Theo Robertson This was broadcast on BBC2 one Sunday night circa 1997 . Its original scheduling was opposite RESERVIOR DOGS on Channel 4 and perhaps mindful of this BBC2 changed its broadcast at he last minute . As far as I recall this was the only time it was ever shown on British network television but its impact was enough to make me believe that this was by far the best film featuring the sub-genre of the football hooligan movie . After seeing it again after over 15 years I'm afraid my memory has been cheating on me The story is set in 1988 and sets up the plot of the police trying to infiltrate and smash a gang of casuals attached to Shadwell FC who call themselves the dogs and right away we're shown how nasty the Dogs are via rival supporters being smashed up by crowbars and slashed with stanly knives via CCTV footage with the Inspector saying it wouldn't be worth the while of arresting them because " They'd only get a few months be out by the start of the season " . Let me get this right - you almost batter someone to death or slash them to ribbons and it's all caught on CCTV and you're only looking at a sentence of a few months along the lines of disturbing the peace ? Is a charge of attempted murder not a possibility ? It also points out these guys have previous convictions for football related violence so surely if found guilty the judge would be able to throw the book at them ? You might have to suspend disbelief to overlook this as a plot turn in order to set up the story but the screenplay by Vincent O Connell fails to follow its own logic and later on someone finds himself arrested and charged from stealing a jar of pickles from work Like all hooligan films the casuals are a cosmopolitan mixed bunch , one of them has to be black and one of them has learning difficulties . Nice to know that football firms are equal opportunity employers . You can claim that the EDL does indeed have the occasional non white member and the EDL does make a big thing that one of its most prominent members is a Muslim from Glasgow who supports Glagow Rangers but still there's something not entirely convincing about the composition of the Dogs . Sean Pertwee as Martin and Reece Dinsdale as John are relatively well cast but Richard Graham as Trevor one of the undercover cops fails to convince as someone who'd be taken on in to a firm . That's the problem with the entire film - a lack of conviction to nearly everything The one thing ID does well is to portray the appeal of football violence - of belonging to a working class gang bent on violence . This is captured in by far the best sequence of the movie where a section of traveling Shaswell FC fans stand in the home end of their opponents and start singing leading to a brawl . John breaks free of the police and runs in to the away enclosure as he's hailed as a hero while stirring music ( Composed by Will Gregory later of chill out techno band Goldfrapp ) plays over the soundtrack and it's this scene that will remain in the memory Perhaps that's why ID disappointed me . It's a film that contains a few very good sequences but these sequences are far and few between . IIt's also a film that suffers like so many British films from the period in that it doesn't have a cinematic feel to it and looks more like an overpriced television play . It does serve as a reminder that in the 1980s you could stand on the terraces and shout and swear and sing rude songs to your opposite number fans standing a few yards away . ID is also helped by the fact that it was released a few years before the football hooligan film was done to death but with hindsight Nick Love's THE FOOTBALL FACTORY is probably the best in its field

Jp Asher (JP_Asher) 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."

collioure_bee On the face of it,a team of police officers going undercover in a local firm together evidence and one of them getting the buzz for the violence is a good idea.Put into practice by this film, the idea is completely wasted.Having read some of the comments about this film ie how it shows what goes on at an unfashionable London club proves how such a badly researched film can be dangerous in giving a false idea of football and it's followers, well or badly behaved.I support an unfashionable London club and can say that even in the really bad old days it was nothing like this. I thought Green Street was a bad enough inaccurate portrayal but this pushed the limits of belief just too far.The "firm" just didn't look the part, and the scenes in the pub were just surreal to be polite. What on earth was going on with the fire eater? And who wrote the chants? Why not just use real chants? We are expected to believe that one of the under covers lives on the manor with a wife in the police who goes to work from home in uniform? Is he going to make such a mistake that his thug mates are not going to see this or pop round unexpectedly? The film is so full of holes it is incredible. I can't believe some think this is so true to life! Whoever researched this appears to have just read Daily Mail type exaggerated reports to scare middle England and used that as their ideas of how it is or was. Well it is and never was anything like this.The film is absolute junk and not worth the talents of some of the people in it.

englandfan66_1985 I was well surprised after seeing this cause it was great. Its quite an old film and I was expecting something really cheesy and poor quality. But It ain't, I watched it cause it was about football hooliganism. But the story and the characters are the best part of this film. John - top boy and Trev - true geek, painters and decorators (undercover old bill). Gumbo - a f****n idiot, but u'll love him. Bob - the pub landlord, martin and nick - the lads. U'll love them all. Ull wanna be a Shadwell Town fan - if only they really existed. <- When I win the lottery I will start that club up. This may not have as good violence or coverage of the hooligan scene, but its got a great story and characters, I fully recommend it. If u wanna look more into the lifestyle of the football hooligan thou watch Football Factory. But if you wanna watch a great movie. Watch I.D