The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner
1962
Alan Sillitoe's autobiographical novel about a rebellious 18-year-old living in dreary Lancashire proved to be the perfect material for Tony Richardson to adapt in the early 1960s. The film stars Tom Courtenay as the disaffected Colin Smith, who ends up in a Borstal, or reform school, after robbing a bakery. The Governor (Sir .. Read more
| Starring | Tom Courtenay, Michael Redgrave, James Bolam, John Thaw |
|---|---|
| Director | Tony Richardson |
| Genres | Drama |
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The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner
Alan Sillitoe's autobiographical novel about a rebellious 18-year-old living in dreary Lancashire proved to be the perfect material for Tony Richardson to adapt in the early 1960s. The film stars Tom Courtenay as the disaffected Colin Smith, who ends up in a Borstal, or reform school, after robbing a bakery. The Governor (Sir Michael Redgrave), the institution's chief authority, believes in physical training as a means of rehabilitating his charges. Despite his contempt for all authority, Colin one day inadvertently outruns the school's leading long-distance runner, and the Governor immediately assigns him to be trained for an imminent competition with a well-known public school. During his solitary training exercises, Colin flashes back to scenes of his chaotic youth: his father, a blue-collar worker dying of cancer, and his mother, a foul-mouthed harridan, blowing the insurance settlement on a new lover and a new TV. On the day of the big race, the two schools must share a locker room, and Gunthorpe (James Fox), the captain of the opposing team, reflexively wishes Colin good luck. The surprised boy looks at him as though these are the only words of encouragement he's ever received. Courtenay is exceptional in his film debut, exuding the bitterness typical of the director's early 'angry young man' films. Employing jump cuts and undercranked scenes borrowed from the Nouvelle Vague, the film emphasizes the oppressiveness of the boy's environment and the temporary freedom that running offers him.
| Starring | Tom Courtenay, Michael Redgrave, James Bolam, John Thaw, Alec McCowen, Julia Foster, Joe Robinson |
|---|---|
| Director | Tony Richardson |
| Studio | BFI VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 40 mins Blu-ray: 1 hr 44 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English Blu-ray: English |
| Released | DVD: 23 Mar 2009 Blu-ray: 23 Mar 2009 Production year: 1962 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (4)
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Having already scored successes with Look Back in Anger and A Taste of Honey, director Tony Richardson completed his outstanding “kitchen sink” collection with this stirring tale of the borstal boy who dares to buck the system just as it offers him a lifeline. Tom Courtenay delivers a remarkable debut performance as the embittered delinquent whose talent for running gives governor Michael Redgrave the means to raise the profile of his rundown institution. Masterfully adapted by Alan Sillitoe from his own story and unobtrusively shot by Walter Lassally, this is as powerful and relevant today as it ever was.
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An unusual take on class war as a rebellious working-class delinquent takes part in a climactic race against a team of public schoolboys; interesting scenes, though, do not quite form a compelling whole.
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Most helpful member's review
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14 out of 14 people found this review helpful
In a class of its own
Set in the 1960s Nottingham, an edgy 17-year-old boy, Smith, is sent to Borstal after robbing a bakery.
He lives in a small bungalow with his working class family and is being pushed over the edge by the prejudices and twisted morals of his parents. His father’s animosity towards the medical profession sends him to an early grave and his mother’s lust for money means she only takes joy in spending her dead husband’s insurance policy, and invites another man into the house straight away.
Although Smith is aimless, he is a gifted fast and talented runner, which the prison governor tries to exploit to fulfil his own frustrated ambition. The governor pitches Smith’s talent against a private school star hoping to prove the credibility of the Borstal school system and achieve his own personal glory.
This hard-hitting classic of the 60’s perfectly illustrates how difficult it is to break through class barriers.
With an intense performance by Tom Courtenay as Smith and gritty direction by Tony Richardson, ‘the Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner’ has survived the test of time and reflects social issues still present today. -
Most recent members' review
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
Hasn't stayed the distance
The us-against-them message of this worthy and neatly made little film now lacks relevance and it has unfortunately dated. There's an entertainingly confused mix of regional accents in what is supposedly Nottingham, the Borstall boys are all aged about 25 (watch out for a very young John Thaw), and the whole tone is one of benevolent understanding - patronising I would imagine to anyone other than the middle-class cinemagoers of the time. I hated the jaunty incidental music and speeded up film used whenever Tom Courtney and James Bolam get up to no good - it was like patting the characters on the head (not so much gritty realism, more Children's Film Foundation). And the sight of the two lads in hysterics after turning down the sound on a politician on TV is cringemaking. Perhaps I'm being over-critical. Loneliness is well acted and competently directed and is an interesting snapshot of early 60s attitudes to class in Britain. But there is little to strongly engage the viewer today. I wonder what they would have made of Scum?
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