''Without Limits'' is a 1998 American

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curric ...

sports film A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport or a sports-related topic is prominently featured or is a focus of the plot. D ...

. It is written and directed by

Robert Towne Robert Towne (born Robert Bertram Schwartz; November 23, 1934 – July 1, 2024) was an American screenwriter and director. He started writing films for Roger Corman, including '' The Tomb of Ligeia'' in 1964, and was later part of the New Hollyw ...

and follows the relationship between record-breaking distance runner Steve Prefontaine and his coach

Bill Bowerman William Jay Bowerman (February 19, 1911 – December 24, 1999) was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic Games, Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 2 ...

, who later co-founded

Nike, Inc. Nike, Inc. (stylized as ''NIKE'') is an American athletic footwear and apparel corporation headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. It is the world's largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, ...

Billy Crudup plays Prefontaine and

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received List of awards and nominations received by Donald Sutherland, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award ...

plays Bowerman. It also stars

Monica Potter Monica Potter (June 30, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles in the films ''Con Air'' (1997), ''Patch Adams (film), Patch Adams'' (1998), and ''Along Came a Spider (film), Along Came a Spider'' (2001). She also appear ...

, Jeremy Sisto,

Judith Ivey Judith Lee Ivey (born September 4, 1951) is an American actress and theatre director. She twice won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play: for '' Steaming'' (1981) and '' Hurlyburly'' (1984). She also received Best Actress In A P ...

, Matthew Lillard and

William Mapother William Reibert Mapother Jr. (; born April 17, 1965) is an American actor, known for his role as Ethan Rom on the television series ''Lost (2004 TV series), Lost'' and starring in the film ''In the Bedroom''. He is also known for the film ''Anothe ...

. The film was produced by

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and film producer. Regarded as a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood icon, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Tom Cruise, various accolades, includ ...

(Cruise and Mapother are cousins) and Paula Wagner, and released and distributed by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

Due to a very low-key promotional campaign, the $25 million film grossed only $777,000 at the box office, even though it received positive reviews from many major critics. Sutherland received a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film.

Plot

The film follows the life of famous 1970s runner Steve Prefontaine from his youth days in Oregon to the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

where he worked with the legendary coach Bill Bowerman, later to the Olympics in Munich and his early death at 24 in a car crash.

Cast

Production

Development

20 years prior to the film's release, Kenny Moore, a friend of late Steve Prefontaine, approached

with the intention of making a film about Prefontaine but Towne was unavailable at the time. Three years later, the two worked together on the film '' Personal Best'' and they again explored the idea. In 1994, the two met and Moore began writing a script for Towne to direct. Mary Marckx, Prefontaine's former girlfriend and friend of Moore, gave Towne over 200 personal letters written by Prefontaine, which provided an insight into his thoughts and she also shared information on the relationship he had with his mother. Explaining how Tom Cruise got involved in the project, Moore said:

Casting

Towne originally envisioned Cruise in the role of Prefontaine, but it was decided he was too old. For the role, Billy Crudup who had been a college athlete trained for four months with

Patrice Donnelly Patrice Michelle "Pat" Donnelly (born April 30, 1950) is an American retired track and field athlete and actress, known primarily for hurdling. Background Donnelly was born in San Diego, California. She attended Grossmont College. She was a hig ...

(she starred in ''Personal Best'') to run short distances as he was expected to run 110 to 200 yards for a 5,000 meter race sequence. He also watched actual footage of Prefontaine to imitate his moves.

Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Tommy Lee Jones, various accolades including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Scre ...

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. Regarded as a cinematic cultural icon, he has starred in Harrison Ford filmography, many notable films over seven decades, and is one of List of highest-grossing actors, the highest-gr ...

and

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

were considered for the part of Bowerman but they all turned it down and Donald Sutherland eventually landed the role. Monica Potter played the role of Prefontaine's girlfriend and spent a lot of time with Mary Marckx to prepare for the part.

Filming

The film was shot on location in

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

using the

's Hayward Field. Scenes were also filmed at Heceta Beach, Oregon.

's house served as a shooting location. After two months of filming in Oregon, the production moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to film the Munich sequences at Citrus College. Some visuals of the Munich Olympics came from the documentary '' Visions of Eight'':

Reception

''Without Limits'' met with positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds a 79% "fresh" approval rating with an average score of 6.6/10, based on 39 reviews. The website's consensus reads: "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."

References

External links

* {{Tom Cruise (actor) 1998 films 1998 drama films 1990s American films 1990s biographical drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s sports films American biographical drama films American track and field films Biographical films about educators Biographical films about sportspeople Cruise/Wagner Productions films Cultural depictions of track and field athletes Cultural depictions of American people English-language biographical drama films English-language sports films Films about the 1972 Summer Olympics Films about Olympic track and field Films directed by Robert Towne Films produced by Tom Cruise Films scored by Randy Miller (composer) Films set in the 1960s Films set in the 1970s Films set in Oregon Films shot in Oregon Films shot in Eugene, Oregon Films shot in Los Angeles Films with screenplays by Robert Towne Satellite Award–winning films Sports films based on actual events Warner Bros. films