The Angry Young Men of British Cinema

Class, fury, and the impossibility of escape

The British New Wave of the late 50s and 60s gave voice to the generation that inherited postwar austerity. Angry, specific, unpolished, and more relevant now than when they were made.

Drama 1960s
10
Movies
6
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Created: February 23, 2026

The Collection

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

1960
1
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
1960
1
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
IMDb 7.5 / 10
Director Karel Reisz
Cast Albert Finney, Shirley Anne Field, Rachel Roberts
Why Karel Reisz films Albert Finney's Nottingham factory worker. The film founded the British New Wave;…
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

1962
2
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
1962
2
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
IMDb 7.5 / 10
Director Tony Richardson
Cast Michael Redgrave, Tom Courtenay, Avis Bunnage
Why Tony Richardson films Tom Courtenay's borstal boy. The film is the genre's most cinematic: the run …
Room at the Top

Room at the Top

1958
3
Room at the Top
1958
3
Room at the Top
IMDb 7.2 / 10
Director Jack Clayton
Cast Laurence Harvey, Simone Signoret, Heather Sears
Why Jack Clayton films John Braine's adaptation: Laurence Harvey's clerk climbing into a Yorkshire indu…
Look Back in Anger

Look Back in Anger

1959
4
Look Back in Anger
1959
4
Look Back in Anger
IMDb 7.0 / 10
Director Tony Richardson
Cast Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Mary Ure
Why Tony Richardson films John Osborne's adaptation: Richard Burton's Jimmy Porter as the genre's names…
A Kind of Loving

A Kind of Loving

1962
5
A Kind of Loving
1962
5
A Kind of Loving
IMDb 7.3 / 10
Director John Schlesinger
Cast Alan Bates, June Ritchie, Thora Hird
Box Office $6,912
Why John Schlesinger films Alan Bates as a Lancashire draftsman trapped in a marriage. The film is the …
Billy Liar

Billy Liar

1963
6
Billy Liar
1963
6
Billy Liar
IMDb 7.2 / 10
Director John Schlesinger
Cast Tom Courtenay, Julie Christie, Wilfred Pickles
Box Office $35,609
Why John Schlesinger films Tom Courtenay's Bradford undertaker's clerk inventing his entire life. The f…
This Sporting Life

This Sporting Life

1963
7
This Sporting Life
1963
7
This Sporting Life
IMDb 7.5 / 10
Director Lindsay Anderson
Cast Richard Harris, Rachel Roberts, Alan Badel
Why Lindsay Anderson films David Storey's rugby league novel as Richard Harris' rage. The film is the g…
Kes

Kes

1970
8
Kes
1970
8
Kes
IMDb 7.9 / 10
Director Ken Loach
Cast David Bradley, Freddie Fletcher, Lynne Perrie
Why Ken Loach films a Yorkshire schoolboy and his kestrel. The film is the genre's most enduring image;…
The Producers

The Producers

1967
9
The Producers
1967
9
The Producers
IMDb 7.5 / 10
Director Mel Brooks
Cast Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Dick Shawn
Box Office $328,673
Why Listed here as the genre's spiritual American cousin from the same year: Mel Brooks's comedy of two…
Poor Cow

Poor Cow

1967
10
Poor Cow
1967
10
Poor Cow
IMDb 6.8 / 10
Director Ken Loach
Cast Carol White, Terence Stamp, John Bindon
Why Ken Loach films Carol White's young South London woman through two relationships. The film is Loach…

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