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If....

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2 Related Movies

Related to:

Britannia Hospital

Related to:

O Lucky Man!

Original title

If....

Year

1968

Running time

111 min.

Country

United Kingdom

Director

Lindsay Anderson

Screenwriter

David Sherwin

Cast

Music

Marc Wilkinson

Cinematography

Miroslav Ondricek

Producer

Memorial Enterprises

Genre

Drama | Free Cinema. Schools & University. Education. Teen/coming-of-age. Satire

Synopsis

In an inditement of the British Boys School, we follow Mick and his mostly younger friends through a series of indignities and occasionally abuse as any fond feelings toward these schools are destroyed. When Mick and his friends rebel, violently, the catch phrase, "which side would you be on" becomes quite stark.

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Awards: 1969: Cannes Film Festival: Palme d´Or (Golden Palm) - Best Film

1969: Golden Globes: Nominated for Best English-Language Foreign Film

1968: BAFTA Awards: Nominated to Best Director and Screenplay

1969: National Society of Film Critics (NSFC): nominated to Best Cinematography.

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Critics' reviews

"The ways in which Anderson tries to illustrate the desire for freedom are so mechanical and carry so little conviction that I think one may conclude that the heroes are shooting because he needs to discharge his rage."

Pauline Kael: The New Yorker
"Punchy, poetic pic that delves into the epic theme of youthful revolt."

Variety Staff: Variety
"The film finally succumbs to its own abstraction with an ending that satisfies neither symbolism nor wish fulfillment."

Dave Kehr: Chicago Reader
"A modern classic in which Anderson minutely captures both the particular ethos of a public school and the general flavour of any structured community."

Stephen Garrett: The New York Observer
"If . . . is so good and strong that even those things in the movie that strike me as being first-class mistakes are of more interest than entire movies made by smoothly consistent, lesser directors."

Vincent Canby: The New York Times
"Malcolm McDowell gives a blistering performance in what is undoubtedly a key film in British cinema history."

David Parkinson: Radio Times
"Given how readily the film slips from realism to surrealism and back, it's unwise to take the ending at face value, but the dream of laying waste to the social order remains potent."

Scott Tobias: The Guardian
"Making his debut in the lead role, Malcolm McDowell displays the charisma he would bring to A Clockwork Orange...and the ending still packs a punch."

Jake Wilson: The Age

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If....

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