Synopsis
Originally released in 1967, the film stars Michael Crawford as inept British WWII commander Lieutenant Earnest Goodbody, with Musketeer Gripweed (John Lennon), Musketeer Juniper (Jack MacGowran), Musketeer Clapper (Roy Kinnear) and Sergeant Transom (Lee Montague) under his command. The film features a hilariously surreal collage of battle footage and one-liners lampooning the absurdity of war.
I’m just not sure about this film. How I Won the War is one of those films that screams agenda. Cleverly hidden inside a comedy, the movie floats around freely not attaching itself to any sort of story or set of plot points; rather the story just revolves around quick one-liners aimed at anti-war sentiment. Let me back track for a second, as there is nothing wrong with making a movie that has anti-war sentiments. It’s just annoying trying to keep track of the comedy mixed with the agenda. If you want to make fun of war then make fun of war. If you want to protest war then protest war. If you want to make a movie labeled as a comedy and turn it into a preachy war message then you’re probably not going to do so well. Without any certain identity and without any direction the film simply turns into a preachy mess that people won’t be able to keep up with. Everything in the film moved so fast that it was difficult to see what direction it was going. For example, you start out with a great introduction from Goodbody, but then land straight into a bootcamp flashback. From there the film just hits a very fast stride falling into an invasion in Africa to one-liners here and there in regards to going against authority. Adding heavy British accents in the film certainly didn’t help it one bit (and no subtitles).
Director Richard Lester, who is known for a free flowing film style (A Hard Day’s Night, Help!) tried to pin down his movie’s true intentions by bringing on John Lennon. Lennon, who is pretty funny in the film, gives off the lone reason why this film was made. John Lennon certainly was very ‘anti-war’ when it came to Vietnam, so his mere presence inside this comedy disrupts viewers from laughing. I know I found it extremely difficult to smile at his lightheartedness because I knew the man despised war. God love him and his plight, though.
In the end, what we get out of How I Won the War is a messy comedic adventure through war. Michael Crawford’s Earnest Goodbody is a fantastic guide through this would-be comedy, but regretfully the film’s lack of direction and shrugging nature prevent it from even making a dent in audience awareness of the horrors of war. Even through Goodbody’s affair with breaking the fourth wall and talking to the audience, there’s simply not enough substance here to get across what Lester and crew wanted to get across with this film. It’s sort of disappointing to see all these actors come together with witty remarks and great physical comedy, only to be lost onscreen with no compass to direct them to the right place.
Still, it’s neat to see Lennon and company do their best to make this hopeless film work. With a little organization, maybe some subtitles, this comedy truly could have made its mark that it so desperately wanted to make.
As for special features on this DVD, there are none (which is doubly regretful).