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If....

1968
Drama
Crime
1h 51m
In this allegorical story, a revolution lead by pupil Mick Travers takes place at an old established private school in England. (imdb)
Directed by:
Lindsay Anderson Lindsay Anderson
Written by:
David Sherwin John Howlett
+1 more
Starring:
Malcolm McDowell Malcolm McDowell Arthur Lowe Arthur Lowe Richard Warwick David Wood Christine Noonan Rupert Webster Robert Swann Peter Jeffrey Graham Crowden Graham Crowden Hugh Thomas Michael Cadman Peter Sproule
More
Franchise:
If.... (1968)
Genres:
Drama, Crime
AKA:
If
Country:
UK
Languages:
English, Latin
imdb More information at IMDb
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If....

1968
Drama
Crime
1h 51m
Your probable score
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer
Avg Percentile 64.63% from 1182 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

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farzanFarzan
Rated 15 Apr 2008
91
90th
If.... is a truly strange film, that at parts extremely hard to follow, but the ending is so bleak, and so sudden, you are forced to stop and think about what you just witnessed, and after analysis, you realize how unique and different this film was, especially for its time period. It is open to interpretation and yet it seemed to have a very linear story. Very surreal picture, I did not expect it at all when I started the picture, and it left me in a state of shock by the end. McDowell shines.
Rated 15 Apr 2008
martintellerMartinTeller
Rated 14 Aug 2007
71
37th
I liked it, but I felt it got a little needlessly oblique at times. The changes between black-and-white and color seemed utterly random, as did some of the other quirky bits. There were some brilliant parts, and McDowell was fantastic (really the whole cast was quite good), and I'll give the film credit for never being dull. But the ending is pretty stupid, and the "shocking revolutionary nature" of the message is merely quaint today. I'd watch it again, though.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
terrymacterrymac
Rated 09 Nov 2017
82
89th
A somewhat bizarre, slightly surreal, yet entertaining satire based in an English boarding school and covering many aspects of the nonsense that goes on in places like that. McDowell is great. Worth checking out.
Rated 09 Nov 2017
astrakhanastrakhan
Rated 31 May 2020
78
57th
Heralded as a classic, but the story never really takes off until the jarring action-packed finale. One or two good spanking scenes does not equate to a backstory, foreshadowing or character development.
Rated 31 May 2020
w00dyW00DY
Rated 26 Jun 2012
78
79th
For a while I couldn't understand why this movie was given such a high PSI for me but it really picks up and and turns out to be a quite fantastically intense British counter-culture movie.
Rated 26 Jun 2012
magbMagb
Rated 14 Aug 2007
75
50th
The first half hour was pretty dull, but it got better and better from there. Malcolm McDowell is a real treat to watch.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
thedenizenTheDenizen
Rated 07 Sep 2011
85
91st
Allegorical drama centered on a stuffy British boarding school in the post WWII era. I'll probably need more than one viewing of this flick to tease out all the meaning, but on its surface it's a scathing attack on tradition, religion and class structure. Malcolm McDowell is magnetic as the rebellious student who rejects everything he's taught and eventually leads his friends in a violent revolt against the institutions of the state. Quality film.
Rated 07 Sep 2011
billkerwinbillkerwin
Rated 22 Feb 2010
81
48th
An interesting experiment, heavy with allegory and a symbolic color power. Too full of itself, though. Pretentious.
Rated 22 Feb 2010
crayonCRAYON
Rated 10 Jan 2011
85
64th
Every time the movie went from color to black and white I got kind of angry. I just cant seem to find a logical reason as to why that was needed. Maybe it saved them money or something, who the hell knows? What I do know is; the cast was wonderful. Especially McDowell, he makes this fairly slow film really interesting to watch. Towards the end If... starts to get really surreal and becomes alot more interesting. Then it ends, and your jaw will probably drop.
Rated 10 Jan 2011
kramyessevKramYessev
Rated 15 Nov 2014
78
82nd
Aside from a few pacing issues and the jarring, seemingly random jumps to B&W, 'If....' is an allegorical piece that I imagine must have been extremely strong at the time. It's effect has somewhat diminished over time, but it's still a very good, and very well acted, film.
