How I Won the War (1967)

Director:

Richard Lester

Writers:

Patrick Ryan (novel)
Charles Wood (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 October 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | War

Tagline:

If You Think Richard Lester's 'How I Won The War' Is Just Another War Film, Forget It...

Plot:

An inept British WWII commander leads his troops to a series of misadventures in North Africa and Europe.

Plot Keywords:

John Lennon | Troop | Flashback | Army | WWII

Cast

Michael Crawford	...	Goodbody
John Lennon	...	Gripweed
Roy Kinnear	...	Clapper
Lee Montague	...	Transom
Jack MacGowran	...	Juniper
Michael Hordern	...	Grapple
Jack Hedley	...	Melancholy Musketeer
Karl Michael Vogler	...	Odlebog
Ronald Lacey	...	Spool
James Cossins	...	Drogue
Ewan Hooper	...	Dooley
Alexander Knox	...	American General
Robert Hardy	...	British General
Sheila Hancock	...	Mrs. Clapper's Friend
Charles Dyer	...	Happy-Trousered Man

Runtime:

USA:109 min | Argentina:109 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Australia:M | UK:X (original rating) | UK:12 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Petersham Pictures

Trivia:

The intended concept of the film was that archival black and white footage of each battle was to be tinted specific colors. The soldiers who died in that battle continue to accompany the unit silently with their uniforms now the color of the battle they died in. However, when the final answer print was sent from the principal lab in England to the labs in Los Angeles subcontracted out to make the release prints, the LA labs assumed that the tinted footage was a mistake, and graded it back to black and white without notifying anyone until the whole batch was struck. The version of the film shown on "Retroplex" from Starz has the battle scenes tinted different colors and the soldiers who die in a battle become that color.

Quotes:

Grapple: [standing atop a desert fortification] Fourth Muskets, aren't you?
Goodbody: [on the ground] Sir.
Grapple: Been expecting you. I'm your link to Army. Blue, white, and two reds.
Goodbody: I'm green, green, green, sir.
Grapple: Oh ho ho ho, I know you are.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

Richard Lesters forgotten gem

How I Won the War was a critical and commerical faliure upon it's initial release. The film was attacked for mocking the Vietnam conflict and dismissed by Beatle fans looking for another slapstick romp in vein of Lesters previous efforts A Hard Day's Night and Help. While both of those films are excellent in their own right, How I Won the War is far more ambitious and even funnier. Richard Lester had a knack for comic timing and staging slapstick, and it works beautifully in this film. It also bears the usual trademark Lester visuals, with some really surreal set pieces and strange imagery. British veterans Michael Crawford, the late Roy Kinnear, Michael Horden and the late Jack Macgowran give hilarious performances, although it is John Lennon as the glib and sarcastic Gripweed who steals the movie. Lester would go on to make Petulia with Julie Christie, George C. Scott and Richard Chamberlain a year later, his masterpiece and like this film sadly forgotten.