Alluring laurel

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Movie
German title Alluring laurel
Original title This Sporting Life
Country of production United Kingdom
original language English
Publishing year 1963
length 134 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Lindsay Anderson
script David Storey
production Karel Reisz ,
Julian Wintle
music Roberto Gerhard
camera Denys N. Coop
cut Peter Taylor
occupation

Alluring laurel (alternative title: Sporting Life , original title: This Sporting Life ) is a British feature film from 1963 . Today it is one of the classics of British New Wave . The film was based on the novel This Sporting Life (1960) by David Storey , who also wrote the screenplay. It was director Lindsay Anderson's feature film debut .

action

Frank Machin is a rugby player from Yorkshire . He plays on a team owned by local entrepreneur Gerald Weaver. Machin's jaw gets broken at a game. Weaver and a teammate take him to the hospital. On the operating table, Frank remembers his story that made him the star of this rugby team.

Machin is a miner and lives with widow Margaret Hammond, who looks after him. He remembers the time when Weaver argued with his competitor and co-owner of the Slomer club about a contract with Frank. Frank takes advantage of this competitive situation and can negotiate a well-paid contract with Weaver. He also learns from Weaver that Margaret's husband at Weaver's company was not killed by an accident, but by suicide.

Frank Machin is making a career and will soon be able to buy a fast car. Depressed Margaret comes to life when he takes her and her two children on a trip in the new car. Frank Marchin is gaining popularity as the tough guy on the team, but Margaret doesn't seem to care. In contrast, Frank is more interested in Margaret. Margaret is embarrassed by Frank's austere appearance. Nevertheless, they go to the wedding of Frank's best friend Maurice. There it comes to quarrels and separation. Frank is extremely sad about this and pours his heart out to Maurice. He desperately wants to try again to win Margaret's heart. He goes to her house and learns that she has been hospitalized. There she dies while he watches over her bed. He returns to her house in mourning. The next day he has a rugby match and risks his health in anger and sadness until he finally lands on the operating table.

Reviews

“Lindsay Anderson's debut, one of the early feature films of the English“ Free Cinema ”movement, is not an artistic revelation, but it is full of irritating and awkward details. The unorthodox character drawing and the documentary authenticity of the milieu resulted in an interesting study. "

- Lexicon of international film

“In his first feature film, Lindsay Anderson apparently wanted to combine the realistic elements of 'free cinema' with a modern narrative technique. His film starts with the accident on Christmas Day and tells the story in several interspersed flashbacks. However, this structure does not provide much for the film. On the contrary - it shifts the accents of the melancholy report from the fate of a worker who wants to escape his milieu all too much to the psychological area. In detail, however, haunting, realistic sequences are achieved. "

- Reclam's film guide :

Awards

Richard Harris won the Acting Award at the Cannes International Film Festival in 1963 and was also nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award . Rachel Roberts won a British Film Academy Award and was also nominated for an Oscar.

The Wiesbaden film evaluation agency awarded the production the rating of particularly valuable . The British Film Institute voted Alluring Laurel in 1999 as # 52 of the best British films of the 20th century .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alluring laurel. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 27, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ^ Reclams Filmführer, 2.A. 1973, ISBN 3-15-010205-7