- Actors: Albert Finney, Shirley Anne Field, Rachel Roberts, Hylda Baker, Norman Rossington
- Directors: Karel Reisz
- Classification: 18
- Studio: Bfi
- VHS Release Date: 14 April 2003
- Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B000089AQY
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,408 in Video (See Top 100 in Video)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Karel Reisz's 1960 classic follows a dissatisfied factory worker Arthur Seaton (Albert Finney) through a difficult time in his life. It is the difficult transition from being an 'Angry Young Man' to a man who accepts the world around him. In his attempt to find satisfaction from his monotonous factory job, Arthur becomes involved with a married woman, Brenda (Rachel Roberts). The film follows their relationship in light of the rules and moral codes present in the late 50's and early 60's, it deals with issues of extra-marital sex and pregnancy. At the time this film was controversial and received a great deal of censorship before it was allowed to be released. The issues may seem dated today but were revolutionary at the time of its release.
The film explores deep concepts such as fatalism and leaves you feeling that life isn't yours to change. This very British film is a good example of 'British New Wave' or 'Brit Grit' cinema, sometimes referred to as 'kitchen sink' drama. However I feel that it is more than this; it is the mother of phrases such as "Don't let the bastards grind you down" and "What I want is a good time. All the rest is propaganda;" phrases that underpin the ethos of the film and make its star, Albert Finney' more than just a rebellious lout. His words sum up the feelings of disillusionment and disquiet of the time and make the film a must see for anyone with an interest in good old working-class British Cinema. The 1997 film 'Nil By Mouth' (Oldman) provides a modern outlook on similar themes. Both films are bleak with intentionally unsatisfactory endings. Definitely worth a look for the thoughtful.
Special Features
Something I did find disapppointing about the DVD itself is its lack of special features. It includes:
1.66 Wide Screen
English
Region 2
But there is nothing in terms of interview with the director or even any special footage of the making of the film. Still the film itself is worth a watch, even without the contextual stuff.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
It was this film which made Albert Finney a household name. He plays Arthur Seaton, a bored young man who works a tedious job in a bicycle factory in Nottingham. Drifting into an affair with a workmate's wife (Rachel Roberts) she becomes pregnant, and he struggles with responsibilities which he doesnt want. He then meets the lovely and shy Doreen (Shirley Anne Field) and embarks on an affair with her as well. At the end, he begins to realise that he has to grow up and face his responsibilities at last. Overall, this is a fine adult film which needs to be seen by a new generation of film buffs in order to understand the social climate which existed as the 1950s drew to a close. Many wonderful actors grace this film, Hylda Baker; Norman Rossington; and others. Although it seems rather dated now, the fine acting by all those concerned make this film what it is; a tribute to the working classes and their struggle to improve their quality of life during the austerity years after World War 2. Needs to be seen on DVD of course, which I understand is due to be released shortly. A tribute also to the New Wave British Cinema which emerged during the mid 1950s.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This film will really give the viewer a true taste of the time. It's slightly grubby outlook is truly of the period and portrays the working class exactly as they really were. The pubs & clubs, the boys and girls on a Saturday night, looking to put 40 hours of dirty, boring factory work behind them and hoping for a good time are very true and honest. The violence that is shown was always a feature of a night out in these times. A masterpiece of British Cinema not to be missed.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
THE BEST REMEMBERED OF THE 'KITCHEN SINK DRAMAS'!
'Saturday Night And Sunday Morning' has to be one of the all-time greats from the 1960s.
This movie is one of the best-remembered of the so-called 'Kitchen Sink Dramas'... Read more
This movie is one of the best-remembered of the so-called 'Kitchen Sink Dramas'... Read more
Published on 3 April 2010 by FAMOUS NAME
Powerful performances by all in a British classic
A Brilliant film and about as British as they come. Filmed entirely on location in the midlands (Nottingham) at the beginning of the 1960s it documents the life of Arthur Seaton... Read more
Published on 17 Aug 2008 by Trev's Travs
The best 60s British Realist Film
You can just feel the fifties about to burst upon the sixties. The pent up frustration is palpable, the pre-war back-to-back values having a fist-fight with the prospect of new... Read more
Published on 29 Nov 2007 by Peter Manning
An unexamined, somewhat empty life
Throughout the 1950s, a group of young British writers were referred to as "angry young men" because, in their novels and plays, they excoriated what they perceived to be the... Read more
Published on 26 Sep 2005 by Robert Morris
Ultimate example of British Free Cinema
Karel Reisz and Tony Richardson joined forces and created the most representative film about life in England’s industrial north of the 60’s. Read more
Published on 2 Feb 2004 by "myrubybaby"
Fantastic overlook on the sixties
Black and white film for sure, but it will teach you more about the beginning of the sixties in England than any boring history book. Read more
Published on 26 Dec 2003 by Savonarole
True and thourough
This film was made as it was. The factory and working life,living conditions and social life is just as there had been a camera strapped to the back of anyone who went throgh these... Read more
Published on 31 Oct 2003
The star of 'new wave British Cinema' - a classic
Saturday Night & Sunday Morning was a film i came across when studying film at college. I enjoyed the films that our teacher put on, but this film was a cut above the rest. Read more
Published on 6 Oct 2003 by Mr. Robert J. Williams
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