Ask any seasoned football fan about North Dallas Forty and the response is the same: the best film about pro football ever made. Nick Nolte and an ill-cast Mac Davis star as aging players in this dark, semi-autobiographical look at both politics and personal abuse in the sport. As a dramatic-comedy, I found the film lacking in both genres, but I suspect the bigger problem is there aren't any truly good football films. (Even the mighty Oliver recently dropped the ball with his surprisingly inert Any Given Sunday.) Giving credit where due, this 1979 film is one of--if not the--first to focus on the underbelly of professional sports, and it is enormously popular with fans, but this is one player who was waiting for the clock to run out. An optional purchase. (S. C. Sickles)
North Dallas Forty
Paramount, 118 min., R, $24.99 Vol. 16, Issue 2
North Dallas Forty
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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