SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING

Review: Arthur Seaton is a hard-living but rebellious factory worker. At night he spends his time with Brenda, the wife of a fellow factory worker. He then meets Doreen and starts to settle and calm down.
Director: Karel Reisz
Actors: Albert Finney, Shirley Anne Field, Rachel Roberts, Bryan Pringle and Colin Blakely
Year: 1960
Genre: Art House, International, Classics, Drama and Romance
Conclusion: 5/5
Adapted from a novel by Alan Sillitoe. Albert Finney is brilliant especially with his comic timing. No one else could have done this role. He comes across both loathsome but somewhat lovable at the same time. His character may not always live by his words he quotes “What I want is a good time. The rest is all propaganda”. After this film Karel Reisz would later go on to direct the amazing The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981). Lovely to see a film actually set in Nottingham. It was very interesting to see and to look back on what the streets and the neighbourhood looked like then. It is the only film that I have seen that really depicts it and shows what it was really like back then. All of the factory scenes were filmed in the same factory that the author used to work at during the war. Apparently the censors were not happy with the scene of Arthur in bed with his mistress as the scene directly implies extra-marital sex, a first for British cinema. Diana Dors was offered the role of Brenda but declined. In 1961 this won three Bafta Awards. They were for Best British Actress (Rachel Roberts), Best British Film (Karel Reisz) and Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles (Albert Finney). At the beginning of 2013 the late Barry Norman produced a list in the Radio Times of the 50 Best British Films and this was one of the films listed. I enjoyed this film and was entertained all the way through.