Prefontaine

This movie was brilliantly put together and the end result is phenomenal. Every scene in the movie is important to the overall end result and I didn't feel this movie was overly long at all and I don't understand those who said it was. The movie deals well with showing Pre's determination to be the best and the emotions of overcoming failure. I wanted to buy this on DVD only to find out they don't make it on DVD, and I couldn't understand why, this is an amazing film and you don't have to know who Prefontaine was to enjoy it, although you might appreciate it more.....

I saw this last night on the BBC--I don't think it ever had a theatrical release in Britain--and thought it was excellent. I remember this film and its rival, Without Limits, when they were released in 1997 but never saw them. Users have commented on how much this film resembled the '70's era, right down to the soundtrack and overall style of the film, as if that kind of authenticity is to its detriment. It does remind one of that '70's TV movie classic, Brian's Song, but then, what other era should this film resemble?! It's no surprise that the documentary storytelling style works so well since the director and writer, Steve James, made one of the most acclaimed documentaries of the '90's--the basketball flik, Hoop Dreams (highly recommended as well). But shooting a documentary and recreating the style of one are two different things and though they probably both have their perils, recreating that style in service to drama must have much steeper pitfalls. Steve James (and company) completely succeed here. Jared Leto gives a compelling performance as Pre and forces the viewer to sympathise with him in very unique ways. He's not immensely likable but when he runs...one understands that great athletic performers, like Steve Prefontaine, did not win races on personality alone. But it's the way that the rest of cast responds to him, their admiration completely palpable and on the surface, that moves the viewer to embrace him as well. He's heartbreaking when he asks, "Do I look like a runner?" American sports films usually obscure their central figures by ladling on heavy doses of heavy-handed inspiration. Not so with this film. Pre emerges a gifted, young, confused but determined individual who inspires not through his athletic performances but through the strength of his character and what he did for amateur athletics. The ending doesn't so much jerk tears from the viewer as it allows them to flow freely and copiously. An underrated, lost gem of a film.

There has been much fascination with Steve Prefontaine, for his courage, his will-to-win, and for his far too early death. A man who was the ultimate competitor, denied his just due not only by the tragedy in Munich, but an even bigger tragedy on a roadway in Oregon. Such fascination led to 2 movies chronicling the life of Steve Prefontaine were made in the 1990's.

For first release, the battle of the PRE-bioflicks was won by this movie, and its release and luke-warm reception shelved the Robert Towne-directed ‘Without Limits' for more than a year.

Perhaps this story would have been better served as a Made-for-HBO film, where one-name titles like `Prefontaine' give stars like Matt Damon a chance for some good work, and media recognition.

This version, directed by Steve James of Hoop Dreams fame is very watchable, with strong support of Jared Leto (Prefontaine) by Lindsay Crouse, Ed O'Neill, Amy Locane, and R.Lee Ermey-excellent in the role of Pre's coach and mentor, Bill Bowerman, the man who subsequently founded Nike.

Maybe not an overly familiar story for the non-runners, this story needed to be told, once…and is told well here.

This is a great movie that tells a universal story...dream big, and when you do anything- give it all you've got. Steve Prefontaine, if this movie is accurate, was not only a great athlete, but he was also a great man. I read a few things about him on various websites, and it seems that he did quite a bit of charitable work in his short life, and he was indirectly responsible for great strides taken in improving the quality of amateur athletics, and the overall treatment of those athletes taking part in it. The movie is cast really well, and it goes a long way to improve my personal view of Jared Leto, who did a brilliant job here. He proves, with this film, that he has a lot more talent than he is given credit for...and this movie, tho no blockbuster by any lengths, is a great film to showcase that talent. The rest of the cast goes to build a solid movie that is crafted into a sort of documentary style film half of the time, and a straight-cut movie the rest of the time. It's a great story that can be used in any context, outside of sports altogether. Like I said, I know nothing about the sport itself, but Prefontaine's death was a tragedy anyway you look at it. No athlete to date can even get close to beating Steve's record, and that alone is amazing.

I rented this one accidentally thinking it was "Without Limits" starring Billy Crudup. I had seen that before and thought it was a great telling of a terrific story. This one was garbage. The acting was generally bad -- like sitcom bad -- and the makeup was ridiculous, as silly as that sounds, but the actors were made to look older for parts of it and it looked ridiculous. In short, this movie sucks. The other one is actually really good. Don't make the same mistake I made. Get "Without Limits" instead. It's way better. I'm really annoyed I just sat through this with my wife and brother. It takes a great story and makes it super-boring. There are not nearly enough races in this movie considering it's about racing.