Trailer
Plot summary
The film follows the life of famous 1970s runner Steve Prefontaine from his youth days in Oregon to the University of Oregon where he worked with the legendary coach Bill Bowerman, later to Olympics in Munich and his early death at 24 in a car crash.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Without Limits (1998)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Because Disney would not let them use ABC's coverage, the filmmakers were stuck for footage of the race, until they found outtakes from the 1972 Olympics documentary Visions of Eight in the vault at Warner Bros.: perfect 35mm film of the race that had never been put into any other film.
- Because of 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 nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
- Tom Cruise, a runner who was training for a triathlon at the time, was shown seven minutes of Fire on the Track, a documentary about Steve Prefontaine. He immediately loved the story and wanted to see it made as a dramatic feature.
- Towne originally envisioned Cruise in the role of Prefontaine, but it was decided he was too old. Tommy Lee Jones, Harrison Ford and Clint Eastwood were all considered for the part of Bowerman and all turned it down before Donald Sutherland landed the role.
- Mary Marckx, Prefontaine's former girlfriend, 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.
