This Sporting Life

Adapted from the novel by David Storey, this first feature film by Lindsay Anderson follows the story of Frank, a professional rugby player who, despite his success on the pitch, begins to feel an emptiness taking over him. As an escape, he adopts aggressive and violent behaviours and courts his landlady, in the hope of rediscovering a meaning to his life. A classic of British cinema — influenced by the poetic realism of Humphrey Jennings and the editing style of Alain Resnais — the film won Richard Harris the award for Best Actor at Cannes.