John Henrici This has always been one of my favorite films. I saw it as a kid on Million Dollar Movie from New York. they would.show.the same film every night for a week. I don't know how many times I saw it but I was mesmerized by the bleak b/w landscape that reminded me so much of my hometown in Edison, NJ. It was the first time I'd ever been shown that bleakness could be beautiful. it was also astonishing to see the interiors of Col's house. It made me feel like a millionaire. And, as someone else said, the scene of Col burning the money was stunning to me, night after night.and then I never saw the film again for 20 years. I saw it in the TV listings and I was afraid to watch it. I'd built it up so big in my mind that I was afraid it'd be a letdown. when I saw it again I was shocked at how good it still was. when I was a kid I saw Col's actions at the end as a grand gesture to authority. Lately I see him as someone who is just stuck. He can't decide. Yeah, I know he smirks at the headmaster in the scene, but I think it's bravado. with all those voices in his head it's as much can't as won't consummate the act. Whatever, a killer movie for all time.

valadas So one of the characters in this movie says. And we add that's more complicated than a long distance race though sometimes it looks like it. This is the simple story of a young petty thief that while revolting against the capitalist boss who exploited his father till this one died, simultaneously don't want to get a job like that but doesn't know what to do to make his revolt effective in collective terms and then turns to petty delinquency also as a form of protest. Organized society end up by having him arrested and sent to a borstal to be re-educated and vocationally trained. There he reveals itself as a good long distance runner and the borstal governor (Michael Redgrave) promises him to be redeemed if he wins a race against a local public school. The emotions this arises and how it ends up I will not tell to avoid being a spoiler. This movie is adapted from a novel by Alan Sillitoe which was like a manifesto of the generation called The Angry Young Men who produced many literary and artistic works in the Sixties of last century in UK. This generation was represented in the cinema by the British New Wave (and the so called Free Cinema) with names such as Tony Richardson (who directed this movie), Lindsay Anderson and Karel Reisz, a generation that reacts against social values accepted till then and is prone to more realistic ones and stories having to do with everyday life. This movie is a good exponent of this school.

