Uncertain whether you are sincere or sarcastic asking about sequels, Onya.
Initially saw If... during the 1990s on VHS tape - so If... has been in my mind for 20 years - but I have never been aware of any sequels.
Are you referring to subsequent films directed by Lindsay Anderson & starring McDowell? Or are you implying that If... is so good that it should have sequels?
Regarding this film, I like the premise but I consider its execution to be too naturalistic and not expressionistic enough according to my preferences.
[P.S. I got If... on home video primarily to have a source in order to hear Marc Wilkinson's music (because, like Stanley Myers, his film music is largely unavailable on discs)]
Oh Lucky Man! (1973) Is a picaresque tale of a young coffee salesman (McDowell as Mick Travis in all three films) who starts in a new area & meets more & more outlandish people, it turns into more of a fantasy, then a nightmare & ends with Travis going for an audition for the film If, with director Lindsay Anderson playing himself (not really a plot spoiler, it has nothing to do with the rest of the film), so a prequel really. It's a long film 3 hours, but always enjoyable, Anderson used a lot of the actors from If. I think it's a great film, you should track it down...oh, & it has a great song score by Alan Price, who appears in the film from time to time singing.
Britannia Hospital (1982) Travis is a reporter, reporting on a hospital where all sorts of grotesque stuff is going on. I haven't seen it for over thirty years, as I remember it's well worth seeing, but not quite as good as the first two.
...& all three films are written by David Sherwin (Sherwin & McDowell on Oh Lucky Man!)
If.... has long been a personal favorite movie of mine.
O Lucky Man isn't a bad follow-up but the tone is very different.
I've never been able to find Britianna Hospital on television or disc, so I can't comment on it.
I saw BRITANNIA HOSPITAL on HBO over thirty years ago. I can only remember little bits of it, but I seem to recall liking it. It's a crazy satire, I think. Saw O' LUCKY MAN around the same time and on HBO. Recall even less of that because I think the movie bored me. I should check it out again.
But as for IF... I was really disappointed with it, and I've seen it much more recently, 10, 15 years ago. Just didn't do it for me.
It may be common knowledge, but McDowell's performance in If…. helped him to get the Clockwork Orange gig. McDowell wasn't sure how to play Alex, and Kubrick basically told him to be Mick Travis, especially with the ironic smile.
I remember absolutely loving If, & I went to see it again the very next night at the same cinema, & I bought a long black scarf just like Micks (is that...sad). It is an amazing film, but it just doesn't work for me like it did. Out of the three, I'd take Oh Lucky Man!
It may be common knowledge, but McDowell's performance in If…. helped him to get the Clockwork Orange gig. McDowell wasn't sure how to play Alex, and Kubrick basically told him to be Mick Travis, especially with the ironic smile.
Right church, wrong pew.
McDowell called up Lindsay Anderson and asked him how he should approach the role. Anderson said, "Remember when you're going to get cained by your upper-classmen and you open the door to the gymnasium? Like that."
I wish I could remember the source of that interview; it could be from the Criterion DVD insert.
