A Taste of Honey
Directed by Tony Richardson • 1961 • United Kingdom
Starring Rita Tushingham, Murray Melvin, Paul Danquah
The revolutionary British New Wave films of the early 1960s were celebrated for their uncompromising depictions of working-class lives and relations between the sexes. Directed by Tony Richardson, a leading light of that movement, and based on one of the most controversial plays of its time, A TASTE OF HONEY stars Rita Tushingham, in a star-making debut role, as a disaffected teenager finding her way amid the economic desperation of industrial Manchester, and despite an absent, self-absorbed mother. With its unapologetic identification with social outcasts and its sensitive, modern approach to matters of sexuality and race, Richardson's classic is a still startling benchmark work of realism.
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A Taste of Honey
Directed by Tony Richardson • 1961 • United Kingdom
Starring Rita Tushingham, Murray Melvin, Paul DanquahThe revolutionary British New Wave films of the early 1960s were celebrated for their uncompromising depictions of working-class lives and relations between the sexes. Directed by Tony Richa...
Extras
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Tony Richardson on A TASTE OF HONEY
This audio interview with screenwriter and director Tony Richardson is presented with film clips and behind-the-scenes images. The interview, conducted by critic Gideon Bachmann at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival, covers the state of British cinema, Richardson’s filmmaking methods, and what drew hi...
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Murray Melvin on A TASTE OF HONEY
Murray Melvin’s performance as Geoffrey in A TASTE OF HONEY brought him international acclaim, including the award for best actor at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival. In this interview, recorded in London in May 2016, Melvin (who also originated his role in the play) discusses the film’s production.
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Rita Tushingham on A TASTE OF HONEY
Rita Tushingham’s performance as Jo in A TASTE OF HONEY brought her international acclaim, including the award for best actress at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival. In this interview, recorded in London in May 2016, Tushingham discusses the film’s production.
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Remaking British Theater
Shelagh Delaney’s play “A Taste of Honey” was first produced by Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop in London in 1958. In this interview, recorded in London in May 2016, theater scholar Kate Dorney discusses the groundbreaking production and its enduring influence.
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Shelagh Delaney on A TASTE OF HONEY
In this interview excerpt, playwright Shelagh Delaney discusses growing up in Salford, England, and writing her hit play “A Taste of Honey” at the age of eighteen. The interview aired in 1960 on the television series “Close-Up.”
