of Apple Corps, Neil Aspinall has a cameo role as a soldier. During his stay in Almería, Lennon had rented a villa called Santa Isabel that he and wife Cynthia Lennon shared with both his co-star Michael Crawford and his then wife, Gabrielle Lewis. The villa's wrought-iron gates and surrounding lush vegetation bore a resemblance to Strawberry Field, a Salvation Army garden near Lennon's childhood home; it was this observation that inspired Lennon to write "Strawberry Fields Forever" while filming. The villa was later turned into the House of Cinema, a museum dedicated to the history of movie production in Almería province. A Spanish film, Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed (2013), revolves around the filming in Almería. From 28 to 29 December 1966, Lennon recorded all post-synchronisation work for his character at Twickenham Film Studios in London, England. Release The film's release was delayed by six months as Richard Lester went on to work on Petulia (1968) shortly after completing How I Won the War. Reception The film holds a "rotten" 54% rating at the film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, receiving 6 negative reviews out of 13. In his review for the film, Roger Ebert gave the movie two stars, describing it as "not a brave or outspoken film". John Simon called it "pretentious tomfoolery" and Monthly Film Bulletin felt "that Lester has bitten off more than he can chew". Stanley Kauffmann of The New Republic described How I Won the War as "the most ruthless mockery of the killer instinct and of patriotism that has ever reached the screen". References External links Feature at Britmovie 1967 films British satirical films British political satire films British black comedy films British World War II films Military humor in film 1960s black comedy films Anti-war comedy films British avant-garde and experimental films Films directed by Richard Lester Films set in 1939 Films set in 1942 Films set in 1945 Films set in Germany Films shot in Almería Films shot in Germany 1960s political films 1967 war films Films based on British novels 1967 comedy films 1967 drama films North African campaign films Western Front of World War II films Films scored by Ken Thorne 1960s English-language films 1960s British films Films about the British Army