MovieChat Forums > How I Won the War (1967) Discussion > Have little idea what's going on

Have little idea what's going on

posted 14 years ago by chiefbucknell
2 replies | jump to latest

I just recently got this movie out on VHS from the library because John Lennon's in it. Perhaps it is due to my being an American in 2010, but I have a very hard time understanding what's going on in this film. I haven't finished it yet, and it probably would make more sense on repeated viewings, but I think it is strange and curious how a movie in English could seem rather foreign to me––in humor, plot, and so on. (I actually have closed captioning on to understand what's being said, too.) I do enjoy some of the absurdities, but it's a little like Shakespeare to me: rewarding with some explanation, but seemingly in a foreign tongue.

Come to think of it, a lot of older comedic films, even American ones, require more focus and patience from the viewer than today's flicks: a sign of dumbing-down or just an indication of the rapid change in taste and culture that occurs in our postmodern era?

See also "Withnail & I".

[–] chiefbucknell 14 years ago

I liked the movie and understood it much better after seeing more of it. Reading some of the explanations on here helped, too (like about who the guys in full-body pantyhose were). Those last two lines of dialogue ring pretty true, I think.

[–] Prismark10 11 years ago

Its zany in a Monty Python/Goons type of way.

It does not work for me and the humour is rather hit and miss.

Its that man again!!