The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner
Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 2:26 pm
Full specs announced:
I'll confirm when I get check discs, but I believe everything on the Blu-ray is in HD (i.e. including Momma Don't Allow).The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
A film by Tony Richardson
Starring Michael Redgrave and Tom Courtenay
This powerful British New Wave classic is re-issued on DVD and released on Blu-ray in new High-Definition transfers, alongside Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (Karel Reisz, 1960)
Colin (Tom Courtenay) is a defiant teenager who rebels against the system, refusing to follow his dying father into a factory job, railing against the capitalist bosses and preferring to make a living from petty thieving.
Sent to borstal, Colin discovers his talent for cross-country running. The borstal governor (Michael Redgrave) offers him the chance to redeem himself in a race against a local public school, and tensions build as the day approaches…
Following the huge success of Karel Reisz’s Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Alan Sillitoe adapted another of his own works for the screen. Newcomer Tom Courtenay is compelling as the sullen, disillusioned delinquent in this British New Wave classic, a passionate, explosive tale of rebellion.
Special features
• Commentary by film historian Robert Murphy, with lead actor Tom Courtenay and writer Alan Sillitoe
• Video essay by cinematographer Walter Lassally
• Momma Don’t Allow (1956), Tony Richardson’s Free Cinema documentary shot by Walter Lassally
• Illustrated booklet including essays and biographies
Release date: 23 March 2009
RRP: DVD £17.99 / cat. no. BFIVD785 / Blu-ray £22.99 / cat. no. BFIB1003
UK / 1962 / black and white / 104 mins / cert 12 / aspect ratio 1.78:1
Optional subtitles for the hearing-impaired