Un amour pas comme les autres

June Ritchie makes this story work. She gives an unaffected portrayal of a young woman needing to overcome her vulnerability with a combination of guile and passive aggression. It's the truest and most honest performance in the film. Bates is a star, Ritchie works a miracle. James bolam is quietly brilliant and. The supporting cast is of the salt of the earth type of genius available to directors at that time. I did not read the book but I feel the this movie version makes the task unnecessary.? What a great period of story telling this was. Bates was wonderful on film but on stage he was even more special. I was lucky to experience both. His hamlet. Though forgotten, was so pure, so honest, so sexy.

What a great time in my life, I was 14 when this film was being made in my home town of Bolton. I had already appeared as a non speaking actor in numerous TV plays and was then offered the part of a "milk boy" in this first class film. I'm still there today in the background carrying some crates of empty milk bottles to the milk truck about 40 minutes into the film. I remember the scene was filmed in Ancoats Manchester early on a Sunday morning late in the year,it was rainy and cold, but I loved every minute of it. Met and played football with the late Alan Bates between takes, those were the days, happy or what?. After all these years its still a film which I never miss on TV and I recently bought the DVD. If you get the chance to watch this 60@s classic ,do so, you won't be disappointed.

This is a wonderful exploration of a young man's misgivings about being attached. It explores issues of manhood and love with great sincerity and sensitivity. Alan Bates is at his best here and the whole cast hits the mark under a careful eye. I think it is optimistic in its depiction, but most of all honest. The language is impeccable. How can you go wrong with lines such as "I am your husband if you did but know it"? Whistle Down the Wind is another with Bates in top form. Worth a look.

This film reflects on how social and economic pressures impact on sexuality and relationships. Class, politics, working life, changing attitudes about gender and marriage, and even scarcity of cheap housing are all referred to or explored. Against the wider social backdrop the character of Ingrid's mother represents repression and rigidity to a large degree, although even she is shown with some saving graces. All the characters here are cast in shades of grey, all internally conflicted, all in a cauldron of social pressures. The film ends with the maturing of the main characters, and also with a note of hope. An excellent script, excellently directed and acted, and a brilliant evocation of another era.

Hormonal trainee draughtsman Alan Bates fancies nice-but-dim typist June Ritchie.Er,that's about it really.Formula kitchen sink plot,sub-sub John Osborne/John Braine characters.Sit and watch it in the 3/9d seats whilst stuffing your face with Smith's crisp(watch out for the little blue bag containing salt) and smoking your "Strand".Turn off your brain and put your hand on your girl friend's knee.Well,that's what I did in 1963,but after about 3 minutes screen time I realised I was watching something exceptional.Somehow John Schlesinger had turned this sow's ear into a beautifully observed,moving life-affirming work of art. As an entity this film is so much better than the sum of its parts. The plaintive brass band music adds immeasurably to the atmosphere. June Ritchie is heartbreaking as the naive Ingrid and Alan Bates gives what is arguably his best film performance. The exteriors are well-chosen,the photography elegaic. All the elements for a clichefest are present,but,dammit,it turns into a tour de force.