Description

Book Synopsis
Lindsay Anderson's film if...(1968), starring Malcolm McDowell as a schoolboy who leads a guerilla insurgence, imagines how repression, conformity, and fusty ritual at an English public school could lead to anarchy and bloody revolt. Its title is a sardonic nod to Rudyard Kipling's most famous poem, and its story a radical updating of Kipling's 1899 story 'Stalky and Co.,' in which prankish rebels are groomed to police the empire. Released at a time of unprecedented student uprisings in Europe and America, if...provided a peculiarly English perspective on the battle between generations - the perennial war of the romantically passionate against the corrupt, the ugly, the old, and the foolish. Though its emotional surface is authentically anti-authoritarian, its intellectual substance, as Mark Sinker argues, is rooted in a deep familiarity with the symbols of English ruling-class values. No longer a vehicle for shock or dissent, if...is today enjoyed comfortably, even nostalgically, but

34If34 BFI Film Classics

    Product form

    £12.34

    Includes FREE delivery

    RRP £12.99 – you save £0.65 (5%)

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Fri 17 Jul 2026.

    A Paperback by Mark Sinker

    5 in stock

      Trusted by thousands of customers. See 2,385+ Customer Reviews

      View other formats and editions of 34If34 BFI Film Classics by Mark Sinker

      Publisher: British Film Institute
      Publication Date: Publication Date: 11/3/2004
      ISBN13: 9781844570409, 978-1844570409
      ISBN10: 1844570401
      Also in:
      Films, cinema

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      Lindsay Anderson's film if...(1968), starring Malcolm McDowell as a schoolboy who leads a guerilla insurgence, imagines how repression, conformity, and fusty ritual at an English public school could lead to anarchy and bloody revolt. Its title is a sardonic nod to Rudyard Kipling's most famous poem, and its story a radical updating of Kipling's 1899 story 'Stalky and Co.,' in which prankish rebels are groomed to police the empire. Released at a time of unprecedented student uprisings in Europe and America, if...provided a peculiarly English perspective on the battle between generations - the perennial war of the romantically passionate against the corrupt, the ugly, the old, and the foolish. Though its emotional surface is authentically anti-authoritarian, its intellectual substance, as Mark Sinker argues, is rooted in a deep familiarity with the symbols of English ruling-class values. No longer a vehicle for shock or dissent, if...is today enjoyed comfortably, even nostalgically, but

      Recently viewed products

      © 2026 Book Curl

        • American Express
        • Apple Pay
        • Diners Club
        • Discover
        • Google Pay
        • Maestro
        • Mastercard
        • PayPal
        • Shop Pay
        • Union Pay
        • Visa

        Login

        Forgot your password?

        Don't have an account yet?
        Create account