1968 was a year of dramatic political upheaval. In May, widespread student protests pushed France to the brink of full blown revolution. In the United States, the political year was dominated by violent anti-war protests and two major political assassinations. In Czechoslovakia, Soviet tanks moved in to crush the fledgling revolution known as the Prague Spring.
This was the context in which Lindsay Anderson’s If . appeared on cinema screens. Set in an English public school (it was in fact filmed in Cheltenham), If . achieves the difficult feat of managing to be both very English and simultaneously utterly subversive to its core. Some scenes admittedly seem a bit quaint now. Such notions as “Malcolm McDowell growing a moustache were clearly more radical then than they are now.
The sequences in which McDowell’s character Mick Travis steals a motorcycle are daring enough (even though this public schoolboy is clearly in his mid-20s). But the scenes where he begins an unexpected leopard impersonation contest with a random waitress (the late Christine Noonan) still seem a bit bizarre, while the film’s occasional random switches from colour to monochrome and back were apparently more due to director Lindsay Anderson running out of money rather than any artistic pretentions.
It’s definitely unusual but this tale of an unconventional young man staging a revolution in his school is a great film.
If . often feels like a documentary but despite the presence of Arthur “Dad’s Army Lowe and Graham “Waiting For God Crowden, it never feels like a sitcom. Anderson produced two follow ups starring McDowell’s Mick Travis (O Lucky Man and Britannia Hospital), but neither matched the impact of this, well worth seeing for the dramatic finale alone.
The movie definitely benefits from Blu-ray and looks and sounds great. The bonus features are a bit of a mixed bag though. The “commentaries from film expert Robinson and lead McDowell are actually just interviews recorded separately and played over the top of the film, with five years gap between each of them (Robinson’s is from 2007, McDowell’s from 2002). Neither are new but both are actually more interesting than the batch of new interviews with surviving (minor) cast and crew members. It is interesting to see how the trailers attempted the tough job of selling the film to US audience.
This remains a fascinating film, however, whether you have seen it countless times before or are watching it for the first time.
Overall Verdict: Too cool for school? Never! One of the best British films of the 60s.
Special Features:
Audio Commentary with Film Historian David Robinson and Actor Malcolm McDowell
Three Lindsay Anderson Shorts: Three Installations, Henry and Thursday’s Children
56 Page Book on the Film Containing New Writing, A New Interview with Actor Brian Pettifer, An Interview with Director Lindsay Anderson, Notes on the Three Shorts and Archive Imagery
New Interviews with Producer Michael Medwin, Writers David Sherwin and John Howlett Editor David Gladwell, Production Manager Gavrik Losey, Cameraman Brian Harris and Actors David Wood. Hugh Thomas, Geoffrey Chater, Philip Bagenal and Sean Bury
Two US trailers
Reviewer: Chris Hallam