British New Wave

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British New Wave refers to a film style that emerged from films by young British directors from the late 1950s to the early mid 1960s. The films were made around the same time as the French Nouvelle Vague , and British film critics named these new English films by analogy with the literal translation of the term from French. The films, successor products of the documentary film movement known under the catchphrase Free Cinema , are influenced by the movement of young writers who called themselves Angry Young Men , and so there were, as inevitably, some literary adaptations of works by these authors.

The main theme of the films is the life of the working class in northern England . The films are mostly shot in black and white and strive for an almost documentary realism, which was also called Kitchen sink realism . For the first time in British cultural history, the writers and filmmakers gave voice to ordinary people and told everyday dramas. The era lasted until around 1964/1965 when light comedies and action films such as the James Bond films began to dominate British cinema.

Important directors of the New Wave

Important actors of the New Wave

Important New Wave Films