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The film is just flat out entertaining. Particularly the olympic race in Munich is perfectly directed with both staged and actual footing in addtion to being paced so well that I as other reviewers have commented watch the race each time on the edge of my seat hoping for an outcome that I know isn't coming. Not to mention the numerous funny one liners in the film.
Crudup and Sutherland are outstanding as opposite sides of the same coin.
Outstanding!
Billy Crudup was superb as "Pre". Cool, cocky, with a running style that sent shivers through me. Donald Sutherland gives another first-rate performance as coach Bowerman. Compared to R. Lee Ermey's portrayal in the lesser movie "Prefontaine", watching Sutherland work was like eating filet mignon after beef jerky.
The highlight of the film for me was the '72 Munich race. Pure sustained tension. I've seen the film 4 times, I know the outcome, but I nevertheless hop out of my chair every time I see Pre/Crudup break from the pack. Excellent, too, how they deftly spliced in the actual footage.
Only two criticisms: the romance was hokey, and there was too much unnecessary fiction woven in (Pre gashed his foot running around a swimming pool, not while having sex upside down, for crying out loud).
But because of this movie, I learned that Pre wasn't just a flashy jock who died young. He was a true working class hero in a sport where there weren't many. He had his own running code, which he also applied in life: run all-out, ahead of the pack, all the time.
As a runner, "Without Limits" actually inspired me to actually chop seconds off my running times, which is not a bad testament. But I don't think one has to be a runner to like this movie.
Prefontaine:
Acting
I thought the acting in this movie could have been much better. The principle actors were decent, but it was a long drop off to the secondaries as far as acting talent. I felt Leto was more brash, cocky and arrogant. In comparison to Crudup, it made me feel Pre was this way on many occasions more out of fear or a need to be arrogant, as opposed to true belief in himself. More like a prima donna.
Facts
Given that these are movies and not documentaries, I really don't care about the small ones such as how close a race was, etc. But would like to get the truth on the the bigger issues such as personal relationships, how he hurt his foot (there either were witnesses, or there were not), and how directly he was involved in the fight against the AAU. I liked the added details in Munich and his life after Munich, showing his continued successes. These details were great from an informational perspective, but it certainly made the direction seem choppy. Without input from Pre himself, so many aspects of his friendship and love life are skewed by the perspective of the person that is recounting it, and can be questioned in both movies. To observe it is to change it, as they say. I would certainly say if you asked for the story of my uneventful life from 2 different ex-girlfriends, you would probably get 2 completely different stories.
Racing
This movie seemed a little shallow in this area. It seemed like all it did to teach the audience about strategy and Pre's abilities was to say, "You are too slow to sprint, so you have to push the pace faster to make the kickers tired". Maybe that is as much detail as the common viewer wants, but I would have liked to have seen more. I thought the race sequences in both films were good.
The interviews mixed with tradional story telling might have worked better if the casting had been better. Production quality was not as good as WL.
Without Limits -
Acting
By FAR the superior movie. Crudup and Sutherland's relationship just felt so much more real. And a million times more mature. You have to question authenticity of course, but their philosophical conflicts truly drive this movie and make the overall product much more mature.
Facts
This is not meant to be a documentary, and I can understand having to summarize 3-4 events into 1 event to make an accurate point - whether you are talking about Pre's love life or his races - for the sake of drama or time. I still would have liked to seen at least a few minutes talking about Pre's races after Munich instead of leaving the new viewer to thinking that he only ran 1 meet after Munich, and he died later that night. To me this was a weakness in the film. It left a lot of places where you have to fill in the blanks - such as Bowerman's appointment as Olympic coach, the Pre graduated and was no longer a student, etc. Now that I've seen both films and have a stronger grip on the true facts, skipping these details aren't as big of a deal as they are merely background to what is happening to Pre - as long as you are already aware of them.
Racing
In addition to focusing on Pre's relationships, it spent more time on race strategy, introducing other athletes than just Viren, and seemed to engage the sport at a deeper level. As a former competitor, this interested me quite a bit. Prefontaince had more race sequences, but I thought the sound effects in WL were great to create the feel of the race. The tension felt of running in the pack was expertly done, and the acting of Crudup in these sequences was good. I would have liked to see a little more pain on their faces and a little less closed-mouth running. WL did a better job at showing exactly how fast a 63 second quarter is.
This movie went out of its way to focus on Pre, Mary, and Bowerman's relationships. This just felt more authentic and mature. I think it is a shame they had to sum up so many of Pre's races - before and after the Olympics - but this was a conscious decision made to embrace Pre's story by showing fewer of his races - which can be felt as redundant in this medium, and humanizing him more. Prefontaine did a great job showing Pre's drive and heart, but I thought WL was more rewarding by showing his struggles with himself and those close to him - which surely must have existed.
While both movies showed some sides of Pre that aren't always listed as 'good' characteristics, only in WL did it truly feel like reality. The dialogue in Prefontaine certainly felt more like a Disney movie and combined with delivery, it was all a little contrived.
Once again, I felt that Without Limits was more the thinking-man's version of the movie, while Prefontaine did an excellent job with the facts of Pre's racing career and had an emotionally high value throughout the movie. Both raw emotion and embracing a new philosophy can inspire someone, and they both succeed at this. I would probably choose Prefontaine to show to people that do not know Pre's story, but for my own viewing, I would probably watch Without Limits repeatedly to get to the heart of the human story and struggles with philosophy, passion, and desire.
Well made movie -- surprisingly produced by the long-time duo, Tom Cruise and Paul Wagner.
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