Saturday Night and Sunday Morning · reception & legacy
1960 · Karel Reisz
How Saturday Night and Sunday Morning has been received, argued over, and remembered.
The arc
A smash hit on release — X-rated, BAFTA-garlanded, and one of the biggest British box-office draws of its year — it's since settled into history as the definitive kitchen-sink film, the one that proved working-class life could carry a British picture.
What's debated
The perennial fan debate is whether Arthur Seaton is an anti-establishment hero or just a self-serving heel — and whether the film endorses him or quietly indicts him.
Its footprint
Arthur's snarl 'Whatever people say I am, that's what I'm not' was lifted by Arctic Monkeys as the title of their record-breaking 2006 debut album, giving the film a whole second life among music fans; 'All the rest is propaganda' still gets quoted too.
Where it stands
A cornerstone of the British New Wave — required viewing for anyone tracing the line from Free Cinema to Ken Loach, and a perennial 'best British film' list-maker.