![If . . . (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] (1969)](/wp_content/uploads/2011/08/51MDmbifI5L._SL500_AA300__150x150.jpg "If . . . (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] (1969)")
IF…. (1968, Blu-ray released August 30, 2011 – MSRP $39.95)
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The package art and product description of the Blu-ray edition of Lindsay Anderson‘s If… let you know you’re in for a tale with an explosive ending. They don’t, however, prepare you for the tension throughout, as school mates are wound tighter and tighter by constant mistreatment at the hands of teachers and upperclassmen.
- “Lindsay Anderson’s If…. is a daringly anarchic vision of British society, set in a boarding school in late-sixties England. Before Kubrick made his mischief iconic in A Clockwork Orange, Malcolm McDowell made a hell of an impression as the insouciant Mick Travis, who, along with his school chums, trumps authority at every turn, finally emerging as a violent savior in the vicious games of one-upmanship played by both students and masters. Mixing color and black and white as audaciously as it mixes fantasy and reality, If…. remains one of cinema’s most unforgettable rebel yells.“
Lindsay Anderson’s If…. made Malcolm McDowell a superstar. And rightly so. It’s his spirited debut performance in this film that inspired Stanley Kubrick to cast him in the lead role of his film A Clockwork Orange. But his signature manic energy is bottled up through most of Anderson’s film, waiting to be unleashed. And that, along with a potent sociopolitical message and some truly inspired directorial/editorial choices, is what gives it it’s power. I can’t tell you how many times during the runtime of the film I turned to my girlfriend and said, “There’s no way in hell I’d put up with that.” And I’m far from the anarchic type. I’ve learned over the years that if a film can get under my skin to that degree, it’s done its job. It’s the mark of great work.
That said, I found the random shifts from colour to black & white film stock to be more often distracting than effective (DOP Miroslav Ondříček admits, in the Cast and Crew supplement, that the choices were based more on technical needs than narrative ones.) I will admit that the shift back to colour worked a couple of times, jarring the narrative out of a dreamlike haze into reality. I didn’t outright dislike the surrealist bent the film takes as it progresses but would have preferred the film maintain the more realist approach it opens with. The surrealist moments tend too far toward the theatrical, more like a pretentious college play than the magic of Buñuel or Cocteau for my tastes. Neither of my criticisms is meant to diminish the power of If…. It’s a fantastic film, still potent after forty-three years.
Criterion released If…. on DVD way back in 2007, just in time to mark the film’s 40th Anniversary. This presentation seems culled from the same exceptional transfer but exhibits improved colour fidelity and detail and a marked reduction in compression artifacts. In fact, there’s absolutely no digital nastiness to be seen on this handsome-looking disc, which appears film-like from beginning to end.
From the booklet:
- “Approved by cinematographer Miroslav Ondříček and assistant editor Ian Rakoff, this high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from an original 35mm interpositive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s DRS system and Pixel Farm’s PFClean system, while Digital Vision’s DVNR was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction.“
The lossless mono audio track sounds its age – still thinner than a modern recording with limited dynamic range and some distortion present up top – but is, for the most part, clean and clear. If you have difficulty with some of the English accents or the whispering in the film, just pop on the English language subs for minute and they’ll get you through.
From the booklet:
- “The original monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from a 35mm optical track print. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube’s integrated workstation.“
The special features on the disc are all around excellent though perhaps not quite as plentiful as other Criterion releases. They’re replicated in full from the 2007 DVD release and include a very fine commentary track by film critic and historian David Robinson, who incorporates long segments of audio from McDowell, previously recorded in a 2002 interview, into his very informative analysis. For a more rounded look at the production, check out the 43-minute episode of BBC Scotland‘s program Cast and Crew, which gathers together a good deal of the production team to reminisce about the film. The 14-minute interview with actor Graham Crowden (the history teacher in the film) is pleasant and, through anecdotes about their friendship and work history, provides another glimpse at Anderson and his art. Finally, the 22-minute Thursday’s Children, is a 1954 short film directed by Anderson and Guy Brenton. Narrated by Richard Burton, it’s an illuminating, if terribly dated, look at a school for deaf children and the various methods employed to help them learn a language they’ll never hear. The Blu-ray disc is rounded out with a 32-page illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic David Ehrenstein as well as reprinted pieces by screenwriter David Sherwin and Anderson.
Special Features:
- Restored high-definition digital transfer, approved by cinematographer Miroslav Ondříček and assistant editor Ian Rakoff with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Audio commentary featuring film critic and historian David Robinson and actor Malcolm McDowell
- Episode of the Scottish TV series Cast and Crew from 2003, featuring interviews with McDowell, Ondříček, Rakoff, director’s assistant Stephen Frears, producer Michael Medwin, and screenwriter David Sherwin
- Video interview with actor Graham Crowden
- Thursday’s Children (1954), an Academy Award–winning documentary about a school for deaf children, by director Lindsay Anderson and Guy Brenton and narrated by actor Richard Burton
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic David Ehrenstein as well as reprinted pieces by Sherwin and Anderson
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