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Often regarded as the capstone of the British New Wave of the late 1950s and early '60s, Lindsay Anderson's This Sporting Life (1963) is a stark depiction of life in an industrial town, focusing on the personal and professional struggles of a brutish rugby player.

The film, adapted from the novel by David Storey, tells the tale of Frank Machin, a miner in Yorkshire whose talent for sport sees him give up the day job and become a local hero at the rugby league club. His new-found fame and wealth (it’s all relative – he signs for the club for a thousand pounds) doesn’t make him happy because of the dark, damaging relationship he embarks upon with his austere landlady Margaret Hammond (Rachel Roberts). The vulnerable widow is cold and cruel to Machin; describing him as “a great ape on a football field”, but he lacks the education and finesse to express his love for her in ways that don’t involve buying elaborate gifts that make her uncomfortable. The story revolves around their stifling and often tumultuous relationship.

Director: Lindsay Anderson
Cast: Richard Harris, Rachel Roberts, Alan Badel, William Hartnell, Colin Blakely
Country: UK
Genre: Drama, Sport

2 x DVD9 | NTSC 16:9 | 02:14:18 | 7.11 Gb + 6.59 Gb + 3% rec
Language: English
Subtitles: English

Extras:
• 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), a short documentary from BBC Scotland featuring interviews with many of the director’s friends and collaborators
• New video interview with Anderson’s first producer and close friend Lois Sutcliffe Smith
• Meet the Pioneers (1948), Anderson’s first film, a documentary short about a mining engineering firm
• Wakefield Express (1952), an early documentary by Anderson about the town that later served as the setting for This Sporting Life
• Is That All There Is? (1992), Anderson’s autobiographical final film

BD25 | 1080p AVC | 02:14:18 | 18.1 Gb + 3% rec
Language: English
Subtitles: English

Extras:
• Trailer - original trailer for This Sporting Life. In English, not subtitled. (5 min).
• Production Image Gallery - (11 min, 1080p).
• Behind the Scenes Image Gallery - (3 min, 1080p).
• Portrait Image Gallery - (3 min, 1080p).
• Promotional Image Gallery - original posters and lobby cards for This Sporting Life. (1 min, 1080p).
• Promotional Material PDFs