OU on the BBC: Cast And Crew - If... By: The OpenLearn team (The Open University) Posted under What's On The key cast and crew members of Lindey Anderson's 1968 film If… are reunited to discuss the film, as part of the BBC/OU's 'Cast & Crew' series 19 Oct 2005 "A hand grenade of a film, it makes you laugh even as your blood chills", 1968's If... shot the actor, Malcolm McDowell to fame, confirmed the reputation of Lindsay Anderson as one of the most important film directors of the 20th century, and coincided with the waves of radical student riots in Europe, America and Japan in the late nineteen sixties. Contributor Briefing David Sherwin (Screenwriter) David Sherwin was the co-author and screenwriter of If... which earned him the prestigious British Writers Guild Award. He went on to collaborate with director and close friend Lindsay Anderson on a number of projects including the screenplay for the films O Lucky Man and Britannia Hospital. Sherwin's autobiographical account of his experiences in Hollywood and his years of collaboration with Lindsay Anderson was published in 1996 under the title of Going Mad In Hollywood: and Life With Lindsay Anderson. Working from his home in the Gloucestershire hills, David Sherwin is currently overseeing the cinematic adaptation of Going Mad in Hollywood. Miroslav Ondricek (Cinematographer) World famous director of photography, Miroslav Ondricek, began his career with the emergence of the Czech New Wave in the early 1960s. Ondricek made his professional debut with Milos Forman's 1962 feature, Talent Competition, beginning an association with the director which has lasted for over 25 years. Ondricek has also worked with countrymen Jan Nemec and Ivan Passer and shot three films for Lindsay Anderson. Ondricek has also worked on many hugely successful commercially films including Awakenings, A League of Their Own and Riding in Cars with Boys. Stephen Frears ( Assistant to the director) Stephen Frears began his career as an assistant director working for the likes of Karel Reisz and Lindsay Anderson before directing his first feature, Gumshoe in 1972. He has gone on to become one of today's most influential British film directors, finding commercial and critical success with credits including Prick Up Your Ears, Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, Dangerous Liaisons and was Oscar nominated for The Grifters. Noted for his valuable creative ties with writers including Alan Bennett, David Hare, Hanif Kureishi and Roddy Doyle, in 2000 Frears adapted Nick Hornby's best-selling High Fidelity and Jimmy McGovern's autobiographical Liam . His recent fim Dirty Pretty Things was nominated for the 2003 Outstanding British Film Of The Year Award. Ian Rakoff Assistant Editor Prolific writer and editor Ian Rakoff was forced to leave South Africa and move to Britain in 1961. His keen interested in socially and politically conscious filmmaking led him to become associated with a number of filmmakers motivated by social concerns. He first edited Stephen Frears' directorial film debut The Burning in 1968 before moving on to work with Lindsay Anderson on If... and later with John Boorman on Deliverance in 1972. He also worked as a writer and editor on the cult television series The Prisoner. Malcolm McDowell (Actor - Mick Travis) Malcolm McDowell produced sterling work through the sixties and seventies with directors such as Lindsay Anderson and Stanley Kubrick. His on screen persona made him the perfect choice to play Alex, the Urban gang leader in A Clockwork Orange, a role that made McDowell infamous and established him as one of the leading stars of British Cinema. More recently his performances have been acclaimed in the BBC's hit drama Our Friends in the North and in Paul McGuigan's feature film, Gangster No1.

• published: 03 Sep 2012
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