Rated 15 Nov 2014
seryxaSeryxa
Rated 09 Apr 2009
100
93rd
Allegorical treatment of school life with much fashionable emphasis on obscure narrative, clever cutting, variety of pace, even an unaccountable changing from colour to monochrome and vice versa. It catches perfectly a mood of rebellion and dissatisfaction with the status quo.
Rated 09 Apr 2009
miss_jesusmiss jesus
Rated 19 Jun 2008
44
27th
Some interesting content, but I don't feel like it ever came out and said anything coherent, and a fair portion of the film is either dull or unpleasant. According to wikipedia at least, certain parts of the film were black and white "simply because the huge windows at the college gave off obstructing light that affected the camera lenses."
Rated 19 Jun 2008
jimmynmujimmynmu
Rated 04 Jan 2007
84
79th
Quite quirky and at times bizarre (especially the ending), but it works quite well. The cast is excellent, especially McDowell.
Rated 04 Jan 2007
nathan_sNathan S
Rated 31 Aug 2007
3
45th
At first I was less impressed, but after sleeping on it I realized it just wasn't what I expected. I like the chapter-style structure; it makes the film feel very free-formed, yet well organized and paced. McDowell is fiendishly, intelligently charismatic; no wonder Kubrick cast him in A Clockwork Orange. The movie is very surreal, and though the alternating color/black and white is kind of pointless, on the whole it's an interesting watch.
Rated 31 Aug 2007
pickpocketPickpocket
Rated 26 Apr 2010
2
21st
The alternating black and white to color was so pointless that I thought my DVD was broke. If you are gonna do that, you have to be saying something and not just being a pretentious douche. It was pretty boring and the ending was really lame. McDowell was good though.
Rated 26 Apr 2010
parcalihamparcaliham
Rated 05 Apr 2008
85
77th
06 Nisan 08, 19:00, atlas1, sira8 koltuk11, 27.ist. film festivali & yonetmenin izledigim ilk filmi.McDowell'e zaten Clockwork Orange filminden hayrandim, bu film ile pekistirmis oldum bu hayranligi.Filmin ismi aslinda herseyi anlatiyor: "gelecege dair varsayim, gecmise dayali pismanlik belirten iki harf..." "Eger", baski bu kadar sert olmasaydi, baskaldiri bu kadar siddetli olur muydu? "
Rated 05 Apr 2008
gleebgleeb
Rated 06 Jul 2007
72
47th
Good, despite its overdeveloped sense of Importance.
Rated 06 Jul 2007
purgatospurgatos
Rated 06 Dec 2008
78
68th
The first half was pretty forgettable, but once it started getting strange it became a real treat. The colour to black/white skips remained a bit annoying though.
Rated 06 Dec 2008
onelaOnela
Rated 14 Aug 2007
82
34th
Macdowell shines in his first screen performance; Anderson gives a prelude to his aleatoric meta-masterpiece O Lucky Man as we see the first incarnation of the Mick Travers character take down a private school filled with priggish headmaster rituals.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
thereeldealthereeldeal
Rated 01 Sep 2015
70
50th
Anderson uses the analogous setting of a boarding school to illustrate a proletariat student body's uprising against a fascist prefecture that preaches orderliness while enjoying debauchery. If... is a film with all the makings of a classic: it has social relevance through its satire, filmmaking ambition with its surrealist escapist fantasies, and a black sense of humor, but lacks concentrated bite. Vioolence is castrated, the promised victory small, and the humor gradually tapers. "If", indeed.
Rated 01 Sep 2015
keanseenankeanseenan
Rated 09 Nov 2014
75
49th
Conventionally bizarre, in a few ways.
Rated 09 Nov 2014
damildamil
Rated 19 Jan 2012
60
43rd
I much prefer the spiritual sequel to this, O Lucky Man! (1973). This film is very much about war, revolution and domination. Even if I didn't understand every metaphor, I was always captivated while watching this.
