O Lucky Man! Reviews

The Long March of Everyman

A sort of a companion volume to Au Hasard Balthazar ... in reverse and updated! Here, McDowell is the everyman who's the victim, the hapless observer if you will, who's destined to suffer the cruel outcome of events perpetrated by others over who he can excercise neither judgement nor control. In many ways a more telling film than 'If' and a definitive essay on the daily trials and tribulations of Everyman.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Very good

Bizarre and overlong, but still engrossing, Lindsay Anderson's critique of british society crica 1973 stands up today. DVD transfer is crisp and Alan Price's songs sound good. BEWARE if renting you need both discs as its split into a part one and a part two.

Comedy - engaging and engaged

A sweet surreal journey through 1970s Britain, but in the words of its maverick director Lindsay Anderson, 'epic' and not 'mini'. A worthy follow-on to the great hit of 1968, 'If....' and features some of the same cast, many taking on several roles. Malcolm McDowell is Mick Travis again as the 'Lucky Man'. Instead of a rebel against the public school system, he's the young man with wide-open blue eyes in search of his fortune in the wide world, negotiating its corruption and opportunities like a player on a snakes-and-ladders board; with a series of lucky escapes from dire situations.

In a worthy final scene, he's auditioned by Lindsay Anderson, director playing himself, for a movie: perhaps 'If....' ...

The original idea for the film was a script by Malcolm McDowell, based on his own experiences as a coffee salesman prior to his own successful audition for 'If....' by Anderson, the English director who prided himself on always being real, rather than realistic.

[Highly rated reviewer]

nostalgic

I so enjoyed going back into 'my time'.(I'd forgotten how artificial,how seedy it was at times.)McDowell is terrific in this role.Can't wait to watch part 2 to see what becomes of our 'hero'.

not so lucky audience

A picaresque tale which sees our Malcolm as a kind of holy fool embarking on a series of random adventures in a seedy early 70s Britain. Anderson adopts a scatter gun approach to satire, lampooning just about every national institution he can in the space of 3 hours. The plotless nature of the story makes it hard work, the result is rather unfocused and lacks the visionary quality of If. Worth seeing mainly for a blacked-up Arthur Lowe as the president of 'Zingara,' surely a career lowpoint! and Alan Price's songs that are cleverly interspersed with the action.

O Lucky Man!

Definately not in the same league as 'If...' but worth a watch anyway. Much more intersesting is the documentary on the second disc 'O Lucky Malcolm' where McDowell talks candidly about his career.

IF I had know this was so indulgent..

...I might not have rented it. But probably worth it just for seeing Captain Manwaring as a very bad African. Flashes of brilliance but never really understood the plot until I read a review after I had seen the film and realised this was based on Malcolm M's life story.

'O Wonderful Movie'

'O Lucky Man' is still wonderful despite it was made in 1973, certainly, with the help of

Alan Price not in the last place.

[Highly rated reviewer]

We're lucky to have it

The ups and downs of a young salesman who goes through cycles of good luck and bad is a bold and subversive piece of film-making, a worthy successor to 'if...' with McDowell the perfect Everyman. He stumbles wide-eyed into all sorts of situations and Anderson chronicles it all with a beady and confident eye. Surprisingly epic, and often very funny, it also serves as a fascinating document of what life was like in Britain in the early 70s.

O Lucky Man

A brilliant classic British film with a great sound track, about the exploits of a coffee sales man and a demented view of 1970's Britain.