Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very good bio pick of a great runner who died too young, August 21, 2006
Steve Prefontaine, a record setting middle distance runner, won all his races against Americans. He led his race in the 1972 Olympics but faded to fourth by a breath. He died in a car accident (drinking was involved, but to what degree is debated) in 1975 at the age of 24. All admit that he wasn't the perfect physical specimen for a runner, but he was gritty and tenacious and would not give anything less than everything he had.
You would think it would be hard to come up with a full length bio pic about someone who died at 24. Yet, in 1998 there were TWO films that came out about his life. One from Disney and the other from Warner Brothers.
The Disney 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 good cast with Jared Leto as Prefontaine, Ed O'Neil as Bill Dellinger and R. Lee Ermy as Bill Bowerman. Siskel and Ebert reviewed it and gave it two thumbs up.
The Warner Brothers release was produced by Tom Cruise and told from the point of view of Bill Bowerman with Dellinger as a minor character and Mary Marckx. 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. 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.
In both films, Prefontaine is shown as a powerful and hard charging runner who also loved to party too much and had troubled relationships with his young women. The fans love him and his fame is correctly portrayed as is his loss at the '72 Olympics.
Since the accident occurred while Prefontaine was alone in the car no one can be certain how it happened. Both films have him swerving from a second car, but the Warner film shows the rock face that the car climbed and caused it to flip on top of the runner and crushing him. He was alive when first found, but the person could not flip the car alone and by the time they got back he was gone.
Prefontaine continues to inspire young runners and people who believe that testing your limits and giving all you have is important to living and understanding your life. That these tests are a kind of art that you create for yourself and are a kind of honesty that few actually experience (even though it is open to all).
Both movies are good, and you have to decide if seeing two films about such a short life is needed, but there is certainly much worse fare shown every night on TV and at your local movie house.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Runners will enjoy this bio pic, March 27, 2005
Running fans will enjoy this Jared Leto bio pic, but other audiences will probably find it an often hoaky "mock-umentary," with some of the worst dialogue and Hair/Makeup effects in modern film drama.
Fortunately, I fall into the first category so I was engrossed with the story of the famed runner Prefontaine. The story improved considerably in the second half, when archival footage and the dramatic events of the Munich Olympic games unfolded.
Jared Leto does a good job, even with all those wigs and spirit gum. Amy Locane seems to be phoning in her performance from a parallel "Melrose Place" universe.
Prefontaine's moving and inspirational story, this proves, should/would be best told through an actual documentary production rather than relying on a dramatization.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sometimes the truth hurts., April 25, 2000
There has been much fascination with Steve Prefontaine, for his courage, his will-to-win, and for his far too early death. A man who was the ultimate competitor, denied his just due not only by the tragedy in Munich, but an even bigger tragedy on a roadway in Oregon. Such fascination led to 2 movies chronicling the life of Steve Prefontaine were mad ein the 1990's.For first release, the battle of the PRE-bioflicks was won by this movie, and its release and luke warm reception shelved the Robert Towne-directed `Without Limits' for more than a year. Perhaps this story would have been better served as a Made-for-HBO film, where one-name titles like "Prefontaine" give stars like Matt Damon a chance for some good work, and media recognition. This version, directed by Steve James of Hoop Dreams fame is very watchable, with strong support of Jared Leto (Prefontaine) by Lindsay Crouse, Ed O'Neill, Amy Locane, and R.Lee Ermey-excellent in the role of Pre's coach and mentor, Bill Bowerman, the man who subsequently founded Nike. Maybe not an overly familiar story for the non-runners, this story needed to be told, once...and is told well here.
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