Prefontaine (film)
| Prefontaine | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Steve James |
| Produced by | Mark Doonan Peter Gilbert Jon Lutz Irby Smith |
| Written by | Steve James Eugene Corr |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Mason Daring |
| Cinematography | Peter Gilbert |
| Edited by | Peter Frank |
|
Production
company |
|
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
107 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8 million |
| Box office | $589,304 |
Prefontaine is a 1997 American biographical film chronicling the life of the American long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine and his death at age 24. Jared Leto plays the title character and R. Lee Ermey plays Bill Bowerman. The film was written by Steve James and Eugene Corr, and directed by James. Prefontaine tells the story from the point of view of Bill Dellinger, played by Ed O'Neill, the assistant coach who was with him day-to-day, and Nancy Alleman, the runner's girlfriend at the time of his death.
Steve Prefontaine, a Coos Bay, Oregon student, is too small to play most sports but becomes a talented distance runner. He enrolls at the University of Oregon in 1969, and meets fellow Oregon Ducks track and field athletes Pat Tyson and Mac Wilkins. With coaches Bill Bowerman and Bill Dellinger, "Pre" wins three national cross-country championships and four consecutive 5,000-meter runs, breaking the U.S. record in the latter. Prefontaine gains fame as an aggressive runner who likes to be out front from the start, rather than biding his time until a strong finish.
Prefontaine accompanies other top American runners including Frank Shorter and Jeff Galloway to the 1972 Munich Olympics, where they witness the terrorist attacks of the Munich Massacre which interrupt and almost cancel the games. In the 5,000-meter, after leading with only 150 meters to go, three different runners including the winner, Finland's Lasse Viren, pass Prefontaine and he does not win a medal.
...
Wikipedia