If....
1968
Filmed at the time of the 1968 student uprising in Paris, Lindsay Anderson's IF. . . is one of the seminal films of the era of student revolt. The characters' direct psychological and emotional displays are an allegory for how individuals must either conform to or rebel against the autocratic authority that is imposed upon them .. Read more
| Starring | Malcolm McDowell, Arthur Lowe, David Wood, Richard Warwick |
|---|---|
| Director | Lindsay Anderson |
| Genres | Drama |
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Critics' reviews (4)
View all -
If… is both exhilarating and depressing. It shows us what British movies could be like if only Anderson were still around to put a rocket up them.
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This is the High European classic that is also quintessentially English.
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Confirms its status as a classic, a movie of real authority.
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Most helpful members' reviews (3)
View all -
31 out of 34 people found this review helpful
One man can change the world with a bullet in the right place.
If... is a masterpiece of British Cinema. An authentic, almost documentary, account of life in an English boarding school in the 1960s, which serves as an analogy of the state of the nation at the time. Lindsay Anderson exposes the snobery, bullying corruption and intellectual complacency of the establishment and captures the essence of liberation politics and the naive idealism of a nascent youth culture (before it was subdued into a marketing demographic).
Wonderful performances, Malcom McDowell's greatest moment: the sneering, cocky, vulnerable, charismatic Mick Travis.
'The thing I hate about you, Rowntree, is the way you give Coca-Cola to your scum, and your best teddy bear to Oxfam, and expect us to lick your frigid fingers for the rest of your frigid life.'
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- Grimmy from Up North
- Posted 04 Apr 2007 13:11
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19 out of 21 people found this review helpful
A REAL 60'S CLASSIC...
IF.... director lindsay anderson insisted on the four dots.
a classic of the sixties. this film blew my class of 14 year old lads away in the mid seventies when it was shown on tv. we learnt the screenplay and recited it monty python style throughout our school years.
i'm not sure malcolm macdowell ever got over this performance. he certainly has never done anything as good since. including a clockwork orange!
you'll love this. and don't forget to look out for the sequels 'oh lucky man' and 'britannia hospital'.
let the revolution begin! -
17 out of 20 people found this review helpful
Best Ever
This is the best film in the world, ever - end of.
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Most recent members' reviews (2)
View all -
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
No!
No! Not good at all. Don't really understand why it's mant to be a classic.
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7 out of 7 people found this review helpful
pointless
Ive read some of the reviews and a lot of people liked this film, if i have missed the point, im sorry but, about 3 people who didnt tow the line and sorted it out in there own way. Seen that happen in a lot of schools havent we. whats with the colour to black and white???
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31 out of 34 people found this review helpful
One man can change the world with a bullet in the right place.
If... is a masterpiece of British Cinema. An authentic, almost documentary, account of life in an English boarding school in the 1960s, which serves as an analogy of the state of the nation at the time. Lindsay Anderson exposes the snobery, bullying corruption and intellectual complacency of the establishment and captures the essence of liberation politics and the naive idealism of a nascent youth culture (before it was subdued into a marketing demographic).
Wonderful performances, Malcom McDowell's greatest moment: the sneering, cocky, vulnerable, charismatic Mick Travis.
'The thing I hate about you, Rowntree, is the way you give Coca-Cola to your scum, and your best teddy bear to Oxfam, and expect us to lick your frigid fingers for the rest of your frigid life.'-
- Grimmy from Up North
- Posted 04 Apr 2007 13:11
-
19 out of 21 people found this review helpful
A REAL 60'S CLASSIC...
IF.... director lindsay anderson insisted on the four dots.
a classic of the sixties. this film blew my class of 14 year old lads away in the mid seventies when it was shown on tv. we learnt the screenplay and recited it monty python style throughout our school years.
i'm not sure malcolm macdowell ever got over this performance. he certainly has never done anything as good since. including a clockwork orange!
you'll love this. and don't forget to look out for the sequels 'oh lucky man' and 'britannia hospital'.
let the revolution begin! -
17 out of 20 people found this review helpful
Best Ever
This is the best film in the world, ever - end of.
-
15 out of 19 people found this review helpful
Awful
An odd, eccentric, depressing film.
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7 out of 7 people found this review helpful
pointless
Ive read some of the reviews and a lot of people liked this film, if i have missed the point, im sorry but, about 3 people who didnt tow the line and sorted it out in there own way. Seen that happen in a lot of schools havent we. whats with the colour to black and white???
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6 out of 8 people found this review helpful
outdated fantasy
I had waited years to watch this film ... and was disappointed. Acting by the 'boys' was wooden and unyouthful and by the adults just dire. Even Arthur Lowe turned in a dreadful performance as the housemaster. If this was supposed to be an exaggerated spoof of public school liife in the 1970's, it failed. The depction of fagging, silly rules and mild teenage sexual fantasy was entirelly (and boringly) accurate. More an exteded moan by a little boy who didn't enjoy his experience as a boarder than cutting edge satire. The ending was entirely predictable and took too long to materialise. Matron in the nude was less than titilating - and this is supposed to be the most talked-about sequence!
If you want to take the rip out of public school, view St Trinians or Tommkinson's Schooldays. But don't bother with this over-hyped stuff. -
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful
If ...
Watched this, as a non-Brit, with my nearly 15 year old son who is at boarding school and my English husband who boarded in the 70ies ... discussed it later with his elder brother who boarded in the 60ies. Thank God things have changed for I am told it is true to life at boarding schools in the 60ies! Very interesting.
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4 out of 4 people found this review helpful
goood
cool, we need new films like this
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
No!
No! Not good at all. Don't really understand why it's mant to be a classic.
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3 out of 4 people found this review helpful
Give me dead poets society anytime!
A real disapointment....IF has definitely not stood the test of time...acting was wooden script was shallow and the ending was naff...if only sam peckinpah was approached to finish the movie off!!
Critics' reviews (4)
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If… is both exhilarating and depressing. It shows us what British movies could be like if only Anderson were still around to put a rocket up them.
-
This is the High European classic that is also quintessentially English.
-
Confirms its status as a classic, a movie of real authority.
-
A modern classic.
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