Eleven stars or more

Rating: 10/10 (21 June 2016)

There were two reasons I went to see this film at the Warner West End the week it was released, in no particular order, 1. Stanley Kubrick, I had been mesmerised by 2001, having seen it in Cinerama, if only I could see it again in this format. I'd seen Paths of Glory and Sparticus but being very young at the time I didn't associate these two great films with Kubrick. So a new film by this director was a must to see.
2. Malcolm McDowell, 'If' was a very surreal experience that I can watch, like 2001 and Clockwork Orange, time after time. So the combination of the two was a match made in heaven. It is a shame that McDowell didn't go on to be a huge star, sometimes being reduced to C list productions that weren't worthy of his talent.
Kubrick's style and attention to detail have been copied many times since but as far as I am concerned he is up there as one of the greats. The fact that he never won an Oscar as best director is another travesty of Hollywoood.
I don't need to give a breakdown of the story line here, if you don't know by now you never will. The violence is tame now compared to hundreds of other more recent films but that is not what you watch it for.
It's simply a masterpiece of film making.
It's up there in my top ten of the greatest films ever, if I could give eleven I would.