Directed by Lindsay Anderson

Lindsay Anderson began his film career as a critic, passionately attacking British cinema of the 30s and 40s for being middle class and middle-brow. Believing film should be more socially and morally aware he began to make short documentary films focusing on aspects of British life which he felt were being neglected. Anderson soon became a leadi... show more >

Lindsay Anderson began his film career as a critic, passionately attacking British cinema of the 30s and 40s for being middle class and middle-brow. Believing film should be more socially and morally aware he began to make short documentary films focusing on aspects of British life which he felt were being neglected. Anderson soon became a leading light in the British New Wave movement making authentic films about the lives of ordinary working class people. During this time he would produce the gritty classic This Sporting Life and the film with which he is now synonymous, If... The latter was a scathing attack on the constraints imposed by class and the hypocrisy of British institutions – it became iconic for a generation of disaffected youth. Anderson is a heroic figure in British film history whose legacy can be seen today in the work of contemporary directors like Ken Loach and Mike Leigh. < show less