What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This glorious 1968 film is a document not just of its times but of the eternal and mysterious communion between two enormous artists. Lindsay Anderson, the director, the mentor, the older man and Malcolm McDowell his young, brilliant, loving disciple. The trust between this two men is overwhelming and the results are in every frame in every nuance. For me, to see this film after many years was a remarkable emotional experience. Daring, visionary with a Malcolm McDowell that broke new ground with the fearlessness of an explorer venturing into totally virgin territory. Brilliant, beautiful, unique. Lead by the magical hand of Anderson and McDowell we confront the anger of the artists with their love for each other. Wow!

If.... is a intriguingly bizarre film, so bizarre that it's comical at times. The film focus's on the cultural hegemony of a traditional hierarchy and the freedom seeking individuals who wish to rebel against the system. Although strikingly odd the film is also a powerful representation of the British class system at the time and even today to some extent.Malcolm MacDowell's cinematic debut is a great one showing himself to be a great British actor, even catching the eye of legendary Director Stanley Kubrick which would then lead to the actors infamous leading role in A Clockwork Orange. O how great things can lead on to much greater things.Lindsay Anderson's direction is interesting to say the least, with a lack of continuity at times and stand out surrealist moments that on the surface baffle any audience member but have much deeper connotations such as; abortion, gender (in)equality, individuality (or lack there of), homosexual repression and rebellion, just to name a few. This film has many interpretations and meanings embedded in its micro elements, so it is rather meaningful even if two people have weird animal fighting sex in a coffee shop...If... is an evocative statement about the British class system represented in the microcosm of the school. Many topics are touched upon in many different and frankly surreal ways making if.... a memorable and important film not just of it's time but for years to come as the title could signify. If this happened today, which side will you be on?

If.... is a strange film since it seems to be on the border between the mainstream and the art film. It is definitely experimental in terms of its use of color as well as not being necessarily clear about whether certain moments of the film are fantasy for the characters (though some moments simply MUST be).For those familiar with a Clockwork Orange, it is made clear by this film why Kubrick made the casting decision of Malcolm McDowell for the famous anti-hero Alexander DeLarge. Malcolm McDowell is the driving force behind the film If.... even though he does not appear in every scene. He is wonderful with his disregard for the rules made to oppress himself and his classmates, and he pulls off this rebellious attitude with a convincing smart mouth and a bit of repressed evil.The theme of rebellion is practically shouted within this movie. When McDowell's character enters the story, he wears a cloth around his face and his classmates jokingly refer to him as Guy Faux, who you might remember as V's main inspiration in V for Vendetta. He and his closest friends are also constantly being punished throughout the film for acting against such seemingly unnecessary rules. But this is the environment they are brought up in - it is a private school for the upper-class in which they live and the adults will shape them to become upper-class adults through the means of rough discipline which at some points can arguably be described as abuse.The room in which Mick Travis (McDowell) and his closest friends hang out is also filled with photos focusing on rebellion. These photos come from various revolutions or wars, so most of the photos depict heroes (if you want to call them that) fighting in military battles.A sub-theme of this film seems to be repressed homosexuality. Rumors of a certain boy amongst the group claim he is homosexual, and this boy is given a scene where he focuses his attention on an upper- class-man exercising his gymnastic abilities. There is very little room for reading this scene as anything other than longing for the older boy, and it is a true example of the male gaze in cinema. Also, this is revisited later when the two boys are in the same bed together, smiling at each other with their shirts off.What is strange about this film is that there are moments of black and white footage, and these scenes do not seem to have a pattern. A lot of them are moments that are clearly within the diegesis of the film while others represent fantasy sequences - these fantasy sequences seem to be when the focus is on Mick Travis. But as said before, there is no true pattern as normal events and strange ones alike take the aesthetic of being shot in black and white, so it is peculiar why the director shot any sequence in color at all.Finally, if you are very sensitive or get offended easily this is not the film for you - the ending which the film builds up to is extremely disturbing.3.0/4.0

For years I've heard how great this film is and I have always wanted to see it. I finally got the chance last night and I have to say it was not worth the wait. The utter pretentiousness of the whole thing drove me crazy, flipping from black & white to color between scenes, the sudden appearance of unexplained characters. The parson in a drawer in the headmasters office. The total absurdity of the ending. Not to mention the fact that it moves at a snails pace. There's like a three minute scene of Malcolm McDowall just shooting darts out of a gun. The first half of the film, while dull, just shows the day to day life of the boys in a British boarding school in a realistic, matter of fact fashion. The second half is this absurd fantasy of violence begetting more senseless violence. The change in tone is jarring. If...we don't change our disciplinary structures this could happen. It fails as allegory and as entertainment. I give it 2 stars for the sterling British cast who perform well above their material.