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È il primo film della trilogia dedicata da Anderson al [[personaggio immaginario]] di [[Mick Travis]]. Gli altri due titoli sono ''[[O Lucky Man!]]'' e ''[[Britannia Hospital]]''.

<!--SynopsisThe film is set in an English public school (To be precise, Cheltenham College). Mick Travis (Malcolm McDowell) is one of three non-conformist boys among the returning class. They are watched and persecuted by the "Whips", senior boys given authority as prefects over junior boys. The prefects are entitled to the services of "Scum", who are first-year boys assigned to run errands, make tea, and generally act as unpaid servants. The film makes reference upon the tradition of "fagging" in English public schools during the 1960s and before. Among the duties given to Scum in this film is the job of warming up a toilet seat for a Whip.The early part of the film shows scenes in the school as the pupils return at the start of a new term. Mick Travis, the protagonist, arrives back at school with a suitcase on his shoulder, wearing a black hat, and a black scarf across his face to hide his moustache. The scene is reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's The Lodger[citation needed]. Rowntree asks him, "Who are you supposed to be, "Guy Fawkes?" hinting at the conclusion of the film. Rowntree is the Head Whip (Robert Swann), and he revels in his power, ordering the junior boys to "Run! Run in the corridor!"The film is a study of rebellion against an autocracy that denies individual freedom,[citation needed] a rebellion symbolized by Travis asking "When do we live?" Mick has an affair with a local waitress and Wallace finds adolescent romance with Bobby Philips, a junior boy, whom he takes to bed. They indulge in self-inflicted ordeals, such as seeing how long they can hold a plastic bag over their faces.However, these scenes are shot through with surreal elements such as some scenes being shot in black and white, this was not for dramatic emphasis as people presumed but simply because the huge windows at the college gave off obstructing light that effected the camera lenses. After the first evening meal, the Whips conduct some of the more mundane business of the school, signing up boys for "Confirmation class," and "VD clinic." Each boy has to lower his pants so the school nurse can inspect his genitals, as was typical at 1960s public schools. original lobbycardThese early scenes show the school's customs and traditions. The Headmaster, played by Peter Jeffrey, is somewhat remote from the boys and the House Masters. Arthur Lowe, as Mick's House Master Mr. Kemp, is told "I'll have to get back to you on that" when he brings things to the Headmaster's attention. Kemp himself is easily manipulated by the Whips into giving them a free hand in enforcing discipline.The film then concentrates on Mick's group and their clashes with the school authorities. Mick and his friends are subject to ever-escalating punishments, until one by one they are given a beating with a cane by Rowntree. Mick's beating is especially severe, yet tradition demands that he shake hands with Rowntree and say, "Thank you, Rowntree."

At the end, in a surreal sequence, they discover a cache of automatic weapons, and revolt against the establishment. On Founders' Day when parents are visiting the school, they start a fire under the hall, smoke out the parents, staff and boys, and open fire on them from a rooftop. Led by the visiting General who was giving the speech, the staff and boys break open the Combined Cadet Force armoury and fire back. The Headmaster, representing the benign face of modern tyranny, tries to stop the firefight and call for peace. Mick's girl, who is on the roof with them, produces a revolver from her belt and shoots him through the forehead. The battle continues, and the camera closes in on Mick's face as he keeps firing, ending the movie with a blackout and an echo of gunfire with the film's title "if...." emblazoned in red on the screen.

[edit] Production and locations

David Sherwin's original title for the screenplay was Crusaders. In 1960, he and his friend and co-writer John Howlett took it to Seth Holt, a veteran Ealing Comedy film editor who at the time was breaking into direction with Hammer Studios, for which he would go on to direct several classics. Holt felt unqualified to direct but offered to produce Crusaders. They also took it to Sherwin's hero, Rebel Without a Cause director Nicholas Ray, who liked it but had a nervous breakdown before anything came of it. Holt introduced Sherwin to Anderson in a Soho pub. [1]

The school was Lindsay's old alma mater Cheltenham College, Gloucestershire, but this was not revealed as part of the agreement needed to shoot there. The students who appeared in the film were actual students from the school, who were not paid, but just fed and given a class by the film crew.

Aldenham School in Elstree, Hertfordshire was used for later scenes filmed after previous summer commitments prevented further shooting at Cheltenham.

The J&H Packhorse Cafe no longer exists. It was originally on the A5 just south of Dunstable in Bedfordshire (near the village of Markyate) and not in the Cheltenham area as originally thought.

The sweat room scenes were filmed at Aldenham School (though they were redesigned for the film).

The painting in the dining hall is Aldenham School' founder, Richard Platt. The Hall scene was an amalgamation of both school halls at Cheltenham and Aldenham.

Anderson originally approached Charterhouse School for permission to shoot the film; negotiations were going well until the school discovered the content of the film and pulled out.

The outside shots of the school including the final showdown on the roof were that of Sherborne School, Dorset. This included shots of Sherborne Abbey.

The speech day interior was filmed inside St John's Church on Albion Street, Cheltenham. The church was eventually demolished.

The motorbike shop was in Shepherd's Bush, London.

Much is said of the film's use of black and white sequences. In the audio commentary to the 2007 DVD release, Malcolm McDowell confirmed that lighting the chapel scenes for colour filming would take much longer than they would if they were lit for black and white.[2] The time they could use the school chapel was limited, so Anderson opted to shoot those scenes not in colour. Liking the effect this gave, he then decided to shoot other sequences in black and white to improve the 'texture' of the film. As a child, he was impressed watching a gangster film which started in black and white and then turned to colour.[3]

The other disputed reason for the mixed use of black/white and colour was due to the film's limited budget, therefore requiring shots towards the end of filming to be done in black and white.

[edit] Sources and influence

The film's surrealist sequences have been compared to Jean Vigo's French classic Zéro de conduite (1933). Anderson acknowledged an influence, and described how he arranged a viewing of the film with his screenwriters, David Sherwin and John Howlett at an early stage in production planning, though in his view the Vigo film's influence on "if..." was structural rather than merely cosmetic. "Seeing Vigo's film gave us the idea and also the confidence to proceed with the kind of scene-structure that we devised for the first part of the film particularly."[4]

A single piece of music recurs in the film, the "Sanctus" from the Missa Luba. This version of the Latin Mass in African style, sung by a choir of Congolese children, had been on the UK Singles Chart in the 1960s.

The final gun battle was parodied in a 1970 episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus entitled "It's A Living (or: School Prizes)." The parody is presented as "If" - a film by Mr Dibley", in which Dibley is played by Terry Jones.

The 1994 Japanese video game Shin Megami Tensei if... was named after the movie. The game is about a school that is drawn in a realm of demons, and the game uses the same font as the movie for the "if..." part of its title.

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