Neil Welch It is World War II. Lt Goodbody (Michael Crawford) is an officer because he comes from the right class: however, he is an idiot (a well brought up idiot, it is true, but an idiot nonetheless). The assignment he is given suits his abilities, and also the abilities of his troop (composed of slackers, incompetents, layabouts and the like) - to construct an unnecessary cricket pitch in the middle of the desert. Only his Sergeant, Transom (Lee Montague) is a "proper" soldier, and spends the entire film steaming with frustration at having to nursemaid this overprivileged ninny and his idiot charges. And, despite Transom's best efforts, members of the platoon are killed, one by one (and in one of many surreal touches, they remain with the platoon in spirit, albeit clad entirely in a unique pastel shade).Dick Lester's absurdist anti-war film is a challenging but entertaining experience, albeit you have to be in the right frame of mind for it. The cast list is a roster of the cream of British acting talent - we don't produce too many headliners, but by heck we fill up the cast with people who know their job.The elephant in the room is John Lennon. Having worked with Lester in the two Beatles features, and being ready for a sabbatical, Lennnon sallies forth in a straight acting role as the lazy Musketeer Gripweed. Seen for the first time with short hair and his (subsequent) trademark round national Health spectacles, it would be good to report that Lennon steals the show. He doesn't - his lack of acting experience and training shows too much for that - but he doesn't disgrace himself either.This film has become something of a rarity, yet it has something to say, and it says it eloquently and entertainingly while being quietly challenging at the same time.

EW-3 Sorry, Fab Listeners, but after almost 50 years of Beatlemania, it's time to get over the juvenile idea that everything done by, influenced by, or connected to one or more of The Beatles MUST be wonderful. Take John Lennon (whose role, BTW, is actually a minor one) out of this film, and you would remember it even less than the home movies your second cousin took of his daughter's 4th birthday party.In its favor, I will say that some of the battle scenes are rather effective. But aside from that, there is little worth watching here. The script is terrible, and the thick British accents and colloquialisms make half of the lines nearly incomprehensible to American audiences. Over and over, I found myself saying "Huh? What was that? What did he say?". The film's continual use of non sequiturs doesn't help matters, and after an hour or so, I was still trying to figure what exactly this movie was getting at. I was left to conclude that it was a rather feeble attempt to address the horrors of war in much the same comic way as M*A*S*H did, with far more brilliance and success, a couple of years later. No dice; this film simply does not cut it.

Lee Eisenberg Taking a break from the Beatles, John Lennon starred in the zany "How I Won the War", about a wacky platoon in WWII. The movie shows that while Lennon devoted his life to political issues, he clearly had a humorous side. I guess that with all the horror in war, we have to try and keep our sense of humor somehow. There may have been some controversy about this movie when it first came out, given the Vietnam War, but there's never a dull moment anywhere in the movie. It just goes to show what a great guy Lennon was."And I'm not a thief, really. I've never found anything worth keeping." Now that's just a great line!

editor-133 It has been reviewed; it has been explained. For almost forty years now this movie has been a mystery to a vast audience because the viewers and reviewers miss the obvious: "How I Won The Won" is comedy. When one has the opportunity to enjoy this movie one will find that the director and writer worked well together to bring us a movie that one can enjoy again and again. Much like "Duck Soup" thirty-four years earlier made a mockery of the Great War, "How I Won The War" mocks the "good" War (The Second World War.) Richard Lester's directing style brings this movie to his audience in a similar way that Brecht brought "The Three Penny Opera" to his stage audience. Lester has an ability to force you to laugh at times when you wished you hadn't laughed. Now circa 2005, it is a movie that has been re-discovered for its vitality and its humor. Let yourself go, relax and enjoy a classic movie experience.