Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

If.... Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 5, 2014

Winner of the prestigious Palme d'Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Lindsay Anderson's "If...." (1968) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include original U.S. trailers for the film; audio commentary featuring film critic and historian David Robinson and actor Malcolm McDowell; three of Lindsay Anderson's short films: "Three Installations" (1952), "Thursday's Children" (1954), and "Henry" (1955); and a collection of new video interviews with members of the cast and crew. The release also arrives with a 56-page illustrated booklet featuring: Mick Travis and the Chamber of Secrets by David Cairns; Further Adventures by David Cairns; Small Parts Inspection, David Cairns Interviews Brian Pettifer; Lindsay Anderson on Lindsay Anderson; Three Installations by Peter Hoskin; Thursday's Children by Ros Cranston; Henry by Peter Hoskin; and technical notes. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"Get up!"

The early scenes are misleading because they suggest that If…. could be a film about a group of schoolboys who have grown up and are remembering what might have been the best days of their lives. In these scenes they are constantly lectured by pretentious teachers and four sixth-formers who often go the extra mile to prove that their words should be taken seriously, but it feels like everyone is getting along just fine.

However, as the plot begins to unravel it becomes increasingly clear that If.... will not be a charming nostalgic film. The more time we spend in the boarding school with Mick Travis (Malcolm McDowell, A Clockwork Orange, Caligula) and his two best friends, the more we begin to realize that they are deeply disillusioned and angry individuals. There are also signs that trouble might be on the horizon -- when the boys occasionally get drunk, they talk about being rebels and making a statement.

The most passionate amongst the boys is Mick. He is bright and intelligent, never afraid to speak up his mind, which is why he is routinely punished for his problematic 'attitude'. The other boys are always supportive of him, but they typically remain silent when he challenges the sixth-formers and the teachers.

Rowntree (Robert Swann, TV's The Professionals: MkI), the leader of the sixth-formers, hates Mick because he has realized that he can’t dominate him. He can punish and humiliate him, but he can’t break him. Nevertheless, when an opportunity arises he decides to teach Mick an important lesson, which will always remind him that he and his kind are destined to be exploited, oppressed and defeated.

Fantasy and reality are very closely intertwined in the film, with Miroslav Ondrícek (Loves of a Blonde, Amadeus) randomly switching from black and white to color cinematography, and it is next to impossible to tell when Mick and his friends are imagining things and when they are not. For example, there is a fascinating sequence in which they leave the boarding school and end up in a cafe where a beautiful girl (Christine Noonan, Backwoods) seduces Mick, but then she suddenly disappears -- only to join the boys again at the end of the film when they become possessed by anger.

The sense of chaos, however, has a lot to do with the film’s insistence that anarchy and violence might be the only appropriate cure for the sick system the Crusaders, as Mick and his friends call themselves, set out to confront.

Director Lindsay Anderson, who was a great admirer of French anarchist filmmaker Claude Faraldo, clearly has a favorite side in the conflict If…. chronicles. In fact, he condemns not only the boarding school system but the entire English system with its double standards, tolerance for abuse, and unwillingness to reform.

The film is loaded with provocative one-liners -- “One man can change the world with a bullet in the right place” and “War is the last possible creative act” -- that make one wonder exactly what type of reaction director Anderson expected and hoped If…. would produce. In 1968, the year If…. was released, Paris was burning from student unrest, but London was quiet.

Note: In 1969, If…. won the prestigious Palme d’Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

If.... Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Lindsay Anderson's If.... arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment.

The basic characteristics of the high-definition transfer are virtually identical to those of the high-definition transfer Criterion used for their Blu-ray release of If.... in 2011 -- and this is certainly very good news. Depth and clarity are very good and contrast levels remain stable throughout the entire film. Some of the most dramatic improvements are in the area of color reproduction. While on the old R1 DVD release most colors would typically look quite anemic, on the Blu-ray they appear fairly well saturated and natural. Grain is visible and rather well resolved, but this is one area of the presentation where there is some room for important improvements. There are no traces of problematic sharpening corrections. Lastly, overall image stability is very good. Also, it is very easy to see that large debris, cuts, stains, scratches, and damage marks have been carefully removed. All in all, this is a strong organic presentation of If.... which should please fans of the film residing in Region-B territories. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

If.... Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. For the record, Eureka Entertainment have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The lossless track has a limited range of nuanced dynamics, but this should not be surprising as the film's original sound design is fairly modest. Also, Marc Wilkinson's music score has primarily a supportive role. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and easy to follow. Lastly, there are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, problematic background hiss, or distortions to report n this review.

If.... Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this audio commentary is also included on Criterion's Blu-ray release of If..... It initially appeared on Criterion's DVD release of If..... It features film critic and historian David Robinson and actor Malcolm McDowell. The commentary was recorded in 2007 (with Malcolm McDowell's contribution taken from an interview conducted in 2002).

• Interviews - a collection of brand new video interviews conducted in February and March 2014 by James McCabe. Various cast and crew members recall their contributions to Lindsay Anderson's legendary film, and discuss the production process, Lindsay Anderson's directing methods and love for editing, the film's visual style, the shooting of specific sequences, etc. One of the more interesting comments is from writer John Howlett, who confirms that the first version of the script for If.... was in fact completed in 1960, eight years before the film was shot. In English, not subtitled.
  
  1. Michael Medwin - producer (5 min).
  2. David Sherwin - writer (5 min).
  3. John Howlett - writer (17 min).
  4. David Gladwell - editor (14 min).
  5. Gavrick Losey - production manager (6 min).
  6. Brian Harris - camera operator (3 min).
  7. David Wood - Johnny/Crusaders (47 min).
  8. Hugh Thomas - Denson/Whips (5 min).
  9. Geoffrey Chater - Chaplain/Staff (8 min).
  10. Philip Bagenal - Peanuts/Seniors (9 min).
  11. Sean Bury - Jute/Juniors (5 min).

• Short Films - presented here are three early short films directed by Lindsay Anderson.
  
  1. Three Installations (1952). A documentary film promoting the industrial equipment and operations of Richard Sutcliffe Limited, of Horbury, Wakefield. In English, not subtitled. B&W. (24 min).
  
  2. Thursday's Children (1954). The film focuses the daily activities of a group of children at The Royal School for the Deaf in Margate, Kent. In 1955, the film won Oscar Award for Best Documentary, Short Subjects. In English, not subtitled. B&W. (23 min).
  
  3. Henry (1955). A young boy runs away from home after his parents begin fighting and ends up in the heart of the city. In English, not subtitled. B&W. (6 min).

• Trailers - two original U.S. trailers for If.....
  
  1. U.S. Trailer 1. Original Paramount Pictures trailer. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).
  
  2. U.S. Trailer 2. Original extended Paramount Pictures trailer. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Booklet - 56-page illustrated booklet featuring: Mick Travis and the Chamber of Secrets by David Cairns; Further Adventures by David Cairns; Small Parts Inspection, David Cairns Interviews Brian Pettifer; Lindsay Anderson on Lindsay Anderson; Three Installations by Peter Hoskin; Thursday's Children by Ros Cranston; Henry by Peter Hoskin; and technical notes.

If.... Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Lindsay Anderson's once very controversial classic film If.... arrives rather late on Blu-ray in the United Kingdom, but Eureka Entertainment's upcoming release is guaranteed to please fans of the film residing in Region-B territories. Indeed, the technical presentation is as convincing as Criterion's presentation of the film and the British distributors have added a number of excellent supplemental features. (There is a terrific collection of brand new video interviews with various cast and crew members). Do not hesitate to add this release to your collections, folks. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.