Cheap Withnail and I - Criterion Collection (DVD) (Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann) (Bruce Robinson) Price

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Customer Reviews of Withnail and I - Criterion Collection

One of my favourite films of all time
Criterion has done a wonderful job with this DVD release of WITHNAIL & I. The picture looks sharp, the sound is clear, and the extras are a lot of fun. The biggest difference for me was that the only video version of this film I owned was the full-screen version that contains numerous edits. Watching this film uncut for the first time in years really pointed out how much I had been missing with the video version. Getting this DVD is definitely worth the money.

The film itself is a joy to experience. While the plot cannot be accused of being overcomplicated, this simplicity is more than made up for in the wonderful characters and brilliant dialogue (virtually none of which can be quoted in an all-ages forum such as this). Loosely narrated by Paul McGann's "I" character, this film depicts a brief period in the life of two struggling actors as they attempt to find booze, drugs and jobs in the dying days of the 1960s. The movie covers a wide spectrum from some scenes featuring the funniest lines that you'll ever hear to small touching moments that are surprisingly moving. This is highly recommended to anyone who enjoys good moviemaking.

Every character in the picture is superbly acted and written for. It's a testament to Bruce Robinson's directing skills that the characters compliment each other so well instead of clashing and overbearing the others as could so easily have happened. The secondary characters work as well as the leads and each one adds their unique flavour to the mixture. Robinson doesn't make the mistake of giving the smaller parts too much on-screen time and having them overstay their welcome. Each character says and does no more than they need to and leaves everyone wanting more.

Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann are perfectly cast in their roles. Each bile-covered insult roles off of Grant's tongue as if he'd been swearing at McGann all his life. It's amazing that Grant is a teetotaler in real life and was relying on pure skill for most of his inspiration. Excellent acting.

The documentary that is included on the DVD is 30 minutes long and quite excellent. There are interviews with Richard E. Grant (Withnail), Paul McGann (...& I), Bruce Robinson (writer/director), Ralph Brown (Danny) and a host of other people related to the production. It's a funny and enthralling look at the people and ideas behind the film. Just fast-forward through the trainspotters.

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"Man delights not me"
The quintissential British comedy. Set in the fag end (that's cigarrette end) of the 60's in the squalid bedsits of London, Withnail and I is a tale of two aspiring young actors; the pompous and deranged Withnail (Richard E. Grant) and the quietly reserved "I" (Paul McGann). The film follows their increasingly debauched downward spiral as they try to live with no money, no food, no heating, a hideously filthy kitchen infested with rats and, more importantly, no booze! Add to this their frequently unwanted house guest, drug dealing hippy Danny (A scene stealing turn by Ralph Brown), and a near fight with a stocky Irish homophobe who believes them, wrongly, to be gay, they decide that a trip to the country is in order to help revitalise themselves. And so they stay with Witnail's Uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths) which leads to a second act full of crossed wires, fish out of water exploits and unwanted sexual advances. To give too much away would spoil this wonderful film.
The film is funny without relying on jokes. The humour comes from the situations, the immensly quotable dialogue: "We want cake, and the finest wines available to humanity... and we want them here and we want them now," blathers a drunken Withnail as he and "I" frequent a quaint english tea and cake shop, upsetting the locals.
The magic is in the details. Writer/Director Bruce Robinson, who almost didn't make the film after the success, and subsequent Oscar win, for his "The Killing Fields" screenplay, recreates an era which he knows all to well. The film is loosely based on his experiences, with "I", the films narrator (originally referred to in the script as Marwood) being his alter ego. Withnail is very muched based on his flatmate Vivien, who, yes it's true, did drink lighter fuel and went blind for days. Michael Elphick, another flat mate of Robinson's, even makes an appearance as a poacher.
Withnail and I is as poignant as it is funny, capturing a period where so many young artists fell by the wayside. Watching the finale in London zoo, you can only assume the worst will happen to Withnail. It was a decade of so much unfullfilled promise, as summed up by Danny: "We are reaching the end of the greatest decade in the history of mankind, and as my friend Presuming Ed consistently points out... we have failed to paint it black!"

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Enjoyably eccentric black comedy
Written and Directed by Bruce Robinson (who would later go on to make the Uma Thurman movie JENNIFER 8) WITHNAIL & I is a semi-autobiographical black comedy about two struggling actors in Camdenton London during the last months of the 60s. The future is looking rather bleak for Withnail (Richard E. Grant) and I (Paul McGann). Both are out of work and in the midst of drug and alcohol problems. After hitting rock bottom the pair decide to take a peaceful vacation in the country and plan on how to re-establish some direction in their lives before the new decade begins.
However their stay in the country turns out to be anything but tranquil when the boorish, self absorbed Withnail manages to bring out the hostilities of the locals. Both reduced to the status of village pariahs, the unwelcome duo find themselves confined to the tiny cottage where they are forced to burn their own furniture to stay warm, and literally shooting fish in order to survive.
Though the movie is a bit plodding and self-important at times; WITHNAIL & I is nonetheless an absorbing and well-acted low key cult item that is worth a look for curiosity's sake. (Not something I'll have to point out to those people have seen the movie more than a dozen times! I've only seen it once.) The highlight of the movie for me is the scene in which Withnail concocts a novel way to get let off a drink driving charge.
The movie was Produced by the late George Harrison, and Ringo Starr also appears in the credits as "Richard Starkey M.B.E". Sadly, the DVD I watched didn't have any bonus features.