He looked like a right nutter lol.

To be frank, everyone who I have shown this film to has loved it - it doesn't matter if you aren't into football, this is just a quality film as far as i am concerned. See how many faces you can spot in this. Maybe not big time names now but then that isn't the point - the atmosphere the film generates is superb. This isn't a Hollywood film but nor is it your typical Brit flick - no quirks here (apart from the character of Gumbo) but it does give a great account of what being at a football match is like but in a way that slightly romances football violence. In fact the violence takes a back seat to character progression and formation as the film progresses. I strongly believe the value of a ilm like this is so high because of the number of times I can watch it - surely the mark of a great film? There are only a few films that everyone has that they don't mind watching when they are considering watching one of their DVD's, and this is one that I have certainly got my money's worth from! I only wish I had watched this when it came out as I would have been even more impressed but I was put off by the cover and that the story concerned football.

An ambitious police officer (Reece Dinsdale) wants his career to move in a forward direction and is married to a fellow police officer (Claire Skinner). He is tasked with leading a team to go undercover to try and smash a dangerous gang of football hooligans, but soon finds himself drawn into the violence, blurring the lines between his job and operation and his love for football, or more specifically gang violence.

The film is as you'd expect violent as it should be, but does look a little dated. It is nevertheless an interesting study on the draw, appeal and seduction of gang violence from a time when football hooliganism was still a big problem. The cast includes some familiar faces from 'Eastenders' and a young Sean Pertwee and following on from one of the originals football hooligan films, THE FIRM (1988).

The acting is pretty good but some of the dialogue is laughable. The fact that it is made by BBC films explains why some of the football hooliganism scenes are pretty watered down and sanitised compared to some other films that been made about football hooliganism.

Perhaps I'm biased but this is without doubt the worst film I have ever seen regarding football violence. The most ironic thing about this film is that it is called 'I.D'. The actual period in which it was set is the early 90's, so why oh why do you have 'hooligans' rowing on the terraces? CCTV? Regardless of that why are the 'hooligans' actually wearing club colours, by the 80's everyone was in casual wear and club colours were not allowed. The scenes in the 'rock' with the guy eating fire are totally laughable, what was that all about? (the fire eating I mean). I originally purchased this film on video from a well known chain store without first seeking any kind of recommendation. I must say I laughed and then I winced at was was factually wrong. The landlord of the 'rock' "been in prison", surely he would have lost his liquor licence and his job??? All I will say is that if you are going to do a film about football violence then at least do your research first. Terribly inaccurate film!!!

No seriously, I am in it. I was one of many extras at Bradford City football ground for the filming of many of the crowd scenes for this film. Despite my particularly good performance I am afraid to say I was overshadowed by the other characters in the film; namely Reece Dinsdale, Warren Clarke et al. A superbly realistic film showing just how mindless and moronic football hooliganism was during the 80's.

The film itself is much better than most football hooligan films, it gives an honest account of football related violence at it's peak in the 80's throughout the UK; without trying to glamorize the criminal activity associated with it. All the parts are well acted and believable, and the overall production is done well. However, if you are watching this film under the pretense that it is based on a true story please take it with a pinch of salt. I read the book 'Running With the Firm' which is the true account of what actually happened to James Bannon (John) during his undercover operation, and while the characters and overall plot are the same, there are some significant story changes to make the film more entertaining, some slight in their changes, to others completely made up. The ending is also drastically different to what actually happened in real life.

Overall the film is quite good and worth a watch for any football fan who is sick of seeing badly acted over dramatic films such as Green Street, but as is usually the case, the book is much better.

I used to work in a video store in the olden days, and this movie was a little known gem that I recommended to customers.

Everything clicks in this movie. The story and characters are great. Having had friends who were into football hooliganism, in my experience everything in this movie feels very realistic.

The cast is good all the way through, especially Reece Dinsdale in the lead who delivers a real powerhouse performance. It's strange, I thought this movie might do to him what Romper Stomper did to Russell Crowe, but I can't remember seeing him in anything but this movie.

Don't bother with the sequel which has absolutely nothing to do with this movie.

This is one of the best English movies I have ever seen.

The story is good, but the actors really do this movie.

Although this movie is about football hooligans it doesn't have one single scene of a football game.

I give this breathtaking drama full score. 10/10.

While brutal in its portrayals this film is an effective comment on the capacity of the average man in the street for violence.

The main members of the cast are Undercover Police, so clearly know the difference between right and wrong. However, they get so caught up in the thrill of the fight they find themselves unable to control their actions. One of them is so carried away he prefers his new life.

This film is a tricky one to watch, due to the closeness to home of the subject matter. Brutal and unmotivated violence is graphically, and very effectively, depicted, and takes place in everyday locations; the pub, the street, the football terrace.

Avoid this if you are sensitive about screen violence. However, while uncomfortable viewing, this film does ultimately reward, with full hearted performances and more than one or two difficult questions left in your mind. 8/10.

I'll just start by saying that a lot of the negative reviews I've seen for this film really miss its fundamental point. They focus largely on the admittedly far-from-realistic presentation of the football hooliganism, which I find surprising given that the film's real message -- as you would think would be made clear from the title and tag-line -- is "I.D."; identity; who you are.

"I.D." is a film which I really enjoyed very much; the plot opens with the formation of an undercover group of four police officers who are to infiltrate the hooligan firm surrounding the (fictional) East London football club Shadwell Town, based largely on the inner-city London clubs most associated with football violence. The previous police team has just been ratted out by the ever-vigilant firm, so it's very important that the four are careful to fit in perfectly to avoid blowing their cover. The undercover gang is split into two pairs, one of which consists of the superior officer, Trevor (Richard Graham), and the film's main character, John (Reece Dinsdale).

