This film is part of Rentals
A Taste of Honey
Rita Tushingham delivers a BAFTA-winning performance as a resilient Salford schoolgirl making her way in the world in this classic of 1960s British cinema.
Director: Tony Richardson
Overview
Resilient working-class heroine Jo (Rita Tushingham) flees her uncaring single mother (Dora Bryan) and gets pregnant by a black sailor (Paul Danquah). She seeks solace from another social outsider, a meek gay textile student (Murray Melvin). A Taste of Honey was adapted by Shelagh Delaney from her first play, written while she was still in her teens.
If the then-daring subject matter suggests an issue-led drama urging moral tolerance, director Tony Richardson’s treatment is more a matter of poetic realism, highlighting sensitive changes of mood and emotion against a backdrop of grimly authentic Salford locations. Social attitudes may have moved on since 1961, but wide-eyed Rita Tushingham’s affecting central performance remains a delight.
Related
Girls Will Be Girls Girls Will Be Girls
Drama 2024 119 mins Director: Shuchi Talati
Teenage romance simmers in a strict Himalayan boarding school in this sublime coming-of-age tale. Winner of a 2024 Sundance audience award
The Goldman Case The Goldman Case
Drama 2023 116 mins Director: Cédric Kahn
Gripping courtroom drama based on the explosive 1976 murder trial of French political activist, Pierre Goldman.
In Camera In Camera
Drama 2024 95 mins Director: Naqqash Khalid
A struggling actor faces relentless knockbacks in Naqqash Khalid’s sharp-witted comment on race and identity in the film industry.
Kneecap Kneecap
Drama 2024 105 mins Director: Rich Peppiatt
Fantastically outlandish biopic about the anarchic Belfast rap trio and their fight to save the Irish language.
The Post The Post
Drama 2017 116 mins Director: Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed, gripping and timely drama about the publishing of the Pentagon Papers, featuring Tom Hanks and an Oscar-nominated performance from Meryl Streep.
Denial Denial
Drama 2017 110 mins Director: Mick Jackson
Powerful, aggressively relevant courtroom drama restaging the trial that questioned the events of the Holocaust. Rachel Weisz and Timothy Spall star.
Tom Jones Tom Jones
Comedy 1963 121 mins Director: Tony Richardson
Tony Richardson's raucous and innovative adaptation of Henry Fielding’s classic novel was the winner of four Academy Awards.
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
Drama 1961 89 mins Director: Karel Reisz
Albert Finney stars in the seminal film of the British New Wave and the 'angry young men' movement. A vivid portrait of a dissatisfied factory worker who embarks on an affair with an older, married woman.
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
Drama 1962 104 mins Director: Tony Richardson
A British New Wave classic, a passionate, explosive tale of rebellion with then newcomer, Tom Courtenay as a sullen, disillusioned delinquent.
The Entertainer The Entertainer
Drama 1960 103 mins Director: Tony Richardson
Tony Richardson's brilliantly caustic portrait of an ageing music-hall veteran, played by Laurence Olivier.
Girl with Green Eyes Girl with Green Eyes
Drama 1964 92 mins Director: Desmond Davis
Rita Tushingham plays the shy, naive girl who catches the eye of Peter Finch's middle-aged writer, in this effervescent adaptation of Edna O’Brien's best-selling novel.
Look Back in Anger Look Back in Anger
Drama 1959 100 mins Director: Tony Richardson
Richard Burton’s portrayal of the archetypal ‘angry young man’ sparked a new wave of 'kitchen-sink' drama and cinematic social realism.
Girl with Green Eyes Girl with Green Eyes
Drama 1964 92 mins Director: Desmond Davis
Rita Tushingham plays the shy, naive girl who catches the eye of Peter Finch's middle-aged writer, in this effervescent adaptation of Edna O’Brien's best-selling novel.
Timestalker Timestalker
Comedy 2024 89 mins Director: Alice Lowe
Alice Lowe's time-jumping fantasy rom-com is a colourful, darkly funny treat.
South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic
Documentary 1919 81 mins Silent Director: Frank Hurley
An extraordinary story of survival in the wastes of Antarctica.
Night Courier (Mandoob) Night Courier (Mandoob)
Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Ali Kalthami
A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthami’s gripping, pitch-black satire.
The Ballymurphy Precedent The Ballymurphy Precedent
Documentary 2018 108 mins Director: Callum Macrae
John Pilger's film on the conflict in Northern Ireland is a skilful mix of investigative journalism, documentary storytelling and reflections on contemporary history.
Utopia Utopia
Documentary 2013 111 mins Director: John Pilger and Alan Lowery
John Pilger's portrayal of the oldest continuous human culture is also an investigation into a suppressed colonial past, and rapacious present.
The Coming War on China The Coming War on China
Documentary 2016 113 mins Director: John Pilger
John Pilger’s prescient 60th film for ITV is both a warning and an inspiring story of resistance.