O Lucky Man!

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O Lucky Man!

R,

1973,

2h 53m,

Comedy

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Watchlist

Watchlist

86%

21 Reviews

Tomatometer

87%

2,500+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

21 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

A tenacious young British man, Mick Travis (Malcolm McDowell) is determined to be successful. Starting off as a coffee salesman, Mick is soon promoted within his company. Then things take a series of bizarre turns, and Mick is abducted by a military agency. Later, he becomes smitten with the gorgeous Patricia (Helen Mirren) and winds up working for her father, sinister executive Sir James Burgess (Ralph Richardson). As Mick's tale continues, his experiences get progressively stranger.

Penelope Gilliatt

The New Yorker

Mar 5, 2024

The film is Lindsay Anderson's most complex, irascible, and contenting feature so far.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Aug 22, 2008

No less than an epic look at society is created in Lindsay Anderson's third and most provocative film.

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Vincent Canby

New York Times

May 9, 2005

2/4

O Lucky Man! clearly has a number of things on its mind, but as a movie, it is a very mixed bag.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Aug 28, 2025

5/5

…a brilliant, scabrous movie the like of which will never be made again…as a state-of-the-nation expose of the patriarchy, you won’t find anything better, and the pre-punk, institutionally-led anarchy in the UK it exposes is still happening to this day...

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Dilys Powell

Sunday Times (UK)

Aug 8, 2022

Good films have navels; they draw nourishment from other works. And O Lucky Man! is a very good film.

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

May 15, 2022

B+

Its episodic sequences are surreal and are either a hit or a miss.

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Abraham G

Nov 21, 2017

Absolutely smashing. Hallucinatory, epic journey. David Sherwin's screenplay has elements of satire, slapstick, Bertolt Brecht, Voltaire, Joseph Campbell, Ibsen's Peer Gynt, and what Lindsay Anderson does at the end when Malcolm McDowell asks him "What's there to smile about?" is a pure moment of Zen. Alan Price's score should have been nominated for an Oscar, but in 1974 the music branch of the Academy was 30 years behind the times. Definitely should be on the list of 1000 Movies To See Before You Die.

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Lindsay Anderson

Director

Malcolm McDowell

Michael Arnold Travis

Ralph Richardson

Sir James Burgess

Rachel Roberts

Gloria Rowe

Arthur Lowe

Mr. Duff

Helen Mirren

Patricia

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Synopsis

A tenacious young British man, Mick Travis (Malcolm McDowell) is determined to be successful. Starting off as a coffee salesman, Mick is soon promoted within his company. Then things take a series of bizarre turns, and Mick is abducted by a military agency. Later, he becomes smitten with the gorgeous Patricia (Helen Mirren) and winds up working for her father, sinister executive Sir James Burgess (Ralph Richardson). As Mick's tale continues, his experiences get progressively stranger.

Director: Lindsay Anderson
Producer: Michael Medwin, Lindsay Anderson
Screenwriter: David Sherwin
Production Co: Memorial Enterprises
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 24, 2012
Runtime: 2h 53m

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