This Sporting Life (1963) tells a very authentic story about working classic life in 1960’s Northern England. It was a significant film in the British New Wave (realism) movement, and still has status as a classic to this day.
Frank (played by Richard Harris), is a working class rugby player who manages to sign a major contract. It’s a classic rags to riches tail, but with important messages that are done really well. It shows that money doesn’t change class, fame doesn’t change self esteem, and that he will never be accepted by the elite rugby board no matter how important he is to the teams success.
To me, the film felt comparable to Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf, with its head on conflicts, play-like nature, and claustrophobic cinematography. The main difference is that This Sporting Life (1963) is slower and less comedic, making it arguably tougher and less accessible at times.
I loved seeing Richard Harris as a younger man having only seen him in Harry Potter and Gladiator; it’s a brilliant performance which is completely immersive and convincing. It also holds up really well as a sports film, capturing England’s older and more violence version of Rugby really well.
Overall, I think This Sporting Life is an important and powerful film, but is occasionally slow and inaccessible, and the ending underbaked. 4/5.
This Sporting Life (1963) tells a very authentic story about working classic life in 1960’s Northern England. It was a significant film in the British New Wave (realism) movement, and still has status as a classic to this day.
Frank (played by Richard Harris), is a working class rugby player who manages to sign a major contract. It’s a classic rags to riches tail, but with important messages that are done really well. It shows that money doesn’t change class, fame doesn’t change self esteem, and that he will never be accepted by the elite rugby board no matter how important he is to the teams success.
To me, the film felt comparable to Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf, with its head on conflicts, play-like nature, and claustrophobic cinematography. The main difference is that This Sporting Life (1963) is slower and less comedic, making it arguably tougher and less accessible at times.
I loved seeing Richard Harris as a younger man having only seen him in Harry Potter and Gladiator; it’s a brilliant performance which is completely immersive and convincing. It also holds up really well as a sports film, capturing England’s older and more violence version of Rugby really well.
Overall, I think This Sporting Life is an important and powerful film, but is occasionally slow and inaccessible, and the ending underbaked. 4/5.
