If....
1968 Directed by Lindsay Anderson
Synopsis
In this allegorical story, a revolution lead by pupil Mick Travis takes place at an old established private school in England.
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"War is the last possible creative act." - Mick Travis
You know those films that you think you're really going to hate because the term 'new wave' has been labelled on them, but actually end up liking them a lot, despite their pretentiousness and casual weirdness? Well, If.... is the perfect example of this.
It really is as revolutionary as it sets out to be. Casting a huge middle finger at religion, the military and boarding school hierarchies, If.... is a scatter-shot, angst-ridden beast of a film that makes as little sense as any David Lynch. Packed with surreal imagery that completely destroys any narrative structure, it isn't afraid to alienate the audience. But this is the type of film…
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Imagine if Buñuel started a film and Peckinpah finished it. This would probably be that.
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Surreal and fantastical tale of a private school in England, were the rules and discipline are not to the liking of Mick ( Malcolm McDowall) and his "crusaders" as they lash out at the system in an extreme way.
The way the film was shot gave it a dreamlike quality, was this what Mick was fantasizing or did this really happen...
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A savagely dark, revolutionary anger grips throughout this damning indictment of British school life and society. Although part allegory for events in Paris ‘68, Lindsay Anderson’s ‘If...’ remains remarkably powerful, possibly even gaining relevance given current events regarding education in Britain, which is currently going through the quickest, most sweeping changes in well over a generation. A bold statement, sure, but with over half of all ministers in the current Cabinet having attended public school and a British government (led by Eton Dave and a poisonous little toad called Michael Gove) determined to take a hatchet to the comprehensive school system, what better time than now to revisit Anderson’s furiously polemical classic? Far from dated, this was all too prescient.…
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This how they should of made the Harry Potter movies.
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Great film about rebelling against rigid conformist schooling systems and military fluffing.
Has the brilliant line said by one of the more reasonable members of the faculty- "so often I've noticed that its the hair rebels who'll step into the breach when there's a crises"!
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I thought being a girl was bad. Apparently, being an English prep school boy is worse.
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Imagine if Buñuel started a film and Peckinpah finished it. This would probably be that.
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Take note- This movie is about teenage boys in England in private school in the 60’s and it is impossible for me to relate to them. I don’t understand the impulses, the frustration, the rebellion… But Malcolm McDowell is always riveting to watch and listen to in roles like these (and this is a pre-Clockwork part that is very droogish indeed), and the movie is writ in an offbeat way that keeps it interesting. A good movie, exceedingly British and bizarre. Crazy ending.
There’s a slow motion gymnast scene that is absolutely mesmerizing to watch.
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Αγαπημένη βρετανίλα 60s με σουρεάλ δόσεις και Μάλκομ ΜακΝτάουελ πριν το Κουρδιστό Πορτοκάλι.
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Someone matter-of-factly told me the ending of this film is terrible.
I am going to make a point of disregarding any artistic criticism from said person for all of time.
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If... is the kind of film that begins in sheer realism and then fades into male fantasy.
Needless to say it was filled with enjoyment.
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Great film about rebelling against rigid conformist schooling systems and military fluffing.
Has the brilliant line said by one of the more reasonable members of the faculty- "so often I've noticed that its the hair rebels who'll step into the breach when there's a crises"! -
Brilliant, anarchic take on the British boarding school experience, very much influenced by Jean Vigo's Zero de Conduite, though more morally and politically ambiguous than Vigo's film.
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The film starts off as a relatively straightforward case of disobediance in a bording school before swerving off into pure rebellion. It's a Hell of an interesting trip with all sorts of bizarre and intriguing imagery and wordplay. Malcolm McDowell's star turn as Mick Travis keeps the whole thing nailed together, and it's still my favourite Lindsay Anderson film.