O Lucky Man!

( 1 )

Overview

One man's dreams of success take him on a Byzantine journey through the various stations of the British class system in this politically charged black comedy from director Lindsay Anderson. Mick Travis Malcolm McDowell is an ambitious young man who is looking to get his foot on the first rung of the ladder of success by landing a job as a salesman. After the death of Imperial Coffee's leading drummer in the North, Travis' charm and enthusiasm so impresses manager Mr. Duff Arthur Lowe that he's given the job, and ...
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Overview

One man's dreams of success take him on a Byzantine journey through the various stations of the British class system in this politically charged black comedy from director Lindsay Anderson. Mick Travis Malcolm McDowell is an ambitious young man who is looking to get his foot on the first rung of the ladder of success by landing a job as a salesman. After the death of Imperial Coffee's leading drummer in the North, Travis' charm and enthusiasm so impresses manager Mr. Duff Arthur Lowe that he's given the job, and after some coaching from Gloria Rowe Rachel Roberts, Travis sets out to find his fortune in the coffee trade. Travis' desire for success quickly sets him on a curious odyssey in which he happens upon a secret sex club for businessmen, finds himself the subject of random seductions by lonely women, is captured and tortured by military intelligence agents, submits to medical experiments at a bizarre private clinic, hitches a ride with a traveling rock band led by former Animals keyboardist Alan Price, falls in love with a beautiful young bohemian named Patricia Helen Mirren, goes to work for her father Ralph Richardson, who happens to be a singularly corrupt political figure, and eventually lands in prison after he's implicated in a deal to sell chemical weapons to the Third World. As Mick's strange tale progresses, we periodically visit Price and his band in the recording studio or rehearsal hall, as they work on songs which serve as both mirror and counterpoint for Travis' progress. O Lucky Man! was the second film in which Malcolm McDowell would portray Mick Travis for director Lindsay Anderson, following If..., and preceding Britannia Hospital; the film's surreal undercurrent was reinforced by the casting, in which nearly all of the principal actors play two or three roles.
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Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Mark Deming
Lindsay Anderson's epic-scale satire of wealth, ambition, and class in Great Britain is so dry and played with such subtlety that some viewers may wonder at times if it's really intended to be a comedy, which of course is one of its great strengths. For a film whose messages and observations are dagger sharp, O Lucky Man! never overplays its hand, no matter how bizarre the circumstances Malcolm McDowell's Mick Travis is forced to confront; and from the torture session interrupted by the tea lady to casual suicides by lower-level office functionaries, O Lucky Man! keeps one foot in reality at all times, which makes its brutal absurdities all the more telling (and hilarious). McDowell's performance is one of his very best, managing to blend Mick's sometimes cartoonish get-up-and-go with a credible sense of puzzlement and anger at the surreal events which follow him, and Anderson's stock company -- including Ralph Richardson, Arthur Lowe, Rachel Roberts and Helen Mirren -- are equally engaging in their multiple roles. Alan Price's songs offer a perfect running commentary on the narrative, and Anderson's audacious device of periodically returning to Price and his band in the studio still stands as one of the most intelligent uses of pop music in film scoring. Engaging and compelling for every moment of its three-hour running time, O Lucky Man! is a bellowing cry of bitterness and a call for cultural revolution lurking just beneath the surface of a low-key comedy of errors; and it's all but impossible to imagine any director/actor team besides Anderson and McDowell making this work nearly so well.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 6/15/1995
  • UPC: 085391124931
  • Original Release: 1973

    • Rating:

  • Source: WARNER HOME VIDEO
  • Format: VHS

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Malcolm McDowell Mick
Ralph Richardson Monty, Sir James Burgess
Rachel Roberts Montes, Mrs. Richards, Paillard
Arthur Lowe Dr. Munda/Duff
Helen Mirren Patricia
Dandy Nichols Neighbor, Tea Lady
Lindsay Anderson Director
Ben Aris
John Barrett
Margot Bennett Coffee Bean Picker
James Bolam Attenborough/Doctor
Jeremy Bulloch Man
Constance Chapman
Geoffrey Chater Vicar/Bishop
Peter Childs
Warren Clarke Male Nurse, Warner
Graham Crowden Stewart/Millar/Meths Drinker
David Daker
Paul Dawkins Man at Stag Party, Meths Drinker
Anna Dawson
Jumoke Debayo
Wallas Eaton Film Executive, Steiger, Stone, Warder
Michael Elphick
Eleanor Fazan
Brian Glover Foreman/Power Station Guard
Geoff Hinsliff
Peter Jeffrey Factory Chairman, Prison Governor
Edward Judd Oswald
Stephanie Lawrence
Patricia Lawrence
Terence Maidment
Mary McLeod Mrs. Ball
Michael Medwin Captain/Dickie Belminster
Anthony Nicholls General, Judge
Christine Noonan Coffee Trainee
Bill Owen Superintendent Barlow
Geoffrey Palmer Basil Keyes, Doctor
Edward Peel Policeman
Brian Pettifer
Vivian Pickles Welfare Lady
Alan Price Himself
Cyril Renison
Irene Richmond
Roy Scammell
Frank Singuineau
Patsy Smart
Philip Stone Interrogator, Jenkins, Salvation Army Major
Hugh Thomas
Betty Turner
Mona Washbourne Neighbor
Les Weldon
Les Weldon
Glenn Williams
Catherine Willmer
Technical Credits
Lindsay Anderson Director, Producer
Zelda Barron Production Manager
Harry Cordwell Set Decoration/Design
Elsa Fennell Costumes/Costume Designer
David Gladwell Editor
Jocelyn Herbert Production Designer
Michael Medwin Producer
Basil Newall Makeup
Miroslav Ondrícek Cinematographer
Alan Price Score Composer, Songwriter
Paul Rabiger Makeup
David Sherwin Screenwriter
John Stears Special Effects
Alan Withy Art Director
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
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