I.D. (1995)

Four policemen go undercover and infiltrate a gang of football hooligans hoping to root-out their leaders. For one of the four, the line between 'job' and 'yob' becomes more unclear as time... See full summary »

Director:

Philip Davis

Writers:

Jim Bannon (original story), Vincent O'Connell (screenplay)

Stars:

Reece Dinsdale, Richard Graham, Perry Fenwick

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Reece Dinsdale	...	John
Richard Graham	...	Trevor
Perry Fenwick	...	Eddie
Philip Glenister	...	Charlie
Warren Clarke	...	Bob
Claire Skinner	...	Marie
Saskia Reeves	...	Lynda
Sean Pertwee	...	Martin
Charles De'Ath	...	Nik
Lee Ross	...	Gumbo
Terry Cole	...	Puff
Steve Sweeney	...	Vinny
Nicholas R. Bailey	...	Micky (as Nicholas Bailey)
Nick Bartlett	...	David Daley
David Schaal	...	Paul Funnell

Storyline

Four policemen go undercover and infiltrate a gang of football hooligans hoping to root-out their leaders. For one of the four, the line between 'job' and 'yob' becomes more unclear as time passes . . .

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Plot Keywords:

undercover | hooligan | violence | hooliganism | fight | 

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Taglines:

When you go undercover, remember one thing: who you are.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

Germany UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 May 1995 (UK)

Also Known As:

Deltio taftotitas

Filming Locations:

Bradford City Football Club, Valley Parade, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Films, Parallax Pictures, Metropolis Filmproduction

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The plot of the film is loosely based on "Operation Full-Time", a Scotland Yard undercover operation which attempted to identify the leaders of West Ham United F.C.'s firm, the Inter City Firm (ICF). However, none of the real life officers suffered John's (Reece Dinsdale) fate in the film.

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Quotes

John: Give me my marker show me my line... surely this is it... the edge?

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Soundtracks

"Night Fever"
Written by The Bee Gees
Recording courtesy of Polydor
Published by Gibb Brothers Music/BMG
Music Publishing International Ltd.

User Reviews

The best football film I have ever seen

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.