Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2326 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-08-18
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 114 minutes

Synopsis
Tired of her comfortable life in Chelsea, Polly (Suzy Kendall, To Sir With Love) decides to go 'slumming' in Battersea to see how the other half lives. She soon settles into her new digs, gets a job at a factory, and makes some friends. When one of those friends accidentally falls pregnant, Polly is awakened to the reality that abortion is illegal and can only be gotten through shady back-street dealings. Controversial at the time of its release due to the uncomfortable subject matter, Up the Junction presents a gritty, unappealing view of working class life in Britain, and calls to mind such kitchen sink dramas as Mike Leigh's Vera Drake and Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. Based on the novel of the same name by Nell Dunn.

Customer Reviews

Finally, the movie to match the Soundtrack...
...and what a revelation! This is one of those films that we all should know but has until now remained elusive, only really being somewhat familiar through Manfred Mann's excellent soundrack (or an old beat up paperback of the novel perhaps). As good as the music has always been the film bursts with beauty, marrying the visuals with the sound so much better that expected. Suzy Kendall is mesmerizing. The photography is brilliantly detailed, almost unbelievably colorful for such potentially dour content and the closeups are amongst the best I have ever seen. In addition the film allows Adrienne Posta to actually have more of a role than I had seen her in previously, Liz Frazer doesn't play the bimbo (entirely), we get Ringo's aunt from Magical Mystery Tour Jessie Robins and a brief but scintillating cameo from a very young Susan George. The rest of the cast are very good and it is fun to see the very likable Dennis Waterman in his first role. Suzy Kendall is so good in this, I can't believe I seemed to have missed her in To Sir with Love even though I've seen it several times. Now that we also have the fantastic Privilege on dvd, if we can get Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush and Work is a Four Letter Word released we can really celebrate! Jean Shrimpton, Judy Geeson and Angela Scoular - the UK in the 60's had an embarrassment of riches.

RELEASED ON DVD BY PARAMOUNT AT LAST!
This truly enjoyable and nostalgic swinging 60's classic is here on DVD in a superb transfer! The score by Manfred Mann sounds very good, which is essential as it helps tell the story. I bet Suzy Kendall, Dennis Waterman, Maureen Lipman and a few other soon-to-be-famous stars never had so much fun making a movie. A work of art.

Truely Classic 1960's Production
A priviledged Chelsea girl, Suzy Kendall, crosses the river to Wandsworth to mix in with the local working-class people in order that she can escape what she believes is her drab and stuffy life. She has the family chauffeur drop her off on the far side of Battersea Bridge and she sets off to land herself a job on the production line of a local sweet factory. Soon, she is accepted by her colleagues and finds herself a room to lodge in. Buying furniture for her place, she meets a local boy (Dennis Waterman). She has a rude awakening when she comes to experience the seemy side of British working class life from which her boyfriend is so desparate to escape and leave behind.

I think that this adaption from the Nell Dunn story is a true classic of sixties British cinema. There are crisp, vibrant colours and a fantastic sound-track from Manfred Mann that is very reminiscent of the sound of Crosby, Stills & Nash that was still to come. There are also some fine character performances from the likes of Maureen Lipman and Adrienne Posta. The subject matter is very contemporary as abortion was only just being de-criminalised at the time

I've just bought this film on DVD, having previously being conned into buying a pirated copy on E-bay (out of desparation at its non-availability). The picture is a revalation (full wide-screen) and the sound is very good. Unfortunately, there are no extras. I would have thought Dennis Waterman, with all his exposure on tv in recent years, could have at least been given the opportunity of providing an audio commentary, but I'm not complaining.