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Before Richard Lester became well known for making
films with The Beatles he was a filmmaker with a larger
agenda--satire. Yes, "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help!" both
have their satirical elements but they tend to be less focused
on what later became more of a preoccupation in his humorous
films which was to focus on some element of social convention
and using satirical elements. Lester's best films in this
area could be both broadly entertaining while adhering to
that element of social satire. "How I Won The War" is best
known today as the only solo acting performance on film
of John Lennon from The Beatles. Lennon's role is however
relatively small and while not inconsequential doesn't play
a role in the larger impact of the film itself beyond making
it well known to music and culture fans. Anyone criticizing
the film has to look at the film within the larger context
of WHEN it was released, the type of films at the time,
the type of movement it was part of, the role it played
and its reception as well as within a contemporary context
and how its meaning may have changed along with its audience
and the larger social function of film as entertainment
AND as commentary. Within that regard "How I Won The War"
holds up remarkably well--it's satire is still pointed and
much like "Catch-22" (although in the case of that film
the critical reaction was tempered largely by the fact that
it was an adaptation of a critically acclaimed work of fiction
by Joseph Heller and was NOT largely judged on its own independently
of the novel because almost all critics and many in the
audience knew Heller's novel) the film has grow richer in
some areas while in others the film demonstrates its age.
***
For example "Birth of A Nation" both reflects the era
it was made it, its social cocerns and comments in its own
"voice" about them but also stands apart. Those elements
(the racist ones) haven't aged well but some of the dramatic
elements still hold up quite well and the film as well to
some degree. ***
"How I Won The War" Lester's satire which although
it doesn't take place during the Vietnam War was squarely
aimed at it as well as the NEED to go to war became hugely
influential in that regard. There were other satires that
were influenced by this film just as Lester's film was influenced
by Stanley Kubrick's black satire "Dr. Strangelove". Although
elements of the film have certainly dated what hasn't is
the message of the film and Lester's use of more experimental
techniques that were quite innovative at the time certainly
place it within the context of the 1960's, it also allows
the film to stand outside of most of the films from the
same time period because of how Lester approached his subject
matter. The satirical elements have largely held up well
for the film but some of the broader and more topical elements
of satire have begun to show wear and tear of time and changes
in social conventions. In many respects the style of the
film (which had a big influence on the Monty Python films
but less on the TV show and other darker social comedies)
likewise falls under both categories of successful and timeless
and dated. ***
Lt. Ernest Goodbody (Michael Crawford) manages to get
most of his men killed over the years through sheer inept
leadership. Related by Goodbody after he has been captured
by the Germans as an oral memoir detailing his "heroic"
leadership, Goodbody comes across as a buffoon who rises
to leadership due to everything BUT intelligence and ability
as he effectively leads his men (John Lennon, Roy Kinnear
among others) in circles. ---
Image & Sound:
The transfer looks quite nice and very much comparable
with slightly better detail than the previous DVD release.
Blacks are solid throughout and while the crispness of the
image does falter on occasion on the whole the film looks
quite nice. Personally supervised by director Richard Lester
and the film's editor, "How I Won the War" looks quite nice
with a solid and, for the most part, very clean presentation.
Be aware however that this is a burn-on-demand DVD-R and
while that may not impact the image quality, some folks
have had problems with DVD-R burn-on-demand discs. ***
The original mono sound comes across with nice presence
and the fidelity is good throughout with dialogue firmly
up front in the mix.
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