Themes: In Training, Fighting the System, Underdogs
Main Cast: Billy Crudup, Donald Sutherland, Monica Potter, Jeremy Sisto, Matthew Lillard
Release Year: 1998
Country: US
Run Time: 117 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
One of two filmed biographies of late track star Steve Prefontaine to be produced in the late '90s, Without Limits comes from director Robert Towne, who previously took a stab at the track-star drama with his directorial debut, 1982's Personal Best. Billy Crudup stars as the ill-fated athlete who overcame physical obstacles to win an NCAA championship and compete in the 1972 Munich Olympics. The film follows Prefontaine from his youth in Oregon where, despite one leg being longer than the other, he shows himself to be a talented runner. Later, while attending the University of Oregon, Prefontaine meets and forms a strong bond with his coach, Bill Bowerman (Donald Sutherland), the man who would later go on to found the Nike shoe corporation. College is also where Prefontaine falls for classmate Mary Marckx (Monica Potter), beginning a romance that lasts until his untimely death in a 1974 automobile accident. The other film about Steve Prefontaine was 1997's Prefontaine which starred Jared Leto in the titular role. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
Review
Without Limits is a return to familiar territory for screenwriter Robert Towne, whose directorial debut, Personal Best (1982), also focused on Olympic athletes. Towne makes his third stab at directing, with engaging if unspectacular results, successfully translating the love of the sport but unable to make it contagious. Produced by Tom Cruise, Without Limits failed to beat Prefontaine -- the competing version of the story directed by Steve James and starring Jared Leto -- to the multiplexes. But neither film made much of an impact on an audience generally unfamiliar with the exceptional distance runner, who was killed in a car accident at age 24. The 25th anniversary of the Munich Olympics seems to be the peg for the sudden renewed interest in Prefontaine, but his story is not quite compelling enough to speak to audiences beyond his group of worshippers, who will no doubt be satisfied with this project. Billy Crudup exudes effortless charisma as the mercurial athlete, and Monica Potter glows as his girlfriend. Donald Sutherland also has fun with eccentric coach and mentor Bill Bowerman, but what's even more fun is learning about the origins of the Nike shoe company, which Bowerman founded alongside magnate Phil Knight. For example, the prototype for Bowerman's revolutionary "waffle" sole design was indeed cooked up in his waffle iron. These and other details make Without Limits a likable biopic, but it's too middle of the road to make a lasting impression outside of distance-running circles. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
William Joseph Durrell, Jr. - Art Director, Rick Pagano - Casting, Cloudia - Costume Designer, Grania Preston - Costume Designer, Benjamin Rosenberg - First Assistant Director, Robert Towne - Director, Jonathan Sanger - Second Unit Director, Robert Lambert - Editor, Claire Simpson - Editor, Kenny Moore - Executive Producer, Jonathan Sanger - Executive Producer, Randy Miller - Composer (Music Score), Danny Bramson - Musical Direction/Supervision, William J. Creber - Production Designer, Conrad L. Hall - Cinematographer, Tom Cruise - Producer, Paula Wagner - Producer, Bruce Bisenz - Sound/Sound Designer, Patrice Donnelly - Technical Advisor, Kenny Moore - Screenwriter, Robert Towne - Screenwriter, Conrad W. Hall - Second Unit Director Of Photography
Due to a very low-key promotional campaign, the $25 million film grossed only $777,000 at the box office but received mostly good reviews from major critics.[2][3]
Sutherland received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor.[4]
Comparison to Prefontaine
Without Limits is often compared to Prefontaine, a similar movie on Prefontaine's life that was released a year earlier by Disney. While the two films both focus on the same events, the Disney film tells the story from the point of view of Bill Dellinger, the assistant coach who was with him day-to-day, and Nancy Alleman, Prefontaine's girlfriend at the time of his death. It includes a cast of 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 is told from the point of view of Bill Bowerman (played by Donald Sutherland), 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 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.
