If…? > O Lucky Man!
If…? > O Lucky Man!
“O Lucky Man!” — as much as I love them both, the second of the Mick Travis Adventures is just flat-out more imaginative, and while I love “If….” dearly, I find myself gravitating toward the unique world of “OLM!” far more often.
“If…” for very personal reasons.
Both.
Im going to say If…
“If…” though I miss Rachel Roberts
o lucky man! will always be a nostalgic favorite, but if…. is the better film. fun fact: if…. was allegedly tupac’s favorite film.
O Lucky Man! all the way.
If was right to gun for British private schools, and still relevant- there may not be the flogging these days but the whole British system is still dependent on their ethos of class, empire and military. The church- C of E- still upholds all that to a certain extent, but is less important and seems more torn and critical of imperialist ventures these days. Good to see Arthur Lowe of Captain Mainwaring fame in O Lucky Man, an enjoyable film whose politics he can hardly have approved of.
I just watched O Lucky Man last night on TCM, and while I haven’t seen If… for a number of years, OLM for me is the better film.
Both are of their time, but OLM has a broader sweep. It satirises England at a pivotal time in the twentieth century. A country still in thrall to it imperialist past, and a country run by an elite that still believed that it could treat its ex-colonies and it lower classes as mere fodder. Anderson uses a surrealist narrative to journey through the social mores of a country obsessed with sex and money, but the inclusion of the musical interludes offers an insight into the changes that were happening in a country beaten down by class distinction, victorian attitudes and arcaic working practices. It’s rather dated but still holds up a mirror to a country that was grinding to a halt. It would be the attitudes of the young rock musicians that would help bring about social, cultural and political change. The Labour government of 1997 owed as much to Lennon and McCartney as it did to any political philosophy!
I like ‘If’ but like ‘O Lucky Man’ just a little better mostly because of the charming songs from Alan Price. I also feel that OLM is less dated than ‘If’.
(ask me the same question tomorrow and I’ll probably give a different answer though)
If…. , but OLM is also very good (unless you don’t like themusic of Alan Price).
If…
I prefer ‘O Lucky Man!’ but it’s close. The soundtrack is great.
If….
IF came along at just the right time in history & my life to have an impact. I really wonder if it has quite the same effect without student protests/riots happening in real-life (damned lazy kids!).
O LUCKY MAN probably holds up better because in so many ways society has not changed all that much & Anderson gives in more fully to his surrealist inclinations (though it’s hard to top the bishop popping out of a drawer in IF).
And then there’s the culmination of the MicK Travis trilogy: BRITANNIA HOSPITAL.
O lucky Man is my favourite as Anderson puts some greta British actors to good use .
Britannia Hospital is also a fave of mine since i saw it on Channel 4 many moons ago.
The film was clobbered unfairly as it was released around the time of The Falklands war .
Also O lucky Man has a wonderful Alan Price soundtrack
If…., by a very small percentage, since both films are excellent. O Lucky Man! is slightly more sprawling and picaresque; the bursts of surrealism seem more obviously satirical than the poetic expressions of If…., which, by comparison, seems more focused in its intentions. However, one shouldn’t overlook Britannia Hospital, which is in no way as disappointing as some of the earlier critics had suggested, and could still rank as one of Anderson’s greatest films.
IF… is pure cinema poetry, one of the most unique films I know of, and that’s saying something. O’ LUCKY MAN is great fun, but much more obvious in its satire and surrealism, as Simon said. Its kind of all over the place, with some parts much more effective than others, not very focused, and for me, those damn musical interludes almost ruin it. The part with Hellen Mirren and Ralph Richardson is what sticks with the most. I’ve been wanting to watch it again lately.
I have yet to see Britannia Hospital, I think its out of print.
Nick Kostopoulos
While these two films are vastly different, given their formalist simarities (director, actors, cinematographer), as well as both being part of the “Mick Travis trilogy”, I was wondering which of the films do you prefer over the other?
For me, I prefer “if….” While “O Lucky Man!” is a fantastic film in its own right (listening to Alan Price’s wonderful soundtrack right now actually…) I wasn’t as emotionally impacted as I was with “if….”
Your thoughts?