This is truly one of the greatest, forgotten running movies of all time. It was released in back 1986, but the spirit that the movie captures is just as real now as it was then.
Once a contender for the Olympics, Wes Holman (played by Bruce Dern) is a 44-year-old runner on a mission. In 1964 he was banned from the sport by the AAU (called the AAC in the movie) for accepting payments under the table, a practice that was prohibited but universal in order to survive the oppressive amateur requirements of the day. Much like Prefontaine (or some of the athletes today), Dern led a protest by the athletes against the powers that be… and paid the price by being singled out for a lifetime ban.
Now twenty years later, he is tired of coaching and watching the races from the distant sideline; Holman decides to make a comeback. He begins a year-long training mission with the goal of not just finishing but winning the Cielo-Sea, a grueling 14.1-mile mountain-to-sea run inspired by the real life Dipsea Race—the oldest cross country trail running foot race in the United States.
Holman convinces old-time coach Elmo Glidden to teach him everything he knows about mountain racing, which he says is all about three things: “philosophy, strategy and training… any one without the other two is worthless.” This is all new to him since he was more of a miler and track runner.
The coach tells his middle-aged student that if he’s going to coach him, he’s not just giving advice. He expects the runner to do everything exactly as he says. Holman commits, and we see some awesomely inspirational training scenes through beautiful mountain country. It is reminiscent in a lot of ways to the Rocky movies, complete with the silhouette shot at sunset of Wes charging up the mountain screaming victoriously and throwing his hands up in the air as his fitness gets into form.
The plot line does not get too heavy, but we see him facing off against a number of challenges. He must overcome not only the competition and whipping his body into shape. He must also battle the continuing attempts of the establishment (race officials and the amateur athletics association) to keep him out of the sport and also a rocky relationship with his father.
Twenty years ago he left town and never spoke to his father since. The elder Holman is a gruff 71-year-old named Flash, who is a former union activist that lives on his junkyard and still seeks to fight the system. He never understood his son’s passion for running and never attended a single one of his races growing up.
The last third of the movie is completely centered on the great mountain race. There we get a surprising and welcome cameo appearance from real life running legend Marty Liquori, who plays a television announcer covering the event.
Part of the point-to-point race’s distinct charm is that there is no direct path over and down the mountain: just a start and a finish. The tension builds over the 14.1 miles as Holman, who is forced to bandit the race, passes runners and soars over hills, but will he be able to beat the largely younger field including two former Olympian rivals? Will the race officials pull him before he gets a chance?
The movie ends with a wonderful scene that reminds us all why we love our sport so much. It captures the unique camaraderie that we all celebrate as part of the running community.
Bruce Dern is masterful in his portrayal of a determined and gritty long distance runner. The characters of his coach (the late, great John Marley) and his father (film debut of Bill Bailey) are perfectly cast. The shots and camera angles are magnificent. It really shows honor and authenticity to the sport, rare for a Hollywood film, while still pulling off an enjoyable 1.5-hour story that even non-runners will find entertaining. We even see a few really killer 1980s mullets!
This movie is very hard to come by and expensive in original hard copy form. Luckily for us in this digital age, we can watch it on demand for a very reasonable price. Personally, I have a Google TV hooked up with the Amazon On Demand video app and watched it on the big screen. It is also available on your computer, Kindle Fire, iPad, Nexus 7, Android tablet, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Roku or other devices with the Amazon Video app.
It is rated PG-13 for some language and a barely worth mentioning brief, dark, and distant nude scene where the hero is getting into the ice bath. As I understand it, the original was Rated R and had some nudity with a female love interest named Cora (played by Pam Grier). However, in the modern releases of the film (including the digital version on Amazon) her character has been completely wiped from the movie. Some reviewers miss her; others think she added nothing to the original. Regardless, she is gone along with the love scene and so the movie goes from Rated R to PG-13.
Great running movie that should be a new, old cult classic for runners of all ages!
Wanna Watch It?
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Digital Video Download
Rental $2.99 on Amazon On Demand -
Purchase the DVD
$59.95 New (ouch!), cheaper used