# This Sporting Life (1963)

> A volatile rugby league prodigy pursues fame, money, and a guarded widow in a bruising portrait of northern English working-class life.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/movie/11327

## Facts

- Runtime: 134 min
- Genres: Drama
- Director: Lindsay Anderson
- Cast: Richard Harris, Rachel Roberts, Alan Badel, William Hartnell, Colin Blakely, Vanda Godsell, Anne Cunningham, Jack Watson
- TMDB rating: 7.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057578/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Mood: bitter, melancholic, intense, serious film night, classic british cinema viewing

## Synopsis

A gritty exploration of ambition and isolation in the world of rugby.

## Movies like This Sporting Life

- [The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)](https://ember.film/movie/9707)
- [Women in Love (1969)](https://ember.film/movie/45764)
- [Kes (1970)](https://ember.film/movie/7728)
- [In from the Side (2022)](https://ember.film/movie/437389)
- [Ratcatcher (1999)](https://ember.film/movie/18343)
- [Life at the Top (1965)](https://ember.film/movie/77829)
- [The Damned United (2009)](https://ember.film/movie/13006)
- [The Field (1990)](https://ember.film/movie/19834)
- [Nil by Mouth (1997)](https://ember.film/movie/12787)
- [Room at the Top (1958)](https://ember.film/movie/28005)

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