O Lucky Viewer!

Introduction

Whilst strolling along the Croissette at Cannes where If.... won the Palme D'or, Malcolm McDowell put his arm around Lindsay Anderson and said that, since they were such a good team, they should make another film together. Anderson explained that good scripts don't fall off trees, so if McDowell wanted one, he'd have to write one. To Anderson's surprise, he did, writing the semi-autobiographical script outline 'Coffee Man', based on his experiences as a young man selling coffee in the North East. The title was changed to 'Lucky Man', then 'O Lucky Man!' and the outline was turned into a screenplay by David Sherwin, the screenwriter for If.....

O Lucky Man! picks up Mick Travis, now a grown man and hoping to find his way in the world as a coffee salesman being sent to the North of England with only a compass, a map, his ID and an apple. Along the way he picks up a gold suit, is imprisoned and tortured in a secret MoD facility and becomes the trusted aide of a wealthy businessman.

With a Greek chorus provided by Alan Price and his band, this is a hyperrealist follow-up to If....with some of the same cast (Arthur Lowe, Mona Washbourne, Graham Cowden) and features many of the actors in multiple roles - Arthur Lowe plays the boss of the coffee firm, a northern politician and (in blackface) the despotic leader of an African country!

Video

The anamorphic 1.78:1 transfer is excellent, apart from a section in the second half, which was dropped from the initial run and had to be made from a duplicate negative. The quality of this part of the film is obviously inferior, but almost works on an artistic level.

Audio

Presented in the original mono, the sound is nice and sharp and the hip soundtrack by Alan Price fits the mood of the film perfectly.

Extra Features

The commentary, with Malcolm McDowell, Alan Price and David Sherwin works well for half the film, but then they struggle for things to say and a moderator is desperately needed to prompt them.

O Lucky Malcolm! is a feature length piece from 2006 about Malcolm McDowell's career and private life, from If.... to Evilenko, concentrating mostly on O Lucky Man! and A Clockwork Orange.

There is also O Lucky Man! Innovation in Entertainment which is a 4-minute EPK (from before they had EPKs!) and the theatrical trailer.

Conclusion

O Lucky Man! has everything that made If.... such a great movie: superb performances; excellent direction and brilliant writing. I love If.... and I think I like O Lucky Man! even more. Maybe it's because I didn't go to public school or maybe it's just because O Lucky Man! is a more entertaining picaresque film with a greater sense of adventure and fun.

Sadly, the film is split over 2 dual-layer discs which allows for high quality audiovisuals, but is a pain, especially as the second half begins less than 2 minutes before a title card, so a little more thought should have gone into where the split occurred. I don't know if they could have put the film onto disc 1 and extra features on disc 2 without any detriment to quality, but that would have been perfect. This is an annoyance but doesn't spoil the film.

I waited a long time for this to come out on DVD and was glad when it was released - it's a purchase I certainly don't regret and heartily recommend. All that's needed now is a special edition of This Sporting Life and the third part of the Mick Travis trilogy, Britannia Hospital, to be released.