Prefontaine: Um Nome Sem Limites

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.

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 was a grad student at the University of Oregon in the early seventies when Steve Prefontaine made his mark as a runner there. This film captures his life and times reasonably well, and Jared Leto's performance does a good job portraying the Steve Prefontaine the general public like me knew, though Leto has more of a preppy/Abercrombie & Fitch appearance than the somewhat craggier Prefontaine. Those who knew him then personally can make a better, further assessment. Despite the limitations of its budget (for example, they shot the film in 16mm--Super16 actually), it's one of the better sports films made and should have had a stronger theatrical run. If memory serves, the release also had a woefully limited marketing budget.

An athletic apparel store in Boston has a glass case which displays one of Steve Prefontaine's running singlets. It made me pause to see it there, an inanimate object which once clothed someone so highly animated. This film does a decent job of bringing life to that persona.

When 14 years old, I was glued to the TV set every night during the 1972 Olympic games. I remember well the 5000 meter race and Steve Prefontaine and it was a very exciting race. This movie greatly helps bring closure to the Prefontaine phenomena by telling the story of how Prefontaine embraced challenge and competition, propelled himself to the top, and then his ultimate fate.

To measure a movie's success, I take note of my thoughts the following day. Anyone watching "Prefontaine" in 1972 run the 5000 could not help but be inspired. And now in the late 1990's, the movie "Prefontaine" refreshes that inspiration. A very well done dramatization and documentary.

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.