Talk about being in the right place at the right time. After years of rejection (one industry veteran called it "the most evil and perverted script" he had ever read), David Sherwin and John Howlett's heavily autobiographical exorcism of their hellish 1950s boarding schooldays was finally taken up by Lindsay Anderson and backed by Paramount, its original title Crusaders changed to the satirically Kiplingesque If.... In production as the barricades went up in May 1968, it was shown in Cannes a year later (over the protests of the British ambassador) and won the Grand Prix, having already opened in Britain to near-universal praise.
Revolutionary in form and content, it drew upon Jean Vigo's anarchic classic Zéro de Conduite for inspiration (the boarding school as stand-in for any kind of oppressive regime), but went much further in its blending of harsh realism, dreamy surrealism and gimlet-eyed observation of the insanely elaborate rules and rituals of public-school life and their wider political implications – the prefects are known as 'whips', and not just because of their fondness for administering savage beatings. Much critical energy was expended on "explaining" the shifts between colour and monochrome, actually caused by a mid-production funding crisis, as if the film didn't provide an encyclopaedia of food for thought elsewhere.
If.... made a star out of the then unknown Malcolm McDowell as sixth-form revolutionary Mick Travis, but the supporting cast is just as effective, especially Peter Jeffrey's haplessly platitudinous headmaster, happy to preach social change if he doesn't have to put it into practice. If the closing scene triggers uncomfortable (if inadvertent) memories of Dunblane, Columbine and Virginia Tech, it's nonetheless the entirely logical culmination of this powder-keg situation, and it's no surprise that Anderson is firmly on the side of his revolutionaries: this most intellectual of British directors recognised passion when he saw it. Along with Performance (filmed the same year), it's a rare example of an entirely British film that can fully stand comparison with the great masterpieces of European cinema. The DVD has numerous extras, including a McDowell commentary and Anderson's Oscar-winning documentary Thursday's Children (1954).
Commentary with David Robinson and Malcolm McDowell
Lindsay Anderson's Oscar winning documentary 'Thursday's Children'
Cast and Crew interviews
Interview with actor Graham Cowden
5 collector's postcards.
Film Description
A rare example of a British film that can fully stand comparison with the great masterpieces of European cinema.
After years of rejection (one industry veteran called it "the most evil and perverted script" he had ever read), Sherwin and Howlett's heavily autobiographical exorcism of their hellish 1950s boarding schooldays was brought to life in Lindsay Anderson’s controversial film.
The result blends harsh realism, dreamy surrealism and gimlet-eyed observation of the elaborate rules and rituals of public-school life, and explores their wider political implications.
