- Format: Anamorphic, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
- Language: English, French
- Subtitles: English, French
- Region: (US and Canada This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Number of discs: 1
- MPAA Rating:
- Studio: Warner Home Video
- Release Date: Feb 16 1999
- Run Time: 117 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
- ASIN: 0790739291
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#12,244 in DVD (See Top 100 in DVD)
- #5 in DVD > Special Interests > Sports > Olympics > Feature Films
- #15 in DVD > Action & Adventure > Action Stars > Tom Cruise
- #66 in DVD > Drama > Sports
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Product Description
From Amazon.com
Since audiences are inclined to F/X spectacle, it was easy to understand the 1998 box-office battle between Armageddon and Deep Impact, which shared almost exactly the same premise. But two films about the now-obscure long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine? Without Limits and Prefontaine were in production at the same time, with the cheaper Prefontaine rushed into theaters in 1997 while Without Limits was held back until the fall of '98. As it turned out, neither movie scored a deep impact at the box office, but Without Limits is much more satisfying as a competent, heartfelt slice of sports history. Billy Crudup (a rising star who strongly resembles the film's producer, Tom Cruise, in both looks and intensity) plays Prefontaine, or "Pre," the mustachioed runner who blazed out of Coos Bay, Oregon, in the late 1960s. The movie grazes across the major events of Pre's career at the University of Oregon, where he blew away the competition and positioned himself as the leading American runner (and a charismatic hunk) going into the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich--that star-crossed competition at which Arab terrorists kidnapped and killed members of the Israeli team. Though the film suffers from some of the built-in problems of the true-life biopic, director Robert Towne (who earlier made a remarkable track-and-field picture, Personal Best) captures the texture of the athletes' world. Acting honors go to Donald Sutherland, turning in an emotional performance as coach Bill Bowerman; while tutoring Pre, Bowerman was tinkering with some waffle-soled running shoes, a hobby that later became a little company called Nike. --Robert Horton
From the Director
With "What It Takes", we have attempted to do a couple things: first, to tell a story of athletic drama, following four elite competitors chasing a world championship, but second and more importantly, to put human faces on the story, and to show that these "Ironmen" are people with complex mixes of motivations, fears, and dreams, just like the rest of us. Triathlon and endurance sports generally have achieved a kind of mythical status with many people - witness the millions of admirers who've been drawn to Lance Armstrong and his seven Tour de France wins - but few understand the specific challenges and joys of competition at the highest levels. How are the people who take on such challenges similar to normal people? How are they different? What can we learn from them? "What It Takes" aims to fill these gaps.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
It is worth watching but Prefontaine is the better buy,
By JoeyV (Grand Rapids, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Without Limits (Widescreen/Full Screen) (DVD)
I have read a great deal about Pre's life and own both Without Limits and Prefontaine. I watch Prefontaine religiously but have only put in Without Limits a few times. The way the story of Pre's life is portrayed gives the viewer a false sense of who Pre really was. Sexual overtones are used way too much and it takes away from the film; they make Bowerman out to be some kind of perv and Pre a kid that had sex with every girl in town when in reality he had the same girlfriend from his early years at Oregon up until his death. This one is worth the rent but don't take it for true fact...for that buy Prefontaine because it sticks much closer to the facts. Without Limits does have better acting but I think that is because Prefontiane formats the movie like it was a documentary with soliloquies of Pre's closest friends and coaches, it gives it almost an independant film feel which I think is the reason why a lot of people down it. Go for Prefontaine instead.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stupendous movie, uninspired DVD,
By Traveler (New England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Without Limits (Widescreen/Full Screen) (DVD)
"Without Limits" does indeed go beyond a typical sports movie by being both an inspirational story and a character study. All of the acting is superb, especially Crudup and Sutherland. The scene in which Pre blatantly ignores Bowerman's mandate to sit back during most of the race and let the front runner wear himself out is especially good. It's funny, revealing of both characters, and just has that right level of inspiration (you can ignore the rules and win out of sheer guts) without being sappy.I've seen "Prefontaine," the other movie about Pre's life, and I can't say that I was impressed. Some reviewers claim that it is more factual. Perhaps that is the case, but "Prefontaine" is not a well made movie. It also takes on extra baggage that distracts from the story. For example, in one scene they show Pre making snide comments about anti-war protesters. Was Pre a hawk? Did he ever express an opinion about war? I have no idea. But as a college athlete it would have been exceptionally hypocritical to have such an opinion when his status as an athlete allowed him to stay out of the military. "Without LImits" doesn't get bogged down in these unimportant side issues. Instead, it focuses on Pre's fight against the AAU, the governing track and field organization which was so obviously taking advantage of athletes at the time. Prefontaine once said, "Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts." That about sums up the spirit of this movie. While the movie is great, the DVD is nothing special. I can't figure out why movie studios make great movies like this and then slap them on a DVD with "extras" that include sub-titles at that's it. If there was ever a DVD that should have had extras this one was it - short documentaries on the real Prefontaine, how the movie was filmed, interviews with people who knew Pre, those who were fans at the time, archival footage. This could have been a stupendous DVD with lots of entertaining, educational and inspirational extras. Maybe they'll release an updated version - because this movie deserves it.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Without Limits,
By A Customer
This review is from: Without Limits (VHS Tape)
This is a must-have movie for all middle and long-distance runners. It's history of a legend that every runner should know about. Absolutely and sublimely awe-inspiring.After the ordinary person has seen this film it WILL make then want to go out and and start running! And after a runner has seen this movie they will want to be like 'Pre' and win the Olympics!!! It also shows us the origins of the sports brand Nike and the superb knowledge and class of a legendary coach in Bill Bowerman. BUY IT!
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