Genre: Drama, Sports, Psychodrama, Suspense
Plot: Adapted from David Storey's novel of the same title, THIS SPORTING LIFE is a gritty, unblinking look at life in the coal mining region of Northern England as seen through the eyes of Frank Machin (Richard Harris). Produced by Karel Reisz, who made the acclaimed film about working class life SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING, and directed by Lindsay Anderson, THIS SPORTING LIFE brings realism to both the brutal violence of the Rugby matches it portrays and to the emotional and physical violence in the character's lives.When Frank Machin leaves the mine where he has always worked and signs a contract with a professional Rugby team, he hopes to gain social standing and respect. But he finds the hero worship of the drunken fans distasteful. While the owner of the team praises Machin as his star player in the privacy of the locker room, he snubs him in public. Machin's need to love and be loved is compellingly conveyed by Harris with the same startling immediacy as is his raw physical power. He forcefully seduces his landlady, Mrs. Hammond (Rachel Roberts), into a doomed love affair. As things continue to go downhill for Machin, the film captures the mood and feel of this gray industrial area in muted tones, achieving a documentary authenticity. The nighttime shots use a silvery
More Plot Descriptions
 Discussion forum for this movie
|
| |
|
| Cast |
Richard Harris
Gladiator, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Unforgiven |
 | Rachel Roberts
Picnic at Hanging Rock, Murder on the Orient Express, Foul Play | Alan Badel
The Day of the Jackal, Force 10 from Navarone, Shogun | | Colin Blakely
A Man for All Seasons, Murder on the Orient Express, The Pink Panther Strikes Again | Vanda Godsell
A Shot in the Dark, The Wrong Arm of the Law, Konga | | |
[more] |
|
|
Movie Database
In Theaters
