Prefontaine (film) - Comparison To Without Limits

Comparison To Without Limits

The film is often compared to Without Limits, a similar movie on Prefontaine's life that was released a year later by Warner Brothers. While the two films both focus on the same events, Prefontaine 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 also explores American athletes' amateur status and the conditions and lack of resources these athletes had to endure in their attempts to compete with the world's top athletes, who were provided all they needed to train and compete at a top level, while dealing with the pressure from their American fans who expected nothing but the best from them.

Oregon coach Bill Bowerman, who as a hobby designed shoes for runners like Prefontaine to wear, would ultimately end up founding the company that became Nike.

The second version, Without Limits, was produced by Tom Cruise and directed and co-written by Robert Towne. It was told from the point of view of Bowerman, with Dellinger as a minor character, and featured Mary Marckx, a previous girlfriend of Prefontaine while at Oregon. 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, whereas Ermey had portrayed Bowerman as more of a hard-line general-type.

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.

At the Movies with Siskel and Ebert gave Prefontaine two thumbs up.