Rated 19 Jan 2012
indifferentiindifferenti
Rated 11 Jun 2012
8
54th
Malcolm McDowell is fantastic here as Mick Travers! Overall a very interesting send-up to school life and society as a whole.
Rated 11 Jun 2012
yesistastyyesistasty
Rated 29 Jan 2010
91
72nd
A strange commentary on British society, this film makes wonderful use of its unique cinematography and soundtrack to slowly build a sense of tension that results in an explosive finale.
Rated 29 Jan 2010
ronthedogronthedog
Rated 24 Sep 2016
86
86th
Without being able to put my finger on exactly why, I found this film utterly compelling. I didn't like any of the characters, I found my enjoyment of the scenario voyeuristic and distasteful, yet I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. Malcolm Macdowell is mesmerising throughout and the mix of reality and surreality is excellent.
Rated 24 Sep 2016
suture_selfSuture Self
Rated 10 Sep 2014
9
90th
Anyone who's been strung through an outmoded institution understands the thirst for youthful revolt and individuality, and this film articulates these feelings quite well.
Rated 10 Sep 2014
elysian_airElysian Air
Rated 26 Jul 2012
76
45th
The transitions from colour to B&W worked only on occasion--most notably the scene at the diner. The oppression at the school could have been established far more effectively in earlier scenes, but once we set into the plot concerning Mick Travis things start to get interesting. The subplots were distracting and could have been discarded, plus the school could have been sketched out more. Once the Travis arc completes and we see the violent insurrection at the end all of our patience pays off.
Rated 26 Jul 2012
overratedoverrated
Rated 24 Jun 2018
68
75th
English public school Heathers? Rests almost entirely on the ending, first hour could have been condensed.
Rated 24 Jun 2018
johnsandwichJohnSandwich
Rated 10 May 2011
90
95th
The various criticisms leveled against it here are to some degree all valid, but I don't really care. I found it immensely enjoyable and very aesthetically pleasing, I even liked the at first jarring jumps to black and white after a while.
Rated 10 May 2011
neonmanNeonman
Rated 10 Mar 2013
91
93rd
The allegory of the film hits you like a bullet to the face, and it would seem preachy and annoying if it weren't for the weird, wicked, surreal, often childish, but usually very clever and very revealing manner in which this allegory is presented. I can't imagine how much a storm this would've caused in the late '60s.
Rated 10 Mar 2013
wetwillieswetwillies
Rated 28 May 2011
80
37th
I feel like there is a lot more to this movie than what I grasped. An interesting film for sure. I'd like to see it again one day.
Rated 28 May 2011
theyshoot07theyshoot07
Rated 02 Mar 2008
72
55th
# 567
Rated 02 Mar 2008
staryarabbistaryarabbi
Rated 07 Nov 2014
85
88th
social realism going into a dreamlike and satyric direction. very powerful though it could be a bit more subtle. can be easily counted with movies like "400 Blows", "A Clockwork Orange" or "Even Dwarfs Started Small" in terms of rebellion against the system. (the scene they break the school at the cafe is something)
Rated 07 Nov 2014
fra_paolofra paolo
Rated 14 Sep 2019
56
62nd
What happens when you splice the genes of The Phantom of Liberty with those of Goodbye, Mr Chips
Rated 14 Sep 2019
hotsakehotsake
Rated 10 Aug 2018
77
88th
I liked the changes between B&W and color although I have to admit I'm not entirely sure what the meaning behind those changes are. The acting was solid and the story, although quite predictable and a little overlong, was well told. The ending was a bit of a letdown as I feel it ended without a proper resolution.
Rated 10 Aug 2018
velvet_croweVelvet Crowe
Rated 30 Jul 2021
46
46th
The movie has a lot of weird filmmaking choices I don't get (like the random black & white, the weird shifts towards surrealism, etc) that just come across as pretentious and jarring if anything. The main narrative feels like it's just nailing down the idea that "social hierarchy in private schools SUCK" and just sticks on this point for almost the entire movie to the point it's tiring and doesn't really make much a point beyond that. It has some personality and is well shot, at least.