The undercover gang is led nominally by Trevor (because, as he says at one point, "I'm the sergeant!") but it is clear from early on that the real leader of the operation is the much more street-smart and savvy John. John carefully and gradually makes them known at The Rock, the main Shadwell hooligans' pub, staffed by the monolithic yet eloquent landlord Bob (excellently portrayed by Warren Clarke) and the friendly barmaid Lynda (Saskia Reeves), and he and Trevor become regular faces around the Shadwell firm. As John himself says in the film, Trevor is incapable, and nearly blows their cover on numerous occasions -- luckily for everybody, John is able to keep the operation going.

All four of the undercover policemen become actively attached to the Shadwell team, as well as to the hooligan lifestyle -- however, while the other three are able to keep some context on their activities, John begins to change dramatically from the clean-shaven copper presented at the film's start into a hard-drinking, hard-hitting Shadwell thug. When Shadwell are drawn to play away against their local rivals Wapping (also fictional) in a cup match, John's disillusionment is intensified when he witnesses uniformed police using excessive force on supporters during the match. The line between undercover policeman and real hooligan becomes obviously blurred, and John becomes more and more unstable.

I won't give the rest of the film away, as I encourage you to watch it for yourself; you will find yourself revisiting it over and over again, which is surely the sign of a movie with something special. A highlight is the wonderful original score by future Goldfrapp keyboardist and producer Will Gregory, which is a large part of what makes this film so great; the violent scenes are accompanied by heavy, pounding war drums, while the eerie backing scores for the disturbing psychological scenes add well to the overall atmosphere. The musical highlight, however, comes during the sequence at Wapping; an electric-guitar-dominated tune combines with the events on screen to create a feverish, climactic moment which I feel is the film's best.

Notably, no actual football is shown -- I think the point here is that the filmmakers are trying to say that hooliganism has nothing to do with it. Instead we are shown the crowds packing the terraces, chanting, cheering and shouting at the players and referee. Although there are some realism errors here and there (£3.50 seems jolly cheap for the late 1980s, for example, and in the middle of the aforementioned Wapping sequence the fans celebrate a goal by cheering for just a second, then falling silent) this is done very well on the whole; as somebody who held a season ticket at a club very much like those portrayed for a number of years, I have to say that the overall atmosphere was realistic and engrossing -- I really felt like I was with them at the game, and that is something I've never had happen with any other film.

All in all, I would just like to sum up by saying that I don't actually consider this to be particularly a football hooligan film, or even a football film; as I said above, no football is shown. I consider this a psychological thriller, which I think was what it is intended as -- and while I and others have spotted some holes in the realism of the football, the violence and so forth, I myself forgive the film because I feel it doesn't detract from its over-riding message; which is, as the film's tag-line says: "remember one thing: who you are."

This has got to be one of the most engrossing, exceptionally well-acted films I've ever seen. A matchless and realistically violent legend of strong character development (and execution), backstreet plot and brutal action. The casting is spectacular, especially picking out Reece Dinsdale, Sean Pertwee and Richard Graham. The level of swearing is high and substantive, the antinomianism holds your attention, and the entire story is brought to a brutal, topmost peak. One scene, in which the characters of John and Martin take on an entire throng of armed hooligans and live to tell the tale, may have been pushing the odds a bit, but the rest of the film has a spectacularly warm-blooded sense of rage and fashion. Some black humour even pops up here and there, to lend entertainment and diversion to the whole football-worshipping, injustice-obsessed story line. The ending is beyond marvellous, and the build up is even better. Watch this film, but remember who you are.

Sadly it will be largely forgotten as made for TV/straight to video/independent films do. I will give a brief review to it though as it is a film I have always remembered.

Me and my mates had a great laugh and were glued to the TV when watching it! The football chants, the aggression and hostility to the opposing sides, the pub gatherings, the boozing….the lad-ish behaviour …all so authentically British!

But, what I remember about it is the characters and their development throughout the story.

It follows a band of Cops set as an undercover squad to infiltrate the hooligan element in the local team: Shadwell FC (if I remember correctly)

The story follows the evolution of their demeanours and near loss of their own psyche (one actually did totally loose it) as they seek to emulate hooligans in the undercover sting operation. These are professional policeman and they are gradually declining into real hooliganism. Their behaviour is spilling over into their professional lives ...into their non-working lives…into their family lives …and has some disastrous consequences.

Scene by scene, act by act, you can see they are slipping into a dark area of human psychology and sociology which I myself had been used to seeing in the British football arena.

This film premise has been done before and has been done since ….but not as good and they way this film does it. It does it in a gradual incremental process which you follow almost as if you there yourself. You can empathise. You can almost see yourself doing the same thing if you and your mates had to do such a sting operation. Getting carried away in your role …living it too much for real …losing your identity (I.D.)!!

Watch it if you can still find it; a little gem of a movie!

I.D. is not something which makes light entertainment.

Reece Dinsdale shows off some excellent acting skills as John, an undercover policeman getting involved in the world of football hooliganism.

The Movie never fails to surprise, every time it is watched, the roles are cast perfectly, and they are all excellent at their roles.

The storyline, will either bore you, or grip you entirely until the very end.

James Bannon, the writer has put together a gritty drama that will stir an emotional response when written, You never fail to feel both sympathy and revulsion for the main character, John.

If you want a feel-good movie, go rent bambi or free willy, because ID is the sort of movie that will leave an indelible imprint on you.