One of the best British films of all time? Some might say.

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Product 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.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6791 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-07-10
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 108 minutes

Amazon.com
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

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Customer Reviews

One of the all time cult greats
In the UK, Withnail and I is a seminal cult classic. A pean to 60s romanticism, alcoholism, individuality and talent sordidly and tragically pissed up the wall. Withnail and Marwood are two 'resting' actors living in magnificent squalor in Camden Town in the late 1960s. Frustrated and depressed with their existence, a pile of fetid washing up in the sink and Withnail with a recklessly unstable antifreeze drinking habit (the film has spawned its own drinking game), they manage to escape to a Lake District cottage for a weekend courtesy of Withnail's obese pederast uncle Monty, who legend has it is based on a real life tutor at Oxford University (still teaching - many people know who he is!)

The weekend turns sour as the dysfunctional duo face pouring rain, hostile locals and an awareness that their practical survival skills are about as effective as, well, as you imagine they would be from dissolute actors. They struggle to find food and wood, and hunker down for a grim weekend when Monty himself appears. They settle down to a classic roast lunch and liberal amounts of claret, but come the evening Monty reveals his intentions towards Marwood. The film gets funnier and funnier as social relations breakdown, and the final scene with Richard E. Grant unleashing a Hamlet soliloquy in the pouring rain is a poignant testament to the deep and noble frustration of the thwarted creative personality.

The quotable lines from this movie are abundant. No one sees this film once, it gets better and better with every subsequent viewing.

The finest film available to humanity
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
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.