O Lucky Man! '1973' - Lindsay Anderson

What an absolute brilliant film. Im a big fan of Malcom Mcdowell and Lindsay Anderson so i may start to sound a bit big headed.
'O Lucky Man!' is the second film in the trilogy following the adventures of Mick Travis (Malcom Mcdowell) as he is growing up. The first film is of course 'If...' and the final in the trilogy is 'Britannia Hospital', all directed by Anderson and Mcdowell always playing the main role. All films contain the same actors who play multiple roles, giving the film a sort of production/play feel about it. In 'O Lucky Man!' we see the very early Helen Mirren in on of her first movie roles.
Some might say that the film is a comedy, however i feel it is much more than that. It is an allegory of capitalism. Mick always tries to be the best at his job but always seems to loose out in rather odd circumstances. The music, conducted and played by Alan Price is just amazing and gets the point of this capitalism allegory across extremely well. With lyrics such as 'Sell Sell Sell, Sell everything you stand for' and 'If you've found the meaning of the truth in this whole world then your a lucky man'. The lyrics are just amazing and are worthy of a number one. We often see small snippets of Alan Price and his band performing their songs. This just adds a much more laid back feeling and in some cases gives the film a documental aspect. We see later on Mick run into the band of whom he spends a short period with.
What i like about the film is how random the narrative is. Mick starts off as a coffee salesman then finds himself in a live porn show shouting 'chocolate sandwich, choclate sandwich' as a black bloke and two white women are suggested to have a three-some as he looks on. He stays in a hotel where he spends the night with a 50 odd year old woman, then gets given a golden suit which he wears for the rest of the film. There are a dozen more things which happen but i cant be asked to say them.
I believe the film falls under a coming of age film. Mick, as a young man, experiences what all young men expereince when growing up. The feeling of failure, the first girlfriend, the fact that all society seems to be against you. Mick's idealism of humanity is frowned upon every different kind of class going, from the rich, the working class and the homeless, who either end up killing themselves or somehow beat Mick up due to his idealology.
The interesting thing about this movie is it's almost a documentation of Malcom Macdowells life when he was young. Mcdowell explained that all the things that Mick experienced in the film actually happened to him in real life. At the end we see Anderson actually casting Mick Travis to play the role as Mick Travis in a film called 'O Lucky Man!'. Amazing.
The film has some classic quotes and some memorable scenes. Quotes such as 'don't die like a dog' and the lyrics from Alan Price's songs. Scenes which include a man casually walking out of a ten storey window to his death and a Mcdowell sucking milk from a womans breast, which always provoke many interpretations and seem to stay with you. One memorable scene, which could have been used in a horror film, is when Mick volunteers for a medical experiment. He decides to have a nose round to hospital and finds a young boy shaking and shivering. Pulling back the covers Mick reveals the young boys body to be that of a pig. Its shocking when we see it as the the film is a satire, not a horror. Its a great way to suddenly shock the audience and gain their interest again as the film is a whole 3 hours long.
I think the reason why i enjoyed the film so much is because Mick is independant, he always goes about his business on his own. We get to know Mick and he almost becomes a friend to us.
A fucking great 3 hours of my life well spent. 10/10