Room at the Top

Synopsis

Joe Lampton (Laurence Harvey), a young working-class man who craves social and professional advancement, moves to the wealthy Yorkshire town of Warnley to take up a job with the local council. There, he meets Susan, the daughter of powerful local industrialist Mr. Brown. Quick to realise Susan’s potential value, Joe pursues her and, against the wishes of her father, they begin seeing one another. But Joe has fallen in love with Alice (Simone Signoret) - an older, unhappily married French woman. Inevitably, their intense affair does not remain a secret; when Susan becomes pregnant, Joe is finally forced to choose between the two women - and the opposing worlds that they represent.

Set in the socially restrictive climate of 1950s Yorkshire, Jack Clayton’s Room at the Top was groundbreaking cinema. Heralding the ‘new wave’ of British realist filmmaking, the film boldly explored sexual attitudes and the boundaries of class and wealth within small-town England. A huge - and unexpected - box-office hit, the film scored six Oscar nominations (including two wins - one for Best Writing and one for Simone Signoret as Best Actress) and seven BAFTA nominations (including wins for Best British Film, Best Film from Any Source and Best Foreign Actress - again for Signoret’s blistering performance as Alice).

Special Features:

[] brand new transfer from the original 35mm film elements
[] Audio commentary with and commemorative booklet by noted film historian and writer Neil Sinyard
[] Image Gallery
[] Jack Clayton’s press cuttings scrapbook (PDF)

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Year of release

1959

Subjects

Literature

Keywords

social class; Yorkshire

Credits

Director

Jack Clayton

Writer

John Braine

Cast

Donald Wolfit
Laurence Harvey
Simone Signoret

Distribution Formats

Type

DVD

Format

Region 2 PAL

Price

£14.67

Availability

Sale

Duration/Size

112 minutes

Year

2009

Distributor

Name

Network

Email

shop@networkonair.com

Web

http://networkonair.com/ External site opens in new window

Phone

01992 657707

Address

19-20 Blythe Road
Berghem Mews
Hammersmith
London
W14 0HN

Notes

Founded in 1997, Network specialises in distributing niche television programmes, predominantly licensed from Granada Ventures and Fremantle. They have recently branched into feature film distribution. Sale via retail outlets or direct via Network’s website, which has some’web exclusive’ offers.

 

Available from retail outlets