Rated 30 Jul 2021
michaelm2391michaelm2391
Rated 09 Jul 2022
64
55th
"society's bad, actually!"
Rated 09 Jul 2022
evilmangoesEvilMangoes
Rated 25 Jun 2020
86
62nd
B+
Rated 25 Jun 2020
theyshoot08theyshoot08
Rated 19 Dec 2008
70
40th
599
Rated 19 Dec 2008
djrossdjross
Rated 14 Aug 2007
84
95th
A strong but entertaining attack on repressive authoritarianism that very impressively mixes brutality and wit, realism and surrealism. Charges that it is somehow a pretentious allegory are mystifying, and it's hard not to feel that they are just a reaction to the virulence of its attack on authority. Yet even if, half a century later, our problems are very different, even the opposite of those of 1968, nevertheless this remains a trenchant critique of Britain's sadomasochistic fetish for power.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
stainStain
Rated 02 Apr 2007
80
68th
Much better on the big screen than on video; you just have to see it that way if at all possible, for this is one of the relatively rare movies that doesn't look like a sitcom. It also helps if you appreciate its place in film history; just as Mick and his droogs are rebelling against the UK school system, Anderson and *his* droogs were rebelling against the notoriously stodgy UK cinema system -- as most of its product is as dry as dust
Rated 02 Apr 2007
kalmah7Kalmah7
Rated 02 Mar 2012
78
60th
Weird and pretentious but not without merit or thought provoking scenes. Not exactly something I want to rewatch soon, though.
Rated 02 Mar 2012
shellishShellish
Rated 10 Sep 2014
87
93rd
Quite exceptional.
Rated 10 Sep 2014
eggbeatereggbeater
Rated 13 Mar 2009
100
95th
Magnificent.
Rated 13 Mar 2009
drstrange1DrStrange1
Rated 07 Mar 2009
60
58th
interesting crap. It moves at a snail place, but im a sucker for school life, so...yah. Whopper of an ending though. DREAM LOGIC
Rated 07 Mar 2009
lookinglandLookingLand
Rated 16 Nov 2007
75
81st
scary great film.
Rated 16 Nov 2007
drumnddrumnd
Rated 06 Jul 2008
75
51st
Homo-erotic.
Rated 06 Jul 2008
iyisinekiyisinek
Rated 02 Jul 2012
71
50th
okul, üst sinif baskisi, school shooting, siddet, agac-tas-makas oyunu, müstehcen
Rated 02 Jul 2012
beneBene
Rated 18 Jan 2009
70
44th
Excellent performance by McDowell, but the movie is very much a product of its time...
Rated 18 Jan 2009
cesarcastagCesarCastag
Rated 25 Aug 2015
90
84th
I watched If... at my first year of college. Ironically, it was one of my professor's favorite films. Its aesthetic and political power took over me in na instant. I keep this movie close to my heart.
Rated 25 Aug 2015
nathanbatesNathanBates
Rated 13 Jul 2019
60
35th
A pretty powerful film about teen angst and the unending battle between Establishment and anti-authoritarian feelings. The heavy reliance on British boarding school layout and jargon was a little tough to follow, as were the storylines that didn't appear to have any resolution. The film would likely be better known if it wasn't for the ending, which is seemingly re-enacted in the US almost every week, and that left a tough taste. Prescient? Or inevitable?
Rated 13 Jul 2019
ottott
Rated 11 Jun 2019
70
57th
i recommend this to kids with authority issues
Rated 11 Jun 2019
baskilbaskil
Rated 14 Aug 2007
84
44th
It loses it's way in the middle, but ends with a bang. Or, several bangs in this case.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
kasperlKasperL
Rated 05 Dec 2018
60
50th
.... you have high expectations for this film, then you might very well be somewhat disappointed. I find it pretty astounding that a movie that's this unpolished won the Palme d'Or.