David Allen The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner (1962 English) starring Tom Courtenay, Sir Michael Redgrave, written by Alan Sillitoe, and directed by Tony Richardson is one of the very best movies ever made.It is a "coming of age" story of a young and immature high school aged boy played well by Tom Courtenay (who won the BAFTA "Most Promising New Actor" award for his role) who is sent to a "progressive" English reform school (part of the infamous "Borstal School" system in greater London, England) and allowed unusual freedom there by the prison warden/ "headmaster" (wanna be) portrayed by Sir Michael Redgrave.Courtenay is a gifted athlete who excels at long distance running, the prison warden/ "headmaster" Redgrave arranges for an English public school (private boarding school for rich boys) to compete against the reform school in athletics with a special trophy given for the winner of a long distance running match which highlights the meet.Courtenay agrees to prepare for the athletic match, follows all the rules, appears to be a cooperative inmate headed for reform, but when the day of the athletic meet comes and the race is run he is supposed to win, intentionally allows his public school (private schools in England are called "public schools") competitor runner to beat him so the trophy the prison warden/ "headmaster" Redgrave lusts for does not come to the "progressive" reform school (actually a prison for teen aged convicted delinquent boys).The story is based on a short story written by the famous English writer from the 1950's named Alan Sillitoe who described the lives and oppressions of working class people in post WWII England, and portrayed the opposition of "have nots" against the "haves," and particularly against the various law enforcement and government henchmen working to support the upper classes and keep the lower classes in their place.The theme of "angry young men" during the 1950's in England was widely used in English drama and literature, and the possibility that young, strong, vigorous males in the lower classes might rise up and lead a successful revolt against the privileged and oppressive upper classes was suggested by "angry young men" stories such as The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner (1962) starring Tom Courtenay, Saturday Night And Sunday Morning (1960) starring Albert Finney, and even in a glamorized full color spectacle movie version of Henry Fielding's famous Tom Jones (1963) story starring Albert Finney and directed by Tony Richardson (who also directed "Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner").People in the early 1960's were hopeful that true socialism might replace the brutal capitalistic system which dominated the "free world" of those times in England, other parts of Europe, and eventually, the USA, and the tumult of the 1960's reflected how widespread and supported these hopes were.But the revolt of the 1960's and 1970's failed miserably, and socialistic moves which were put in place during the 1930's and 1940's in England (which got universal socialized health care medicine free to all citizens) and the USA (which got the New Deal and the War On Poverty, briefly) were systematically and carefully undone by the likes of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan in the 1980's, both agreed that "free enterprise" was the answer to social problems and needs, and that socialism was a disease to be fought and conquered and vanquished.------------------- Written by Tex Allen, SAG Actor. Visit WWW.IMDb.Com and choose "Tex Allen" "resume" for contact information, movie credits, and biographical information about Tex Allen. Tex Allen has reviewed more than 35 movies posted on the website WWW.IMDb.Com (the world's largest movie information database, owned by Amazon.Com) as of January 2011. These include: 1. Alfie (1966) 29 July 2009 2. Alien (1979) 24 July 2009 3. All the President's Men (1976) 16 November 2010 4. American Graffiti (1973) 22 November 2010 5. Animal House (1978) 16 August 2009 6. Bullitt (1968) 23 July 2009 7. Captain Kidd (1945) 28 July 2009 8. Child Bride (1938) 24 September 2009 9. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) 22 September 2010 10. Detour (1945) 19 November 2010 11. Die Hard 2 (1990) 23 December 2010 12. The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl (1993) 19 November 2010 13. Jack and the Beanstalk (1952) 26 July 2009 14. King Solomon's Mines (1950) 1 December 2010 15. Knute Rockne All American (1940) 2 November 2010 16. Claire's Knee (1970) 15 August 2009 17. Melody Ranch (1940) 10 November 2010 18. Morning Glory (1933) 19 November 2010 19. New Moon (1940) 3 November 2010 20. Pinocchio (1940) 6 November 2010 21. R2PC: Road to Park City (2000) 19 November 2010 22. Salt (2010) 24 August 2010 23. Sunset Blvd. (1950) 1 December 2010 24. The Great Dictator (1940) 1 November 2010 25. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) 9 January 2011 26. The Man in the White Suit (1951) 5 August 2009 27. The Philadelphia Story (1940) 5 November 2010 28. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) 1 August 2009 29. The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) 14 August 2009 30. The Witchmaker (1969) 21 July 2009 31. Thousands Cheer (1943) 3 December 2010 32. Till the Clouds Roll By (1946) 24 November 2010 33. Wake Up and Live (1937) 27 July 2009 34. Witness for the Prosecution (1957) 1 August 2009 A full list of Tex Allen's movie reviews appearing on WWW.IMDb.Com with links to full texts of reviews is accessible via: http://imdb.com/user/ur15279309/comments Written by Tex Allen, SAG-AFTRA movie actor. Visit WWW.IMDb.Me/TexAllen for more information about Tex Allen. Tex Allen's email address is [email protected] Tes Allen Movie Credits, Biography, and 2012 photos at WWW.IMDb.Me/TexAllen. See other Tex Allen written movie reviews....almost 100 titles.... at: "http://imdb.com/user/ur15279309/comments" (paste this address into your URL Browser)

wrongboyo The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is one of the best films I've yet to see that deals with themes of rebellious and frustrated youths. Tom Courtenay brilliantly plays Colin Smith, a young man living in an impoverished area of England. Colin is the oldest member of a large family, his father is in poor shape and refuses to take his medication. The entire family seems to remain unbothered by this and his mother even carries on several affairs with different men. Eventually, the father dies and with the money she receives from insurance she blows on clothes and a new television.Frustrated about not having any money (because he refuses to get a job, insisting that he doesn't see any sense in working his guts out just so the employer can make all the money) Colin breaks into a bakery and steals a cashbox.Eventually, Colin is caught by the police and sent to a reformatory school where he shows promise in athletics as a long distance runner. The Governor takes special notice of him and gives him special treatment, hoping for him to compete in the long distance run against a preparatory school.When the day of the competition comes Colin straight away takes a huge lead on the star runner of the opposing school. He keeps up a steady pace but throughout a series of flashcuts we see Colin reflecting on his home life. He stops in place and in a rebel yell stares at the Governor who was completely expecting him to win.Now, the film is told in a non-linear narrative which makes the film have a lot more emotional resonance. It is shot in black and white, in a fantastic documentary style. The music in this film perfectly underlines all the emotions Colin goes through (most specifically loneliness, when it shows just his shadow running along a long road).Throughout the film we find that the apparent criminal seems to have more moral and ethical codes than the authority figures.The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is a great example of a film in which almost all of the elements work perfectly together. It's experimentations in editing, the shaky camera work, gritty cinematography and fantastic acting all go together wonderfully.