Year: 2022

Malcolm McDowell has made some interesting films. “A Clockwork Orange”, “Caligula”, “Star Trek Generations”, “Mr. Magoo”… there’s a long list.

If “A Clockwork Orange” is his best known, “O Lucky Man!” is in many ways the most interesting.

This film, from 1973, follows the adventures of Mick Travis, starting as a coffee salesman and getting involved with scientists, corrupt police, dodgy businessmen and finally becoming a film star in a film to be directed by Lindsay Anderson. This film.

McDowell himself was behind much of the original story. It acts as a commentary on the state of the UK at that time, and while it looks a little dated now, not so much has changed.

There’s a strong cast: Helen Mirren, Arthur Lowe, Ralph Richardson, Warren Clarke… Many play multiple parts.

In addition, there’s a musical commentary by legend Alan Price. The songs are great and the soundtrack is worth tracking down.

It’s a long film, rarely seen, hard to find on dvd and sometimes presented in a cut down form. It’s probably a film that could not be made today, but it is worth watching, if you can.

If you like something a bit off the beaten track, as they say, then we can suggest tracking down the films of Polish director Walerian Borowczyk.

Borowczyk began his film making doing animation, but moved into live action in 1968. He sprung to notoriety with a number of basically pornographic films.

Perhaps best known is “Immoral Tales” from 1973. It was shown in London in a complete form, but only in film clubs. I joined one for the princely sum of 20p.

This film is a four part anthology including one about Elizabeth Báthory (played by Paloma Picasso) as a countess who murders young girls in order to gain eternal youth by bathing in their blood.

One of the original tales from this was removed and expanded to form another, “The Beast”. In some ways it’s a silly film, but worth a watch. 1975.

Perhaps his most notorious film is “Behind Convent Walls”. I guess the title tells all. This is from 1977 and has at least one controversial scene.

There’s plenty of nudity and some graphic sex.

Very many of Borowczyk’s films are available on bluray or dvd, some are hard to track down though but they are worth the effort. Watch it with your chums and you can debate afterwards, is it high art, political satire or porn? Or all three.

If you asked people to name great animators you’d get Disney, Hanna-Barbera maybe and then…

Not the Fleischer brothers (Betty Boop, Popeye), not Walter Lanz (Woody Woodpecker) or Chuck Jones (Warners) or the “Great” Bob Godfrey. Maybe Terry Gilliam (Monty Python) and possibly Richard Williams (“Who Framed Roger Rabbit”) or John Lasseter (“Toy Story”).

And Ralph Bakshi.

Who? Well, Mr B is an answer to a great trivia quiz question: “Who made the first feature film about Lord Of The Rings”. I have seen it, and it’s interesting. I think you need to have read the books first to appreciate it though.

“Fritz The Cat” comes from 1972. We saw it in a double bill with “Heavy Traffic” in the mid-70s at a genuine flea pit in South Woodford, London, now long gone.

It’s based on the cartoon strip by R Crumb, who was not happy with it.

It’s certainly not a film for children, and was given an X certificate when it was released in the UK, for its scenes of sex, nudity, racism, drug abuse… you name it. But it was a huge success.

In a world full of computer created animation, this has a style all of it’s own.

It is possible to find it on home media, and it’s not too expensive.