if....

In his compelling study of if.... (1968), starring which stars Malcolm McDowell as an English public school student who leads a guerrilla insurgence, Mark Sinker traces director Lindsay Anderson's depiction of the progress from repression, conformity and fusty ritual to anarchy and bloody revolt. The film's title is a sardonic nod to Rudyard Kipling's most famous poem, while its narrative explores how prankish rebels are groomed to police an Empire. Released at a time of unprecedented stude...