LOOK BACK IN ANGER Movie Review

When we speak of the “angry young man” period of British films in the 1950s and 1960s, we can include any number of movies, but we always include this one. John Osborne's searing play is the story of a grown man (Richard Burton) who's still a rebel without a cause, and who takes it out on his wife (Mary Ure), his mistress (Claire Bloom), and his friend (Gary Raymond). Burton is astounding as Jimmy Porter; the rage is as terrifying to us as it is to those around him, and we may be frightened while watching him because his fury seems both real and, in a way, justified. This may be one of those movies you've heard about so often or seen so many references to that you feel you don't actually need to see it. You'd be wrong. This was Tony Richardson's first film, and it's a powerhouse of a debut.

NEXT STOP … The Entertainer, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Room at the Top

1958 99m/B GB Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Mary Ure, Edith Evans, Gary Raymond; D: Tony Richardson; W: John Osborne; C: Oswald Morris; M: John Addison. VHS, LV