Themes: In Training, Fighting the System, Underdogs
Main Cast: Jared Leto, R. Lee Ermey, Breckin Meyer, Ed O'Neill, Amy Locane, Lindsay Crouse, Brian McGovern
Release Year: 1997
Country: US
Run Time: 107 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
This biographical sports drama is the true story of an Olympic runner whose life ended tragically short. Jared Leto stars as Steve Prefontaine, a teen who develops a running talent despite unorthodox physical traits such as a short stature and legs of different lengths. "Pre" is still sufficiently impressive enough on the track field to be recruited by Bill Bowerman (R. Lee Ermey), an Oregon college coach who creates homemade running shoes in his garage. His arrogant attitude vexes even his girlfriend (Amy Locane), but Pre's athletic skills prove to be the real deal, as he wins an NCAA championship and qualifies for the 1972 Olympics. Prior to his event, however, a terrorist attack in Munich leaves several athletes dead, and a shaken Pre doesn't medal. Back home, Bowerman turns his shoe-making enterprise into the global sneaker giant Nike, while Pre chafes under the poverty enforced by Olympic rules. He becomes an outspoken advocate for amateur athletes and tries to organize an exhibition, which leads to criticism by the press. Before he can compete, however, Pre is killed in a car wreck. Prefontaine (1997) was one of two motion pictures made about the runner at the same time; the other was Without Limits (1998). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Laurel Holloman - Elaine Finlay; Kurtwood Smith - Curtis Cunningham; Peter Anthony Jacobs - Ray Prefontaine; Eric Liddell - Gary Powers
Credit
Gregory A. Weimerskirch - Art Director, Pam Dixon - Associate Producer, Pam Dixon - Casting, Shelly Glasser - Co-producer, Tom Bronson - Costume Designer, Jeanne Caliendo - First Assistant Director, Steve James - Director, Peter C. Frank - Editor, Michele Kuznetsky - Musical Direction/Supervision, Mary Ramos - Musical Direction/Supervision, Mason K. Daring - Songwriter, Carol Wood - Production Designer, Peter Gilbert - Producer, Irby Smith - Producer, Mark Doonan - Producer, Jon Lutz - Producer, Nina Bradford - Set Designer, Peter Marts - Sound/Sound Designer, Steve James - Screenwriter, Eugene Corr - Screenwriter
Prefontaine is a Hollywood Pictures 1997 film documenting the life of the American long-distance athlete Steve Prefontaine. It was written by Steve James and Eugene Corr and directed by Steve James, and stars Jared Leto as the title character.
The film is often compared to Without Limits, a similar movie on Prefontaine's life that was released a year later by Warner Brothers. While the two films both focus on the same events, the Hollywood Pictures Film tells the story from the point of view of the assistant coach who was with him day-to-day, Bill Dellinger, and Prefontaine's girlfriend at the time of his death, Nancy Alleman. It has a cast including Jared Leto as Prefontaine, Ed O'Neill as Bill Dellinger and R. Lee Ermey as Bill Bowerman. Siskel and Ebert reviewed it and gave it two thumbs up.
Without Limits was produced by Tom Cruise and told from the point of view of Bill Bowerman with Dellinger as a minor character and Mary Marckx, who was a previous girlfriend of Prefontaine while at Oregon. In this film there is no Nancy Alleman and Mary is his girlfriend all the way through. Bowerman is played by Donald Sutherland and is given guru status, whereas Ermey had portrayed Bowerman as more of a hard-line general-type.
In both films, Prefontaine is shown as headstrong and difficult to coach. Bowerman did remain active with the Oregon program and with Prefontaine after his retirement.
