Some films that came out of the 60's and 70's were full of the vim and vigor of the times and often were full of themselves. Those were heady and frothy politically charged decades and films so often mirrored only those times.
Lindsay Anderson was already a well known and respected theater director when he directed Malcolm Mcdowell in "If". This trail blazing and outrageous drama held up the English private school system to an embarrassing scrutiny and the depiction did not look wholesome or attractive. The film made Malcolm an overnight sensation. How fortunate was he to have a life long friend and mentor in Anderson. The film "O Lucky Man" is based on an idea of Malcolm's. The soundtrack was, from what I gathered of Alan Price's comments on the DVD, something that had a life of it's own. If I am not wrong, it might just have been that the music was often written first and the scenes were shot afterward to match the essence of the songs. I will have to look into that....
OLM is such a charming and hilarious romp. Anderson's trademark use of actors in multiple roles (that re-appear from the film "if" -giving it yet another tongue in cheek twist) is very funny. The plot is unbelievable but so enticing it doesn't matter. It is much like a play on the screen; we know that it is not how things are in the real world but who cares? The film sometimes takes great liberties with reality and careens into the surreal; a fine example is the trip to the "hospital" were our poor hero discovers some things are horribly wrong with the medical research. I won't spoil it for you. Another example of a fairy tale flourish is the next scene where Malcolm awakes in a church, famished and after having been scolded by a young mother, she offers him her breast to suckle from, telling him that he's just a boy. It is so ridiculous and preposterous, you just have to laugh out loud.
Each scene in the movie, divided up as like a play, is worthy of shot by shot examination. What you come away with is the sheer love of life that underscores the "awakening" Zen slap on the face at the very end; the hero awakens to see the truth in all its naked simplicity. That slap leaves the hero with a calm but subtle joy of "realization" on his face. Nirvana and bliss? No. Seeing things clearly for the first time: perhaps. It draws this hero home to celebrate his awakening with a cast party free for all.
The music is the best material Alan Price ever did: period. These many years later it is still so foot tapping joyful and colorful....that the soundtrack is worth a purchase on it's own: I own it and listen to it regularly.
One odd disappointment with the DVD. There is a special section where Malcolm and Alan reminisce and they don't have much to say. Malcolm clearly expresses his love and admiration for Lindsay but they could have gone into more detail about other film trivia. Other than that, this is a film that has waited way too long to transfer to DVD. Although Anderson did 3 films with Malcolm that are only loosely related by theme, the first two are more closely aligned. I highly recommend this film to those who want to see movie making at its most creative, daring, outrageous, beautiful, entertaining and uplifting. A classic.
Lindsay Anderson was already a well known and respected theater director when he directed Malcolm Mcdowell in "If". This trail blazing and outrageous drama held up the English private school system to an embarrassing scrutiny and the depiction did not look wholesome or attractive. The film made Malcolm an overnight sensation. How fortunate was he to have a life long friend and mentor in Anderson. The film "O Lucky Man" is based on an idea of Malcolm's. The soundtrack was, from what I gathered of Alan Price's comments on the DVD, something that had a life of it's own. If I am not wrong, it might just have been that the music was often written first and the scenes were shot afterward to match the essence of the songs. I will have to look into that....
OLM is such a charming and hilarious romp. Anderson's trademark use of actors in multiple roles (that re-appear from the film "if" -giving it yet another tongue in cheek twist) is very funny. The plot is unbelievable but so enticing it doesn't matter. It is much like a play on the screen; we know that it is not how things are in the real world but who cares? The film sometimes takes great liberties with reality and careens into the surreal; a fine example is the trip to the "hospital" were our poor hero discovers some things are horribly wrong with the medical research. I won't spoil it for you. Another example of a fairy tale flourish is the next scene where Malcolm awakes in a church, famished and after having been scolded by a young mother, she offers him her breast to suckle from, telling him that he's just a boy. It is so ridiculous and preposterous, you just have to laugh out loud.
Each scene in the movie, divided up as like a play, is worthy of shot by shot examination. What you come away with is the sheer love of life that underscores the "awakening" Zen slap on the face at the very end; the hero awakens to see the truth in all its naked simplicity. That slap leaves the hero with a calm but subtle joy of "realization" on his face. Nirvana and bliss? No. Seeing things clearly for the first time: perhaps. It draws this hero home to celebrate his awakening with a cast party free for all.
The music is the best material Alan Price ever did: period. These many years later it is still so foot tapping joyful and colorful....that the soundtrack is worth a purchase on it's own: I own it and listen to it regularly.
One odd disappointment with the DVD. There is a special section where Malcolm and Alan reminisce and they don't have much to say. Malcolm clearly expresses his love and admiration for Lindsay but they could have gone into more detail about other film trivia. Other than that, this is a film that has waited way too long to transfer to DVD. Although Anderson did 3 films with Malcolm that are only loosely related by theme, the first two are more closely aligned. I highly recommend this film to those who want to see movie making at its most creative, daring, outrageous, beautiful, entertaining and uplifting. A classic.