Without Limits

Although a contemporary of Steve Prefontaine I had never heard of him, not being a fan of track and field. Nonetheless, Without Limits, a biographical film of Prefontaine, made middle-distance running interesting, even exciting. The racing scenes are not the reason to see this movie though, it is the acting, especially Donald Sutherland who plays Bill Bowerman his coach at the University of Oregon. The film follows Prefontaine (Crudup) from his admission to college in 1969 through the '72 Munich Olympics to his death in 1975 as he trained for Montreal. The axis around which the movie revolves is the relationship between wizened coach and impetuous youth, and Crudup and Sutherland do an excellent job of it. As a Baby Boomer it's always a treat to see those late '60s-early '70s years recreated. What memories. You even get to glimpse the founding of the Nike shoe empire in Bowerman's kitchen.

I grew up in Eugene and saw almost every race Pre ever ran. He was a crowd hero. There were always two races...the one Pre ran and the one, way back, that the rest of the runners ran. There was nobody like him. He was talented, cocky and had so much charisma. He really was outspoken in the press and took no guff from the AAU. He was the best thing that ever happened to track. Seeing the movie was like deja vu. It was a really well done recreation of what it was like to be at Hayward Field during his races. I went to the memorial service at Hayward Field and saw Frank Shorter and Bill Bowerman speak. This movie certainly made me reflect back!

Jaded by Hollywood's usually pathetic efforts to portray the real world of sports, I was prepared to be disappointed by this movie. I grew up in Oregon, attended U of O (the setting for much of the movie), and witnessed some of the events portrayed. So it was with a surge of satisfaction that I watched this movie that got it right at each point along the way. The attention to detail was astounding, and the recreation of races was uncanny - I compared it to actual news photos later, and the actors playing competing runners were chosen so well that their bodies and running styles actually match the original men. When a movie cares this much about being faithful to details, you can be sure it will take a quality approach overall. Billy Crudup's portrayal of Pre is full of inner fire and consistent with the real man; Donald Sutherland is marvelously powerful and yet understated as Bill Bowerman; the examination of the real reasons athletes compete is thorough and moving. Innovative use of music and camera work brings the race scenes to life, and if this movie doesn't make you want to immediately go out for "a quick ten," you're a completely hopeless sedentarian-- in heart and body. This is among the five finest movies about athletics ever made.

Though I liked PREFONTAINE, Steve James' version of the same story, this is much better. That was straightforward biography, where this captures the poetry of running (James' film was prose, this is poetic). As he proved with PERSONAL BEST, Robert Towne understands the nuances of track and of athletes. Crudup is excellent as Steve Prefontaine, and even looks like a runner. And Sutherland gives the performance of his career as Bill Bowerman. I truly hope it lands him an Oscar nomination. I also hope Towne gets to direct more often, as all three films of his are winners.

This is definitely one of the best sports movies ever made as well as one of the most unnoticed movies of 1998. Strange really, because "Without Limits" is an amazing story about Steve Prefontaine. I didn't know it was a biographical movie up until it showed the Olympics. So when I realized that the main character really ran like the wind and had no physical obstacles he couldn't overcome I instantly became an admirer of Steve Prefontaine.

Billy Crudup, who truly stole every scene "even" in "Almost Famous" is brilliant as Steve Prefontaine. His amazing transformation into the role of America's fastest runner was absolutely amazing, and I had no idea who the actor was, I only vaguely remembered his name. Donald Sutherland delivers his performance of the decade and the very beautiful Monica Potter does a great job as well.

The subtle manner in which the director chose to display Pre's life is admirable and very touching. He truly was a role model. He's a role model to me now, more than 30 years later. When he was explaining his running logic to his coach I really understood his look on life. He wasn't planning on being disappointed, he went the distance.

There's one more thing this movie deserves immense credit for. It made me want to run. AND ACTUALLY ENJOY IT!!!!!!!

A brilliant movie that made me think about my life. 8/10