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 wish I knew more about Pre's background. As it stands, it doesn't seem there was much to his character other than sleeping with girls and running.

I personally thought this movie would have had integrity and strength throughout from beginning to end. Sports films show the battles young people have to face to live up to not only others expectations of them but their own expectations of themselves. Some tasks are harder than others and its normally because either you don't feel your good enough or you don't feel others see you as good enough. If you give up you never find out if you really did have it in you to succeed. This movie did a good job of representing that. The runners in the movie were excellent, the acting was top notch. The fact that they did film the movie in Oregon and still made it into a wonderful experience is amazing. I would love to see more movies just like this to show to my own kids. It shows them to never give up on your dreams. That is why I like this movie despite the backstory flaws.

'Without Limits' is an engrossing biopic on famous long distance athlete Steve Prefontaine. Billy Crudup is completely believable in the lead and captures Prefontaine's energy and his passionate desire to never give up. The role is an extremely physical one as Crudup shows us the gut-wrenching trauma Prefontaine went through. The film is straightforward and there are no subplots to detract from the storyline. Donald Sutherland is effective as his coach Bill Bowerman. The role may be clichéd but Sutherland is refreshing and has some great dialog as well. A solid entertainer and a must for sports buffs.

Overall 7/10

I've never been quite sure, whether it was Personal Best that strongly attracted Robert Towne to running, or that he was already a big fan when he began that project. Suffice it to say that when one of our greatest living screenwriters brings his personal passion to his work, the results will be exemplary.

"Without Limits' only became a movie, because Tom Cruise said so, and thankfully he did. Where as the other Prefontaine bio-pic ‘Prefontaine' provided an honest, technical look at Pre's life and the sport of running, `Without Limits' is more of a lyrical homage to the sport, the man, the zen of it all.

The performances seamlessly intermesh with the story-Donald Sutherland is good, as Coach Bill Bowerman, but Sutherland is always good..and I believe his performance here has gotten more recognition as a result of the way Towne has organized his version-the Bowerman role is centerpiece, in contrast to the more downplayed, subtler roles of the other principals.

Let Robert Towne do whatever he wants, I will come and watch.

Having run track competitively, I had a special interest in this film and I was not disappointed. This film dramatized the life of Steve Prefontaine, a pre-eminent U.S. distance runner in the 1970's.

Though some of the details of his life were fudged for dramatic purposes, the essence of Prefontaine was preserved, namely his brash egotistical style of running and living. In addition to its realism regarding the sequences filmed on the track, this film gives a good account of the psychology of running.

Robert Towne did a fabulous job overall with this film, but especially with the realism of the scenes on the track. The dramatic element, focusing on character development of Prefontaine as a person as well as a runner was also well done, elevating it above your typical sports documentary and improving its entertainment value.

Billy Crudup gives a fine performance as Pre. He captures the arrogance and the crushing disappointment of his life. He was also terrific in the running scenes.

Donald Sutherland was also great as Coach Bill Bowerman. Sutherland played the part with the perfect balance of patient guidance and frustration as Pre continued to ignore his prudent advice. It was as if he were trying to guide a lightning bolt.

This was an excellent sports story. I rated it an 8/10. Even for those who are not fans of track and field and never heard of Steve Prefontaine, this is an entertaining and absorbing film.