Prefontaine

As the opening scenes of Prefontaine unfold, full of documentary-style footage and "talking head" shots, you might begin to worry that you've grabbed something (gulp!) educational. Is Steve James, director of the acclaimed 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams, simply planning to tick off the significant events of track star Steve Prefontaine's life, accompanied by predictably glowing commentary? Quite the contrary, as it turns out. For a sports film, Prefontaine takes the unexpected angle of focusing on the individual rather than whether he wins or loses. That's not to say that James can't handle the competition footage; he and cinematographer Peter Gilbert capture distance running with a surprising, pulse-quickening energy. But the film's real appeal is its story of how a fierce competitor comes to define himself apart from his sport. Though James occasionally lets the pace flag and Jared Leto's performance in the title role is uneven, the arc of the main character is compelling enough to make up for the shortcomings. Prefontaine's strength is that it's about a man becoming a better person, not just a better athlete. Recommended. (S. Renshaw) [Blu-ray/DVD Review—July 10, 2018—Kino Lorber, 106 min., PG-13, DVD: $11.95, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $19.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 1997’s Prefontaine features a nice transfer with DTS-HD 2.0 audio on the Blu-ray release. Extras include audio commentary by writer-director Steve James. Bottom line: a fine edition of this solid sports bio-pic.]