The screenwriter David Sherwin was a special friend. We went through many girlfriends, marriages, triumphs and disasters together. I even wore his father’s demob coat from after the second world war in the opening shot of If…. It was perfect. It was my entrance into film. It has become a rather iconic image.
David and I had a unique relationship: my first film as an actor was his first screenplay. I met him in 1967 at the audition of If….. The actress I was playing with, Christine Noonan, punched me rather hard in the face. I was knocked to the floor, my script flew everywhere. There was stunned silence and my eyes welled with tears from the shock of being hit so hard. When I regained my composure the energy between us became electric. It made for good drama. Lindsay Anderson, the director, called for the audition to end. David...
David and I had a unique relationship: my first film as an actor was his first screenplay. I met him in 1967 at the audition of If….. The actress I was playing with, Christine Noonan, punched me rather hard in the face. I was knocked to the floor, my script flew everywhere. There was stunned silence and my eyes welled with tears from the shock of being hit so hard. When I regained my composure the energy between us became electric. It made for good drama. Lindsay Anderson, the director, called for the audition to end. David...
- 2/2/2018
- by Malcolm McDowell
- The Guardian - Film News
Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Christine Noonan, David Wood, Richard Warwick, Rupert Webster, Robert Swann, Hugh Thomas, Arthur Lowe | Written by David Sherwin | Directed by Lindsay Anderson
If…. is a satirical look at the public school system in the late 1960s but while there is a dark sense of humour in place there is also a scathing examination that seems all too real. The system of privilege that is in place and the bullying culture feels not only to be a part of the school system, but society itself. In fact the problems we have with politics to this day can be seen in If…. where these children in a boys only school are being moulded to take the top jobs in society, even as political leaders, being given a warped view on society and a perspective on life that many of the unprivileged (read that as the ‘normal people’) could never...
If…. is a satirical look at the public school system in the late 1960s but while there is a dark sense of humour in place there is also a scathing examination that seems all too real. The system of privilege that is in place and the bullying culture feels not only to be a part of the school system, but society itself. In fact the problems we have with politics to this day can be seen in If…. where these children in a boys only school are being moulded to take the top jobs in society, even as political leaders, being given a warped view on society and a perspective on life that many of the unprivileged (read that as the ‘normal people’) could never...
- 6/7/2014
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
If…
Directed by Lindsay Anderson
Written by David Sherwin
1968, UK
By 1968, America and Europe were completely amerced in the sociological shift between its former Silent Generation traditions and impeding counterculture. Shocking concepts, like anti-establishment thinking, racial integration, drug dependency, and sexual awareness, revolutionized the way society viewed the environment around them. Among these eye-opening revolutions, the medium of New Wave cinema not only explored these alternative live styles, but did so in a way that gave succeeding generations the chance to explore counterculture hands on, through a first-person lens of emotion and deceit. Films like Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde glorifies youthful alienation with violent portrayals never before seen on screen, whereas Dennis Hopper’s Easy Rider explores the societal tension between conservative America and the hippie movement through a passive-aggressive lens. Then there is the 1969 Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner, If.. by Lindsay Anderson, that manages...
Directed by Lindsay Anderson
Written by David Sherwin
1968, UK
By 1968, America and Europe were completely amerced in the sociological shift between its former Silent Generation traditions and impeding counterculture. Shocking concepts, like anti-establishment thinking, racial integration, drug dependency, and sexual awareness, revolutionized the way society viewed the environment around them. Among these eye-opening revolutions, the medium of New Wave cinema not only explored these alternative live styles, but did so in a way that gave succeeding generations the chance to explore counterculture hands on, through a first-person lens of emotion and deceit. Films like Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde glorifies youthful alienation with violent portrayals never before seen on screen, whereas Dennis Hopper’s Easy Rider explores the societal tension between conservative America and the hippie movement through a passive-aggressive lens. Then there is the 1969 Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner, If.. by Lindsay Anderson, that manages...
- 6/2/2014
- by Christopher Clemente
- SoundOnSight
If…
Directed by Lindsay Anderson
Written by David Sherwin
UK, 1968
If….(1968) directed by Lindsay Anderson and winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1969 premiered one year following the May ’68 protests in France. The screenplay was written by David Sherwin who based the narrative off his experiences at Tonbridge School in Kent. The script made its way to Nicholas Ray who was interested in making the film but felt that a British director should direct it. Anderson was approached and accepted the project. He wanted to make a film similar to Jean Vigo’s Zéro de conduite (1934) and even screened the film to his screenwriters in the pre-production stage. If… was given an X-rating upon release for nudity and violence. Aside from the more graphic scenes the censor board was probably put off by the ideological message of the film.
Like Vigo’s film, If…. is about authority figures...
Directed by Lindsay Anderson
Written by David Sherwin
UK, 1968
If….(1968) directed by Lindsay Anderson and winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1969 premiered one year following the May ’68 protests in France. The screenplay was written by David Sherwin who based the narrative off his experiences at Tonbridge School in Kent. The script made its way to Nicholas Ray who was interested in making the film but felt that a British director should direct it. Anderson was approached and accepted the project. He wanted to make a film similar to Jean Vigo’s Zéro de conduite (1934) and even screened the film to his screenwriters in the pre-production stage. If… was given an X-rating upon release for nudity and violence. Aside from the more graphic scenes the censor board was probably put off by the ideological message of the film.
Like Vigo’s film, If…. is about authority figures...
- 5/28/2014
- by Cody Lang
- SoundOnSight
The film "Never Apologize," in which a gray-haired gentleman stands or sits on a stage, talking for nearly two hours to an audience we never see, doesn't sound like compelling viewing.
But when the man on the stage is actor Malcolm McDowell and his subject is British filmmaker Lindsay Anderson, the viewing is entertaining and touching.
Anderson and McDowell made six films together, and over the years they developed a friendship. In "Never Apologize," McDowell offers loving stories about his mentor, who gave him...
But when the man on the stage is actor Malcolm McDowell and his subject is British filmmaker Lindsay Anderson, the viewing is entertaining and touching.
Anderson and McDowell made six films together, and over the years they developed a friendship. In "Never Apologize," McDowell offers loving stories about his mentor, who gave him...
- 8/15/2008
- by By V.A. MUSETTO
- NYPost.com
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