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How I Won The War
Michael Crawford, John Lennon
Directed by Richard Lester
Originally released 1967
MGM On Demand 2011
If you enjoyed the WW I Black Adder season and appreciate British comedy of the absurd this DVD is certainly going to amuse. You do need a certain affinity to appreciate Richard Lester s How I Won The War so if you are more Catch-22 than MASH in terms of war comedies this movie is a safer bet. How I Won The War is one of MGM s On Demand titles. In this case it only means a small press run and the use of recordable DVD like you have at home. The picture quality is excellent and in any other way this looks like a big time release.
also by Richard Lester in this collection The Bed Sitting Room
Much is made, including the cover, about Beatle John Lennon being in How I Won The War. In fact Lennon has pretty much a secondary if not background role in this movie. The movie really belongs to Michael Crawford who plays Lieutenant Goodbody, your typical British officer who thinks he is close to the men but is not.
This movie is perhaps a bit too silly so the black comedy gets somewhat diluted. Goodbody s mission is to get behind enemy lines in Africa and establish a cricket pitch so the boys can have a game once they get there.
It gets weirder when you know the very same Goodbody is also a German prisoner on the European front, the movie at times uses actual WW II footage, and some of Goodbody s soldiers are precursors to the pink and blue green plastic army men.
How I Won The War is one of those comedies you either get or really do not get. If you are a fan of war movies in general you will probably enjoy this one a bit more.
For a limited time the How I Won The War DVD comes with an 81/2 X 11 26-page photobook with lots and lots of John Lennon pictures.