Editing If.... (section)

==Reception==
===Critical reception===
''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' wrote: "A modern classic in which Anderson minutely captures both the particular ethos of a public school and the general flavour of any structured community, thus achieving a clear allegorical force without sacrificing a whit of his exploration of an essentially British institution. The impeccable logic of the conclusion is in no way diminished by having been lifted from [[Jean Vigo|Vigo]]'s ''[[Zero for Conduct|Zéro de Conduite]]'' [1933], made thirty-five years earlier. ''If...'' was also a timely film – shooting began two months before the events of May 1968 in Paris. Along with ''[[The White Bus]]'', it put Anderson into a pretty high league."<ref>{{Cite web |last=SG |date=2012-09-10 |title=If… |url=https://www.timeout.com/movies/if |access-date=2023-09-10 |website=Time Out Worldwide |language=en-GB}}</ref>

''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote: "Timely and timeless, this is a punchy, poetic pic that delves into the epic theme of youthful revolt.&nbsp;...The script has the expert blend of heightened reality and lyricism enforced by the brilliant direction and the playing of a cast of unknowns."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=11 December 1968 |title=If.... |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1505810185 |journal=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |volume=253 |issue=4 |pages=30 |id={{ProQuest|1505810185}} |via=ProQuest}}</ref>

''The [[Radio Times]] Guide to Films'' gave the film 4/5 stars, writing: "With its surrealistic elements, it was something of a departure for ''[[This Sporting Life]]'' [1963] director Lindsay Anderson, but he succeeds in both capturing the atmosphere and absurdities of public school life and investing the satire with plenty of venom. Malcolm McDowell gives a blistering performance in what is a key film in British cinema history."<ref>{{Cite book |title=Radio Times Guide to Films |publisher=[[Immediate Media Company]] |year=2017 |isbn=9780992936440 |edition=18th |location=London |pages=452}}</ref>

[[Leslie Halliwell]], dissenting from the general praise for the film, wrote that "Allegorical treatment of school life with much fashionable emphasis on obscure narrative, clever cutting, variety of pace, even an unaccountable changing from colour to monochrome and vice versa. Intelligence is clearly at work, but it seems to have suffered from undigested gobs of [[Harold Pinter|Pinter]], and the film as a whole makes no discernible point."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Halliwell |first=Leslie |title=Halliwell's Film Guide |publisher=Paladin |year=1989 |isbn=0586088946 |edition=7th |location=London |pages=594}}</ref>

On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds a 90% approval rating based on 49 reviews, with an average score of 7.9/10. According to the site's critical consensus, "Incendiary, subversive, and darkly humorous, ''If....'' is a landmark of British countercultural cinema."<ref>{{Cite web |title=If.... (2009) |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/if1968 |access-date=8 July 2022 |publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |work=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]]}}</ref>

===Accolades===
''If....'' won the [[Palme d'Or#Grand Prix du Festival International du Film (1964–1974)|Palme d'Or]] at the [[1969 Cannes Film Festival]].<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{Cite web |title=Festival de Cannes: IF |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2527/year/1969.html |access-date=6 April 2009 |website=festival-cannes.com |archive-date=18 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118160500/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2527/year/1969.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1999, the [[British Film Institute]] named it the [[BFI Top 100 British films|12th greatest British film of the 20th century]]; in 2004, the magazine ''[[Total Film]]'' named it the 16th greatest British film of all time. In 2017 a poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers and critics for ''Time Out'' magazine ranked it the 9th best British film ever.<ref>[https://www.timeout.com/london/film/100-best-british-films#tab_panel_4 "The 100 best British films"]. ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]''. Retrieved 24 October 2017.<!-- As of 16 April 2024, this link leads to an article dated 12 July 2023 that does not say anything about 2017. However, it does identify this film at #9 and does say "We spoke to over 150 movie experts" and "we surveyed a diverse array of actors, directors, writers, producers, critics and industry heavyweights, from ...". --></ref>

===McDowell's casting in ''A Clockwork Orange''===
McDowell's performance in ''If....'' caught the attention of [[Stanley Kubrick]], who subsequently cast him in his 1971 film adaptation of [[Anthony Burgess]]'s ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]''.<ref name="Hughes2013">{{Cite book |last=David Hughes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zf9BYv5DiCwC&pg=PT118 |title=The Complete Kubrick |date=31 May 2013 |publisher=Ebury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4481-3321-5 |page=118}}</ref> McDowell used his performance in ''If....'' in his inspiration for the ''Clockwork Orange'' protagonist, Alexander DeLarge. Having been given the script by Kubrick, McDowell was unsure how he should play the part of Alex, and so he contacted Lindsay Anderson, asking for advice. McDowell relates the story:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/interviews/mcdowell.html|title=Malcolm McDowell|date=7 November 2004|author=Ryan, Paul|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121175939/http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/interviews/mcdowell.html|archivedate=21 November 2008}}</ref>

<blockquote>Anyway, he said 'Malcolm, this is how you play the part: there is a scene of you, a close-up in ''If....'', where you open the doors to the gymnasium, to be beaten. You get a close-up.' I said 'that's right.' He said 'do you remember...' I said 'yes. I smiled.' He said 'that's right. You gave them that smile. That sort of ironic smile,' he said 'and that's how you play Alex.' And I went 'my god, that's brilliant. That's brilliant.' That's all I needed and that was enough, and that is a brilliant piece of direction for an actor.</blockquote>