Directed by Tony Richardson • 1959 • United Kingdom
Starring Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Mary Ure
Based on the smash-hit play by John Osborne that inaugurated Britain’s “angry young men” literary movement, this touchstone of the British New Wave features a searing performance from Richard Burton as Jimmy Porter, a university graduate and the husband of a woman of some means, who has rejected middle-class dreams and now operates a candy stall at the local flea market. During their two year marriage, Alison (Mary Ure) has carried the full brunt of Jimmy’s anger and frustration, as well as his intense love. When Alison’s friend Helena Charles (Claire Bloom), an actress, moves in with the couple, she becomes a witness to their turbulent relationship and a catalyst for further unrest within the household.
Up Next in British New Wave
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Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
Directed by Karel Reisz • 1960 • United Kingdom
Starring Albert Finney, Shirley Anne Field, Rachel RobertsAdapted by Alan Sillitoe from his own influential debut novel, this quintessential kitchen-sink drama was one of the first films to give voice to the discontent of Britain’s working class. ...
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The Entertainer
Directed by Tony Richardson • 1960 • United Kingdom
Starring Laurence Olivier, Brenda de Banzie, Roger Livesey“Life is a beastly mess,” states the great Laurence Olivier in this superb drama of the seedy music-hall life. He plays Archie Rice, a third-rate vaudevillian whose song-and-dance ro...
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A Taste of Honey
Directed by Tony Richardson • 1961 • United Kingdom
Starring Rita Tushingham, Murray Melvin, Paul DanquahThe revolutionary British New Wave films of the early 1960s were celebrated for their uncompromising depictions of working-class lives and relations between the sexes. Directed by Tony Richa...
