Director Richard Lester’s episodic adaptation of Patrick Ryan’s more traditional – though no less satirical – anti-war novel was not received especially well by the critics. Then again, when has there ever been a time when the mass media has taken kindly to a skewering of the military and, in particular, war – unless it’s “the right war.” Michael Crawford (Lester’s The Knack…and How to Get It, Michael Winner’s The Jokers) stars as the naïve, patriotic main protagonist, a hapless army lieutenant in WW2, alongside John Lennon (in his only non-musical movie role), joining supporting players such as Jack McGowran (Roman Polanski’s The Fearless Vampire Killers and Cul-de-Sac), Roy Kinnear (The Three Musketeers) and Michael Hordern. Lester’s style here hearkens back to his anarchic days in 1950s British TV, especially his work on “The Goon Show” and various other early Peter Sellers television efforts, resorting to strung-together blackout skits, fake documentary clips, and breaking the fourth wall to directly address the audience. Surrealist humor and non-sequitors abound in a delightful and scathingly critical stream of consciousness, confronting the tragic absurdities and mass contradictions of one of mankind’s favorite self-destructive hobbies. One of the movies taglines: “What we want is more humane killers!” An interesting bit of trivia purports that, while filming How I Won the War in Spain, a patch of particularly lush vegetation inspired John Lennon to spontaneously compose the Beatles song, “Strawberry Fields Forever,” on the spot.
“Ambitious, stylised British satire. Written and acted with conviction, it pulls no punches.” – John Fortgang, Film4
“Lester’s gruesomely black anti-war comedy still looks inventive, and manages to hit home with its blend of surreal lunacy and barbed satire.” – Time Out
Read an excellent A.V. Club interview with director Richard Lester.
Marc Edward Heuck discusses our Richard Lester Film Festival on the New Beverly blog.
Chris D explores Richard Lester’s diverse career on the New Beverly blog.
