Amazon.com reviews for
Without Limits (1998)

photos

board

trailer

details

Without Limits (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: This subtle and deeply moving film about the life of athlete Steve Prefontaine (Billy Crudup) is a rarity: a movie about the beauty of youth, as opposed to a patronizing, junk-culture youth film. Written by legendary Hollywood screenwriter Robert Towne (along with Kenny Moore) and directed by Towne with his usual masculine insight, bold creativity, and superior taste, Without Limits tells the tale of Oregon runner Prefontaine's love-hate relationship with his tactically minded coach, Bill Bowerman (Donald Sutherland) in the 1970s. The tug of war between the two men--Pre's passion for running each race as if it will be his last and Bowerman's seasoned, conservative strategies for winning--becomes a wonderful metaphor for distinct stages of life and attitude. It almost doesn't matter that this is the story of a track-and-field star: Prefontaine's gift, as Towne describes it, is in his refusal to be influenced by the relativity of talent. That could describe anyone young with a pronounced sense of possibility and organic integrity. But because this film's hero happened to be one of the most exciting American athletes of his generation, Towne also makes every race count--whether college meet or 1972 Olympics--through some extraordinarily well-directed sequences. Crudup and Sutherland are remarkable in their roles, and Monica Potter is stirring as Pre's lover. --Tom Keogh

Without Limits (dvd):

Amazon.com video review: Since audiences are inclined to F/X spectacle, it was easy to understand the 1998 box-office battle between Armageddon and Deep Impact, which shared almost exactly the same premise. But two films about the now-obscure long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine? Without Limits and Prefontaine were in production at the same time, with the cheaper Prefontaine rushed into theaters in 1997 while Without Limits was held back until the fall of '98. As it turned out, neither movie scored a deep impact at the box office, but Without Limits is much more satisfying as a competent, heartfelt slice of sports history. Billy Crudup (a rising star who strongly resembles the film's producer, Tom Cruise, in both looks and intensity) plays Prefontaine, or "Pre," the mustachioed runner who blazed out of Coos Bay, Oregon, in the late 1960s. The movie grazes across the major events of Pre's career at the University of Oregon, where he blew away the competition and positioned himself as the leading American runner (and a charismatic hunk) going into the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich--that star-crossed competition at which Arab terrorists kidnapped and killed members of the Israeli team. Though the film suffers from some of the built-in problems of the true-life biopic, director Robert Towne (who earlier made a remarkable track-and-field picture, Personal Best) captures the texture of the athletes' world. Acting honors go to Donald Sutherland, turning in an emotional performance as coach Bill Bowerman; while tutoring Pre, Bowerman was tinkering with some waffle-soled running shoes, a hobby that later became a little company called Nike. --Robert Horton

Without Limits (Spanish) (Sub) (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: Since audiences are inclined to F/X spectacle, it was easy to understand the 1998 box-office battle between Armageddon and Deep Impact, which shared almost exactly the same premise. But two films about the now-obscure long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine? Without Limits and Prefontaine were in production at the same time, with the cheaper Prefontaine rushed into theaters in 1997 while Without Limits was held back until the fall of '98. As it turned out, neither movie scored a deep impact at the box office, but Without Limits is much more satisfying as a competent, heartfelt slice of sports history. Billy Crudup (a rising star who strongly resembles the film's producer, Tom Cruise, in both looks and intensity) plays Prefontaine, or "Pre," the mustachioed runner who blazed out of Coos Bay, Oregon, in the late 1960s. The movie grazes across the major events of Pre's career at the University of Oregon, where he blew away the competition and positioned himself as the leading American runner (and a charismatic hunk) going into the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich--that star-crossed competition at which Arab terrorists kidnapped and killed members of the Israeli team. Though the film suffers from some of the built-in problems of the true-life biopic, director Robert Towne (who earlier made a remarkable track-and-field picture, Personal Best) captures the texture of the athletes' world. Acting honors go to Donald Sutherland, turning in an emotional performance as coach Bill Bowerman; while tutoring Pre, Bowerman was tinkering with some waffle-soled running shoes, a hobby that later became a little company called Nike. --Robert Horton