History Film / If

* SoBeauitfulIt’saCurse: Bobby Philips is a nice likely gay boy, however because of his beauty he is subjected to serving the prefects, which includes helping one out of the bath tub, and it’s no secret they and half of the lust after him (and it’s likely he’s been through worse). He does get a boyfriend of sorts who protects him, but him being much older means one day (movie ending or not) that they would separate.

* SoBeauitfulIt’sACurse: Bobby Philips is a nice likely gay boy, however because of his beauty he is subjected to serving the prefects, which includes helping one out of the bath tub, and it’s no secret they and half of the lust after him (and it’s likely he’s been through worse). He does get a boyfriend of sorts who protects him, but him being much older means one day (movie ending or not) that they would separate.

* BritishStuffiness

* TeensAreMonsters

* MoralGuardians: Predictably, and perhaps justifiably, the film cause moral outcry in a number of circles -- a British ambassador called the film "an insult to the nation". The then Lord Brabourne read an early draft and called it "the most evil and perverted script I've ever read. It must never see the light of day".

* DeliberatelyMonochrome: Some scenes are in black and white. Many people have tried to find the "pattern"; some think that the black and white scenes are fantasy or dreams, but others think that the color scenes are. Malcolm [=McDowell=] claims that some of the scenes would have taken too long to light properly if they had been shot in color, and then other scenes were shot black and white to add "texture". But another view is that the filmmakers ran into money troubles halfway through shooting and so had to shoot the rest of the scenes in black and white.

* [[BadassGrandpa Badass Grandma]] / MamaBear: The school matron looks like a grandma by today's standards, though in the 60s she may just have been someone's mother. With a [[CoolGuns/SubmachineGuns Sten gun]]. "Bastards bastards! Bastards!"

* AxesAtSchool: The films surreal final scenes show Travis and his comrades taking up arms and attacking fellow pupils, teachers and parents during Founder's Day.

* CorporalPunishment: Horribly realised on a number of occasions - but especially graphic when Rowntree takes a ''running start-up'' to cane Travis.
** StiffUpperLip: Tradition demands that he must then ''thank'' Rowntree and shake hands for the above.....

* DeliberatelyMonochrome: Some sequences are in black and white. Accounts vary as to how much this was for artistic reasons and how much was down to technical difficulties and budget restrictions.

* FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence

* TeacherStudentRomance: A middle-aged chaplain and mathematics teacher seems to take an interest in Jute, a pretty new boy in his class, probably 13 years old. The chaplain is skewered by Anderson's satire, as are most of the adults in the film.

If you are searching for the equally subversive and seditious left-wing political cartoon series by Steve Bell, go '''[[ComicStrip/{{If}} here]]'''. Not to be confused with the video game ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'', which has a similarly-styled logo and also has a high school.

* LongingLook: One of the more controversial scenes (at the 1968 release) involves Philips [[http://www.lindsayandersonfilms.comxa.com/if/rupert.jpg checking out Wallace]] as he performs on the parallel bars. The use of a young boy, shot in slow-mo to accentuate his beauty and the sexual tension, was incredibly risqué for 1968. [[note]]Gay sex had only just been decriminalised in Great Britain (from 1st Jan 1967): but the age of consent for gays was set at 21, five years after heteros. This sequence could still have been interpreted, legally, as conspiracy or incitement to corrupt a minor, or paedophilia.[[/note]]

* [[BadassGrandpa Badass Grandma]] / MamaBear: Looks like a grandma by today's standards, though in the 60s she may just have been someone's mother. With a [[CoolGuns/SubmachineGuns Sten gun]]. "Bastards bastards! Bastards!"

* TheDragon: Stephans acts as one to the Whips, which results in a lot of resentment from the other middle six formers.

--> '''Pass it on - "Biles, why are you a freak?"'''

* TheDragon: Stephans acts as one to the Whips, which results in a lot of mockery from the other middle six formers.

* GainaxEnding[=/=]NoEnding: [[spoiler:During the Founders' Day commencement speech, a fire starts and all the attendees run out. Mick and the Crusaders set off explosions and fire into the crowd. This changes when ''the crowd'' including a priest, a general and ''a knight'' get rifles and start firing back at them. The Headmaster calls for a ceasefire, but The Girl shoots him in the head. The film ends on the two groups firing at one another.]]

* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: [[spoiler: During the ending, the Crusaders and the Crowd tend to miss. Possibly [[JustifiedTrope justified]] as both groups are mostly inexperienced with these types of weapons.]]

'''''if....''''' is a 1968 film written by David Sherwin, directed by Lindsay Anderson, and starring Creator/MalcolmMcDowell, in his film debut, as Mick Travis.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Conditions for pupils and staff are rather spartan, but this no longer applies. School fees have been rising faster than inflation since the 1970s, and a lot of the extra money has gone on a "facilities arms race." Private schools nowadays are reported to be ''very'' comfortable.

* LongingLook: One of the more controversial scenes (at the 1968 release) involves Philips [[http://www.lindsayandersonfilms.comxa.com/if/rupert.jpg checking out Wallace]] as he performs on the parallel bars. The use of a young boy, shot in slow-mo to accentuate his beauty and the sexual tension, was incredibly risqué for 1968.