This Sporting Life (1963)

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:

Nonlinear Timeline | Coal Miner | Yorkshire | Kitchen Sink Realism | Bentley

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
Peter Duguid	...	Doctor
Wallas Eaton	...	Waiter
Anthony Woodruff	...	Tom, Headwaiter
Michael Logan	...	Riley
Murray Evans	...	Hooker
Tom Clegg	...	Gower
Ken Traill	...	Trainer
Frank Windsor	...	Dentist
John Gill	...	Cameron
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Edward Fox	...	Restaurant Barman (uncredited)
Glenda Jackson	...	Singer At Party (uncredited)
Graham Roberts	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
David Storey	...	Rugby Player (uncredited)

Directed by
Lindsay Anderson

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
David Storey		novel
David Storey		screenplay

Produced by
Karel Reisz	....	producer

Original Music by
Roberto Gerhard

Cinematography by
Denys N. Coop		(photographed by) (as Denys Coop)

Film Editing by
Peter Taylor

Art Direction by
Alan Withy

Costume Design by
Sophie Devine		(dresses)

Makeup Department
Ivy Emmerton	....	hairdresser
Bob Lawrance	....	makeup artist (as Bob Lawrence)

Production Management
Albert Fennell	....	in charge of production
Geoffrey Haine	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ted Sturgis	....	assistant director
Ken Softley	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
Claude Watson	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Peter Lamont	....	set dresser
Ernie Quick	....	propertyman

Sound Department
Chris Greenham	....	sound editor
Gordon K. McCallum	....	sound recordist
John W. Mitchell	....	sound recordist
Ken Cameron	....	dubbing crew (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
John Harris	....	camera operator
Neil Binney	....	focus puller (uncredited)
George Courtney Ward	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Casting Department
Miriam Brickman	....	casting

Editorial Department
Tom Priestley	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Jacques-Louis Monod	....	conductor
Gary Hughes	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Other crew
Pamela Mann	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Independent Artists
• Julian Wintle/Leslie Parkyn Productions

Distributors

• J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (1963) (UK) (theatrical)
• Continental Distributing (1964) (USA) (theatrical)
• Carlton Video (2000) (UK) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (USA) (laserdisc)
• Parvisfilmi (1963) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Pickwick Video (1990) (UK) (VHS)
• Rank Video Library Ltd. (1986) (UK) (VHS)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1974) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Management and players of Wakefield Trinity Rugby League Football Club, The  the producers wish to thank for their generous co-operation

Runtime:

134 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Independent Artists

Trivia:

Feature film debut of Edward Fox.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Here In My Heart

Stark and uncompromising

Set in the working class environs of Northern England (Yorkshire), this is a stark and uncompromising film. Richard Harris gives a performance of a lifetime as a rugby player who, both on and off the field of play, seems able to express himself only through violence.

Lindsay Anderson directs wonderfully, insisting on gritty realism, and stripping everything of any hint of cinematic glamour. Unlike the French "nouvelle vague", Anderson wasn't interested in technique for its own sake: he was more concerned with actual substance. Here, he explores the depths of the characters, and their relationships with each other; and, in particular, their emotions, which are volcanic. Never have such naked passions been portrayed on screen with such power. One feels somewhat drained by the end.

Something was happening in the British cinema in the 60s. Where did it all disappear?