Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
1960

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

★ 7.5 / 10
IMDb
Directed by Karel Reisz
Synopsis

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning follows Arthur Seaton, a young, defiant factory worker in Nottingham who spends his wages on drinking and affairs, raging against the mundane constraints of working-class life. Starring Albert Finney in a career-defining performance, the film captures the raw energy and disillusionment of postwar British youth. A landmark of the British New Wave and Kitchen Sink realism, it remains a powerful portrait of rebellion, desire, and the struggle for individual identity.

Did You Know?
  • Albert Finney's breakthrough role made him an overnight star.
  • Filmed on location in Nottingham's actual working-class neighborhoods.
  • Karel Reisz's feature directorial debut became a classic.
  • Based on Alan Sillitoe's semi-autobiographical 1958 novel.
  • Budget was only £116,000 yet became a box office hit.
Iconic Quotes
  • What I'm out for is a good time. All the rest is propaganda.
  • Don't let the bastards grind you down. That's one thing you learn.
  • I'm me and nobody else, and whatever people think I am, that's what I'm not.
  • I'm a machine. A big machine. And I'm only just getting warmed up.
  • Life is made of meetings and partings. That's the way of it.
Editorial

Why Eltorama recommends this film

Karel Reisz films Albert Finney's Nottingham factory worker. The film founded the British New Wave; the anger is the working week.
Finney's angry young factory hand embodied the British New Wave — working-class life shot with grit, appetite and defiance instead of pity.