Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51917 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-04-07
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Black & White, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 85 minutes

Special Features
1.66 Wide Screen
English
Region 2

Synopsis
Set in the gray industrial town of Nottingham, Alan Sillitoe's novel SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING, with all of its bleak realism, is successfully adapted to the screen with a powerful performance by Albert Finney in his first starring role. Director Karel Reisz draws on his work in documentaries to give the film a sharp eye for the look and feel of northern England. Arthur Seaton (Albert Finney) is an young man trapped in a mindless factory job, intrinsically rebelling, but without any focus to his anger. He spends his Saturday nights getting drunk and his Sunday mornings fishing. His affair with a married neighbor, Brenda (Rachel Roberts), seems to please him only for its risky illicitness. Their love scenes are controversial for the palpable expression of real sexual pleasure that Roberts shows in the role of an ordinary English housewife, and because of the fact that she receives, from a handsome younger man, the sexual fulfillment that her husband can not provide.
SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING, with it's mix of contemporary alienation, a fantastic jazz score, and a realistic atmosphere, resonates with Finney's charm and unexplainable rage at the world.

Customer Reviews

Saturday Night And Sunday Morning [1960]
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.

Part of the New Wave British Cinema
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.

Saturday night & Sunday morning.
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.