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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:
Brilliant, Memorable; Yet ....
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:
Glenda Jackson appears briefly in the group singing round the piano at the Christmas party.
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Quotes:
Frank Machin:
We don't have stars in this game, Mrs Weaver, that's soccer.
Mrs. Anne Weaver: What *do* you have?
Frank Machin: People like me.
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Mrs. Anne Weaver: What *do* you have?
Frank Machin: People like me.
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Movie Connections:
Featured in 50 Films to See Before You Die (2006) (TV)
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Soundtrack:
Here In My Heart
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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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I saw this at a theater years ago. It had sunk into what appears to be obscurity -- highly undeservedly. Tonight I saw it on the small screen. And as powerful and, oddly, as shockingly intimate as it is, it doesn't work as well this way.
Why? The reason is the structure. The straightforward scenes are searing.. But there are hallucinations that have Richard Harris now in one situation, then in another, then lying back in the dentist's chair. Call me a Philistine but on a 20-inch screen this Resnais-like "Is it or isn't it?" is hard to follow.
That said, it is a beautiful movie overall. The lead performances have rarely been equaled. Richard Harris, as a headstrong rugby player, is convincing 100%. Rachel Roberts plays the rather dour, confused and grieving widow from whom he lets a room and whom he loves. She was not conventionally beautiful but she had extraordinary screen presence. Their every scene together is chilling and poignant.
The structure is there. The movie is finished and could never be properly well made. It is a sort of angry young man meets French New Wave. Anyone reading this who might be put off by my confession about finding it a bit rough to follow on a TV screen: Please do not be put off. This is a very serious, insightful movie, well performed all around. And you are unlikely to see Harris better in anything else and, sadly, unlikely to see Ms. Roberts in much else at all.