Without Limits (1998)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	None
Rating
Year Of Production	1998
Running Time	113:16
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Robert Towne
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	Billy Crudup Donald Sutherland Monica Potter
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$14.90	Music	Randy Miller

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

"When people ask me why I run, I tell them a lot of people run races to see who's fastest.

I run races to see who has the most guts."

    Without Limits is the biographical story of one of America's greatest ever athletes. Billy Crudup stars as American middle distance runner and legend Steve Prefontaine. During the early 1970s Prefontaine, or Pre as he was known to his legion of fans, won virtually every race he contested in America, and held every national record for distances between 2000 and 10,000 metres, all before he turned 24. He was a national hero, worshipped by fans and fellow runners, yet misunderstood and often snubbed by those in power in the athletics world.

    Pre was an extremely talented athlete who was vocal in his distaste at the state of the amateur athletic world and did things his way. This brought about frequent clashes with his coach and mentor Bill Bowerman (here played by Donald Sutherland). But it was a match made in athletic heaven; Bowerman, head coach of Oregon University, with his old-fashioned strategies on running of playing it safe and out-thinking your opponent versus Pre's adamant convictions to do things his way and lead from the front. Bowerman's passion for the sport and his athletes was matched only by Pre's passion for challenging himself to near breaking point - such was his tolerance of pain. The two forged an often unlikely friendship built on respect for each other's differences. Bowerman even designed and made the running shoes for his team and would eventually go on to found the Nike brand.

    This film charts the rise of the talented teenage firebrand that was Steve Prefontaine, his early college years and his passion for not only running, but for the opposite sex as well. His winning of consecutive NCAA titles and the breaking of many records along the way all culminates with selection in the US Olympic team for Munich in 1972. The outcome of this famous race against the best in the world changed Pre's focus and he became all the stronger for it.

    The real strength of this film lies not in the performances of the cast (which are excellent I might add, especially Billy Crudup, an actor I knew only from his role as Russell Hammond in Almost Famous), but in the cinematography and editing. Shot by the renowned Conrad L. Hall (American Beauty, Road To Perdition), the race scenes in particular are captivating and exciting. When the action moves to the 1972 Munich Olympics, the inclusion of some official games footage of the actual race Pre competed in is handled seamlessly and adds much to the overall authenticity of the production.

    For a budget title under $15, this is a superb addition to any film or sports buffs library.

    Some Steve Prefontaine facts (courtesy www.nike.com):

• Set American records 14 times.
• Ran nine 5,000-meter races faster than 13:30.0.
• Broke the 4-minute mile eight times, with a best of 3:54.6
• Won 82 of 102 outdoor meets between 1970 and 1975 against top-flight competitors at distances from 1 mile to 10,000 meters.
• Won four NCAA 3-mile/5,000 titles and three NCAA cross-country championships.
• Won the Pan Am Games 5,000 in 1971.
• Won the 1972 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 5,000 and went on to race in one of the most dramatic races in Olympic history at 21.

Video

    With this being another of the budget Warner Home Video titles, I am again impressed by the quality of the transfers on offer. In terms of bang for your bucks, you will certainly find little to complain about here. This is a mostly clean, artefact free and all round pleasing transfer. For less than $15 you can't really complain anyway but this transfer gives you so little to grumble about you could almost pay full price and still be happy.

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and is also 16x9 enhanced. There is a bit of debate as to the original aspect ratio, since IMDB lists it as 1.85:1. I imagine from how this transfer looks that that information is incorrect. Widescreen Review confirms that thought, listing the original ratio as 2.39:1 and the Region 1 DVD as 2.35:1.

    The transfer is just above average in terms of sharpness, especially when compared to the level of detail we have come to expect in recent releases. Thankfully I noticed no edge enhancement. Probably the poorest element of the transfer is the level of shadow detail, and given the number of scenes that are filmed in quite dark surrounds this is a problem on more than one occasion. Watching the film in a completely darkened room should assist with this problem. Thankfully there is only minimal grain, which again is a real surprise and what is present does not become at all distracting. There is no low level noise.

    Colours are fairly muted and dull though you could say that this is a legacy of the early 1970s period it was trying to capture. Vibrant isn't exactly a word I'd use to describe the transfer, but overall there are no problems, aside from the odd skin tone looking a little too red for my liking. Black levels are perfect.

    There are no apparent compression problems. There are no instances of film-to-video artefacts such as aliasing. Film artefacts are present, though given this film is only five years old I would have hoped for a few less than are actually present.

    There are only two English subtitle streams available, these being of the standard and Hearing Impaired variety. They are as accurate as can be expected, with only a few words missed every now and then.

    This is a single layered disc, so there is no layer change to navigate.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There is only the one soundtrack on this disc. It is a Dolby Digital 5.1 track in English, encoded at the lower bitrate of 384 kb/s.

    This isn't exactly what I'd call demonstration material with basically no surround channel use. There is enough panning and other directional effects across the front soundstage to give it a multichannel label, but most of the action is anchored in the centre. The only time the rear channels get a work out is during the distance races, especially the superbly filmed Munich Olympics 5,000 Meters.

    The dialogue is clear at all times and I witnessed no audio sync problems.

    The score is by Randy Miller and evokes plenty of drama and excitement, particularly during the races.

    As mentioned there is minimal sustained surround activity, and the subwoofer is also only called on a couple of times during the races. Its presence isn't really missed.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    No extras are included on this disc.

    The Region 4 disc misses out on:

• Dual sided disc with additional Pan & Scan version of the film
• Theatrical trailer.
• Snapper case

    The Region 1 disc misses out on:

• Amaray case

    Discounting the pan & scan version and awful snapper case, the inclusion of only the theatrical trailer is hardly enough to sway me in favour of the Region 1. When you consider the retail price of the Region 4 is less than $15, the local product is a clear winner.

    Without Limits is a stirring tale of one man's burning ambition and drive to succeed at everything he did, with his talent for distance running capturing the heart of a nation. The portrayal of Steve Prefontaine by Billy Crudup is remarkable - he is the spitting image of him. The seamless integration of real Munich Olympics race footage is done so well it is very difficult to pick what is real and what is staged.

    The video quality is average, but without significant flaw.

    The audio is solid and dynamic.

    There are no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall