Despite success on the field, a rising rugby star senses the emerging emptiness of his life as his inner angst begins to materialize through aggression and brutality, so he attempts to woo h... Read allDespite success on the field, a rising rugby star senses the emerging emptiness of his life as his inner angst begins to materialize through aggression and brutality, so he attempts to woo his landlady in hopes of finding reason to live.Despite success on the field, a rising rugby star senses the emerging emptiness of his life as his inner angst begins to materialize through aggression and brutality, so he attempts to woo his landlady in hopes of finding reason to live.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 4 wins & 10 nominations total
- Mrs. Farrer
- (as Katharine Parr)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaRichard Harris became a star in movies as a result of his performance as Frank Machin, although the film itself was not a box-office hit despite generally favorable reviews.
- GoofsThe sash window in Mrs Hammond's living room, as seen from the inside (presumably a studio set), has been fitted back-to-front and upside-down. The curved "horns" (moulded wood) are at the top of the lower, inside (sliding) pane, when they should be at the bottom of the upper, outside (fixed) pane.
- 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.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Free Cinema (1986)
- SoundtracksHere in My Heart
(uncredited)
Written by Pat Genaro, Lou Levinson and Bill Borrelli
Performed by Richard Harris
[Franks sings the song on stage at the club]
I grew up in the part of Yorkshire where this film is set, and remember the sixties very well and very happily. Close captions would have helped, as despite my upbringing I had trouble following the dialogue. Perhaps because many of the actors were not northerners. True, the film shows a very depressing side of working class Yorkshire life, but it was not as bad as all that. The workingmen's drinking club culture is shown as it was, but the North had recovered from the depression and WWII and people were not unhappy, despite the miserable housing, the cold and constant rain. Perhaps the period shown should have been the late forties or fifties, which it may have been in the book, as by the sixties life was getting much better and working folk were making home improvements, buying small cars and going to Spain, Italy and Yugoslavia for holidays. The Beatles exploded on the scene and suddenly working class was the thing to be.
Some explanation is needed as to why Frank was boarding with a widow. At that time housing was very scarce and apartments, or flats as they were called, barely existed other than those built by the local councils for low income families. One just did not leave home and move into a house or apartment as there were none to rent. There as also the difficulty of cooking and cleaning. Supermarkets, convenience foods, refrigerators, microwave ovens, washing machines, automatic dryers, and most of all, the proliferation of fast food restaurants, things which make life easier and which we take for granted now, either did not exist or were only just becoming available. A man who worked all day expected to come home to a cooked meal and find all his home comforts catered to. There was no way that he could go shopping for food when the grocery stores closed at 5 or 6 pm then start cooking a meal. Don't even think about trying to dry washing in the rain! Men did not do housework at that time.
After Frank became a Rugby player, he continued to stay with the landlady as he was trying to force a relationship with her. Like a football pools winner, he flaunted his newfound wealth by purchasing the most expensive car on the market, and one that was the most inappropriately vulgar and had to be parked in the street - a sort of nose thumbing at who?
My main problem was not with the depiction of working class life in the industrial West Riding of Yorkshire and the disparity with the middle class comfort, but with the casting of Richard Harris as Frank. although he was nominated for an academy award, and many have praised his performance, to me it just did not ring true - somehow Mr. Harris did not come across as a Yorkshire miner. For one thing, his Irish accent kept slipping through, and seemed more like a middle class thespian "acting" the part of a rough miner. Perhaps the constant gum chewing was meant to show his vulgarity and lack of polish, as gum chewing in Britain was considered to be very "common" in those days and certainly not done by nice people. Likewise the scene in the restaurant frequented by the club owners, where Frank deliberately acted like an uncultured lout, thus embarrassing his guest and the other diners.
My other problem was with the landlady. Unless the reason did not transfer from the book, his passion for the frosty older woman was totally unclear. A real "what on earth does he see in her?" Richard Harris has done some wonderfully convincing work particularly in "The Field", but I am at a loss to understand why he was cast in this film unless it was by virtue of his Rugby skill. His physical resemblance to Marlon Brando made me wonder if he had seen A Streetcar Named Desire and been instructed to act like Stanley Kowalski.
- emuir-1
- Dec 22, 2007
- How long is This Sporting Life?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Lockender Lorbeer
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $813
- Runtime2 hours 14 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1