North Dallas Forty

and probably my favorite one! written by pete gent, a former dallas cowboy in the 60's, it gives a great look inside the mentality of professional football ... especially in dallas during the landry years. i enjoyed this film because i played ball at the college level in the early 70's, and i feel it's the most realistic portrayal of the emotional seesaw that a football player goes through.

the film shows what happens in a society where professional athletes are idolized, and the things they can get away with ... but at a cost! it portrays how the professional athlete must constantly look for new ways to achieve a "high", whether on the field, with drugs, sexually, or just by "cutting loose". the problem is that each high gives way to when you either make a mistake on the field, or come down from the "off-the-field" high.

if you were a football fan in the 60's-70's, you can just see the dallas cowboys in this film! mac davis does a wonderful characterization of don merideth, and g.d. spradlin's coach just reeks of tom landry. and nolte does a magnificent job in one of his earliest works.

please, take some time and watch this film. the videotape version is obviously much better than the tv version ... you lose a lot of the reality otherwise. please, if the first-run shelf is empty, take the time to check out this film. you won't be disappointed.

Phil Elliott (Nick Nolte) is a worn out wide receiver for the North Dallas Bulls professional football team in the 70s. It's crazy parties, drugs, sex, and alcohol. Seth Maxwell (Mac Davis) is the popular quarterback. Jo Bob Priddy (Bo Svenson) is a dumb wild lineman. Phil meets Charlotte Caulder (Dayle Haddon) at a party but she's not happy to be there. He rescues her from Jo Bob with a lot of help from Seth. Coach Strother thinks Phil isn't serious enough. Team executive Emmett Hunter (Dabney Coleman) is dating Joanne Rodney but Phil is actually sleeping with her. Johnson (Charles Durning) is the assistant coach. Phil is constantly threatened with the CFL. His body is all worn out and the trainer gives him 'B12' shots. Somebody mysterious is after him.

Based on the novel by Cowboys wide receiver Peter Gent, this has the feel of authenticity. It's not quite a spoof with few outright laughs. Nick Nolte is terrific as the weary player. The story is a bit scattered. It could be even darker and more intense.

"North Dallas Forty" can rightfully take its place among the greatest of sports based movies. It's an intelligent, unflinching look into the world of professional (American) football, and the assortment of characters that inhabit the world. There's no need for flashy filmmaking here; the drama is strong enough to carry the story, along with some completely authentic performances. People unfamiliar with this movie will note that there's not necessarily a lot of game action; the concentration is on the action taking place off the playing field.

The pivotal character is Phillip Elliott (Nick Nolte), a weary seen-it-all veteran of the game, a top notch receiver conscious of all the punishment that his body has taken over the years. Phillip knows the game very well, but he's not too interested in playing a different sort of game, with the hard-driving coaches (G.D. Spradlin and Charles Durning) and the greedy team owner (Steve Forrest). Fortunately, he does have one good friend: star quarterback Seth Maxwell (singer Mac Davis).

This is scripted by director Ted Kotcheff ("First Blood"), producer Frank Yablans, and author Peter Gent, who wrote the semi-fictional novel on which the movie is based. Based on the Dallas Cowboys team of the early 1970s, it takes its time telling the story, contrasting the more philosophical and low key nature of Phillip with gung-ho defensive players like O.W. Shaddock (real life football star John Matuszak) and Jo Bob Priddy (amusing live wire Bo Svenson). We feel completely sympathetic towards Phillip, and can also practically feel the pain that he experiences after every game. There are several key emotional scenes, especially towards the end.

Nolte is excellent in the lead role, and as one can see, the supporting cast is full of rock solid actors (also among them is Dabney Coleman as Forrests' younger brother). Nolte and Davis have very fine chemistry and one can buy them as friends. Dayle Haddon, as a love interest for Nolte, isn't terribly effective because she comes off as just too aloof.

Compelling material, even for people who aren't necessarily football fans.

Eight out of 10.

'ND40' is my favorite of all the sports movies I've seen. It's both a dark and funny look at professional football, succeeding on both levels, with special emphasis put on the way the pro machinery chews up players and spits them out. There's no doubt who the fictional North Dallas Bulls are supposed to correspond to in real life, and the Dallas Cowboys were none too happy with either the book or the movie. For the rest of us it is first-class entertainment.

The movie abounds with great performances. Nick Nolte is superb as the aging wide receiver, weary in spirit and broken of body. His independence and declining skills are threatening his usefulness to the team. G.D. Spradlin gives one of his usual excellent performances playing the team's amoral head coach. It's the type of role he seems almost to have a patent on.

Some actors in this movie, I suspect, are doing the best work of their careers. Mac Davis plays the fun-loving quarterback who is serious about keeping his position both with the team and the ladies, and knows all the tricks, whether it's before, during, or after the game. Steve Forrest is the millionaire owner who wants nothing in the world more than a Super Bowl championship team. And Bo Svenson and former pro player John Matuszak are a couple of linemen who play by the same rules on the field and off.

It's a complex movie with so much going on in some scenes (just like a football game) that it deserves to be seen more than once. One small quibble: the big game was obviously not filmed before an audience. That doesn't detract too much from the overall picture, but a viewer is aware of it.

Seen this movie a few times on TV and it is a superb football film. Nick Nolte is excellent as the gruff and rough guy with lots of problems on and off the football field. Being in the 70's makes it even better and more realistic. Made in a time when men where men and sports meant more than money, a lot more. Sex, booze, knocking heads and blood & tears is what make these players happy! Good, fun all round film with great thought put into the story especially when entering Nolte's problems with team management/owners. As we all know deep rifts and problems occur between sports players and club owners but we never get to really know the truth and what goes on in the boardroom and player meetings. This film gives us a little make look at what could or should I say happens! I enjoyed this film very much,love the music, great characters and a good story. A winner all around.