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This Sporting Life (1963)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
January 1963 (UK)
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Plot:
In Northern England in the early 1960s, Frank Machin is mean, tough and ambitious enough to become an...
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Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars.
Another 2 wins
&
7 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(4 articles)
Four Angry Young Men: Richard Burton, Albert Finney, Richard Harris, Tom Courtenay
(From Alternative Film Guide. 26 October 2009, 1:53 PM, PDT)
Funeral Arrangements for Richard Harris
(From WENN. 29 October 2002)
(From Alternative Film Guide. 26 October 2009, 1:53 PM, PDT)
Funeral Arrangements for Richard Harris
(From WENN. 29 October 2002)
User Comments:
A bleak and truthful portrait of Yorkshire in the early sixties
more (43 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | 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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
134 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
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:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
First cinema film of George Sewell.
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Quotes:
Frank Machin:
[to scantily clad nightclub singer] Eh love, show us your personality!
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in 50 Films to See Before You Die (2006) (TV)
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Soundtrack:
Walking Back to Happiness
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (43 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for This Sporting Life (1963)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| The spider | grahamchris |
| Rugby League | Phil_Gwilliam |
| Structure and Fantasy (Spoilers) | ndhand |
| SPOILER WARNING | mtkane209 |
| Flashback Structure Flawed? | davidarnold |
| Content? | moviedude298 |
Recommendations
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Richard Harris and Lindsay Anderson spent sometime in the West Yorkshire coalfield prior to the filming of This Sporting Life. To call the film gritty and realistic is a truism measured up by the nature of the stark narrative. Harris is profoundly convincing as the miner turned Rugby League player who pursues the arctic charms of his widowed landlady played with sublime restraint by the late Rachel Roberts. For those of us familiar with the Northern man, Wakefield and with Rugby league the stories verisimilitude is almost painful. Watch particularly Harris's trial match (during which the actor broke his leg), his 'singing debut' in the nightclub and the interlude at Kirkstall Abbey. Note too the participation of Wakefield Trinity stars Ken Rollin and Neil Fox, men who were local legends in the 1960's.