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dvd.review.without.limits |
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Written by Administrator
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Tuesday, 25 January 2005 00:00 |
"I can endure more pain than anyone you've ever met. That's why I can beat anyone I've ever met."
Movie
 You may or may not have heard of Steve Prefontaine, but you
definitely should have. As a college runner, he broke eight collegiate
records, two of which still stand (three mile - 12:53.4 and six mile -
27:09.4). He finished fourth in the 5,000 in the 1972 Olympics at the
age of 21. When he died at the age of 24, he owned every American
record beteen 2,000 meters and 10,000 meters. As far as talent went, he
was unlike anything American running has ever seen.
The movie "Without Limits," made right around the same time as the
movie "Prefontaine," begins with Steve (Billy Crudup) as one of the greatest high
school runners of all-time trying to choose a college. Oregon coach
Bill Bowerman (Donald Sutherland) normally sends his assistants and some of his runners to
visit potential recruits, however, Pre tells the assistants that he
won't go to Oregon unless Bill Bowerman lets him know himself that he's
interested in coaching Pre. After sending a letter, Pre decides to go
to Oregon where he tears apart the competition. Much of the drama from
the movie, however, isn't between Pre & his opponents. Rather, much
of drama occurs between Pre and Coach Bowerman. Pre doesn't believe in
sitting behind the leaders and then outkicking them at the end.
Bowerman, on the otherhand, believes by leading the whole race, Pre
expends too much energy and thus runs slower times than he could.
This isn't just a great sports movie - it's just flat out a good movie.
I can't say for sure, but I'd be willing to bet even non-runners would
dig this movie. I don't find hockey the greatest sport, but I thought
Miracle was a good movie. Cripes - I thought the Cutting Edge was a
good movie and that's about a guy that used to play hockey. It's the
ultimate underdog story. Some kid from Oregon
absolutely outworks his opponents and becomes one of the best in the
world. It might sound very Disney-ish, but it's a true story.
Video & Sound
Ah - gotta love the classic flipper. It's presented in both full
screen and non-anamorphic 1:85 to 1 widescreen version. While neither
is the optimal way I'd like to see the disc, it is what it is. The
colors are a little washed out and the transfer does have some visible
dust and scratches. Overall, nothing very great but for a $5 movie,
what do you really expect? The audio, while presented in Dolby 5.1,
won't blow you away either. The surrounds are relatively unused. The
sound probably could've been done much better but once again we're left
a little disappointed.
Extras
Nope... not a one.
Closing Thoughts...
I thought they could've done a better job on this dvd, but it's a
solid movie with good performances by Billy Crudup and Donald
Sutherland. It's an absolutely great sports story and I'd highly
recommend it to anyone who'd even consider themself a borderline
sports-movie junkie. Plus, if you head down to the local Wal-Mart, I'd
be willing to bet you can find it in the $5 movie bin (which never
hurts the cause!)
Overall Score
Movie - 8
Video & Sound - 4
Extras - 0
Overall - 6
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Last Updated on Monday, 24 January 2005 23:39 |
