Review for If...

If... is set in a 1960s Public school where the main rule is order and discipline. The Headmaster rules over the Housemasters and the Housemasters rule over the Whips (Head Boys) and the Whips rule over the rest of the Pupils. That is until one pupil, Mick and his friends decide that enough is enough and they start a bloody rebellion to take over. This 1968 British Classic by Lindsay Anderson went on to win the Cannes Palme D'Or and is often cited as one of the best and most influential films of all time.

I have to admit that when I first watched this film I hated it. It felt pretentious, slow and in some areas boring. The film is described as though the rebellion and violence happens straight away, when in reality it doesn't happen until the last half hour. That being said, this is one of the films that many people vote for when they talk about great films. It won or was nominated for many awards and it is noteworthy for bringing Malcolm McDowell into the public eye.

Watching this time, though I still felt some of that 'What is everyone else seeing that I'm missing here?' which I felt the first time, I do appreciate the film more. Taken as a 1960s film, it is highly innovative, quick and easy to watch and the performances are great. I think after nearly fifty years the effects shown on here have probably been done over and over again that none of it feels new and that might be one of the issues.

However, the constant jumps from colour to black and white still bugs me, because there is simply no rhyme or reason for it. This isn't like other films where this is to show a different point of view, flashbacks or to cover up blood or something, it's just there. It seems like Lindsay Anderson just forgot to press the colour button and left it in. I had hoped that the multitude of interviews and commentaries would at least explain it, they mainly give the various reasons such as it was easy to light certain scenes in black and white than in colour. This makes it seem even more pointless.

The violence throughout from everyone is a mixture of harmless hazing and pointless bullying that I'm sure is totally accurate, but also hard to sit through from an entertainment aspect. There never seems any point of it and because of that, though you hate the Whips who dole out all this punishment, you do wish there was an underlying reason for it: control, power, perversions etc. But none of that is shown, it simply just happens. The other issue is that the final straw that leads to the rebellion is actually a little weak and because of that you don't feel the same way about their need for revenge than you do in e.g. Private Pyle's shooting of the Drill Sgt in Full Metal Jacket.

The cast features a mixture of unknowns and famous faces such as Arthur Lowe, Graham Crowden, Peter Jeffrey who are perfect as the various teachers in the school. The only other name that everyone will be aware of is Malcolm McDowell as Mick who it is not surprising went on to bigger and better things, four years after this film starring as Alex DeLarge in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. His performance is magnificent when you consider this is only his second film role. We could argue that he has been playing essentially the same character in everything he's done since, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

This Blu-ray is awash with extras, though I will say that most of these are aimed at fans of Lindsay Anderson, rather than the film itself. Three short films from Lindsay Anderson are included of which I will not say they are unwatchable, but they just don't belong on this set. Maybe if this was a 'Best of Lindsay Anderson' boxset it would make sense, but it just feels like the company found them lying around and decided to use them to pad out the disk.

Three Installations is about the engineering in a conveyor belt maker. This is interesting to some extent, but not something I'd go out of my way to watch. Henry is a strange film about a young boy walking around London in an advert for the NSPCC. This short and has the same feel, though again nothing I would watch again. Thursday's Children is a fascinating look at the children in a deaf school and how they learn. Narrated by Richard Burton, this film went on to win the Oscar for Best Documentary Short and is simply wonderful to watch.

The commentary features Malcolm McDowell and Film Critic David Robinson. This is a cut and paste commentary from two separate interviews and it is very strange as David Robinson sounds like he is reading a review or a critique of the film, whereas Malcolm McDowell comments on specific scenes within the film as if he is watching it and this makes it feel very strange. That being said, there are lots of stories and information given which fans of the film will no doubt love to hear, especially from McDowell.

There are multiple interviews with people from all areas of the film from Producer Michael Medwin to Camera Operator Brian Harris. The interviews vary depending on which one you are watching. Interviews with Writers David Sherwin and John Howlett are a great look at how they created the story and most of the others do have some nice stories about their thoughts and memories of making the film, but I have to admit that some just ramble and this should have had a 'Play All' feature.

Finally two trailers for the US market are included which are absolutely hilarious at how they try to explain what the film is about. To be honest watching the trailers makes the film seem a lot more exciting than it actually is.

If... is one of those films that deserves its reputation. It is true that I'm not one of those who will say it's the greatest film of all time, but I certainly won't deny its place in film history. It is true that this Blu-ray is not the greatest transfer to the format, though the soundtrack is excellent, I would say that the extras are fabulous and if you are a fan of the film then you will love this release.