Rated 05 Dec 2018
cinegeekdecinegeek.de
Rated 17 Apr 2016
83
67th
Our Daily Free Stream - Hier kommt ein europäischer Klassiker, mit der Güteklasse "essentiell britisch"! Lindsay Andersons Parabel über den Aufstand an einer Boarding School, beschwört all das herauf, was so gemein und hässlich ist an derartigen Etablissements. If... ist die Korrektur aller verlogen nostalgischen High School Filme(...) (Dazu gibts unsere Film List "1968" auf unserer Empfehlungsseite cinegeek.de
Rated 17 Apr 2016
djfntstquedjfntstque
Rated 14 Aug 2007
85
85th
Outraged boarding-school drama by way of Monty Python. Fierce!
Rated 14 Aug 2007
mightysparksmightysparks
Rated 20 Aug 2012
70
86th
It was enjoyable, but it felt like it was trying to be something it wasn't. It begins as a drama about the life of the students at a strict British boarding school for boys, then it decides it wants to be surrealism. Because of the way the first half of the film was built up, the surrealistic style of the end scenes didn't really make me 'excited' about the students fulfilling their fantasies. I felt like it needed to be more lowkey and realistic to work.
Rated 20 Aug 2012
arkadinarkadin
Rated 06 Oct 2017
75
68th
reminded me one flew over the cuckoo's nest, clockwork orange (surely). Religious song has a feeling of triumph and rebellion.
Rated 06 Oct 2017
joseywalesjoseywales
Rated 09 Sep 2010
82
89th
Wow.
Rated 09 Sep 2010
janusjanus
Rated 14 Dec 2008
75
64th
Rewatched July 2017. England's Easy Rider, perhaps. Less likely than ever to find a receptive audience due to its allegory having been realized literally so many times in recent years; and it turns out that real-life mass shooters and terrorists aren't, on the whole, radical-left libertines. The well-written and well-staged plot (a well-informed dark comedy of manners and power) and a commanding debut performance from McDowell are still reasons to watch anyway.
Rated 14 Dec 2008
thedicemanTheDiceman
Rated 14 Mar 2007
70
82nd
Malcolm McDowell shines in this strange film.
Rated 14 Mar 2007
amerigoamerigo
Rated 05 Dec 2019
80
69th
...all in all you're just another brick in the wall...
Rated 05 Dec 2019
oskarhuoskarhu
Rated 01 Jul 2020
82
83rd
There's much to enjoy here for the lovers of British humour and the exploits of transgressive youth. The depiction of life at the boarding school is both aggravated yet believable enough to be genuinely fascinating. Still surprised by the Probable score of 88, which is too high for such a rogue totality.
Rated 01 Jul 2020
mandymandy
Rated 09 Feb 2012
5
18th
Bizarre film - very school boy fantasy. It has a strange look compounded by the mix of black and white and colour. Some memorable scenes and Malcolm McDowell is hypnotic but I couldn't really be bothered to analyse all the sub text.
Rated 09 Feb 2012
hadleyreisHadleyreis
Rated 05 Nov 2021
83
83rd
I would've given an X score, but I couldn't
Rated 05 Nov 2021
shmendrekShmendrek
Rated 12 Dec 2008
2
33rd
Tongue-in-cheek(?) exploration of new left radicalism through the imaginations of rebellious British students. It's a well-crafted, engaging film, but much like the students, the message strikes me as a little sophomoric.
Rated 12 Dec 2008
doyler29doyler29
Rated 03 Jul 2020
90
87th
Understandably associated with the late 60's counterculture, the film is more timeless and anarchic that most products of that period, hearkening back to the work of Jean Vigo and Rene Clair. It's somewhat deliberately set outside of any specific time and not really beholden to any politics ... it's more about the virtue of refusing to listen to authority because authority tends to be meaningless and self-sustaining.
Rated 03 Jul 2020
syntheseizurSyntheseizur
Rated 31 Aug 2017
80
59th
A quintessentially British countercultural satire that takes on British institutions and British traditions with dry British humor and tinges of European surrealism--though the film has clearly been influential on subversive filmmaking the world over. Anderson deftly sets up the masculine boarding school culture early on so as to completely dismantle it during the second half, cutting across religious, military, and political taboos with irreverent (yet charming) whimsy.
