If....: Turner Classic Movies British Film Guide

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Description

Lindsay Anderson's 1968 masterpiece, "If...", deals fundamentally - and controversially - with England and quintessential 'Englishness'. Coming six years after Anderson's double Oscar-nominated debut feature, "This Sporting Life", "If..." was the first film ever with a British setting and cast to win the Palme d'Or for Best Film at Cannes. The fruit of Anderson's first-hand studies of the Czech, Polish and Indian New Waves led by Milos Forman, Andrzej Wajda and, most famously, Satyajit Ray, it prophesied - and then mirrored - an international outbreak of youthful rebellion. An authority on Lindsay Anderson and his films, Sutton here draws on massive quantities of original material: Anderson's private archive, which illuminates the film's autobiographical elements; the original script "Crusaders"; the sequel on which he was working at the time of his death; interviews with key members of cast and crew including lead Malcolm McDowell, all are here explored to unravel the mysteries of a film which continues to delight, enrage and inspire.

Reviews

'...his formidable research shines brilliantly.'Christopher Wood, Times 2, 10th November 2005

Author Bio

Paul Sutton was the founding editor of 'Camera Journal', the Cambridge University film journal, and is the editor of 'The Lindsay Anderson Diaries' (2004).