Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15967 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-04-07
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Black & White, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 100 minutes

Special Features
1.66 Wide Screen
English
Region 2

Synopsis
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.

Customer Reviews

the borstall system - first hand
Good acting , good direction and an accurate storyline. This workmanlike british film of the fifties is enjoyable and interesting. By far the biggest atribute , in my own personal eyes , is its accuracy and authenticity to the borstal system. Being a borstal officer during this period , many of the situations and incidents contained within the film are equal to many I have encountered over the years. The "feel" of the film is very authentic indeed. Good performances by Redgrave , Courtney and a fledgling John Thaw .
Not exactly a film to relax with but nevertheless enjoyable

One of the best films of all time
Ever since I first saw this film, I found it unforgettable. It is based on a short story by Alan Sillitoe, and does a wonderful job of bringing the unique atmosphere of his story to the screen (Sillitoe wrote the screenplay himself). There is a lot to admire in this film: the b&w cinematography (its power especially evident in the lyrical running sequences);the realistic presentation of the environment of the English working class at the time; brilliant acting, especially in the scenes of the confrontations between the - both masterful - Tom Courtenay and Michael Redgrave. All these ingredients provide for a richly textured study of the fine complications of emotion, experience and self-analysis. I would, of course, be in some ways inclined to agree that this film is outdated, but the main theme, that of the titular loneliness of the individual caused by the inadequacy of human means of communication, is something that can be still be felt in the modern times. Although the movement that spawned this film, the British Free Cinema, lasted for only a brief period of time, "The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner" has become the key British film of the 60s and a masterpiece of world cinema that,if you are a lover of classic films,you cannot allow yourself NOT to have.

Have you never felt this way before?
I don't understand why another reviewer has said that this film is dated. The school system may not be the same, but the battle of wills that plays out in the film is being played out not just in every school, but on every factory floor, every office, every lab, football team, choir, everywhere. This is one of the supreme human stories and if you don't have this film, you have no excuse. It's an element of what makes people people.