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:

Believe in yourself.

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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

Robert Towne wanted Tommy Lee Jones to play Bill Bowerman, but he turned it down.

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Goofs

Finnish runner Juha Väätäinen's name is in then end credits spelled as "Juha Vastinen".

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Quotes

Steve Prefontaine: It's the hardest thing in the world to believe in something, if you do it's a miracle.

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Connections

Version of Prefontaine (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Bugler's Dream"
Composed by Leo Arnaud

User Reviews

Best biography in years-****

I have always been a huge fan of Robert Towne ever since I first saw Chinatown. I haven't seen a disappointing film of his other than Mission: Impossible 2, Without Limits was far from a letdown.

I'm not sure how much poetic license Towne used to make the film, for I never have been a fan of running or any other athletics and so have never really known anything about the characters, but like in the cases of The Insider or Quiz Show I truly don't care as long as he didn't get too muddled up in fiction.

The story is well told with great performances and a superb soundtrack, the greatest treat of all being Donald Sutherland's fantastic performance as Bill Bowerman. This bit of acting makes me wonder how once again Sutherland could be forgotten by the Oscars. With a career including such great roles as in M*A*S*H, Klute and Ordinary People, the fact that he is still cheated of even a nomination bewilders me, especially when this film came in a year where the only true competition for such a performance was Geoffrey Rush's scene stealing work in Elizabeth. (To all of you who agree with James Coburn's win, I haven't seen Affliction.)