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CS Weekly Archive> DVD > 07/06/07
Revolting Against Structural Conventions
by jason davis
If… (Criterion Collection)
Screenplay by David Sherwin
From the original script Crusaders by David Sherwin and John Howlett
 
 
Director Lindsay Anderson's documentary origins are on full display in the disproportionately lengthy first act of if…, which finds senior boys Mick (Malcolm McDowell), Johnny (David Wood), and Wallace (Richard Warwick) returning to their British public school under the oppressive administration of "whips," elder students given dominion over the other boys. The brutalities of the environment are driven home as the story explores every aspect of school life before a severe beating, administered to Mick for his attitude, drives the boys to violent resolution in a surreal (and inordinately brief) final act that has more in common with Apocalypse Now than The History Boys. Rich with class struggle and subversive '60s politics, if… exhibits only a tenuous link the more mainstream screenplay that spawned it. As is explored in Criterion's generous supplements, writers David Sherwin and John Howlett's initial concept was transformed into a thought-provoking, if unconventional, assault on the audience.
If… (Criterion Collection)
The Criterion Collection
Rated R; 112 min.
$39.95
Buy it now
Jason Davis is the DVD Manager for CS Weekly , a contributing editor for Creative Screenwriting Magazine, and has written for Cinescape.com, MSN.com, and created the TV series Studio 13, which ran on Lorne Michaels' Burly TV network. He lives in the small space left over by his ever-expanding library of books, movies, and music.
If… (Criterion Collection) courtesy The Criterion Collection
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