Rita, Sue and Bob Too | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Alan Clarke |
Screenplay by | Andrea Dunbar |
Based on | Rita, Sue and Bob Too and The Arbour by Andrea Dunbar |
Produced by | Oscar Lewenstein Sanford Lieberson |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Ivan Strasburg |
Edited by | Steve Singleton |
Music by | Michael Kamen |
Production companies | British Screen Umbrella Entertainment |
Distributed by | Channel 4 |
Release date |
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Running time | 89 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | £993,000[1] |
Rita, Sue and Bob Too is a 1987 British comedy-drama film directed by Alan Clarke and starring Michelle Holmes, Siobhan Finneran, George Costigan, and Lesley Sharp. Set in Bradford, West Yorkshire, the film is about two teenage schoolgirls who have a sexual affair with and are seduced by a married man.[2] It was written by Andrea Dunbar, who adapted the film from two of her stage plays: Rita Sue and Bob Too (1982) and The Arbour (1980),[3] which were first performed at the Royal Court Theatre in London. The plays were loosely based on Dunbar's experiences growing up in the council housing at Buttershaw.[4]
The strapline of the film was "Thatcher's Britain with her knickers down."[3] It received a divisive reaction at the time of its release, but over time the film has become a cult hit for its depiction of working class life in Britain during the 1980s. In 2017, Rita, Sue and Bob Too was given a digital restoration by the British Film Institute.