Four Angry Young Men
A FREE film series

Dates: Saturdays, November 14 and 21, 2009
Location: Getty Center, Harold M. Williams Auditorium
Admission: Free; a separate reservation is required for each film.

Like Irving Penn's photographs of dignified workers on view in the exhibition Irving Penn: Small Trades, a movement in the 1950s called the British New Wave gave the common person visibility. These films popularized the ideas of "angry young men," developed by British authors such as John Osborne whose works championed the lower classes and critiqued the wealthy. The films are gritty and beautiful as were their blazing new stars: Albert Finney, Richard Harris, Tom Courtenay, and Richard Burton.

		Look Back in Anger: November 14, 4:00 p.m.
		Saturday Night and Sunday Morning: November 14, 7:00 p.m.
		This Sporting Life: November 21, 4:00 p.m
		The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner: November 21, 7:00 p.m.

Look Back in Anger

Saturday, November 14, 4:00 p.m.
(1959, 98 min., 35 mm, not rated)
Directed by Tony Richards



Produced in 1956, John Osborne's play, with its blunt, realistic look at the everyday life of a university-educated man living a lower-class existence, shocked West End theatergoers used to Noël Coward.

Brought to screen with Richard Burton in the lead role, the film maintains the anger, ruthlessness, and raw energy of the play while creating what some film critics claim was the pinnacle of British New Wave Cinema.

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

Saturday, November 14, 7:00 p.m.
(1961, 89 min., 35mm, not rated)
Directed by Karel Reisz



Uttering the iconic angry young man line, "Whatever they say I am, that's what I'm not," Albert Finney created one of the most memorable characters in British film history, Arthur Seaton—factory worker, disillusioned youth, working-class sex symbol, rebellious pleasure seeker.

With Reisz's direction and Finney's breakthrough performance, the film would come to epitomize the social concerns of post-World War II Britain as it edged into the swinging '60s.

This Sporting Life

Saturday, November 21, 4:00 p.m.
(1963, 134 min., 35mm, not rated)
Directed by Lindsay Anderson



In a dramatic contrast to some of his later great roles (Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series, for instance!), here a young Richard Harris shines as a poor Yorkshire miner turned hopeful rugby star.

In this gritty and beautiful work, director Anderson created not only a fine essay on working-class angst, but also a film that looked new and different thanks to unusual editing, riveting cinematography, and a haunting score.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

Saturday, November 21, 7:00 p.m.
(1962, 104 min., 35 mm, not rated)
Directed by Tony Richardson



Colin (Tom Courtenay) is determined not to follow in his father's footsteps and become a miner. He resorts to petty crimes until he gets caught and sent to a reform school. There he meets his dopplegänger, the headmaster (Michael Redgrave), who seeks to exploit the young man's talent of running to both "help" the lad and bring a bit of glory to the school.

The desires of the two men create the atmosphere indicative of the "kitchen sink" drama, which—at its best, as here—brought the British class system to its knees.

How to Get Here
The Getty Center is located at 1200 Getty Center Drive in Los Angeles, California, approximately 12 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. See Hours, Directions, Parking for maps and driving directions.