Without Limits

Although a contemporary of Steve Prefontaine I had never heard of him, not being a fan of track and field. Nonetheless, Without Limits, a biographical film of Prefontaine, made middle-distance running interesting, even exciting. The racing scenes are not the reason to see this movie though, it is the acting, especially Donald Sutherland who plays Bill Bowerman his coach at the University of Oregon. The film follows Prefontaine (Crudup) from his admission to college in 1969 through the '72 Munich Olympics to his death in 1975 as he trained for Montreal. The axis around which the movie revolves is the relationship between wizened coach and impetuous youth, and Crudup and Sutherland do an excellent job of it. As a Baby Boomer it's always a treat to see those late '60s-early '70s years recreated. What memories. You even get to glimpse the founding of the Nike shoe empire in Bowerman's kitchen.

I grew up in Eugene and saw almost every race Pre ever ran. He was a crowd hero. There were always two races...the one Pre ran and the one, way back, that the rest of the runners ran. There was nobody like him. He was talented, cocky and had so much charisma. He really was outspoken in the press and took no guff from the AAU. He was the best thing that ever happened to track. Seeing the movie was like deja vu. It was a really well done recreation of what it was like to be at Hayward Field during his races. I went to the memorial service at Hayward Field and saw Frank Shorter and Bill Bowerman speak. This movie certainly made me reflect back!

'Without Limits' is an engrossing biopic on famous long distance athlete Steve Prefontaine. Billy Crudup is completely believable in the lead and captures Prefontaine's energy and his passionate desire to never give up. The role is an extremely physical one as Crudup shows us the gut-wrenching trauma Prefontaine went through. The film is straightforward and there are no subplots to detract from the storyline. Donald Sutherland is effective as his coach Bill Bowerman. The role may be clichéd but Sutherland is refreshing and has some great dialog as well. A solid entertainer and a must for sports buffs.

Overall 7/10

Jaded by Hollywood's usually pathetic efforts to portray the real world of sports, I was prepared to be disappointed by this movie. I grew up in Oregon, attended U of O (the setting for much of the movie), and witnessed some of the events portrayed. So it was with a surge of satisfaction that I watched this movie that got it right at each point along the way. The attention to detail was astounding, and the recreation of races was uncanny - I compared it to actual news photos later, and the actors playing competing runners were chosen so well that their bodies and running styles actually match the original men. When a movie cares this much about being faithful to details, you can be sure it will take a quality approach overall. Billy Crudup's portrayal of Pre is full of inner fire and consistent with the real man; Donald Sutherland is marvelously powerful and yet understated as Bill Bowerman; the examination of the real reasons athletes compete is thorough and moving. Innovative use of music and camera work brings the race scenes to life, and if this movie doesn't make you want to immediately go out for "a quick ten," you're a completely hopeless sedentarian-- in heart and body. This is among the five finest movies about athletics ever made.

I've never been quite sure, whether it was Personal Best that strongly attracted Robert Towne to running, or that he was already a big fan when he began that project. Suffice it to say that when one of our greatest living screenwriters brings his personal passion to his work, the results will be exemplary.

"Without Limits' only became a movie, because Tom Cruise said so, and thankfully he did. Where as the other Prefontaine bio-pic ‘Prefontaine' provided an honest, technical look at Pre's life and the sport of running, `Without Limits' is more of a lyrical homage to the sport, the man, the zen of it all.

The performances seamlessly intermesh with the story-Donald Sutherland is good, as Coach Bill Bowerman, but Sutherland is always good..and I believe his performance here has gotten more recognition as a result of the way Towne has organized his version-the Bowerman role is centerpiece, in contrast to the more downplayed, subtler roles of the other principals.

Let Robert Towne do whatever he wants, I will come and watch.