Without Limits
Encyclopedia
Without Limits is a 1998 biographical film
about the relationship between record-breaking distance runner Steve Prefontaine
and his coach Bill Bowerman
, who later co-founded Nike, Inc.
Billy Crudup
plays Prefontaine and Donald Sutherland
plays Bowerman. The film is written and directed by Robert Towne
. It also stars Monica Potter
, Jeremy Sisto
, Judith Ivey
, Matthew Lillard
and William Mapother
.
Without Limits was produced by Tom Cruise
(Cruise and Mapother are cousins) and Paula Wagner
, and released and distributed by Warner Bros.
Cruise originally wanted to play the role of Prefontaine, but it was decided he was too old. Tommy Lee Jones
reportedly turned down the part of Bowerman.
Due to a very low-key promotional campaign, the $25 million film grossed only $777,000 at the box office, although it received good reviews from many major critics.
Sutherland received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
consensus of 78% and the site's consensus stating: "This drama about American track star and hero Steve Prefontaine intelligently looks at the character of this oft mythologized athlete and features a fantastic performance by Donald Sutherland as Prefontaine's trainer."
. 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. Prefontaine also explores American athlete's amateur status and the conditions and lack of resources these athletes had to endure in their attempts to compete with the world's top athletes, who were provided all they needed to train and compete at a top level, while dealing with the pressure from their American fans who expected nothing but the best from them. 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.
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
about the relationship between record-breaking distance runner Steve Prefontaine
Steve Prefontaine
Steve Roland "Pre" Prefontaine was an American middle and long-distance runner. Prefontaine once held the American record in the seven distance track events from the 2,000 meters to the 10,000 meters...
and his coach Bill Bowerman
Bill Bowerman
William Jay "Bill" Bowerman was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 24 NCAA champions and 16 sub-4 minute milers...
, who later co-founded Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
Billy Crudup
Billy Crudup
William Gaither "Billy" Crudup is an American actor of film and stage. He is well known for his roles as guitarist Russell Hammond in Almost Famous, Will Bloom in Big Fish, and Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke. He also starred in the 2007 romantic comedy film Dedication, alongside Mandy Moore...
plays Prefontaine and Donald Sutherland
Donald Sutherland
Donald McNichol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian actor with a film career spanning nearly 50 years. Some of Sutherland's more notable movie roles included offbeat warriors in such war movies as The Dirty Dozen, , MASH , and Kelly's Heroes , as well as in such popular films as Klute, Invasion of the...
plays Bowerman. The film is written and directed by Robert Towne
Robert Towne
Robert Towne is an American screenwriter and director. His most notable work may be his Academy Award-winning original screenplay for Roman Polanski's Chinatown .-Film:...
. It also stars Monica Potter
Monica Potter
Monica Potter is an American film and television actress.-Early life:Potter, one of four daughters, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to an Irish American Roman Catholic family. Her father, Paul Brokaw, was the inventor of the first flame-resistant car wax, and her mother, Nancy, was a secretary....
, Jeremy Sisto
Jeremy Sisto
Jeremy Merton Sisto is an American actor. Sisto has had recurring roles as Billy Chenowith on the HBO series Six Feet Under and Detective Cyrus Lupo on Law & Order on television and also starred in the films Jesus, Clueless and Thirteen.-Early life:Sisto was born in Grass Valley, California, the...
, Judith Ivey
Judith Ivey
Judith Lee Ivey is an American actress and director.-Personal life:Ivey was born in El Paso, Texas, the daughter of Dorothy Lee , a teacher, and Nathan Aldean Ivey, a college instructor and dean. She spent 1965-1968 in Dowagiac, Michigan, where she attended Union High School through tenth grade...
, Matthew Lillard
Matthew Lillard
Matthew Lyn Lillard is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his roles as Stu Macher in Scream, Stevo in SLC Punk , and Shaggy Rogers in the Scooby-Doo film series and the Animated reboot series.-Early life:Lillard was born in Lansing, Michigan, and grew up in Tustin, California...
and William Mapother
William Mapother
William Reibert Mapother, Jr. is an American actor and former teacher, perhaps best known for his role as Ethan Rom on the television series Lost.-Personal life:...
.
Without Limits was produced by Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
(Cruise and Mapother are cousins) and Paula Wagner
Paula Wagner
Paula Wagner is an American film producer and film executive.-Early career:Wagner began her career at Creative Artists Agency. In 1993 she launched Cruise/Wagner Productions with her former CAA client Tom Cruise. C/W's first film, Mission: Impossible, was an international hit that brought the...
, and released and distributed by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Cruise originally wanted to play the role of Prefontaine, but it was decided he was too old. Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
reportedly turned down the part of Bowerman.
Due to a very low-key promotional campaign, the $25 million film grossed only $777,000 at the box office, although it received good reviews from many major critics.
Sutherland received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Reception
Without Limits met with positive reviews from critics, with a Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
consensus of 78% and the site's consensus stating: "This drama about American track star and hero Steve Prefontaine intelligently looks at the character of this oft mythologized athlete and features a fantastic performance by Donald Sutherland as Prefontaine's trainer."
Comparison to Prefontaine
Without Limits is often compared to Prefontaine, a similar movie on Prefontaine's life that was released a year earlier by DisneyThe Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
. 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. Prefontaine also explores American athlete's amateur status and the conditions and lack of resources these athletes had to endure in their attempts to compete with the world's top athletes, who were provided all they needed to train and compete at a top level, while dealing with the pressure from their American fans who expected nothing but the best from them. It includes a cast of Jared Leto
Jared Leto
Jared Joseph Leto is an American actor, director, producer, occasional model and musician. Leto has appeared in both big budget Hollywood films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses. He rose to prominence for playing Jordan Catalano in the teenage drama My So-Called Life...
as Prefontaine, Ed O'Neill
Ed O'Neill
Edward Phillip "Ed" O'Neill, Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the main character, Al Bundy, on the Fox Network sitcom Married... with Children, for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes...
as Bill Dellinger and R. Lee Ermey
R. Lee Ermey
Ronald Lee Ermey is a retired United States Marine Corps drill instructor and actor.Ermey has often played the roles of authority figures, such as his breakout performance as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, Mayor Tilman in the Alan Parker film Mississippi Burning, Bill Bowerman in...
as Bill Bowerman
Bill Bowerman
William Jay "Bill" Bowerman was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 24 NCAA champions and 16 sub-4 minute milers...
. 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
Donald Sutherland
Donald McNichol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian actor with a film career spanning nearly 50 years. Some of Sutherland's more notable movie roles included offbeat warriors in such war movies as The Dirty Dozen, , MASH , and Kelly's Heroes , as well as in such popular films as Klute, Invasion of the...
), 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
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
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.