i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

An action-packed slog

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

I've seen this film a few times over the years. When I was younger I could relate to Colin Smith to some extent, having spent 10 years in an authoritarian boarding school in my youth. However, I now tend to look at it with a more critical eye.It puzzles me that Sillitoe chose to use the word "loneliness" in the title, since Smith obviously gets some pleasure and comfort from his running. I don't know the answer but perhaps the "loneliness" means "isolation" or "alienation". A barrier that simply can't be overcome.The governor of the borstal actually strikes me as being quite a kindly man, and seems to have some genuine interest in Smith's welfare. Perhaps he feels that by showing the borstal boys that they can compete favourably with boys from more privileged backgrounds it will help to break down what they may view as an impassable (and possibly unjust) class barrier and give them some confidence going forward in life.In the case of Smith, this turns out to be a complete failure. Like his father before him who proudly spurned medical attention (and died soon afterwards - there's no pride like the pride of the poor!), he spurns the opportunity to take himself out of his condition. Though this no doubt gives him some momentary satisfaction, he will probably look back on it with regret in the grim grim years that lie ahead.Whatever Sillitoe intended, it still has power and relevance today.

UK 104m, B&W Director: Tony Richardson; Cast: Tom Courtenay, Michael Redgrave, James Bolam, Ray Austin, John Thaw, Alec McCowenThe Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner is a brilliant expose of social class, poverty and youth disillusionment in Britain during the early 1960s. Sentenced to reform school for petty crimes, Colin Smith is a rebellious youth from a poor family who is encouraged by the headmaster to train for an inter-school cross-country championship race. During Colin's many hours of training, we witness in flashback the events which led to his incarceration, and the underlying reasons for his defiance against authority. Taking advantage of special privileges to train, Colin uses the freedom to escape from his grim surroundings. Recognizing that he is being used, he surprises everyone by with a wonderfully unforgettable act of defiance at the finish of the championship race (Klaus Ming September 2013).

After committing a crime with a friend, the young rebel Colin Smith is sent of to a reform school called Ruxton Towers where he is introduced to a world that is totally different from his own. Colin immediately objects to the reform school's methods and considers his punishment as pointless, but when he meets the school governor, a man who believes that sports can transform young men into responsible citizens, Colin gets the opportunity to use his running skills.The fifth feature film by British New Wave director Tony Richardson (1928-1991) is a socially critical story based on a short story from 1959 by English writer Alan Sillitoe (1928-2010), which realistically depicts the working-class milieu in Nottingham during the early 1960s. This character-driven social drama opens with the main character running along a road while his inner monologue describes his intelligible view of life, and from there on out portrays an in-depth study of character about a man's unyielding integrity. Through flashback scenes the viewers get a close insight into the protagonist's life before the reform school and acutely narrates how he is challenged by his resistance against authorities and his troubled family life while trying to find his own identity.This empathic coming-of-age tale has a well-written screenplay by Alan Sillitoe which examines themes like identity, family relations, friendship, alienation and strength of character. The captivating music and the stellar black-and-white cinematography emphasizes the quiet atmosphere in this British independent film, a timeless character drama, which is crafted by Tom Courtenay's magnificent performance.

Tom Courtenay made his screen debut in this "angry young man" story of the 1960s. Costarring Michael Redgrave (and James Fox in a small role) and directed by Tony Richardson (Redgrave's son-in-law) and written by the same man responsible for "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning," this captures the same angst of the everyman, only more so. If you've not seen this, you need to find it right now. This is British cinema at its best.The story unfolds as we see Courtenay enter some sort of reform school, as he was arrested for stealing money. Just why he did so and his beginnings we see through reflections and memories of his, while running, as headmaster Michael Redgrave tries to mold him into a long distance cross-country runner, when Redgrave sees Courtenay has the ability for it. Little does Redgrave know that Courtenay is just playing him, and that no one tells Courtenay what to do. Such is the mindset of Courtenay. The viewer sees that, while Courtney is trying to show others, he's really just hurting himself.I feel the title doesn't necessarily refer to Courtenay but rather the opposite mindset, those who put in the extra time, effort, and work needed and also demanded by those willing to get ahead and doing it when no else is around or noticing. The perfectionists, those who push themselves, while others take the easy road. This is a very personal film about the integrity of the hard workers, who know you get what you put into it. Apparently, Courtenay only wants to do enough to live and doesn't want to work his butt off for the benefit of his bosses. There's also the element of his running from the law, as part of the title, as he refers to in the opening scene. But in the end, we see him back in shop, where he'll stay until he gets out. If he gets out.