HOW I WON THE WAR DVD

HOW I WON THE WAR

How I Won The War (1967) became a cult film on the strength of three things. It starred one of The Beatles, it is deliberately obscure and counter culture, it is about the Vietnam War. Take Lennon out of the picture and Richard Lester's movie becomes far less interesting. But in many ways Lennon was the point, able to stand in for a generation forced to fight a war at home and abroad. His presence wasn't some loose promotion aimed at giving peace a chance as much as it was helping dissent be heard. Whether opinions were being silenced via bomb blasts or simply by being ignored by those tending the home fires, the boiling point had been reached, spilling over into mass media, and beginning the long painful process of withdrawal from a war we could not win. It took the placid peaceful face of Lennon covered in blood to rouse the ire of cultural guardians who didn't even realize they were part of the problem. So even though the film is so full Brit in-jokes and accents so thick you sometimes want to activate the subtitling, decades later it emerges as an important counter culture document. Surprisingly funny, and sobering it is also unexpectedly and sadly relevant. In a society where the industrial military complex controls almost all media outlets, and public apathy supports it, can a film like How I Won The War be appreciated as anything other than kitsch? One can almost imagine a bunch of neo-con geeks sitting around the TV poking fun at it. 

This is offered as part of MGM's Limited Edition Collection which as I understand it is basically a manufacture on demand sort of thing. For a limited time purchasers will also recieve a Commemorative Booklet featuring a letter from Yoko Ono