Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

This Sporting Life Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 22, 2014

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."

Richard Harris is Frank Machin, a big and tough coal miner who lives in a small industrial northern England town where most people struggle to make ends meet. But he does not want to be like most people, which is why he does his best to impress on the rugby field -- if he is noticed and gets a contract with the City club, he would immediately solve his financial problems. Then he can even afford to marry his landlady, Margaret Hammond (Rachel Roberts, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning), whose husband has died in a tragic accident in one of the town’s mines.

Machin’s hard work on the field eventually impresses one of the town’s most prominent businessmen, Gerald Weaver (Alan Badel, The Day of the Jackal), and he is introduced to the owners of the City club. With Weaver’s support, he signs up his dream contract and picks up a check for a thousand quid.

Almost immediately, Machin’s life changes dramatically -- he buys himself a flashy white car and a new suit and instantly becomes a star. In the local pubs, the men begin respecting him even more than before, while the women suddenly realize that he could be a great lover.

Machin likes and seeks the attention, but what he really wants is to be loved and respected by his landlady. Much to his disappointment, however, the widow sees in him only a big and obnoxious bully with a cloudy future.

Based on David Storey’s popular novel, Lindsay Anderson’s This Sporting Life is rightfully regarded as one of the all-time greatest British films. It is incredibly raw and truly indescribably powerful, offering a type of experience that simply cannot be forgotten.

The narrative construction is unusual. The film opens up with a very rough sequence in which Machin gets his front teeth broken on the rugby field and is quickly transported to the office of a dentist who is reluctant to work on him unless he is paid a large amount of money. Machin is then anesthetized, and a series of flashbacks reveal his most dramatic triumphs and failures. However, at times the transitions between them are so quick that it is not immediately clear if one is still viewing past events.

While Anderson’s camera follows closely Machin and observes his frequent outbursts and struggles to win the widow's heart, the city gradually becomes a key character in the film. Initially it looks lonely, cold and depressingly dark, but then it comes alive before the weekly rugby game, when for a short period of time the rich and the poor seem willing to tolerate each other. After the game, however, they head to their favorite pubs and chic restaurants and until the next game avoid themselves as best as they can. These quick post-game transformations are very similar to Machin’s sudden mood swings.

The dialog is quite colorful -- at least for a British film from the early '60s -- but it never feels out of sync with the gritty visuals. In fact, without the colorful expressions, Machin’s abusive behavior and the widow's nervous breakdowns would have looked totally unbelievable.

Harris and Roberts are sensational together. The former, in particular, delivers a career-defining performance, which this reviewer is convinced remains one of the greatest in the annals of British cinema. A few of the supporting actors also leave lasting impressions, most notably William Hartnell as the veteran scout ‘Dad Johnson, and Vanda Godsell as the affluent and bored housewife.

In 1964, This Sporting Life earned Oscar nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Harris) and Best Actress in a Leading Role (Roberts).

This Sporting Life Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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).

This Sporting Life Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

This Sporting Life Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and 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

• Booklet - illustrated commemorative booklet by film historian David Rolinson.

This Sporting Life Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Lindsay Anderson's 'kitchen sink' drama The Sporting Life is unquestionably one of the all-time greatest British films. It is raw, uncompromising, and oozing a type of energy that remains unmatched. It is finally available on Blu-ray, courtesy of British distributors Network. The release is decent, but the film can and should look quite a bit better in high-definition. If you find the release on sale, consider picking it up until a better one emerges. RECOMMENDED.