If... (1968)

Lindsay Anderson?s If.? is a daringly anarchic vision of British society set in a boarding school in late-sixties England. Before Kubrick made his mischief iconic in A Clockwork Orange Malcolm McDowell made a hell of an impression as the insouciant Mick Travis who along with his school chums trumps authority at every turn finally emerging as violent savior against the draconian games of one-upmanship played by both students and the powers that be. Mixing color and black and white as audaciously as it mixes fantasy and reality If?. remains one of cinema?s most unforgettable rebel yells.System Requirements:Running Time: 112 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR UPC: 715515024426 Manufacturer No: CC1699DVD Product Description

Great DVD

I had never heard of this movie or the director, It was a recomendation from amazon, and they nailed it. The moment I saw the recomendation, it inmedialty intrigued me and it was what I expected and the kind of movie I wanted to see at the time. The dvd box is great full of interesting stuff. the purchase, normal, nothign bad happened, happy with the product. April 28, 2008

Private school rebellion

Film set in 60s in the upper class boy's private school in England, shows the daily life of the adolescent boys. We see them bond, study, daydream and misbehave. They are governed by all male staff and the only two women around them are the elderly nurse and the wife of the principal. Boys feel smothered in the close quarters of the boarding school and confused about their sexual awakening. The sexual repression leads them to be mean to each other and to generally rebel against all rules of conduct asdefined by the authorities at school (i.e. their teachers and tutors). This is the time when physical punishment is an acceptable practice of disciplining the boys. Other than sports, these boys have no outlets to express themselves, or their emotions. In turn they steal, skip classes and exhibit resistance in only way they know - by fighting. Before long we see them as they see themselves. Liberators from the establishment, they fight evil with evil because no one thought them any better. This film is ultimate show of how unhappiness can have a disasterous consequences. A classic film for any generation that made young actor Malcolm McDowell famous. January 30, 2008

See "If. . ."

"If. . ." is an excellent movie--my husband and I have been watching it regularly for 40 years! January 7, 2008

Questioning authority.

"Violence and revolution are the only pure acts."

Before his unforgettable performance in 1971 as Alex DeLarge, the psychopathic delinquent in Stanley Kubrick's classic, A Clockwork Orange, Malcolm McDowell made his first appearance in British director Lindsay Anderson's 1968 film, If. . . ., a cult film about a student rebellion at a British a boarding school. (The film was in production at the time of the student uprisings in Paris in May, 1968.) McDowell plays Mick Travis, a character Anderson used in two sequels, O Lucky Man! and Britannia Hospital. Mick represents a non-conformist student at odds with a public school system which denies his individual freedoms. He arrives for a new school term wearing a black hat and a black scarf to hide his moustache, and the film then follows Mick and his mates as they clash daily with the school authorities, ending in a total revolt against the establishment. If. . . ., A Clockwork Orange, and O Lucky Man! are considered McDowell's best films.

The double-disc Criterion edition includes a newly restored high-definition digital transfer, audio commentary featuring film critic and historian David Robinson and actor Malcolm McDowell, "Cast and Crew" (2003), an episode from the Scottish TV series featuring interviews with McDowell, Ondricek, Rakoff, director's assistant Stephen Frears, producer Michael Medwin, and screenwriter David Sherwin, a new video interview with actor Graham Crowden, "Thursday's Children" (1954), an Academy Award-winning documentary about a school for deaf children, directed by Anderson and Guy Brenton and narrated by Richard Burton, and a booklet featuring pieces by critic David Ehrenstein, screenwriter David Sherwin, and director Lindsay Anderson.

Highly recommended.

G. Merritt November 2, 2007

"Don't forget boy Look over your shoulder 'Cause there's always someone coming after you",

The first entry to the Mick Travis trilogy ("If...", 1968, O Lucky Man, 1973, and "Britannia Hospital", 1982), "If.." is a surreal black comedy about an English private boys' school and a student rebellion. In his three films, Anderson had covered all aspects, politics, and institutions of British Society from 1968 to 1982 with its complex system of class differences and privileges. "If..." which was released in 1968 at the peak of youthful rebellion in Europe and USA, received BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations and won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival where it competed with 27 films from all over the world.

Anderson was in part inspired by Jean Vigo's 41 minutes long "Zero for conduct" (1933) about the similar to "If..." subject. Like in Vigo's film, Anderson inserts some surrealistic episodes shot in black-and-white and according to him, it was driven by budget rather than style. Malcolm McDowell in his first big screen role and the first of three Mick Travis' movies is a charismatic leader of the rebel students who call themselves the Crusaders and like to break the rules. The cruel corporal punishments from the faculty and the older students provoked a bloody uprising against the school system.

Made almost 40 years ago, "If.." still has a power to shock as well as to entertain and it remains an outstanding and controversial depiction of the problems that have not disappear from the English public school system or from any school system as well as from society in general.

I am sure that Stanley Kubrick saw "If..." and was impressed by McDowell's debut performance, by his charisma that shines through his close-ups and especially in the final shot of "If...", and by his face that strangely combines innocence and youthful openness with cynical scornful almost reptilian contempt for humanity. I believe that "If..." was the reason Kubrick offered the part of charming psychopath Alex to the young actor.

October 10, 2007

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