7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.7 |
Yorkshire miner turned rugby player Frank Machin has a number of women chasing after him, but only has eyes for his widowed landlady, Mrs Hammond. However, she remains resolutely unresponsive to his advances. Meanwhile, Frank's rebelliousness at the club is tolerated as long as he is successful on the pitch, but as he comes to appreciate the emptiness of his existence his frustration begins to mount.
Starring: Richard Harris (I), Rachel Roberts (I), Alan Badel, William Hartnell, Colin BlakelyDrama | Insignificant |
Sport | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.75:1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (224 kbps)
English SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Winner of Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Lindsay Anderson's "This Sporting Life" (1963) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Network. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; production image gallery; behind the scenes image gallery; portrait image gallery; promotional image gallery; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated commemorative booklet by film historian David Rolinson. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
"I like you. You are like a big cat."
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Lindsay Anderson's This Sporting Life arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Network.
The high-definition transfer is quite inconsistent. Select parts of it look decent, but there are areas where traces of light to moderate filtering are rather easy to spot (see screencapture #6). Occasionally, traces of light sharpening are also visible. The good news is that contrast levels remain stable and the blacks, whites and the variety of grays appear fairly well balanced. Most close-ups looks pleasing, but depth can be better. This becomes fairly obvious in close-ups where the traces of the filtering mentioned earlier are visible (see screencapture #4). Still, there are notable improvements in terms of clarity and definition, while overall image stability is far superior than that of the R2 DVD release. There are no large cuts and debris, but a few scratches and tiny vertical lines can be spotted. Finally, the encoding could have been better -- there are at least two different sequences where some extremely light chroma noise tries to sneak in. All in all, this is a moderately decent presentation of This Sporting Life with some room for important improvements. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English Dolby Digital 2.0. For the record, Network have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
I would have preferred to see a lossless track for this release, but the lossy track isn't disappointing. Indeed, clarity is very good and sharpness is pleasing. Depth, however, can be better. This becomes fairly obvious during the footage from the stadium and a few of the celebrations. The dialog is stable and easy to follow. Finally, there are no audio dropouts or distortions to report in this review.
Lindsay Anderson's 'kitchen sink' drama The Sporting Life is unquestionably one of the all-time greatest British films. It is raw, uncompromising and oozes a type of energy which remains unmatched. The film is now available on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Network. The release is decent, but the film can look better in high-definition. If you find it on sale, consider picking it up until a better release emerges.
2018
Нелюбовь / Nelyubov
2017
Adieu au Langage 3D
2014
海街diary / Umimachi Diary
2015
1967
Indicator Series
1976
Vintage Classics
1959
1964
Vintage Classics
1963
2024
1988
2020
La caduta degli dei
1969
25th Anniversary Limited Edition
1997
2019
1952
পথের পাঁচালী / Song of the Little Road
1955
Der letzte Mann / Masters of Cinema
1924
Le livre d'image
2018
ライク・サムワン・イン・ラブ / Raiku Samuwan In Rabu
2012