Withnail and I - Criterion Collection

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A corrosively funny, semiautobiographical account by writer-director Bruce Robinson (How to Get Ahead in Advertising) about a couple of destitute roommates, young actors living in drunken squalor in 1969, the twilight days of swingin' London. Withnail (the astounding Richard E. Grant in a definitive performance) is a kind of depraved, modern-day Oscar Wilde, but without the money or the manners. The "I" of the title is the younger and more impressionable Marwood (Paul McGann), who stands somewhat in awe of his scandalous, demented, hysterical pal. While on a miserable holiday in the bitterly cold and damp countryside, they stay with wealthy, corpulent "Uncle Monty" (Richard Griffiths), who takes quite a liking to young Marwood, much to his consternation. Though not well known in the United States, Withnail & I has a major cult following in England. It's uproariously funny in a peculiarly British way, and the acting is absolutely scintillating. (Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert said Griffiths's was the best performance by an actor in a British film since Denholm Elliott in A Room with a View.) This one's a real treat for the caustic at heart. --Jim Emerson

Description

London. The 60s. Two unemployed actors-acerbic, elegantly wasted Withnail (Richard E. Grant) and the anxiety-ridden "I" (Paul McGann)-drown their frustrations in booze, pills, and lighter fluid. When Withnail's Uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths) offers his cottage, they escape the squalor of their flat for a week in the country. They soon realize they've gone on holiday by mistake when their wits-and friendship-are sorely tested by violent downpours, less-than-hospitable locals, and empty cupboards. An intelligent, superbly acted, and hilarious film, The Criterion Collection is proud to present Bruce Robinson's semi-autobiographical cult favorite in its complete and uncut version.

Customer Reviews:

The finest film available to humanity.......2007-07-23

I can't help thinking that a lot of people get this film wrong. Yes, it is very very funnny and yes, it is the most quotable film I know (I know practically the whole script by heart - does that make me a nerd?), but surely it is much more than that? If Withnail was 'just' a funny quotable film, I don't think it would A) have achieved such cult status and B) would have touched so many people (well me at least) in such a profound way. Withnail is funny but it is also a very moving film about friendship. It's about growing up. It's about coming of age. It'S about those people who never 'quite' make it. The scene in which Marwood and Withnail say goodbye, you know the 'chin chin' scene, is one of the most moving moments of film I have ever seen.I always get an overwhelming feeling of sympathy for Withnail at that moment and his final solioquy from Hamlet is simply breath-taking. The only film I can think of that does roughly the same thing is 'One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest'. Jack Nicolson is brilliant. Richard. E. Grant is brilliant. ONe flew is very very funny and very quotable ('At least I tried Goddamn it, at least I did that.'). Withnail is even more quotable ('We want the finest wines available to humanity.....'). RP McMurphy is the classic loser-joker, like Withnail. And, like in Withnail, One flew twists us around at the end and chokes the laughter in our throats with the final scene. It is the mark of a genius to do that. The 'CHief' runs off into the distance. Withnail walks off into the distance. If you love One Flew like me, you'll love Withnail and I.

Flowers are basically tarts, prostitutes for the bees.......2007-07-12

There is one film that might be funnier than Withnail and I, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and that's it. The dialogue is brilliant. Every line is quotable, over and over.

The secret is that you must watch Withnail and I many times. Watch it over and over. Then you will realize its genius. It cannot be gotten in one viewing.

Withnail and I.......2007-07-10

Adapted by Robinson from his own autobiographical novel, this jet-black comedy of despair and degeneracy in late '60s Britain has been a cult favorite for two decades. Pickled in poisonous wit and low-life humor, "Withnail" is a masterful character study of two flat-mates glimpsed as they go from worse to much worse. Grant's bitchy, high-strung, self-annihilating turn as Withnail is particularly madcap. McGann, playing the titular "I," is a wounded observer, content to be Withnail's drunken helpmate, at least until his run-in with gay Uncle Monty (a hilariously raunchy Griffiths) sends him over the edge. Bitter and dismally funny, this film is a pure comic delight.

A cult classic.......2007-03-18

Back in the late 80s, when I was in university, watching this low budget British film (on a gradually deteriorating videotape) was almost a weekly ritual for my friends and I. On the rare occasions it would be shown at one of the 2nd run theatres in town we'd be sure to catch it on the big screen. Later we'd obnoxiously try to outdo each other quoting its hilarious dialogue, while each of our girlfriends rolled their eyes and probably questioned themselves about whether their boyfriend was really the kind of man they'd want to father their children. I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that during those years I probably saw this film about thirty times. In the following decades I read the screenplay, Richard E. Grant's film diaries (he's the actor who plays Withnail) and Bruce Robinson's unrelated novel along with a very enjoyable collection of interviews with him. A documentary accompanying the film on this disk shows that my behavior was typical of the film's legion of fans. It can inspire that kind of devotion.

Watching Criterion's superb edition of "Withnail and I" recently was like running into an old buddy after many years. The film's mordant charm hasn't dated at all. It's a film about two perpetually intoxicated, unemployed actors and the gradual disintegration of their tenuous friendship as one starts to outgrow the other. The film has the thinnest of plots but is presented with such wit and intelligence that, if it speaks to you, will seem nothing short of brilliant. The DVD release, in what seems to be a great transfer has the added bonus of a nostalgic documentary about the making of the film and the cult that surrounds it. Only the addition of a commentary track to the film would have improved this release. If you're already a fan of the film, you owe it to yourself to at least see the Criterion edition, even if you end up owning some lesser version. What makes this film great is the dialogue and acting. Even a pan and scan version will suffice for the repeated viewings you're bound to subject it to.

A great beginning and end.......2007-01-19

I bought this movie based on a scene (seen on TV) near the end - in the apartment when the drug dealer was philosophizing and everyone was stoned in a crazy, inspired scene. The acting here was great, while the cameras and dialog were expertly arranged.

So we pop the movie in and we are treated to some fun degenerate, young roomates acting their age during a heady moment in time, the late '60s. It kept our interest up until the chicken scene, truly a high point of humor that was never to be topped for the rest of the film.

Then the gay uncle arrives, forcing himself on the hapless boys. This could have been humorous for a short while, but the joke goes on and on, until the film hinges on this one thing, wearing thin. This is the reason it gets 2 stars - could have been a wonderful film if they had not bogged it down in a predicable one-joke middle series of scenes.

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