Without Limits (1998)

The film follows the life of famous 1970s runner Steve Prefontaine from his youth days in Oregon to the University of Oregon where he worked with the legendary coach Bill Bowerman, later to... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Towne

Writers:

Robert Towne, Kenny Moore

Stars:

Billy Crudup, Donald Sutherland, Monica Potter

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billy Crudup	...	Steve Prefontaine
Donald Sutherland	...	Bill Bowerman
Monica Potter	...	Mary Marckx
Jeremy Sisto	...	Frank Shorter
Matthew Lillard	...	Roscoe Devine
Dean Norris	...	Bill Dellinger
Billy Burke	...	Kenny Moore
Gabriel Olds	...	Don Kardong
Judith Ivey	...	Barbara Bowerman
William Mapother	...	Bob Peters
Adam Setliff	...	Mac Wilkins
Nicholas R. Oleson	...	Russ Francis (as Nicholas Oleson)
Amy Jo Johnson	...	Iowa's Finest
Lisa Banes	...	Elfriede Prefontaine
Frank Shorter	...	Fred Long

Storyline

The film follows the life of famous 1970s runner Steve Prefontaine from his youth days in Oregon to the University of Oregon where he worked with the legendary coach Bill Bowerman, later to Olympics in Munich and his early death at 24 in a car crash.

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Plot Keywords:

oregon | runner | olympics | car crash | university of oregon | 

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Taglines:

PRE. The way he competed. The way he lived his life.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief sexual material and brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros.

Country:

USA

Language:

English Finnish German

Release Date:

11 September 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Do krajnjih granica

Filming Locations:

Citrus College - 1000 West Foothill Boulevard, Glendora, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$56,180 (USA) (11 September 1998)

Gross:

$777,423 (USA) (20 November 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cruise/Wagner Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tom Cruise considered playing Prefontaine, but decided against it citing that he was too old for the part.

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Goofs

When the athletes toe the line just prior to the start of the 5000 meter Olympic final you see several of the runners wearing modern running shoes, not the time period track spikes they are later shown to be wearing.

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Quotes

Bill Bowerman: All my life, man and boy, I've operated under the assumption that the main idea in running was to win the race. Naturally, when I became a coach I tried to teach people how to do that. Tried to teach Pre how to do that. Tried like hell to teach Pre to do that. And Pre taught me. Taught me I was wrong. Pre, you see, was troubled by knowing that a mediocre effort can win a race and a magnificent effort can lose one. Winning a race wouldn't necessarily demand that he give it everything he had from...
[...]

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Connections

Version of Prefontaine (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Walk on the Wild Side"
Written & Performed by Lou Reed

User Reviews

Excellent track film

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.