ALL IN GOOD SPORT
May 31, 2009Apparently, things were as rough on the set of Lindsay Anderson’s This Sporting Life as they were on-screen. In a new piece for the Guardian, written on the occasion of a theatrical rerelease . . .
Synopsis
One of the finest British films ever made, this benchmark of “kitchen-sink realism” follows the self-defeating professional and romantic pursuits of a miner turned rugby player eking out an existence in drab Yorkshire. With an astonishing, raging performance by a young Richard Harris, an equally blistering turn by fellow Oscar nominee Rachel Roberts as the widow with whom he lodges, and electrifying direction by Lindsay Anderson, in his feature-film debut following years of documentary work, This Sporting Life remains a dramatic powerhouse.
Cast
| Frank Machin | Richard Harris |
| Mrs. Hammond | Rachel Roberts |
| Weaver | Alan Badel |
| Johnson | William Hartnell |
| Maurice Braithwaite | Colin Blakely |
| Mrs. Weaver | Vanda Godsell |
| Judith | Anne Cunningham |
| Len Miller | Jack Watson |
| Slomer | Arthur Lowe |
| Wade | Harry Markham |
Credits
| Director | Lindsay Anderson |
| Based on the novel by | David Storey |
| Producer | Karel Reisz |
| Screenplay | David Storey |
| Cinematography | Denys Coop |
| Music | Roberto Gerhard |
| Conducted by | Jacques-Louis Monod |
| Art direction | Alan Withy |
| Editing | Peter Taylor |
Disc Features
SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET:
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- Audio commentary featuring Paul Ryan, editor of Never Apologise: The Collected Writings of Lindsay Anderson, and David Storey, screenwriter and author of This Sporting Life
- Theatrical trailer
- Lindsay Anderson: Lucky Man? (2004), a short documentary from BBC Scotland featuring interviews with many of the director’s friends and collaborators
- New video interview with Anderson’s first producer and close friend Lois Sutcliffe Smith
- Meet the Pioneers (1948), Anderson’s first film, a documentary short about a mining engineering firm
- Wakefield Express (1952), an early documentary by Anderson about the town that later served as the setting for This Sporting Life
- Is That All There Is? (1992), Anderson’s autobiographical final film
- PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by film scholar Neil Sinyard and an article by Anderson from 1963
From the Current
This Sporting Life: The Lonely Heart
by Jan 21, 2008Midway through David Storey’s novel This Sporting Life, published in 1960, the widow Mrs. Hammond tells the hero that her relationship with him is making her feel “dirty.” “I . . .
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