Withnail and I (2001)
24 comments
·May 17, 2025bilekas
One of my favourite movies. While being hysterical it has the melancholic undertone too. Surprised to see it listed on the front page here though.
pivic
Agreed, it's a wonderful film, filled with fun, craziness, and melancholy.
Just a week ago, Criterion re-released Withnail & I in 4K: https://awardswatch.com/criterion-collection-may-2025-brings...
rwmj
I have the Criterion Bluray from a few years back (which I guess without bothering to look is HD) and I thought it made it feel more like a TV movie. This may be a film that works better in standard def. Or it could just be what I'm used to.
gilleain
The film is set (but not actually entirely filmed) in my home town of Camden. It still is a bit like that here - there's a guy I see occasionally walking around in a suit with a cat lying across his shoulders. Walking past, for example, the Dublin Castle which does feel like the type of place where someone might call you a 'perfumed ponce'. Also the final scene where they sit on a bench in the Regents Park is just by the old -lion- (edit wolf!) enclosure.
"Throw yourself into the road, darling, you haven't got a chance!"
zeristor
I think it was the wolf enclosure, along the north south path in the NE part of Regent's Park.
The Zoo has been rejigged since then, I attended the Danish Summer Fair just nearby every year, and used to pop out to say Hi to the wolves ('Hi hi ulve!') but they're now deeper in the zoo.
The Tigers are along by the Gibbons and the camels, on the boundary of the East - West path. Occasionally walking across Regent's Park you'll hear a loud roar.
I guess the US Ambassador who's residence is next door hears that a fair bit.
Back on topic.
Uncle Monty with his potted vegetables was bonkers. 'Flowers are tarts!'
gilleain
You're totally right, it was the wolves. I misremembered.
Monty was great - "Are you a sponge or a stone? Do you soak up new experiences?"
fennecbutt
I love that you still call Camden a town, he he.
helsinkiandrew
Although it's not a town it is "Camden Town"
zeristor
Battersea Power Station Station
I think they started referring to stations as Underground stations to avoid this:
https://tfl.gov.uk/tube/stop/940GZZBPSUST/battersea-power-st...
fennecbutt
I love this movie. After I'd moved to the UK it was one of the first movies I watched with friends who are a gay couple and often reference how they are literally Withnail and Marwood.
Joeboy
Fun(?) fact - An actor that was supposed to play Marwood dropped out because they thought the film was homophobic.
Robinson originally wanted Paul McGann, but he insisted on using his own accent, resulting in Robinson firing him and getting somebody else in. Then the somebody else dropped out, and McGann came back with a new Home Counties accent.
Source: Some interview with Paul McGann I watched. No idea who the other actor was.
hardlianotion
The film is a wonderful tribute to his friend, and it has given me so much pleasure.
polyvisual
What an interesting read.
I have a friend who is just like Vivian. I'm sure that in an alternative universe their wasted talents of observational wit and caustic retorts would have made them a world class comic playwright.
"Here hair here". What a great film, also.
hounddogX
If you liked Withnail & I, try "Naked" for the hard-edge & existential experience... you'll never forget "Naked" - it stays with you, for better or worse.
BLKNSLVR
I need to rewatch it now that I've got a bit more context as to what it's about.
I didn't "get it" the first go round.
It's seems to be a "slice of life" type movie, in that it depicts a particularly interesting and eventful time in the characters lives, as opposed to having any kind of narrative or story.
My favourite movies in that category is Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Just fucking madness bounded by opening a closing credits.
Just a bunch of stuff that happened.
zabil
> I didn't "get it" the first go round.
Same here—I missed it the first time around and found it pretty weird when I finally watched it.
But on a recent trip to the Lake District, we ended up visiting a bunch of the filming spots, including the infamous telephone box in Bampton (still around and in good condition).
That kind of changed how I saw the movie—it started to feel more like a bunch of odd little vignettes, each with its own strange charm. My partner and her family are big fans and talk about it all the time, so it’s slowly grown on me. Definitely not a “one sitting” kind of film.
macleginn
Now that I think about it, "Withnail & I" is to "The Young Ones" what "Fawlty Towers" was to "Monty Python": a more structured, less madcap, sadder, and more philosophical take, which is still hysterically funny.
pengaru
Silly movie, but had its moments:
> I don't advise a haircut, man.
> All hairdressers are in the employment of the government.
> Hair are your aerials.
> They pick up signals from the cosmos and transmit them directly into the brain.
> This is the reason bald-headed men are uptight.
Odd that the photo is Ralph Brown as Danny.
Although, if you look at this brief and rare Viv MacKerrell snippet[0], his performance is a lot more Danny than Withnail.
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc5vCZTkY7g&t=1283s