How I Won the War
| How I Won the War | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Richard Lester |
| Screenplay by | Charles Wood |
| Based on | How I Won the War by Patrick Ryan |
| Produced by | Richard Lester |
| Starring | Michael Crawford John Lennon Roy Kinnear Lee Montague Jack MacGowran Michael Hordern Jack Hedley Karl Michael Vogler |
| Cinematography | David Watkin |
| Edited by | John Victor-Smith |
| Music by | Ken Thorne |
Production company | Petersham Pictures |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
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Running time | 109 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
How I Won the War is a 1967 British black comedy film directed and produced by Richard Lester and starring Michael Crawford, Jack MacGowran, Roy Kinnear, Lee Montague, and John Lennon in his only non-musical acting role. The screenplay was by Charles Wood based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Patrick Ryan.
The film uses a variety of styles such as vignettes, straight-to-camera, and docu-drama to tell the tale of the fictional 3rd Troop, the 4th Musketeers and their misadventures through the Second World War. The screenplay takes a comic and absurdist attitude towards the conflict through the Western Desert Campaign in mid-late 1942 to the crossing of the last intact bridge on the Rhine at Remagen in early 1945.