How I Won the War (1967)

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

American director Richard Lester's film How I Won the War is a bizarre, anti-war satire, set in the thick of World War Two. It does not only look at aspects of the ridiculousness of war, and the stereotypes of the war films, but also the ridiculousness of the British. Having been made by an American, the film takes a look at 'Britishness' from an objective view - as an outsider. Consequently, under close scrutiny it becomes apparent that this is not merely an anti-war film, it is an anti-British film, and, ironically an anti-war-film film.But this film is more than a satirical plot with farcical characters. There is a very serious element. Lester integrates morbid battle-scenes into the plot, spliced in amongst the comedic genius of the cast, whilst simultaneously claiming the soldiers as no more than actors playing a game, commenting on the way the war is often represented in cinema - with glory and heroism. This is the main point of the film. As Richard Lester himself said, "It does reflect a desperately sincere attitude towards the glorification of war by show business... One of the gross obscenities about the war is the war film itself ... like a big adventure with extras being killed in the way of a Western." This film is clever - very clever - funny and bitter. A gem in the archives of the Cinematic Rennaissance. I doubt such uniqueness could ever be replicated.

This challenging film is in a class all of its own. It's as if Samuel Beckett had written a screenplay filling it with low slapstick and very smart commentary. Lester's ultimate point seems to be that war is merely just an extension of class war. Michael Crawford is excellent as the clueless, Bertie Woosteresque squad commander; always trying to piece things together with a seemingly high class education that does him absolutely no good in the thick of war's irrationality. The fast-paced gags come in rapid succession, punctuating each working class soldier's senseless death with great comic absurdity. And yet, armed with his upper class and horribly thoughtless "sacrifice for King and country" paradigm, Lt. Goodbody forges ahead on a completely senseless mission inadvertently causing the deaths of all of his men. It's perfect that in the end the only person he can relate to is his German upper-class captor. His ultimate "winning" of the war by simply purchasing the only bridge left crossing the Rhein (with a bad check, no less) is the perfect metaphor for the film's main idea; that it's not even money that separates the classes - it's just the collective illusion of the classes that separates them. And it's this illusion for which the working class are forced to fight and die.A fantastic piece of anti-war theatre.

Wow, it is not everyday that one comes across a right-wing essay on the IMDB as one of the posters did in regards t this film. First of all, I am delighted to have finally seen this. Aside from "The Royal Flash" and "Cuba," I believe I have seen most of Richard Lester's films which are of significance. I think too look at this film from a mere political pov is a mistake. It is a good statement first of all about how utterly ridicilous the war process is. Sure, there are awful people like Hitler and Mullah Omar, out there who threaten the world at large but by and large, the war process rarely leads to any resounding political solutions and long-term peace and understanding. I think even people who generally support their government's wars would agree to this sentiment. Lester does a brilliant job of poiting this out through the course of this film, and he is helped by some great acting- including a surprisingly brilliant John Lenon to achieve this great satire. Lester, who was actually born in Philadelphia, has a great sense of man's moral faults and he reflects that in this film, as well as in "Petulia"- which is considered to be his best film. I think Lester's genius can even be seen in his two most blatant commerical ventures, "Suprman II" and "Butch and Sundance: The Early Years" as well as the Beatles movies. He deserves more respect, and I think one day he just might get it.

Very "good" anti-war movie from 1967. I wish I would have seen it back then, I probably would have been even more "virulent" in my peace feelings.Of course that would have made me much more likely to be a felon!