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:

Olympics | Running | Box Office Flop | Olympic Games | Athlete

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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 | UK:12 | UK:15 (video rating) | 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:

Robert Towne wanted Tommy Lee Jones to play Bill Bowerman, but he turned it down.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Bowerman goes to talk to Pre at The Paddock, you hear Donald Sutherland say, "I haven't noticed you working out all that much," but his mouth doesn't move.

Quotes:

Mary Marckx: You ran great in Munich.
Steve Prefontaine: No, Viren ran great, I was fourth.

Movie Connections:

References Gone with the Wind (1939)

Soundtrack:

Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to be a Long Long Time)

Best biography in years-****

I have always been a huge fan of Robert Towne ever since I first saw Chinatown. I haven't seen a disappointing film of his other than Mission: Impossible 2, Without Limits was far from a letdown.

I'm not sure how much poetic license Towne used to make the film, for I never have been a fan of running or any other athletics and so have never really known anything about the characters, but like in the cases of The Insider or Quiz Show I truly don't care as long as he didn't get too muddled up in fiction.

The story is well told with great performances and a superb soundtrack, the greatest treat of all being Donald Sutherland's fantastic performance as Bill Bowerman. This bit of acting makes me wonder how once again Sutherland could be forgotten by the Oscars. With a career including such great roles as in M*A*S*H, Klute and Ordinary People, the fact that he is still cheated of even a nomination bewilders me, especially when this film came in a year where the only true competition for such a performance was Geoffrey Rush's scene stealing work in Elizabeth. (To all of you who agree with James Coburn's win, I haven't seen Affliction.)