This Sporting Life (1963)
Average Rating: 8.3/10
Reviews Counted: 16
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 0
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 7.2/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 0
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 1,757
My Rating
Movie Info
Adapted by David Storey from his own novel, This Sporting Life stars Richard Harris as Frank, an athletic coal miner who aspires to the greener pastures of professional rugby. Soon establishing himself as one of the most brutal and arrogant players in the business, Frank begins to amass a fortune. He also falls in love with his landlady, Mrs. Hammond (Rachel Roberts), who initially resists his advances. When she finally gives in, their relationship hinges on sex alone, as Frank practically begs
Jul 16, 1963 Limited
Jan 22, 2008
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Cast
-
Richard Harris
Frank Machin -
Rachel Roberts
Mrs. Hammond -
Alan Badel
Weaver -
William Hartnell
Johnson -
Colin Blakely
Maurice Braithwaite -
Vanda Godsell
Mrs. Weaver -
Arthur Lowe
Slomer -
Anne Cunningham
Judith -
Jack Watson
Len Miller -
Katherine Parr
Mrs. Farrer -
Peter Duguid
Doctor -
Wallas Eaton
Waiter -
Anthony Woodruff
Head Waiter -
Frank Windsor
Dentist -
John Gill
Cameron -
-
Leonard Rossiter
Phillips -
George Sewell
Jeff -
Tom Clegg
Gower -
Murray Evans
Hooker -
Michael Logan
Riley -
Harry Markham
Wade -
Lois Sutcliffe Smith
Interviewee -
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All Critics (16) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (17) | Rotten (0) | DVD (7)
The film is raw and confident, but it's a little shallow, too.
Top CriticLindsay Anderson, making his debut as a feature director, brings the keen, observant eye of a documentary man to many vivid episodes without sacrificing the story line.
A reminder that something really was stirring in those days of the British New Wave before it frittered itself away.
It's impossible not to appreciate the remarkable performances (both Harris and Roberts were nominated for Oscars) or the realistic rugby scenes that earned Harris a broken leg.
Probably the best crafted of the British 'kitchen sink' movies.
This Sporting Life exhibits astonishing vigour and a fierce engagement with life, but the bitter poetry is all its own.
I can't think of a sport movie that is better photographed. The black and white cinematography is gorgeously stark, the perfect medium for this bleakly unforgiving tale.
This Sporting Life shrewdly anticipates modern Britain: a dour, yet thrilling and exhilarating film.
I'm tempted to see it as one of the strongest films of that period, every frame of which pulsates with drama, class confusion and erotic force.
From its virtuoso opening shot of a rugby scrum -- from the bottom, looking up -- to its final emotionally draining moments, This Sporting Life is a captivating, visceral film experience.
"You'll be what you are, self-reliant." A ringing quote that defines a film, a movement, a director, and a tremendous DVD set.
This Sporting Life is a quintessential entrant in Britain's kitchen-sink realism of the late-'50s and '60s.
It's about rugby league, beer, grit and tough lads, but it's also a profound commment on relationships loaded with symbolism and rich in emotion.
Audience Reviews for This Sporting Life
Super Reviewer
Frank Machin (Richard Harris) is a brutal, young miner in a city in northern England. Hoping for fame and fortune, he becomes a successful Rugby League football player. He uses his fame and fortune, along with physical violence, to try to force his widowed landlady (Rachel Roberts) to fall for him.
Photographed in bleak black-and-white, the film's scenes of emotional and physical domestic violence are still shocking today. Also notable are the violent, stylishly-shot rugby matches.
The cast are brilliant without exception, especially Richard Harris who manages to invest even his totally unsympathetic character with some degree of humanity.
Super Reviewer
Discussion Forum
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Foreign Titles
- Lockender lorbeer (DE)
- This Sporting Life (1963) (UK)
