| This Sporting Life | |
|---|---|
 Film poster by Renato Fratini | |
| Directed by | Lindsay Anderson |
| Screenplay by | David Storey |
| Based on | This Sporting Life by David Storey |
| Produced by | Karel Reisz |
| Starring | Richard Harris Rachel Roberts Alan Badel William Hartnell |
| Cinematography | Denys Coop |
| Edited by | Peter Taylor |
| Music by | Roberto Gerhard |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Rank Organisation |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 134 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £230,000[1] or £197,381[2] |
This Sporting Life is a 1963 British kitchen sink drama film directed by Lindsay Anderson. Based on the 1960 novel of the same name by David Storey, which won the 1960 Macmillan Fiction Award, it recounts the story of a rugby league footballer in Wakefield, a mining city in Yorkshire, whose romantic life is not as successful as his sporting life. Storey, a former professional rugby league footballer, also wrote the screenplay.
The film stars Richard Harris, Rachel Roberts, William Hartnell, and Alan Badel. It was Harris's first starring role, and won him the Best Actor Award at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival.[3] He was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. For her work in the film, Roberts won her second BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. The film opened at the Odeon Leicester Square in London's West End on 7 February 1963.[4]