DVD Review: The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)
Almost 50 years after it first hit the big screen, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner has been reissued once more on DVD and for the first time ever, on Blu-ray disc. Should you care? Of course you should.
Granted a film from 1962 is going to be very much of 'of its era', but the message contained within Tony Richardson's Brit classic is still as strong today as it ever was - no matter what era were in, people will always fight against the system.
Adapted from the Alan Sillitoe novel, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is Tom Courtenay's masterpiece. Courtenay is Colin Smith, sentenced to a stay in a reform centre for breaking and entering. There's only one way to get out of Ruxton Towers Reformatory - prove that you're a reformed character to the governor (Michael Redgrave).
From the moment of his arrival, Smith is out to fight the system, but gets himself in the governor's good books for his sporting prowess. Over a period of time, he's trained by the Reformatory to run long distance, with the aim of competing against the nearby public school, bringing honour to both the centre and the governor. Smith is given a stark choice - to win the race and his freedom or to lose and maintain his pride.
As Smith undertakes the training runs, thoughts of his life run through his mind - his family life in Nottingham, his fathers death, his mother's new 'fancy man' his romance with Audrey, his friendship with Mike (James Bolam, superb as ever) and his eventual downfall and capture by the law. All the things that shaped Colin Smith and made him what he has become. And what shapes that final decision.
It's essential viewing. The pick of the 'angry young man' flicks of the era, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner has everything from a strong cast and superb direction (I could pull out endless examples of a master at work) through to some stunning (if at times grim) scenery, a fantastic plot and the ultimate anti-hero. I'm always amazed that Tom Courtenay isn't lauded more in the UK. If you want proof of his genius, it's here by the bucket load. And to think this was his debut role.
One of the landmark films of the 1960s, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is still a film you really should own all those years on. And with the superb BFI packaging, booklet and extras (including the excellent Momma Don't Allow Free Cinema short from '56), there's never been a better time to buy it.
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