Withnail and I: New book unveils secrets of classic Richard E Grant and Paul McGann movie

Perhaps there was an occasion where you demanded to have “some booze” (preferably the finest wines available to humanity).

Maybe you were threatened with a dead fish, have been accused of “prancing like a t*t” or wound your car window down and screamed ‘”Scrubbers!” at the top of your voice.

If none of the above makes not a blind bit of sense to you, then chances are you aren’t aware of the movie classic that is Withnail and I.

Starring Richard E Grant and Paul McGann as two struggling actors in the 1960s, surrounded by booze, drugs and squalor, it is a film that has only grown in popularity since its 1987 release, ascending from cult to classic.

And cult to classic is exactly the path that author Toby Benjamin has taken with a wonderful new coffee table book, picking apart the film in minute detail, getting under the skin of the cast and crew to find out why a self-proclaimed ‘comedy with no jokes’ has gone on to attain such fevered status.

My own love affair with the movie stretches back to not so long after its release.

At hazy, drunken sixth form house parties back in Doncaster in the early 90s, more often than not, amid the mess of beer cans and fag ends, someone at some stage would suggest sticking Withnail on.

Despite being non-plussed the first time I watched (possibly through too much snakebite) I stuck with it and revisited it sober. And that was the start of a lifelong love affair.

In the last 30 years or so, I’ve watched it countless times. I can pretty much recite the film line by line. I use Withnail quotes in every day conversation (just thoughts really, but I am published) and I’ve been to Monty’s cottage up in Cumbria, read all the books there are about Withnail and I've posed in the phone box (How dare you!)

If you are still none the wiser, the movie, directed by Bruce Robinson, is essentially a retelling of his life back in Camden in the 1960s.

Paul McGann plays the more level headed I (Marwood) to enthusiasts, while Grant delivers one of the great cinematic peformances of all time as the elegantly wasted, acerbic, flamboyant drunk that is Withnail.

Struggling with London life, the pair desert the capital for a ‘delightful weekend in the country’ – only to encounter surly locals, horrendous weather, a threatening poacher and in Marwood’s case, the aggressive sexual advances of Withnail's Uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths).

Toby’s new book, entitled Withnail And I: From Cult To Classic, is an immaculately researched and in-depth look into every facet of the movie.

There’s lengthy chats with Grant and McGann, plus other cast and crew – right down to the policeman, played by Tony Wise, whose only contribution to the entire movie was one line “Getinthebackofthevan!” – but still one of the funniest scenes and still much-quoted among us Withnail fanatics.

There are unseen shots from stills photographer Murray Close, a delve into the nostalgic soundtrack scored by David Dundas – and even if you think you know the film inside out, you’ll find yourself digging out stuff that you never knew before.

This really is absolutely essential reading for Withnail and I fans – and even if you’ve got no interest in randy bulls or dead chickens with bacon across their back, it gives a fascinating insight into a movie which was the launchpad for Grant’s stellar career since.

So, get yourself a can of lighter fluid, a glass of sherry or a pint of cider (with ice) and sit yourself down to enjoy this book. Just don’t stain it with the butter drips from crumpets.

• Withnail and I: From Cult to Classic, by Toby Benjamin is available now, published by Titan Books.