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"Don’t let the bastards grind you down" became the clarion call for a generation of angry young men who embraced this seminal work of the British New Wave. Based on a novel by Alan Sillitoe, the film stars Albert Finney as a defiant factory worker rallying against an oppressive class structure in 1950s Nottingham. When his reckless romantic pursuits get him into trouble, he must choose between his boisterous carousing and a more conventional life. Director Karel Reisz (who passed away last year) uses documentary-style realism to chronicle everyday life in industrial Britain and intimate close-ups to offer privileged access to the human sentiment beneath these harsh exteriors.
Part of film series
Screenings from this program
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Cinema A–Z: Treasures from the Harvard ...
The Last Laugh
Directed by F.W. Murnau, 1924
Live Piano Accompaniment by Yakov GubanovScreening on Film
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Cinema A–Z: Treasures from the Harvard ...
The Last Command
Directed by Josef von Sternberg, 1928
Live Piano Accompaniment by Yakov GubanovScreening on Film
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Cinema A–Z: Treasures from the Harvard ...
Trailers, Trailers, Trailers
Introduction by HFA Conservator Julie BuckScreening on Film
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