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.
Special Features
• 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, 30 min), a documentary from BBC Scotland featuring interviews with many of the director's close friends and collaborators
• New video interview with Lois Sutcliffe Smith, Anderson's close friend and president of the Lindsay Anderson Memorial Foundation
• Meet the Pioneers (1948), Lindsay Anderson's first documentary short
• Wakefield Express (1952), Anderson's short-film contribution to England's Free Cinema series, shot in the same town that served as the location for This Sporting Life
• Is That All There Is? (1992, 50 min), Anderson's autobiographical, final film
Criterionforum.org user rating averages
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This Sporting Life is Sony property and If... is Paramount's. I really thought Criterion would be able to release this.
