North Dallas Forty (1979)

85% of critics liked it
(20 reviews)
69% of users liked it
(2,258 ratings)

In a society in which major league sporting events have replaced Sunday worship as the religion of choice, North Dallas Forty appears like a desecration at the altar. In this film, directed by Ted Kotcheff (The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz), the National Football League is revealed to be more… More In a society in which major league sporting events have replaced Sunday worship as the religion of choice, North Dallas Forty appears like a desecration at the altar. In this film, directed by Ted Kotcheff (The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz), the National Football League is revealed to be more about the money than the game. Nick Nolte is North Dallas Bulls pass-catcher Phillip Elliott, whose cynicism and independent spirit is looked upon as troublesome by team coaches Johnson (Charles Durning) and Strothers (G.D. Spradlin) and team owner Conrad Hunter (Steve Forrest). Elliot, at the end of his career and wise to the way players are bought and sold like cattle, goes through the games pumped up on painkillers conveniently provided by the management. His teammates include savvy quarterback Maxwell (Mac Davis) and lunk-headed defensive lineman Jo Bob Priddy (Bo Svenson), who deal with the impersonality and back-biting of the game through off-field diversions. When the Bulls management benches Elliot after manipulating him to help train a fellow teammate, Elliot has to decide whether there is more to life than the game that he loves. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 59 min.
Directed By: Ted Kotcheff
Written By: Frank Yablans, Ted Kotcheff, Peter Gent
Genres: Drama, Sports & Fitness, Comedy

In Theaters: Aug 3, 1979 Wide
On DVD: Jan 30, 2001
Studio: Paramount Home Video

Critic Reviews

Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine
Retains enough of the original novel's authenticity to deliver strong, if brutish, entertainment.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The football scenes are brutally real; the locker room scenes are totally authentic.
, Variety
The production is a most realistic, hard-hitting and perceptive look at the seamy side of pro football.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
The leading man, Nick Nolte, has a physical authority and a clowning, irreverent manner that lend the film some semblance of continuity, even when it's about to flounder.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Pro football fans may be disillusioned by this excellent, honest, and often brutal expose of the play-for-pay game.
, Film4
It relies upon your belief in the inherent nobility of the sport... If you believe that, this is the greatest sports movie ever made. If you don't, it's a wallow in self-pity.
Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
The best football movie ever made.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Something of a mess, both in terms of the wayward plot which rambles all over the place, and in terms of the rather muddled juggling of audience sympathies.
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
Raucous football tale with effective Nolte.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
North Dallas Forty reveals some of the reasons why the fun has been taken out of football.
Scott Renshaw, Apollo Guide
It's still fascinating to get a glimpse of what athletes sacrifice to entertain us. It would have been considerably more fascinating if more of the people involved had seemed more human.