SYNOPSICS
A Taste of Honey (1961) is a English movie. Tony Richardson has directed this movie. Rita Tushingham,Dora Bryan,Robert Stephens,Murray Melvin are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1961. A Taste of Honey (1961) is considered one of the best Drama movie in India and around the world.
Black and white, gay and straight, mothers and daughters, class, and coming of age. Jo is working class, in her teens, living with her drunk and libidinous mother in northern England. When mom marries impulsively, Jo is out on the streets; she and Geoffrey, a gay co worker who's adrift himself, find a room together. Then Jo finds herself pregnant after a one night stand with Jimmy, a Black sailor. Geoffrey takes over the preparations for the baby's birth, and becomes, in effect, the child's father. The three of them seem to have things sorted out when Jo's mother reappears on the scene, assertive and domineering. Which "family" will emerge?
Same Actors
Same Director
A Taste of Honey (1961) Reviews
Landmark British Classic !
I first watched this film when I was about 14 years old sat at home with my mam and dad and I was absolutely riveted. Ever since then I have kept an eye out for it in the TV listings but never spotted it until now !...they have finally released it on DVD and it was worth the wait. The black and white photography is stunning, painting a grey stark picture of life in the poverty stricken back streets of Salford and Eccles in the late 50's and early 60's. I grew up around most of the locations, many of the streets are now bulldozed and many of the historical landmarks are now set against different backdrops...maybe not as grim, but in my opinion not as interesting or compelling. The theme of the film is warm and loving giving a realistic picture of people in the area at that time..friendly, caring, enjoying life when they can as life could be hard, poor housing, low wages the dirt and grime of living and working in the post war northern inner city. Barton Swing Bridge and the Manchester Liners Shipping Company, Old Trafford Football Ground - complete with floodlight pylons, the atmosphere of a back street boozer and Blackpools brightly lit amusements are seen in all their grim Majesty. The acting is tremendous,Dora Bryan superbly cast as the selfish mother...she should have gone on to stronger roles after this performance. Rita Tushingham the gawky teenager full of youthful wonder of her harsh world and Murray Melvin as the young adolescent battling with his sexuality and feelings for the enchanting Tushingham. It really is a must see for anyone interested in this genre or who lives or has worked around Manchester. It shows the hope and warmth of people who have nothing, who only maybe aspire to a simple life...but who have had a Taste Of Honey.......
Film Retains is Power
Shelagh Delaney's screenplay for "A Taste of Honey," based on her play of the same name, remains a moving period drama. Beautifully directed by Tony Richardson, this film evokes all the stark realism of the famed English "New Wave/kitchen sink" dramas (made popular by John Osborne) of the late 50s/early 60s. Rita Tushingham is striking as an working-class adolescent girl, growing into maturity--first through her pregnancy by a young sailor, played by Paul Danquah, and then by her association with a sensitive man, played by Murray Melvin. Dora Bryan is impressive Tushingham's mom. The sparse photography, sets and score, all combine to make an unforgettable statement.
A poignant, delicately powerful gem of a movie!
This offbeat film is funny, tragic, and all the stops in between...and if Rita Tushingham, as the teenaged heroine "Jo", is the movie's heart, its soul is Murray Melvin, whose subtle but searing performance as her friend "Geoff" is one of the greatest on film (it deservedly won him the Cannes Film Festival's "Palme d'Or"). Most of the musical score may sound odd to American ears (I believe it reflects the instrumental music that actually accompanied the stage play from which this film is adapted), but the chorus of lilting children's voices, singing a traditional song, that is heard over the movie's opening and closing sequences, is extremely effective.
Favourable comments of a favourite film.
Taste of Honey is evocative of life in Lancashire in the 1960's. The scenes of what were called the "Whit Walks" must bring back memories to many Lancashire folk, as must the scenes of England's most famous seaside resort; Blackpool. The film made Rita Tushingham a houshold name. Her portrayal of the the schoolgirl "done wrong" is second to none. Her large wide eyes show the fear and her innocence at the same time. Dora Bryan is magnificent as the "couldn't-care-less" mother who's quest for a good time is at the expense of all others. The film is well worth a watch, particularly if you are a fan of British films of the 60's. Watch out for a continuity gaff in the scenes on the pier!
A haunting masterpiece with sharp and true dialogue.
The 1960's brought about many of my favourite films about the English working class experience: The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner; Saturday Night, Sunday Morning; This Sporting Life and - naturally - Kes. Coming from the North and being around - just - during the sixties helps naturally. I dislike the term "kitchen sink" because it puts too many people off a film that while bleak remains so true it almost hurts. There isn't a word, phrase or scene in this movie that I don't believe and remember: I was there, although not in Salford! A dimly lit world of booze, cups of tea, canals, seaside trips, bonfires, repressed emotions, unprotected sex (and what follows) and the limits and cheap thrills of the Northern English working class. In 1961 this must have looked like the start of a new age of film. Real stories about real life. Almost a docu-drama in the modern parlance. However it never really happened. Why? Because there is more skill required than you might imagine and even this verges on going over the top. You could say it is tries to tick too many boxes. And isn't really true drama because it stops at a point in which so many threads remain loose. (I suppose you could say it ends with the characters facing up to the realities that they have been so long running away from - but will they actually achieve it?) Star of the show is Rita Tushington who never went on to do much with her career after being given the part of a lifetime to start it all off. Murray Melvin is also good as the homosexual boyfriend who wants to help out - although maybe in a misguided way. A Taste of Honey has its limits and you could attack it for being snobbish. It is an artistic product born of the middle class - but it remains utterly true in a way that is mostly absent in cinema today.