This Sporting Life (1963)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Lindsay Anderson

Writers:

David Storey (novel)
David Storey (screenplay)

Release Date:

January 1963 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Plot:

In Northern England in the early 1960s, Frank Machin is mean, tough and ambitious enough to become an...

Plot Keywords:

Rugby League | Coal Miner | Tough Guy | Self Destruction | Kitchen Sink Realism

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Richard Harris	...	Frank Machin
Rachel Roberts	...	Mrs. Margaret Hammond
Alan Badel	...	Gerald Weaver
William Hartnell	...	'Dad' Johnson
Colin Blakely	...	Maurice Braithwaite
Vanda Godsell	...	Mrs. Anne Weaver
Anne Cunningham	...	Judith
Jack Watson	...	Len Miller
Arthur Lowe	...	Charles Slomer
Harry Markham	...	Wade
George Sewell	...	Jeff
Leonard Rossiter	...	Phillips, Sports writer
Katherine Parr	...	Mrs. Farrer
Bernadette Benson	...	Lynda Hammond
Andrew Nolan	...	Ian Hammond

Runtime:

134 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:15 (video rating) | UK:AA (re-rating) (1970) | UK:X (original rating) | UK:12A (2009) | Finland:K-16 | West Germany:16 (bw)

Filming Locations:

Bolton Priory, Bolton Abbey, North Yorkshire, England, UK

Company:

Independent Artists

Trivia:

When Richard Harris is roughed up behind the scrum, rugby league legend Derek Turner, who was playing the character who punches him, was asked by the director to make the contact look real. So he did. He punched Harris for real and knocked him out completely, shooting for the day had to be stopped while Harris recovered.

Quotes:

Frank Machin: [to scantily clad nightclub singer] Eh love, show us your personality!

Movie Connections:

Featured in 50 Films to See Before You Die (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Here In My Heart

Down to earth and brilliant

Having seen the film several times I can relate to the lifestyle of the characters, I was a child in the sixties and my memories of life back then are reflected in the atmostsphere that the film generates.

I have read various comments about the film looking dated, and yes it does, but it is a true reflection on life at that time.

It is also a great historical piece as many of the towns and sports arena's used in the film have changed drastically or no longer exist.

I particularly remember the MECCA social club in Wakefield and the various coffee bars that surrounded it, Belle Vue where the Rugby League scenes were shot has stayed remarkably unchanged over the years and I still enjoy the atmostsphere as I watch my favourite team Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.

To see the massive cooling towers in the background stirs memories of being there on a Saturday afternoon with my late Father Norman.

I have a real soft spot for this film and I'm sorry that I have concentrated on my memories rather than the films content.