IMDb > North Dallas Forty (1979)
North Dallas Forty
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North Dallas Forty (1979) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
6.9/10   1,725 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 9% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Ted Kotcheff
Writers:
Peter Gent (novel)
Peter Gent (screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for North Dallas Forty on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
3 August 1979 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama | Sport more
Tagline:
"Wait till you see the weird part." [USA Theatrical] more
Plot:
A semi-fictional account of life as a professional Football (American-style) player. Loosely based on the Dallas Cowboys team of the early 1970s. more | add synopsis
User Comments:
Makes a point that has been made better elsewhere more (30 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Nick Nolte ... Phillip Elliott
Mac Davis ... Seth Maxwell
Charles Durning ... Coach Johnson
Dayle Haddon ... Charlotte Caulder
Bo Svenson ... Jo Bob Priddy
John Matuszak ... O. W. Shaddock
Steve Forrest ... Conrad Hunter
G.D. Spradlin ... B. A. Strothers

Dabney Coleman ... Emmett Hunter

Savannah Smith Boucher ... Joanne Rodney (as Savannah Smith)
Marshall Colt ... Art Hartman
Guich Koock ... Eddie Rand

Deborah Benson ... Mrs. Hartman
Jim Boeke ... Stallings (as James F. Boeke)
John Bottoms ... Vip
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Additional Details

Runtime:
119 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono

Fun Stuff

Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: During the game with Chicago, the stands in the stadium are empty. more
Quotes:
Jo Bob: I've never seen titties like yours. Could I show your titties to my friend O.W.? more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Hollywood Harlots (1979) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
4 out of 7 people found the following comment useful.
Makes a point that has been made better elsewhere, 14 November 2003
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

Phillip Elliot is a wide receiver for the North Dallas Bulls. He is approaching the end of his career and ravaged with injuries, which he needs medication to cover the pain enough to play. The coaches want 100% to win games and win the season, but do the owners see the people inside the uniforms?

Written by ex-player Peter Gent this film wanders between love for the game and admiration for the players and the flip side where the players are overpaid little boys in men's bodies who are seen as disposable by club owners. This wandering happens for most of the film, mostly due to the fact that the plot seems to be wandering all over the place with little to do. When it actually focuses on the dealings of the club owners and the sacrifices the players have to make, it is pretty interesting – even if it does what many other sports films have done better.

The central point about owners seeing the players as just another piece of equipment owed by the club is pretty well made, but it is confused by the plot wandering a little bit. The ending is designed to back up this central point, but the circumstances come out of nowhere and the ending doesn't really ring true and isn't as strong a conclusion as it should have been. The film also struggles to condemn either the sport or the players, seeming to be annoyed with bosses more than anything else. The players are clearly childish and irresponsible, violent men but yet the film weakens on that point after hinting at it, likewise the film condemns part of the game but then happily indulges in big game action near the end of the film.

Nolte is pretty good, but he also seems a little unsure about whether his character loves the sport or hates everything about it except the game. Support players simply play victims or childish thugs. The reason for Haddon's love interest is beyond me but Durning and Spradlin give good support as coaches.

Overall this is an interesting film, which is strongest at the start and end, the middle section lacking structure and focus. The message it is trying to get across applies much more today than it did back then, but has been made better and in more enjoyable total films than this. Still an interesting watch for the most part though.

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Great (Cynical) Sport Movies buckaroobanzai50
NORTH DALLAS AFTER FORTY jong19822004
Why did phil lie to seth? *SPOILERS jong19822004
score sounds like all the president's men's theshizznit-1
The investigator jong19822004
Screenplay or Script? Thomasco
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