London, 1969 - two 'resting' (unemployed and unemployable) actors, Withnail and Marwood, fed up with damp, cold, piles of washing-up, mad drug dealers and psychotic Irishmen, decide to leave their squalid Camden flat for an idyllic holiday in the countryside, courtesy of Withnail's uncle Monty's country cottage. But when they get there, it rains non-stop, there's no food, and their basic survival skills turn out to be somewhat limited. Matters are not helped by the arrival of Uncle Monty, who shows an uncomfortably keen interest in Marwood...Written by
Michael Brooke <michael@everyman.demon.co.uk>
Marwood reads "Journey's End," a 1928 dramatic play by English playwright R. C. Sherriff. It is set in the trenches in France at the end of the First World War and follows a band of English soldiers just before a major attack. Marwood later announces he gets the lead part, which is of Captain Stanhope, and Withnail tells him he'll have to get his hair cut because he's playing a soldier. In the final scene, Marwood has his hair cut short. See more »
Goofs
When Withnail and Marwood are driving along the motorway on the way to the cottage, at least one motorway construction vehicle can be seen driving in the same direction, but on the other carriageway. This gives away the fact that the motorway scenes were filmed on a completed but as yet unopened section of the M25 motorway. See more »
Quotes
Monty:
The older order changeth, yielding place to new. God fulfils himself in many ways. And soon, I suppose, I shall be swept away by some vulgar little tumour. Oh, my boys, my boys, we're at the end of an age. We live in a land of weather forecasts and breakfasts that set in. Shat on by Tories, shovelled up by Labour. And here we are, we three, perhaps the last island of beauty in the world.
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The original cinema version of this film was shorter than the one that has since been released on video, laserdisc and DVD. Changes include:
Marwood's opening voice-over has been redubbed.
Marwood's speech about his thumbs having gone weird has been cut. The scene thus goes from the line "I don't feel good" to "Look at my tongue".
Withnail's "I'm gonna pull your head off" has been cut.
Danny's anecdote about The Coalman has been cut.
Some dialogue concerning Withnail's current work and Marwood also being a thespian has been cut out of the scene at Monty's home.
The scene of Marwood slipping in the mud and then angrily persuading Withnail to have another look at the shed has been cut.
The first part of Withnail and Marwood's conversation with the major, concerning Withnail having been in the Territorials, has been cut. The scene in this version simply dissolves from Withnail and Marwood walking to the pub with Marwood's voice-over to the major bringing up the subject of Jake. Marwood's line about why Withnail lied to the major has understandably also been cut.
Richard E Grant is simply perfect as Withnail, the addled but undoubtedly well-equipped "actor" on holiday with his pal, the "I" in the title. His soliloquy from Hamlet in the final scene is one of the best readings of that scene anyone's done in film. This is a film with a point, and a great way of avoiding making it too emphatically. I love every character, and every line. When Withnail frantically searches for antifreeze after drinking lighter fluid in a crazed attempt to become drunk, "I" says, "Everyone knows you shouldn't mix your drink!" Superb!
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Richard E Grant is simply perfect as Withnail, the addled but undoubtedly well-equipped "actor" on holiday with his pal, the "I" in the title. His soliloquy from Hamlet in the final scene is one of the best readings of that scene anyone's done in film. This is a film with a point, and a great way of avoiding making it too emphatically. I love every character, and every line. When Withnail frantically searches for antifreeze after drinking lighter fluid in a crazed attempt to become drunk, "I" says, "Everyone knows you shouldn't mix your drink!" Superb!