The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 24, 2009

Tony Richardson's British New Wave classic "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" (1962) gets a Blu-ray treatment for the first time ever through BFI (British Film Institute). Winner of the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles (Tom Courtenay). The disc is Region-B "locked".

The troublemaker

Based on Alan Sillitoe’s short story, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner follows the deeds of Colin Smith (Tom Courtenay), a disillusioned young man who gets in trouble with the law and ends up in a borstal. There, his exceptional running skills are immediately appreciated by an ambitious, self-centered Governor (Michael Redgrave) determined to do whatever it takes in order to win a highly prestigious sporting event.

Before he gets to represent the borstal, however, Colin must face the Governor’s pet runner – a spiteful young man (Philip Martin) who has benefited tremendously from his impressive running skills. Driven by his hatred for the system the Governor represents, Colin wins the preliminary competition and his opponent is immediately discharged. A few days later, the young man is told that he has earned the right to represent the borstal and is granted the same privileges his opponent enjoyed prior to his arrival.

Before the all-important sporting event takes place, we learn more about Colin’s past through a collage of fractured flashbacks. We see how he grows increasingly frustrated with his mother and her lover after they go on a spending spree with the money from his deceased father’s life insurance, his short affair with a beautiful girl that temporarily causes his anger to subside, and the crucial event that leads to his arrest. Then, the moment Colin has been waiting for arrives.

Raw and charged with socio-political innuendo, Tony Richardson’s The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner reveals plenty of similarities with Karel Reisz’s Saturday Night and Sunday Morning - the two films are based on stories by Alan Sillitoe, take place on the streets of post-war Nottingham and have main protagonists that are the product of a system that has turned its back on them. Both films are also considered amongst the most influential from the British New Wave.

Tony Richardson’s Colin Smith, however, is far more socially aware than Karel Reisz’s Arthur Seaton. He is also the more radical protagonist whose words and actions in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner are primarily driven by his hate for the system his opponents belong to, even though Karel Reisz’s Arthur Seaton is the more violent one.

Unsurprisingly, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner quickly earned the resentment of the more conservative amongst British critics. Immediately after its release in 1962, some of them even went as far as to claim that the film was simply Communist propaganda. Ironically, for many years, Tony Richardson insisted that The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner did not house any subversive overtones that would have justified such a dismissal.

Put aside all of the controversy the film generated, however, and you would be hard-pressed to deny that this is indeed a remarkable work, one that certainly captures the spirit of its time exceptionally well. There is a sense of realism in it – enhanced by the visuals of working class Nottingham with its gritty neighborhoods – that is still as striking as it must have been some forty seven years ago.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 (slightly altered from its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1), encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer, Tony Richardson's The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of BFI.

Even though The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner looks slightly less impressive compared to BFI's release of Karel Reisz's Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, this 1080p transfer offers substantial improvements over every other SDVD release of the film that I have seen. Contrast and detail for example are notably better here (the beach scenes in the second half of the film look absolutely fantastic – they reveal plenty of film grain and, as far as I could tell, there hasn't been any post-production filtering of the image). Furthermore, I did not detect any overly disturbing debris, scratches, or stains to report here. As you could see from the screencaptures provided in this review, the print BFI have used for this Blu-ray release looks notably healthy. To sum is all up, aside from the fact that the distributors had to work with the same elements Warner used for their release of The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, resulting in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio, I can comfortably state that this is the best looking presentation of Tony Richardson's film available for purchase. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" release which you will not be able to play on your Region-A PS3 or SA. In order to access the content of this Blu-ray disc, you have to have a native Region-B or Region-Free player).

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The only audio track on this Blu-ray disc is an English LPCM 2.0. There is hardly anything here that one could be dissatisfied with. The English LPCM 2.0 track is clear and without any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings that I could detect. Furthermore, even though one could quickly tell that it is rather dated, by far, it is the strongest one that I have heard. Simply put, the LPCM 2.0 track serves the film very well. Finally, optional English HOH are provided for the main feature.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

First of all, I would like to quickly note that I absolutely love the booklets these terrific discs courtesy of the BFI come with. They are very elegant and packed with informative essays and lovely photos. To the appropriate party at BFI: thank you and, please, keep them coming!

This being said, in the booklet for this Blu-ray release you will find a terrific essay by Philip Kemp titled "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner where the famous film historian highlights some of the more controversial aspects from the history of Tony Richardson's film. A second essay (again courtesy of Philip Kemp) focuses on Tony Richardson and his importance to the British New Wave. This booklet also contains the same short article about Alain Sillitoe and his career as a writer found in the booklet for Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. Finally, there is also a short piece on Tony Richardson and Karel Reisz's Momma Don't Allow.

The Blu-ray disc offers the old commentary by film historian Robert Murphy (as well as actor Tom Courtenay and writer Alan Sillitoe) that is available on the SDVD release BFI produced awhile ago. In addition, there is a video essay by cinematographer Walter Lassally that is exclusive to the Blu-ray release. Finally, this disc also contains Tony Richardson and Karel Reisz's Free Cinema documentary "Momma Don't Allow" (1956). Optional English subtitles are provided for all of the extra features.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

BFI bring another important classic to Blu-ray! I wish The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner and Saturday Night and Sunday Morning were both Region-free so that those of you who only have Region-A players could see how beautiful they look on Blu-ray. If you could play Region-B titles, then I urge you to take a look at the films BFI have been releasing as of late, they belong in every serious film collection - Very Highly Recommended.