Rated 31 Aug 2017
moribunnyMoribunny
Rated 17 May 2010
60
54th
It's well made and fun to watch, but allegory is the lowest form of narrative and the allegory here is thick. By and large it's a one-note movie. It has one thing to say and the only variations belong to the degree of bluntness with which it is said. Eventually, and alas, predictably, it decides that its message about repression turning youth into monsters still isn't obvious enough. The finale dispenses with the until then reasonable hideousness in favor of hyperbolic grotesqueness.
Rated 17 May 2010
telemecusTelemecus
Rated 18 Nov 2013
25
21st
Very surreal but does not get anywhere for me - spectacular ending with the school shoot out!
Rated 18 Nov 2013
theyshoot10theyshoot10
Rated 15 Jan 2010
72
44th
561
Rated 15 Jan 2010
willofgaiawillofgaia
Rated 31 Aug 2008
85
58th
Despite a few abandoned storylines (Why is so much importance placed on Jute in the first thirty minutes?) and a couple of absurdist moments that don't fit at all because there aren't enough of them to make the film absurdist, this is still a very good film. What is done well is done incredibly well, and Malcolm McDowell gives a great performance which clearly helped him shape his iconic portrayal of Alex de Large.
Rated 31 Aug 2008
auhasarderikauhasarderik
Rated 25 Apr 2019
6
40th
Only if.... you have a weakness for juvenile rebellious stuff. Balmy.
Rated 25 Apr 2019
shockularSHOCKULAR
Rated 05 Aug 2022
67
33rd
Odd film. Sometimes straightforward, sometimes disjointed, sometimes outright bizarre (the tiger scene?). Darkly funny at times but feels like the film doesn't know what kind of film it wants to be and the ending, a bit chilling viewed through today's lens, wasn't really earned. McDowell is good at showing simmering anger just beneath the surface. Some of the characters seem either forgotten or underdeveloped. The switches from color to BW and back seemed random. Interesting but not great.
Rated 05 Aug 2022
witzelsuchtwitzelsucht
Rated 11 Jun 2012
7
41st
A clever satire that's strange but fascinating to the end, with Malcolm McDowell's impressive debut as a boy as dangerous and intelligent as Alex DeLarge.
Rated 11 Jun 2012
mike365365mike365365
Rated 22 Feb 2017
72
77th
I enjoyed seeing an early incarnation of Alex from A Clockwork Orange. The peek into English boarding school life was also interesting.
Rated 22 Feb 2017
bofbof
Rated 15 Nov 2011
90
97th
Rewatched if... for the first time in ages, and DAMN, that's a good movie. I'm trying to think of any movie where Malcolm McDowell doesn't play a self-obsessed psychopath - I'm sure he must have made one at some point, but until further notice, a good rule of thumb is always: don't piss off Malcolm McDowell.
Rated 15 Nov 2011
theyshoot11theyshoot11
Rated 30 Nov 2011
73
46th
#535
Rated 30 Nov 2011
zipsterZipster
Rated 26 Dec 2014
80
50th
"The thing I hate about you is the way you give Coca-Cola to your scum and your best teddy bear to Oxfam and expect the rest of us to lick your frigid fingers the rest of your frigid life."
Rated 26 Dec 2014
attached_eonAttached Eon
Rated 23 May 2008
73
66th
points for being a movie that would NEVER be made today. Surreal and witty, this movie delivers a surprising payoff at the end, although not as shocking as I thought it would have been. I also spent a good deal of time trying to fit the black and white scenes to any theme in particular, and every theory I had seemed to disprove itself. I didn't dislike it, but it definitely had some inaccessible areas to me.
Rated 23 May 2008
paulofilmopaulofilmo
Rated 23 Apr 2010
70
57th
Watch O Lucky Man! if you've yet to see it.
Rated 23 Apr 2010

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