Without Limits (1998)

Director:

Robert Towne

Writers (WGA):

Robert Towne (written by) and
Kenny Moore (written by)

Release Date:

11 September 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

Pre-The Way he Competed...The Way he Lives his Life

Plot:

The film follows the life of famous 1970s runner Steve Prefontaine from his youth days in Oregon to...

Plot Keywords:

Running | Olympics | Athlete | Munich Olympics | Olympic Games

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win

Cast

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

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Finnish | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Chile:TE | Portugal:M/6 (video premiere) | USA:G (short version) | USA:PG-13 | Spain:7 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Cruise/Wagner Productions

Trivia:

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

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

Quotes:

Steve Prefontaine: I'd like to work it out so that at the end, it's a pure guts race. If it is, I'm the only one who can win it.

Movie Connections:

Version of Prefontaine (1997)

Soundtrack:

Badge

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.