Cast And Crew - If..(1969).BBC 2005
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.