"If..." trailer

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Criterion is releasing a two-disc DVD of Lindsay Anderson's If.... on 6.19. And in tribute to this, Manhattan-based reader Chris Clark has slapped together a home-made trailer for it, hoping to "maybe drum up some interest for the first-time audience," as he puts it.

Released in 1968, If... "is a daringly anarchic vision of British society, set in a boarding school in late '60s England," the blurb reads. "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 violent savior against the draconian games of one-upmanship played by both students and the powers that be.

"Mixing color and black-and-white as audaciously as it mixes fantasy and reality, If... remains one of cinema's most unforgettable rebel yells."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on April 15, 2007 at 12:44 AM

comment #1

York "Budd" Durden says ...

Thank god. Can we hope that Criterion is also working on O Lucky Man, then?

Posted by York "Budd" Durden at April 15, 2007 4:14 AM

comment #2

George Prager says ...

Having seen this movies about ten times in the 80s (video and edited for TV on the A&E channel) I'm psyched and will buy it, even though criterions are so damned expensive. Hopefully someone will bring out a restored version of Massacre at Central High and we will be able to put Columbine behind us.

Posted by George Prager at April 15, 2007 6:48 AM

comment #3

TheJeff says ...

"Thank god. Can we hope that Criterion is also working on O Lucky Man, then?"

No, Criterion doesn't have the rights to O LUCKY MAN!, but Warner will be releasing it later this year, and I believe that Malcolm McDowell has recorded a commentary for it.

Criterion can release only the films that they have they distribution rights to. This includes all of the films of their sister company Janus Films. They regularly license from overseas distributors MK2 and Canal+.

Occasionally, they also reach licensing agreements with major US studios and distributors. They have limited ongoing relationships with Universal and Anchor Bay. They have licensed small blocks of titles from Wellspring, Fox, and New Line in the past, but those deals have already reached fruition.

IF... comes from a new arrangement with Paramount. Other known titles from this arrangement include ACE IN THE HOLE, ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS, and FACE TO FACE. WHITE DOG is strongly suspected as well, and there is some hope for THE MATTEI AFFAIR and ONE-EYED JACKS. George Hickenlooper has previously mentioned in a comment on this site that Criterion would love to work on HEARTS OF DARKNESS if they could talk FFC into it.

Warner has said repeatedly that it is against company policy for them to enter in to such third-party licensing arrangements. They do a pretty good job with their own discs anyway.

This was a very long answer to a very short question...

Posted by TheJeff at April 15, 2007 8:36 AM

comment #4

Craig Kennedy says ...

Long but good. And you're right: Warner Bros. has gone from one of the worst studios for DVD to one of the best. In some cases, they're better than Criterion because they have the resources to do restorations.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at April 15, 2007 10:24 AM

comment #5

gruver1 says ...

Wells to TheJeff: There's "some hope" for a decent "One-Eyed Jacks" DVD from either Criterion or Paramount, you say? That would be a very welcome thing. This noble, psychologically harrowing Marlon Brando film about blood revenge and damn lies and people talking out of both sides of their mouth was (and presumably still is) a beautiful looking thing, but it's been awful the way it's been repeatedly issued by every cheap-jack video distributor around because (as I understand the situation) it fell into public domain.

Posted by gruver1 at April 15, 2007 12:41 PM

comment #6

TheJeff says ...

ONE-EYED JACKS is really just speculation at this point, but it is a possibility. It is indeed in the public domain, but Paramount still owns the original elements. This is a very similar situation to what Universal was in with CHARADE and MY MAN GODFREY. There were dozens of crappy PD versions available, but the Criterion brand and quality supplements helped distinguish them from the pack.

Criterion won't say yes or no to whether or not ONE-EYED JACKS is in the works, but they have prepared a new transfer of the Maysles' MEET MARLON BRANDO, which would seem to be right at home here.

Posted by TheJeff at April 15, 2007 1:04 PM

comment #7