O Lucky Man! – Special Edition
Reviewer: Tom Leins
Issue 104 June 2008
(1 votes, average: 8 out of 10)
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Smile like you mean it!
The Lowdown: O Lucky Man! is a follow-up of sorts to Lindsay Anderson’s previous Malcolm McDowell collaboration, If…. It finds disaffected public schoolboy Mick Travis grown up and working as a mobile coffee salesman, albeit a salesman who finds himself embroiled in schemes involving arms dealers and mad scientists!
Review: Make no mistake, with a swollen three-hour runtime, O Lucky Man! is a genuine, overblown epic. In fact, the film is so long that Warner has spread it over two DVDs for this long-awaited UK DVD debut! Surreal allegories of capitalist society and its dangerous excesses may not usually be at the top of your viewing list, but Anderson and McDowell have fashioned an absorbing parable that doesn’t in any way try and dilute its blatant strangeness. A well-judged cast (including Arthur Lowe and Helen Mirren) keep you hooked as Mick Travis slowly learns that you have to abandon your principles to stand any chance of succeeding in this world…
Befitting the movie’s brilliantly skewed reputation, Warner has also included a small but impressive selection of special features. Although Lindsay Anderson is no longer with us, Malcolm McDowell seems more-than-happy to carry the torch for his fallen co-conspirator. Firstly, McDowell joins the movie’s writer, David Sherwin, and soundtrack composer, Alan Price, for an informative audio commentary, and then he pops up again for an expansive feature-length documentary entitled ‘O Lucky Malcolm!’. Rather than focus solely on McDowell’s ‘Mick Travis Trilogy’, the documentary covers his whole career, with illuminating considerations of everything from A Clockwork Orange to Gangster No. 1. However, some of McDowell’s fondest reminiscences concern Anderson and the enigmatic movies that the pair made together. O Lucky Man! is an unwieldy leftfield treat that definitely warrants this compelling two-disc treatment. It won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but McDowell fans will definitely savour the movie and the accompanying documentary.
FILM: 7 EXTRAS: 7
DVD Info:
Certificate: 15
Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Arthur Lowe, Helen Mirren, Ralph Richardson
Directed By: Lindsay Anderson, 1973
Distributor: Warner Home Video
Audio: Mono
Visuals: 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen
Running Time: 178mins
Price: £15.99
Special Features:
Scene Selection
Theatrical Trailer
Audio Commentary With Malcolm McDowell, Writer David Sherwin & Soundtrack Composer Alan Price
‘O Lucky Man! Innovations In Entertainment’ Featurette
‘O Lucky Malcolm!’ Documentary
